Chef-patron Steven Smith has left Freemasons at Wiswell, the fine-dining pub in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley that he has established as a regional star over the past 15 years. Born and raised in nearby Blackburn, Steven plans to open a new venture in the region, although he has no concrete plans as yet. Head chef Matt […]
Odette’s in Primrose Hill is to be reborn as Home Kitchen, a social enterprise fine-dining restaurant staffed by homeless people, under the direction of executive chef Adam Simmonds (centre in picture). Odette’s closed down suddenly at the end of May after a run of almost 50 years as one of London’s best-known and most atmospheric […]
Chef Tom Brown is to close his highly rated restaurant Cornerstone in Hackney Wick, citing rising costs and diners’ changing preferences. Instead, he will focus on Pearly Queen, the more relaxed fish restaurant he opened in Shoreditch last November. Launched in 2018, Cornerstone is one of the most lauded restaurants of the past decade and […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 2nd June 2024 Evening Standard The Hero, Maida Vale “This might just be the best-looking pub in the world”, pronounced David Ellis in his review of the latest project from the team behind the Pelican in Notting Hill and the […]
International Korean chef Akira Back makes his London debut at the new Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hanover Square, Mayfair, next Wednesday, 3 June – more than two years after it it was announced. He will operate two restaurants – Akira Back (pictured), reinterpreting Korean and Japanese dishes, and Dosa, a 14-seat chef’s table offering contemporary Korean […]
Wine bar and restaurant Goodbye Horses is to open in Islington this summer having already lodged its bid for the title of ‘left-field restaurant name and visuals of the year’. It is part of a threefold business from co-founders Alex Young and George De Vos, alongside pour-over specialist coffee shop Day Trip and gelato bar […]
Prominent Manchester chef Mary-Ellen McTague is to open a new restaurant called Pip this summer at the new Treehouse Hotel in the city centre’s Deansgate. The former Fat Duck chef made her name in Manchester with Aumbry, which firmly established her credentials with an original take on smart and sustainable cuisine. Pip will be one […]
Tom Waters has opened his restaurant Gorse on a permanent site in Cardiff, after a successful run as a pop-up. Taking over the former site of dog-friendly cafe Fido on Kings Road in Pontcanna, he offers a tasting menu using prime Welsh ingredients to a maximum of 22 guests. Newport-born Tom trained under fellow Welsh […]
Jonny Lake and Isa Bal (left and right in photo) have launched a Monday-only wine bar called Labombe in the bar of their highly rated Bermondsey venue Trivet. Guests can order from a 450-bottle wine list described as “fantastic and eclectic” in the 2024 Harden’s guide, with sommelier Isa choosing a selection of bottles to […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 26th May 2024 The Guardian Brett, Glasgow Grace Dent found “comfort food with the chef’s foot fully on the gas” at this modest-seeming wine bar – the younger sibling of feted Cal Bruich nearby – which “holds a fig leaf […]
