L’Ortolan near Reading, a beacon of UK gastronomy for four decades, is to close down at the end of next month. Peter Newman, the IT entrepreneur who has owned the restaurant since 2000, blamed the closure on a familiar combination of Brexit, pandemic lockdowns and the cost-of-living crisis, which left customers less inclined to spend […]
Diners were disappointed to learn of two premature endings this week, with the closure of London risotto specialist All’Onda from first-time restaurateur Cordula Schluz (pictured) and the departure of veteran chef Simon Bonwick after 18 months at the Dew Drop Inn in Berkshire. All’Onda (meaning ‘on the wave’), in Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, only lasted for […]
One-man kitchen brigade Simon Bonwick is returning to his calling as a solo chef in rural Berkshire this month, after a short stint running the kitchen of a busy London gastropub. Simon and his wife Deborah are taking over The Dew Drop Inn, a tiny 16th-century pub owned by the Brakspear brewery in Hurley, between […]
Coworth Park, the luxury hotel near Sunningdale in Berkshire, will unveil a new destination restaurant named after its executive chef next week. Woven by Adam Smith promises to “push the boundaries of creativity and excellence” when it launches on Thursday 8 September. Once owned by the polo-playing Canadian billionaire Galen Weston, the palatial Georgian house […]
Goat on the Roof, a tapas and wine bar championing organic seasonal produce from local suppliers alongside natural and sustainable wines, will open in Newbury, Berkshire, next Tuesday, 3 May. The new venture is owned and operated by Patrick Vaughan-Fowler, who ran the George & Dragon in nearby Hurstbourne Tarrant for seven years, and head […]
After quitting Berkshire’s L’Ortolan in September last year chef Alan Murchison has pulled out of plans to take over La Bécasse in Ludlow. He posted in a Facebook update: “After much soul searching and many sleepless nights, I have decided not to open another restaurant. Been there, done it. Bit of success and some big failures. Head […]
