Our mission is remarkably simple. To tell it how it is!
Chef Thomas Carr will not reopen his Michelin-starred eponymous restaurant at the Olive Room, he has announced. But the chef said his business in Ilfracombe, north Devon, isn’t over. Instead, Carr has plans to open elsewhere. He said: “We can’t give away too much information yet, but we would like to reassure you that it […]
Leading chefs have slammed “no shows” after encountering dozens of guests booked and failed to turn up for dinner. Michelin-starred personalities Paul Ainsworth and Tom Kerridge have led the charge after reopening post-lockdown and taking down hundreds of reservations for their restaurants. Paul and Emma Ainsworth said they were left “shocked” and “disappointed” after 27 […]
Diners won’t have to wear face masks in restaurants and pubs, the environment secretary George Eustice has confirmed. The coverings will be compulsory in supermarkets from July 24 but won’t be required in hospitality settings. Eustice told Sky News: “We’re not, for instance, mandating the wearing of masks in pubs and restaurants, because obviously people […]
Celebrity chef Gizzi Erskine and the musician Professor Green are to take over Passo restaurant in London this summer. Their pop-up concept, “Giz & Green”, will launch today in collaboration with the Old Street site and will feature the same stuffed crust pizzas that drew huge attention on their Instagram cooking stories over lockdown. The […]
PizzaExpress could well be in line to be taken over by its lenders in a debt-for-equity swap with owner Hony Capital, according to the Financial Times. Such a move is likely to include closures, though that such action has not yet been confirmed and remains speculative. It would be fair to say that the company […]
Our weekly round-up of what the national and local restaurant critics are writing about, for the week ending 12 July 2020. Restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes in England were permitted to re-open on Saturday 4 July after over 100 days of enforced closure. Some establishments remain closed – the owner of the three Market Halls, […]
Mark Hix, who closed his entire restaurant group in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, has announced he will reopen the Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis, Dorset, on July 28. The restaurateur and chef will reopen at the site of his former Hix Oyster & Fish House, a terraced seafood fixture overlooking Lyme […]
Selin Kiazim has scrapped the customary, optional 12.5 per cent service charge at her two Oklava restaurants and said the fees will instead be incorporated into her menu prices. Kiazim, who alongside Laura Christie owns two Oklava sites in Shoreditch and Fitzrovia, said service charge “has always gone to our staff in full” but, while […]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has slashed VAT for hospitality to 5 per cent from 20 and has launched a “first of its kind” government discount scheme to encourage people to go out to eat throughout August. On Wednesday, Sunak announced VAT would be cut on food, accommodation and attractions for six months from 20 per cent […]
Ed Thaw and Jack Lewens, from the Michelin-starred and much, applauded Shoreditch restaurant Leroy, have followed Selin Kiazim in scrapping discretionary service charge to bills and will instead raise menu prices to better reflect the value of the dining experience. They explained “if you want to eat in a quality place it will cost you […]
