Hospitality news

Headlines

Joe Ghazal on his Maine restaurant in Mayfair

Maine man: Joe Ghazal on his upcoming American brasserie

The Canadian-born restaurateur will launch a huge New England-inspired restaurant in a Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse on Mayfair's Hanover Square later this year.

Latest opening: Bibi

Backed by JKS Restaurants, Chet Sharma’s eagerly awaited debut is a landmark for Subcontinental cuisine in London.

Friday five: the week's top news stories

This week's main hospitality news stories include Prezzo giving its staff a pay rise, new tipping legislation, and Italian delicatessen and restaurant brand Lina Stores' expansion in London.

Book review: Septime, La Cave, Clamato, D’une île

Bertrand Grébaut and Théophile Pourriat celebrate 10 years of their influential Paris-based natural wine restaurant Septime.

US fried chicken chain Popeyes chooses Westfield Stratford for UK debut

US fried chicken brand Popeyes will kick off its play in the UK market with the opening of its first site on these shores in London’s Westfield Stratford.

pub & bar

Dirty Martini to bring its cocktails to Bristol

Cocktail bar group Dirty Martini will open a twelfth venue later this year, in Bristol.

Hospitality staff to keep all tips under new Government legislation

Restaurants will no longer be able to take a proportion of staff tips or service charge under new plans to be set out by the Government today (24 September).

Tortilla announces plans to float and open 45 new sites

Tortilla has announced its intention to float on AIM as it looks to open around 45 new sites in the next five year.

Lina Stores to make City debut on former Kym's site

London-based Italian delicatessen and pasta restaurant brand Lina Stores is to make its City debut, opening on the Bloomberg Arcade site previously occupied by Andrew Wong's Kym's.

Carnival spirit: how The Rum Kitchen made the best of Covid-19

The Caribbean-styled bar restaurant brand has emerged from the pandemic in better shape than many of its competitors in the branded space.

Brat and Ikoyi join World's 50 Best Restaurants longlist

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has revealed its 51-100 list for 2021, ahead of its awards ceremony in Antwerp, Flanders, early next month.

Three quarters of hospitality businesses likely to raise prices as supply chain challenges intensify

Hospitality businesses face a storm of supply chain problems and rising costs with three quarters of them are likely to raise prices for consumers as a result, new research shows.

pub & bar

UK pub and bar market expected to make full recovery by 2024

The UK pub and bar market will recover to nearly two thirds of its pre-pandemic value in 2021 with a full recovery expected by 2024, according to Lumina Intelligence.

Mireille Hayek to bring Lebanese restaurant Em Sherif to London

Acclaimed chef Mireille Hayek is bringing her Lebanese restaurant concept Em Sherif to London.

Payment solution Sunday secures an additional $100m

Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux’s Sunday has secured $100 million in its latest funding round, making it one of the sector’s most heavily backed payment solutions.

Chefs Sam Edwards and Jak Doggett to open Cirencester restaurant

Chefs Sam Edwards and Jak Doggett are return to their hometown of Cirencester to open a new restaurant and bar.

Latest opening: Whitcomb’s

The flagship restaurant of the world’s first ‘super boutique hotel’ offers a luxurious menu of French Mediterranean dishes.

Chourangi to bring ‘unexplored’ flavours of Kolkata to London

India-based group Speciality Restaurants Limited is to make its UK debut early next month with a Kolkata-inspired restaurant.

Northcote's Obsession to return next year with British and Irish focus

Chefs including Matt Abe, Hrishikesh Desai, Atul Kochhar, Monica Galetti, and Nieves Barragan Mohacho will be cooking at next year’s Obsession event at Northcote.

Business confidence 'shattered' for Scotland's late-night operators as rules revealed for Covid vaccine certificates

Confidence among late-night operators in Scotland has been 'shattered' after the country's Government set out a broader-than-expected definition of what will constitute a 'nightclub' under its forthcoming vaccine certificate scheme.

How I Got Here: Duncan Edwards

The co-founder of Four Hundred Rabbits, which recently launched a new flagship location at Elephant Park in Southwark, on building his London-based sourdough pizza brand.

Government strikes deal to avert CO2 crisis

Production is to resume at one of Britain’s largest carbon dioxide plants following a Government deal designed to avoid a 'food and drink industry crisis'.

Pret plans 200 new sites in two years as it ramps up expansion

Pret A Manger is to open 200 new UK sites in the next two years as part of an aim to double the size of its estate within five years.

More than half of pub and restaurant goers willing pay a booking deposit

More than half of UK pub and restaurant goers are happy to pay a deposit to book a table, new research shows.

Iain Nicholson appointed head chef at The Machrie hotel

Iain Nicholson has been appointed as the new head chef at 18 Restaurant & Bar at The Machrie hotel on Scotland’s Isle of Islay.

Gregg Wallace teams up with Just Eat for healthy eating pilot scheme

Just Eat has teamed up with MasterChef host Gregg Wallace and nutritionist Charlotte Radcliffe to launch a healthy eating pilot scheme for restaurants.

Dirty Bones to return to Carnaby next month

New York-inspired restaurant group Dirty Bones is making a permanent return to Carnaby’s Kingly Court with the opening of a new restaurant next month.

pub & bar

Bright Pete Holdings duo to open Carmine in Streatham

Christopher Howe and Jamie Cottam-Allan will open a second venue as part of their Bright Pete Holdings pub company.

Jamie Oliver expands presence in India

The Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group and franchise partner Dolomite are set to open four more branches of Jamie Oliver’s Pizzeria in India before the end of the year.

Big Easy to open Stratford restaurant this month

Barbecue restaurant group Big Easy will open its fourth London venue at the tail-end of this month, in Stratford.

Optimism remains high but major challenges 'keep hospitality fragile'

Confidence among business leaders dipped slightly in the third quarter, according to new data from CGA and Fourth, but optimism across hospitality remains high following the summer trading period.

Megan's sets out 'ambitious growth plans'

Neighbourhood-style restaurant brand Megan's is pushing ahead with 'ambitious growth plans' with an aim to reach 22 sites in total by the end of 2022.

Government has '10 days' to fix CO2 crisis

Pig and poultry production could collapse within a week, with the Food and Drink Federation's chief executive warning that the Government has '10 days' to fix the current CO2 crisis.

PizzaExpress launches vegan pop-up

PizzaExpress has converted its London Aldwych restaurant on The Strand into a vegan pop-up.

The Lexicon signs three new operators

Berkshire’s The Lexicon shopping destination has signed three new F&B operators: Korean-Japanese takeaway Kokoro, Gail’s Bakery and bubble tea brand Yi Fang.

Prezzo ups wages amid recruitment struggle

Casual dining brand Prezzo is the latest hospitality operator to announce a pay increase for staff, as businesses continue to struggle with recruitment.

Kitchen culture needs to change: here’s how

Three #FairKitchens ambassadors on what can be done to enhance working conditions in hospitality, and help ease the skills crisis.

Three ways to preserve the value of your premises licence

What restaurant and bar operators need to consider when looking to preserve the value their premises licence.

Lina Stores lines up former The Dairy site for third London opening

Italian delicatessen and restaurant brand Lina Stores has taken over the Clapham sites previously home to Robin Gill's seminal Clapham restaurants The Dairy and Counter Culture.

Legislation to be introduced to ban hospitality operators from keeping staff tips

The Government is set to bring forward legislation this week that will ban restaurants and pubs from keeping tips meant for staff.

Flash-grilled: Santiago Lastra

The chef patron of Kol in London's Marylebone, which was named Best New Restaurant in Europe this week by La Liste, reflects on his career to date.

Experiences offer a way to make memories and money

Across the country, diners are returning excited to make reservations again. They have a whole year of missed special occasions and get-togethers to catch up on and they are ready to celebrate, indoors and outdoors.

Latest opening: Pizzeria Mozza

Nancy Silverton's celebrated LA pizza restaurant has touched down in London.

Wales to introduce NHS Covid passes for nightclubs and large events

People in Wales will have to show an NHS Covid Pass to enter nightclubs and attend large events from next month, First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced

Friday Five: the week's top news

This week's main hospitality news stories include a U-turn on 'vaccine passports' in England, Jamie Oliver eyeing a return to restaurants, and Noma finally being awarded three Michelin stars.