A boutique wine hotel and restaurant is to be developed at the historic Archbishop’s Palace in Maidstone as the hub of a wine tourism industry in Kent on the lines of California’s Napa Valley or Western Australia’s Margaret River. Under ambitious plans agreed by Maidstone Council and entrepreneur Richard Balfour-Lynn, founder the Balfour winery in […]
Audrey’s, an all-day “London diner” set in a repurposed Victorian public convenience, is the latest addition to the ever-growing Southwark food scene overflowing from Borough Market. Scheduled to open this month, Audrey’s is part of the Flat Iron Square hospitality and entertainment site owned and operated by The Venue Group, which is headed by Ben […]
Welsh ramen wizard James Chant, whose Matsudae Ramen start-up became a lockdown meal-kit hit and a pop-up phenomenon touring Manchester, Bristol and London, is to open his first bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Cardiff early this summer. James, who had never worked as a chef, launched the business as a creative outlet three years ago after becoming […]
One of Brighton’s – and the country’s – oldest fish and seafood restaurants, English’s, is being marketed for sale at £1.75 million, having been owned by the Leigh-Jones family since 1945. Praised in the 2022 Harden’s guide as a “usually buzzing venue serving great fish dishes, including lovely lobster Thermidor”, it has been a fixture of […]
Here’s our regular summary of what the national and local restaurant critics have been writing about in the week ending 3 April 2022. ***** The Mail on Sunday “The place shimmers with heartfelt hospitality.” Tom Parker Bowles in YOU Magazine ventured out to visit Tallow on “the outer edges of Tunbridge Wells” in Kent; it’s […]
Founders Chris Corbin and Jeremy King have lost their battle for control of the company that owns a string of London best-loved restaurants headed by The Wolseley. Thai-based majority shareholder, Minor International, were victorious in an auction that concluded on Thursday 31 March. Jeremy King (pictured) had vowed to take the company back under private […]
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St Albans, said to be Britain’s oldest pub, is to reopen on Monday, 4 April, after its closure was announced in February by “heartbroken” landlord Christo Tofalli in the face of rising costs. Former manager Martin Robinson is now the licensee, flanked by chefs Ian Baulsh and Sam Walker. The […]
Entrepreneurial chef Robin Gill has announced his latest venture – a neighbourhood restaurant set in a west London retirement community. Maria G’s, inspired by his time on the Amalfi coast near Naples, is scheduled to open in June in the Riverstone development in Warwick Lane, between Kensington and Earl’s Court. The Irish-born chef made his name […]
A new style of Sicilian artisan bakery/restaurant opens in Putney tomorrow. Soffice, on the South Circular road, serves home-cooked savoury and sweet pastries, brioches and breads, alongside pizzas, pasta dishes and Sicilian specialities such as arancini (deep-fried rice balls, pictured above in three flavours). The all-day venture, set over two storeys with an outdoor terrace, […]
The Moorcock Inn in West Yorkshire, one of the highest-rated new-wave food pubs in the country, is to close down at its peak of popularity. Its many fans – and gastronomes who have yet to make the journey to the moors above Halifax – will be pleased to learn that it will remain open until January […]
