- The head chef of the UK's only three-Michelin-starred sushi restaurant, The Araki, is leaving to return to his native Japan next year. Mitsuhiro Araki, who closed his three-starred Tokyo site to move to the UK in 2014, will hand over the reins to his current deputy Marty Ryu in March.
- Hard Rock Cafe is to launch a fifth UK site in London's Piccadilly Circus, just a few minutes walk from its original location on Old Park Lane. Located in the lower floor of the Criterion building, part of which was recently home to the Criterion restaurant, it is billed as a flagship opening for Hard Rock and is expected to launch next year.
- Restaurant brands including Five Guys and Toby Carvery have come under fire for serving milkshakes with 'alarming' levels of sugar. Health charity Action on Sugar singled out the carvery chains' Unicorn Freakshake, which contains 39 teaspoons of sugar and 1,280 calories. It is calling for a limit of 300 calories per serving to be imposed on similar drinks.
- Azzuri Group, which operates Zizzi, Ask Italian, Coco di Mama and Radio Alice, says it is primed for further expansion after sales rose 8.5% for the year to 1 July. The 290-site company says it has invested in its menus and restaurant design in a bid to survive in the overcrowded Italian sector.
- Street food collective Kerb is teaming up with major London landlord Shaftesbury to open its first bricks and mortar food hall in Covent Garden. The 22,000 sq ft site is expected to launch next summer and will feature a mix of street food as well as traders selling artisan pies and bread, alongside a florist and bookshop.
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