High-rise dining in London has another venue with the opening of Bokan, on the 37th floor of the new Novotel at Canary Wharf. The cooking is modern European with a distinctly French slant. The open-plan kitchen is run by Aurélie Altemaire, formerly head chef at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in London, assisted by former Robuchon […]
A couple who met in the kitchen at St John are opening their first restaurant, Sparrow, in Lewisham at the end of March. Terry Blake and Yohini Nandakumar say they will use seasonal British meat and vegetables and cook their favourite dishes – which gives them a pretty broad canvas. Between them they have notched up experience at Bao, […]
Brighton grill specialist The Coal Shed is to open a branch in London at the new One Tower Bridge development on the south bank of the Thames later this year. It will be the first foray into the capital for restaurateur Raz Helatat, six years after he launched the original Coal Shed – described by this year’s […]
A Thai-based company is opening Hot Pot, an Asian communal cooking restaurant in Chinatown next month, with meals structured around five fresh-made house broths. The broths range from the spicy Sichuan or tom yum to the more comforting chicken or mushroom with soy milk to the ultra-healthy-sounding ginger, spring onion and Chinese dates. Diners then choose from 60 […]
Modern Chinese restaurant Shikumen is to open its fourth branch in late April, in the new Dorsett City Hotel next to Aldgate station. Since making made its debut at the Dorsett Hotel in Shepherd’s Bush, Chinese-owned Shikumen followed up with branches in Ealing and Finchley – so the new venue will be its first in central London. […]
Pembrokeshire-born chef Tom Simmons is opening his first restaurant in London this spring, with a focus on the best Welsh ingredients. Simmons, 28, appeared on MasterChef – The Professionals in 2011 and has worked with Tom Aikens and Mark Sargeant. His new self-named venue, with partner Lois Thomas running the front of house, is in the […]
Chef Gordon Ker is opening an offshoot of his hip Soho chophouse Blacklock in the City of London next month. Blacklock wins praise in the latest Harden’s Survey for “the best chops in London”. The new, bigger venue will have an extended version of the same menu, featuring char-grilled meat from Cornish farmer-butcher Philip Warren, served on flatbread, […]
The trio behind Taiwanese steamed bun specialist Bao are to open a more upmarket restaurant, bar and tea house called Xu in Soho this spring. Bao, which has branches in Soho and Fitzrovia, has been a runaway success for founders Shing Tat Chung, Wai Ting Chung and Erchen Chang, with customers enduring long queues to sample […]
Food-obsessed cousins Mark Kimber (left in photo) and Harry Smith are opening Plot, a bijou 15-seat restaurant, in a converted market stall inside historic Tooting Broadway Market on January 11. The pair both grew up in Tooting, and have hired chef Giles Estob to design a menu of small plates reflecting their interest in seasonal British produce. Meat will […]
Tom Kerridge, the Marlow-based maestro of pub food, has revealed his next move – a restaurant in a five-star Belgravia hotel. His first restaurant – and his first professional foray into London – will open next year at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower, a luxury hotel overlooking Hyde Park and aimed squarely at the international market. The […]
