Casual Dining

Draft House and Bennett’s appointments

16-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

Charlie McVeigh’s Draft House has appointed a new operations director to oversee its three existing venues in London and future openings.

Restaurants and pubs forced to close by Victoria redevelopment

16-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

A project to redevelop the area around London’s Victoria Station will force a number of hospitality venues to close down as land is claimed for new developments.

The Harp named first London National Pub of the Year

16-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

The Harp in Covent Garden has become the first London pub to be named National Pub of the Year by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

Hartnett, Jones and Ibrahim lead in search for hospitality’s top women

15-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Chef Angela Hartnett, CH&Co founder Robyn Jones and BHA chief executive Ufi Ibrahim all stand to be voted amongst the hospitality industry’s most influential women through a new initiative launched by Women 1st.

ACA announces 2011 Excellence Awards semi-finalists

15-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

The Academy of Culinary Arts has announced the kitchen, pastry and service semi-finalists in its 2011 Annual Awards of Excellence.

Extended opening hours for Royal Wedding

14-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The government intends to grant extended opening hours to restaurants and pubs during the Royal Wedding, allowing venues in England and Wales to serve food and alcohol until 1am on the festive weekend.

Breakfast: Expanding your offering in pubs

14-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

With some of the biggest high street pub brands moving into the breakfast market, BigHospitality takes a look at why early morning trade makes sense – for some pubs.

Quarter of operators fail to upsell wines

14-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

A quarter of hospitality operators are missing out on potential revenue by failing to encourage their staff to upsell wines, research has found.

Ask the Experts: Preparing for the 2012 Games Part I

14-Feb-2011

The eyes of the world will be on the capital as London hosts global events in 2012 and in the run-up to the 2012 Games. Vince Fihosy, Director of London 2012 City Operations, tells BigHospitality readers how the hospitality sector should prepare for the...

Royal Wedding at Copthorne Hotel and anniversary celebrations at Cinnamon Club

11-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

Restaurants, pubs and hotels including Copthorne Hotel Merry-Hill Dudley and The Cinnamon Club, tell us what promotions they’re running to attract customers.

Pearls of Wisdom: Ronan Sayburn

11-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

The Master Sommelier has been Hotel du Vin’s director of wine for 15 months, and previously oversaw the wine offer at Gordon Ramsay Holdings for eight years. He recently appeared on Michel Roux’s Service programme for BBC2, and is now concentrating on...

Be wary of Olympics ‘displacement effect’, warns Minister

11-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The Minister of Tourism John Penrose has warned the hospitality sector to be wary of a ‘displacement effect’ that could be caused by the Olympics, saying it is crucial to treat the event as the hors d’oeuvre rather than the main course if the UK is to...

Australian coffee house to open 50 venues in UK

11-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

The first of 50 planned Australian coffee houses has opened in Liverpool, as part of a £12.5m investment by Green Cauldron Coffee to break into the UK market.

VisitBritain forced to withdraw marketing from 14 countries

10-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

VisitBritain is withdrawing its marketing campaign from 14 countries and cutting 70 jobs in reaction to the Government spending cuts in October last year.

Banks pledge to increase lending to small businesses

10-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

The UK’s biggest banks have agreed to increase lending to SMEs by 15 per cent, as part of the government’s Project Merlin initiative.

Bistro du Vin to launch at old Eastside Inn site

09-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

Hotel du Vin is to launch its first standalone Bistro du Vin concept on the former site of Bjorn van der Horst’s Eastside Inn in Clerkenwell in April.

How to use apprenticeships to drive hospitality business

08-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

People 1st has launched an apprenticeship strategy aimed at helping hospitality businesses meet their staff needs and improving the long-term performance of the sector.

The Playboy Club returns with executive chef Judy Joo

08-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

The Playboy Club, which left London’s Park Lane in 1981, is to return to Mayfair this summer with Iron Chef and Market Kitchen regular Judy Joo executive head chef.

Breakfast: Can you afford to miss out?

07-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

Hotels have benefited from the breakfast opportunity for years, but with the economic downturn biting at the heels of many hospitality businesses, restaurant and pub operators are now waking up to the potential revenue provided by early morning service...

Businesses urged to enter 2012 events into London diary

04-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Hospitality operators planning special events for the London Olympic Games next year are being urged to enter their events into a Culture Diary set up by the city to ensure better planning and communication of all activities.

Art at The Butchers Arms and collagen menu at Gilgamesh

04-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

Restaurants, pubs and hotels including The Butchers Arms in Hepworth and Gilgamesh in Camden, tell us what promotions they’re running to attract customers.

Hoteliers launch campaign for hospitality VAT of 5%

02-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The head of budget hotel group Travelodge is leading a campaign to reduce VAT for the hospitality sector to 5 per cent ahead of the London Olympics.

Highlight healthier menu options before calorie counting, says expert

02-Feb-2011 By Becky Paskin

Restaurants should add a “healthy eating” section to menus before fully calorie counting every dish, an expert has advised.

Pret A Manger remains most admired brand

01-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Pret A Manger and McDonald’s are the UK’s most admired food and beverage brands by people in the industry, according to a new survey released today.

Risks to UK tourism threaten Olympics legacy, warns BHA

01-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The UK tourism and hospitality sectors stand to lose out on the full benefits of the Olympic Games if the country does not address a number of major obstacles it faces, the chief executive of the British Hospitality Association told industry leaders yesterday.

Food Trends 2011: Dining Trends

31-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

Vouchers and discounts have meant big business for restaurants over the last year, but with consumers increasingly looking for value in more than just their wallets, and with warnings that vouchers could permanently damage brands, restaurants will need...

YO! Sushi becomes first restaurant chain to join Facebook Deals

31-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

YO! Sushi has been selected as the only restaurant group to participate in the launch of Facebook Deals, a new way for organisations to reward users that “check in” with Facebook Places.

Ask the Experts: What’s the best way to launch a social media campaign?

31-Jan-2011

Simon Beck, business development director at PR consultancy Hills Balfour, answers one reader's question on launching a social media campaign.

Salon Culinaire 2011 Results: Live Theatre

28-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

The Hospitality Show once again returned to the NEC Birmingham this week, bringing with it the Salon Culinaire 2011.

Salon Culinaire 2011 Results: Salon Display

27-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

The results of the Salon Culinaire Salon Display competitions, in which hoards of chefs and patissiers strived to create platters, sculptures and decorative foods, have been announced.

Diageo bags bars for draught cocktail

26-Jan-2011 By Robyn Black

Diageo is trialling its first draught cocktail in the UK under its Smirnoff brand.

Arena’s Savoy Lecture resumes with Compass chief exec

26-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The hospitality networking group Arena is re-launching its annual Savoy Lecture event, which will kick off this year with a talk by Richard Cousins, group chief executive at Compass.

‘Waspinator’ designed to keep wasps out of pub gardens

26-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

An ecologically-friendly fake wasps’ nest is being promoted to pubs and bars with outdoor areas as an alternative way to ensure their premises are wasp-free in the summer months

Food trends 2011: Top ingredients

24-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

BigHospitality brings you an exclusive insight into which ingredients will be top of the agenda for some of the UK’s top chefs this year.

Boutique hotel The Lazy Cow set for aggressive expansion

21-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The pub and restaurant operator Urban & Country Leisure is scrapping plans to invest in country pubs this year, and will instead pump its funds into expanding its successful Lazy Cow boutique hotel and restaurant brand.

Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu, and Valentine’s house party at Ackergill Tower

21-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

Restaurants, pubs and hotels including Nobu Park Lane and Ackergill Tower, tell us what promotions they’re running to attract customers this Valentine’s Day.

Hospitality property prices stabilise as buyer confidence returns

19-Jan-2011

Restaurant, hotel and pub property prices have stabilised over the past year, although the restaurants sector was the only one of the three to show any significant increase in average prices, according to Christie + Co.

Go back to basics to regain Michelin stars, says guide director

19-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Restaurants that have been stripped of their Michelin stars – or those that didn’t quite make it into the guide this year – should go back to the basics and refocus on their customers, says the director of the Michelin Guides.

Cougar Leisure goes into administration

18-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

Bar and club operator Cougar Leisure is marketing six of its venues in the north of England after going into administration last week.

Below-cost alcohol ban “won’t impact supermarkets”

18-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

The Government has announced a ban on the sale of alcohol below the rate of duty plus VAT – allowing supermarkets to sell beer for just 47p per pint.

Cater for disabled customers or lose out on Olympics revenue

18-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

Hospitality businesses that don’t cater for disabled customers are setting themselves up to lose out on potential revenue during the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics.

Restaurant and pub sales plummet in December

17-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

Pub and restaurant operators have seen sales plummet in December compared to last year, after the heavy snow encouraged consumers to stay indoors at home.

Ask the Experts: How can small businesses overcome online marketing barriers?

17-Jan-2011

Paul West, managing director of marketing experts Ignite Hospitality, answers one readers question on how a small business can develop an online marketing presence.

Food trends 2011: Popular flavours and food pairings

17-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

In the second week of BigHospitality’s food trend feature, some of the country’s top chefs tell us which popular flavours and food pairings they think will be big in 2011.

Film Club at The May Fair, and live music for Getti

14-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

Restaurants, pubs and hotels, including the May Fair Hotel and Getti, tell us what promotions they’re running to attract customers.

Heron gets go ahead for Four Seasons London hotel build

12-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

Property group Heron International has secured planning permission for a £500m central London residential and retail development, which will house the fourth Four Seasons Hotel in the UK.

Pubs to get Royal Wedding late license extension

12-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

Ministers are expected to allow pubs in England and Wales to stay open for longer for two nights of the Royal Wedding weekend, in a bid to boost tourism.

BHA highlights hospitality’s potential following jobs summit

11-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

As some of the UK’s leading businesses yesterday pledged to create more jobs over the coming year, the British Hospitality Association (BHA) again highlighted the importance of the hospitality industry in generating employment.

Claridges and Crown Group appointments

11-Jan-2011 By Becky Paskin

Claridges promotes a new general manager, while Crown Restaurants & Hotels appoints a new GM to replace current Restaurant Manager of the Year David Hennigan

Bathhouse to launch smaller ‘decadent retreat’ in London

07-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The owners of a converted Victorian bathhouse near London’s Liverpool Street are preparing to take their decadent dining and entertainment concept to a smaller site on Stoke Newington’s Church Street.