Modern Greek restaurant Ampéli has closed down and its Fitzrovia site has been taken over by a Ukrainian-owned Spanish restaurant, Boca a Boca. Ampéli was opened in 2020 by photographer Jenny Pagnoni, taking inspiration from modern wine-focused restaurants in Athens, and won plenty of press support from the FT, Guardian, Standard and Independent – and from […]
Anglesey-born chef Tomos Parry opens his new restaurant Mountain next week, bringing together his love of robust Spanish cooking with ingredients from his native Wales. The restaurant, a former Byron just off Regent Street in Beak Street, Soho, is the chef’s follow-up to Brat in Shoreditch, where he refined his approach to cooking over wood […]
Leading Birmingham chef Glynn Purnell has opened a tapas bar a street away from his flagship, Purnell’s, in the city’s business district. Plates by Purnell’s occupies the former site of Spanish restaurant Pinchos on Edmund Street. Last year Glynn, aka ‘the Yummy Brummie’, opened The Mount pub in Henley-on-Arden, his first venture outside the Birmingham, […]
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 […]
Veteran Leeds restaurateur Joe McDermott has opened a paella and tapas specialist, Bomba, at Saw Mill Yard in Holbeck Urban Village, on the city’s South Bank. Named after a variety of rice from eastern Spain, Bomba started off as a paella delivery service during lockdown, operating from Kirkgate Market. Joe originally made his mark on […]
Spanish brothers Alberto and Arian Zandi have announced details of their third London restaurant – El Norte, opening in Dover Street, Mayfair in November. The identical twins hail the debut as the cornerstone of an international luxury brand that will do for Spanish cuisine what Nobu or Zuma did for Japanese and the Cipriani for Italian. Shortage […]

Chef and restaurateur Victor Garvey has announced a new opening in the City. Barullo, a 64-cover site at 19 Bevis Marks – once the home of James Cochran EC3 – will open in spring 2019 and will serve food from across Spain. The entire menu will be available to take away. Alongside tapas classics, dishes […]

Sam and Sam Clark of Moro and Morito are launching a brand new bespoke outside catering company, Casa Moro, and new private dining room space in Hackney Wick, open in May this year. Sam and Sam Clark opened their epic Exmouth Market “institution” 20 years ago, with its “scrumptious” little sister restaurant opening in 2010 and […]

Arbequina, Oxford A “fantastic new find on the Cowley Road” from Rufus Thurston, of hit local Oli’s Thai; and Ben Whyles of east Oxford staple Door 74. The “fresh, minimalist” setting (a conversion of an old chemist) is an appealing backdrop to “yummy and authentic” tapas from a short, typed list showcasing “first-class ingredients”. […]
Spanish TV chef Omar Allibhoy is to open the sixth and biggest branch of his Tapas Revolution chain in Newcastle next month. The all-day contemporary tapas bar will serve a range of classic small dishes with ingredients sourced from small artisan producers in Spain, alongside Spanish wines, craft beers and what is claimed to be the […]