Casual Dining

Rick Stein awarded CBE in New Year's Honours list 2018

02-Jan-2018 By Sophie Witts

Rick Stein is among a number of figures from the hospitality industry to be recognised in the Queen’s 2018 New Year’s Honours List.

Influential Italian chef Gualtiero Marchesi dies aged 88

02-Jan-2018 By Joe Lutrario

The first Italian chef to achieve a three star rating in the country’s Michelin guide has died aged 88.

"If Wahaca launched in 2017, what would it look like?": Mark Selby and Thomasina Miers on the future of the brand

22-Dec-2017 By Sophie Witts

After a decade in business, Wahaca is going back to the drawing board.

A year in review: the hospitality sector in 2017

22-Dec-2017 By Sophie Witts

From surprise restaurant closures, new approaches to tackling the chef shortage and signs the burger boom could be going bust, 2017 was another busy year for the hospitality sector. We look back at some of the biggest stories of the last 12 months.

The big restaurant openings to watch in 2018 [updated]

22-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

It's going to be a busy first few months of 2018 in the restaurant sector. Here's a rundown of the key openings for the first half of the year.

A second Flesh & Buns is coming to Fitzrovia next year

22-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

Ramen restaurant group Bone Daddies is in talks to open a follow up to its steamed buns and Japanese drinking food restaurant Flesh & Buns.

The Le Bab team is planning a modern Middle Eastern restaurant in Covent Garden

21-Dec-2017 By Mark Wingett

The team behind Kingly Court-based gourmet kebab restaurant Le Bab is believed to be planning to launch a new venture in London’s Covent Garden next year.

Tom Kitchin to open a fourth Edinburgh restaurant next year

21-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

Michelin-starred chef Tom Kitchin is opening a new restaurant in Edinburgh next year, in the Bruntsfield area of the city.

ALMR launches hospitality diploma

21-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers has launched its diploma for the UK hospitality sector.

Korea woman: Koba chef Linda Lee on her new food venue Mee Market

21-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Korean restaurateur Linda Lee first began building her Korean empire in London in 2005, when she launched KOBA in Fitzrovia. Since then, she has built three brands (one of which operates at four sites) and this month opened Mee Market, a Korean deli and...

Madame Wong could become "a great delivery brand"

21-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

Madame Wong, the soon-to-open restaurant in Bloomberg Arcade from Andrew Wong, could have a strong delivery focus as a brand in the future, according to one of its backers.

Investor Chris Miller on brand building, Brexit and backing the best new talent

21-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

Chris Miller started consulting for restaurants in return for free food before launching venture capital business White Rabbit Fund last year. The former numbers guy for Nick Jones is now a backer of restaurants, including Island Poke and Kricket as well...

Quique Dacosta closes in on site for London paella restaurant

20-Dec-2017 By Mark Wingett

Quique Dacosta, chef-owner of the eponymous three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Denia, Spain, has lined up a first site in London for InPaella, his new premium paella concept, backed by the team behind the Iberica chain of restaurants.

Latest opening: Indian Accent

20-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

The much-anticipated London outpost of the award-winning fine dining Indian restaurant in New Delhi and New York has just opened in Mayfair. And it doesn't disappoint.

How a solo chef cooking on a domestic stove created one of Brighton's best restaurants

20-Dec-2017 By Joe Lutrario

Largely under-the-radar chef Duncan Ray cooks solo on a domestic stove but he’s hotly tipped to be the man who will finally bag a Michelin star for Brighton and Hove.

Liverpool's Silk Road is doubling up in the New Year

19-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Liverpool-based restaurant Silk Road is to open a second site in the New Year, in the city’s Beetham Plaza.

Big Brother is watching you: recruitment company launches staff tracking app

19-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Following a successful trial, a recruitment company is rolling out an app that can track the movements of temporary staff.

Acquisition of wine-bar brand gives Drake & Morgan's turnover a push

19-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Bar restaurant group Drake & Morgan has reported a significant increase in turnover compared to the previous year’s performance, driven by the acquisition of wine brand Corney & Barrow.

Dining out in digital times

18-Dec-2017 By Restaurant Magazine

Technological advances have been driving and impacting diner behaviours over the past few years with increasing significance. Restaurant magazine gathered a group of operators to discuss how diner behaviour has changed, what trends may emerge in the coming...

Honest Burgers sets up its own butchery to give it patty power

18-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

Honest Burgers is starting to roll out patties made from scratch at a number of its restaurants after investing £600,000 in setting up its own butchery.

Byron rescue deal could lead to more restaurant closures

18-Dec-2017 By Sophie Witts

The beleaguered Byron burger chain has reportedly struck a cut-price rescue deal that could see the closure of a number of sites next year.

Pieminister secures fresh funding to continue expansion drive

18-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Bristol’s Pieminister is opening three new restaurants following a £1.65m investment package from HSBC.

Chef Anna Hansen closes The Modern Pantry's Finsbury site

18-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Anna Hansen’s Finsbury Square restaurant The Modern Pantry has closed suddenly, ceasing trade on 15 December.

Kanada-Ya sets sights on Islington for Spring 2018 opening

18-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Japanese ramen restaurant Kanada-Ya will launch its third site at a north London location in Spring 2018.

Michael Wignall to leave Gidleigh Park for solo project

18-Dec-2017 By Sophie Witts

Chef Michael Wignall has announced he will leave Gidleigh Park in Devon early next year to open his own venture.

London favourite Dock Kitchen to close later this month

18-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

Stevie Parle’s Dock Kitchen in Ladbroke Grove is closing this month after eight years in business.

Meatcure burger group goes into liquidation

18-Dec-2017 By Georgi Gyton

Midlands-based burger group Meatcure has gone into voluntary liquidation, following the closure of four of its five sites earlier this year.

Friday five: The week's top news

15-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

We round up some of the top stories in the restaurant world you might have missed this week.

Rudie's is set for expansion in the New Year amid Caribbean restaurant boom

15-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Jamaican casual restaurant brand Rudie’s is doubling up in the new year, when it will open its second site in a unit at Shoreditch’s Boxpark.

Latest opening: Duddell's

15-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Since Duddell's first opened in Hong Kong's Shanghai Tang, it has become a favourite in the art world. Its first international outpost is now open, in London Bridge.

Daisy Green to hit 14 sites by 2020 as it looks to move beyond London

15-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

All-day restaurant, bar and coffee group Daisy Green Collection has set a target of reaching 14 restaurants by 2020.

Bread Ahead to open Soho cafe amid bakery sector boom

15-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Borough Market bakery brand Bread Ahead is set to launch a new bakery and café in Soho next month.

Burgers top Deliveroo's list of most-ordered dishes in 2017

15-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

The UK’s huge appetite for burgers didn’t show any signs of slowing this year, with burgers making up five of the top 10 most-ordered dishes in 2017 via online delivery service Deliveroo.

London's iteration of award winning restaurant Indian Accent is now open

14-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

The London outpost of award winning New Delhi restaurant Indian Accent opened today, on the former site of Chor Bizarre in Mayfair.

The Athenian joins an eclectic line up of Belgravia operators amid the estate's transformation

14-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Greek restaurant group The Athenian is opening its fourth London site as part of the transformation of Grovenor’s Belgravia estate.

Wahaca: "limitations on EU migration could leave us struggling to fill senior positions"

14-Dec-2017 By Sophie Witts

The founders of Wahaca have warned that limitations on EU migration after Brexit could leave the group struggling to find long-term staff to fill senior positions.

Customers will wait up to one hour for food delivery

14-Dec-2017 By James Wallin

The majority of customers are satisfied if their takeaway food delivery arrives within one hour but few are happy to wait beyond this point, MCA data has shown.

Latest opening: Wright Brothers, Battersea

13-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Oysters and grilled octopus are just a few of the options on the menu at Wright Brothers' new outpost, overlooking the Thames

Nieves Barragán Mohacho's Sabor will open January 2018

13-Dec-2017 By Sophie Witts

Chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho has confirmed that her long-awaited debut restaurant Sabor will open in London’s Mayfair at the end of January 2018.

London council threatens crackdown on restaurants using delivery apps

13-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Westminster City Council plans to crack down on restaurants that are branching out into home delivery, to prevent neighbourhood disruption.

The Kitty Fisher's team are opening a second London restaurant

13-Dec-2017 By Sophie Witts

The team behind London’s Kitty Fisher’s are to launch a new restaurant in Covent Garden next year.

Food and drink inflation to stabilise in 2018, but high costs will remain

13-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Food and drink inflation is becoming less volatile as it approaches its predicted peak but the industry will still be affected by high prices of certain commodities, says new research.

Soho House to relaunch one of London's oldest French restaurants

12-Dec-2017 By Sophie Witts

Soho House Group has confirmed it will reopen the iconic 150-year-old London restaurant Kettner’s in January 2018.

North and west London's 'best kebab restaurant' is expanding its empire

12-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Turkish grill restaurant Gökyüzü is set to open its third restaurant this month, with plans for a fourth in the pipeline.

North London neighbourhood pizzeria expands to the west

12-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Islington pizzeria Zia Lucia is doubling up, having secured a site in the west London neighbourhood of Brook Green.

Swimming into the mainstream: The Ahi Poké founders on brand expansion

12-Dec-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Hawaiian-themed restaurant Ahi Poké is opening its third site, in London’s new Bloomsberg Arcade development later this month.

On top of the world: The Black Swan at Oldstead

11-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

How did a struggling pub in the middle of nowhere get named the best restaurant in the world (according to TripAdvisor)? With blood, sweat, tears and a lot of beetroot.

Tommy Banks eyes York for a second restaurant

11-Dec-2017 By Stefan Chomka

The family behind Michelin-starred The Black Swan at Oldstead is looking to open a second, “more accessible” restaurant in York sometime in the future.

Pret A Manger is the latest high street chain heading roadside

11-Dec-2017 By Sophie Witts

Pret A Manger is to open further stores at motorway service stations across the UK after announcing a partnership with Roadchef.

Latest opening: Sorrel

08-Dec-2017 By Joe Lutrario

After a rocky year Roux Scholar Steve Drake is back in the saddle with an ambitious fine dining restaurant in Dorking, Surrey, that’s named after his favourite herb.