Master-chef Tong Chee Hwee, a pioneer of contemporary Chinese cooking in London as the culinary brains behind the rise of the Hakkasan group, is to launch his own restaurant in the city for the first time. Named Gouqui, it will occupy the former site of Garfunkel’s in Cockspur Street, off Trafalgar Square. Born in China, […]
A vast new pan-Asian restaurant and basement cocktail bar, Tabu, opens tonight in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter in the premises which previously housed The Vaults nightclub. Tabu is said to be inspired by 1920s-style New York speakeasies and accommodates up to 400 guests, with entertainment including DJ sets and live performers every Thursday to Sunday. The […]
North Italian-style TOZI Grand Cafe opens on Monday 12 December, as the gastronomic offering at the Battersea Power Station redevelopment in London continues to take shape. Sister restaurant to TOZI in Pimlico and another branch in Amsterdam, it is on the ground-floor of the new art’otel in Electric Avenue, where it will be joined next […]
Los Angeles celeb chef Kris Yenbamroong has found a permanent showcase for his US-style ‘nu Thai’ cuisine at the new Hoxton Hotel overlooking Shepherd’s Bush green, launching on Monday 12 December. Chet’s, which aims to combine the excitement of Thai flavours with the comfort of an American diner, had a test run as a pop-up […]
A boutique hotel on the edge of the New Forest will reopen next week after a year-long refurbishment, boasting an ambitious new seafood restaurant. The Samphire, at Stanwell House in Lymington, will serve a tasting menu at £75 a head, alongside an à la carte offering. The listed Georgian building is privately owned and changed […]
A Spanish-Israeli fusion restaurant opened this week in a German-owned boutique hotel in Covent Garden. Penelope’s is named after the daughter of Hotel Amano co-founder Ariel Schiff (pictured, middle), who grew up between Tel Aviv and souther Spain. Dishes on the menu include Israeli-style paella with whole lobster, freekeh and gin-tomato sauce; Israeli sofrito combining […]
Next week sees the arrival of crystal sushi in London, with the opening of a new City restaurant from Hong Kong’s Aqua group. Shiro, in Broadgate Circle near Liverpool Street, will be the group’s fifth restaurant in London, following Aqua Shard and Hutong in the Shard, and Nueva and Kyoto on Regent Street. Crystal sushi, […]
High-profile Edinburgh chef Mark Greenaway is to launch two new restaurants in the same Lake District hotel next month. A self-named restaurant and the more informal Brasserie Thirty Seven will open at the Haweswater Hotel, near the M6 motorway on the edge of the Lakes. Mark is best known for Restaurant Mark Greenaway on Edinburgh’s […]
The Spanish gastro group Brindisa is opening a tiny Basque-style tapas joint in Soho this month. Bar Kroketa is by the entrance to Kingly Court in Beak Street, and is scheduled to launch on 12 December. The snack menu will be dominated by a chalked-up and frequently changing list of croquetas, ranging from sobrasada and […]
Chef Jake Finn is to open a second branch of his wood-fire-based neighbourhood restaurant Cinder, in St John’s Wood High Street. The first branch, in Belsize Park, has survived against the odds, given that its launch coincided with the arrival of the Covid pandemic. The new restaurant will be larger than the original, with an […]
