Tragus, owned by Blackstone, has bought Ma Potters restaurant company, which includes the Ma Potters Bar Restaurant and Chargrill brands, for £14.15m. The 16 UK sites are predominantly in shopping centres and have an average of 100 covers per ...
Why the Boisdale has decided to bottle its very own series of limited edition single malts I felt like I had finally made it. To my right was sitting a beautiful columnist from Wallpaper, to my left was the editor of Whisky Magazine. Other guests ...
Collaboration breaks down, but another site is in his sights Alan Yau, owner of the UK's Hakkasan and Yauatcha in London, is no longer to open a Chinese restaurant – Park Chinois – at hotelier Ian Schrager's New Gramercy Park ...
What is it? The longest-standing French restaurant in London, dating back to the early 40s when Charles de Gaulle came here during the war. Who owns it? Tricolor-flying, moustache-twizzling, 65-year-old Alain Lhermitte . The dashing Frenchman arrived...
London Brasseries, the company set up founder Andrew Bonnell, former Managing Director of Tootsies, is to open its third site in as many months, at the Gunwharf Quays' Land Securities £200m mixed-use development on Portsmouth Harbour ...
Vernes Restaurant and Tea Rooms on the riverside of the Cotswold's Bourton-on-the- Water has been sold for an undisclosed sum after offers in the region of £89,950 were sought for the new lease. The stone property includes a 60-cover ...
Meanwhile, property agents Colliers Robert Barry orchestrated the sale of The Daffodil restaurant in Cheltenham. The brasserie-style venue, which used to be an Art Deco cinema, has been bought by Mark Stephens who was responsible for the site's ...
What is it? A Leeds-institution, this Italian has seen three new looks and homes since 1974. Who owns it? Oliver Teodorani set up the original Bibis in Mill Hill in partnership with Dino Aristotelous. He opened a second Bibis in York in 1979 (sold in...
The highs and lows of energy costs vs energy savings, and some balancing incentives With energy prices at an all-time high, it is becoming increasingly important for restaurants to take a closer look at their energy-saving methods and technologies. ...
While most restaurants feverishly run to stand still, some travel at a more sedate pace and keep well ahead of the field Oversized pepper mills, napkins folded like sail boats, dessert trolleys and lacy doilies… welcome to the retro world of ...
How one restaurant has set the record straight A libel verdict in the Northern Ireland High Court earlier this month may help to give reviewers pause for thought and affronted restaurateurs greater confidence in setting the record straight. In August...
What is it? The glitzy Art Deco-style jewel in the crown of Cardiff-based restaurant group Le Monde, which includes La Brasserie, Shampers and, most recently, Le Monde Bristol. Who owns it? It all started with Galician-style steak restaurant ...
Eternal sunshine is always on our minds these days, whether it's concern about climate change or dreaming about dining alfresco – but it's where you sit that counts If there's one benefit to global warming, it may be that this ...
Molehill made out of a mountain Le Mont restaurant, situated on the top of the Urbis building in Manchester, has closed, making it the second of the city's fine-dining restaurants to close in as many months. The restaurant opened in 2002 and, ...
Fay Maschler digests the new-look Red guide to London and is struck by its methods and its madness Derek Bulmer, Editor of Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2007, has been quoted – in this very magazine – as saying that ...
Tom Aikens' bijou Chelsea empire is set to expand this summer with a new eco-friendly fish and chip shop Tom Aikens is opening a fish and chip restaurant and takeaway in the same area as his two other restaurants in Chelsea in the late summer. ...
Mike Lucy, founder of Company of Cooks and Caper Green companies, has agreed terms to open the Riverside Terrace Café and eight bars in the renovated Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank at the end of May. Under the Company of Cooks ..
Here comes Robomoji – praise the Lord and pass the peanuts Robomoji looms over the competition, a robotic machine sporting chain belts, wicked saw-tooth gears and a vice-like appendage that looks ready to break a few bones. Is this an iron ...
Wizzy Korean restaurant, which opened in London SW6 to great acclaim in spring 2005, has closed, with the site up for lease. Its owner was Hwi Shim, who had previously worked at Hakkasan and Nobu. Harding Chartered Surveyors said it had closed about ..
It's not every day that restaurants open to more or less rave reviews, particularly when the chef is not that well known outside the ranks of professionals and foodies. Theo Randall at the Intercontinental has done just that. Long time Head Chef...
You don't need a big kitchen to produce great food, but you do need to be organised. That's the message from chefs who work wonders in small spaces When it comes to kitchens, it's true that size doesn't matter, it's what you do...
Going all the way to please your guests is a must when it comes to giving exceptional service Service is second nature to the hospitality industry, going out of your way for your guests should be par for the course. Enzo Cassini, General Manager at ...
When buying or selling a restaurant as a going concern the process can be riddled with potential pitfalls. So how can restaurateurs be sure they are making the right decision and ensure they get the best deal? Reasons to buy include: to increase ...
Ian Pengelley, Executive Chef at Gilgamesh in Camden, London, gives us the lowdown on his epic search for kitchen equipment Ian Pengelley was not exactly the envy of chefs everywhere when he took on the kitchen at Camden's mighty 365-capacity ...
They're all at it when it comes to whisky – so what's the best of the rest? Remember booze cruises (at least, in principle)? Here's one with a destination other than oblivion. We've looked beyond Scotland, Ireland and the USA to .
How to prepare for the environmental legislation coming into force in July The WEEE directive, which stands for waste of electrical and electronic equipment and deals with how electrical appliances are disposed of at the end of their lives, will come...
Reading In.gredienti, the self-published cookbook from Chef Massimiliano Alajmo and his brother Raffaele, of Restaurant Le Calandre, near Padova in northern Italy, you get an insight not only into a great chef's food and recipes, but into his ...
Rainer Becker and Arjun Waney on how they plan to keep the quality high and get the staff in place as they get ready to take Roka and Zuma worldwide Rainer Becker has probably thanked his hairdresser more than a few times. I'm not talking about ...
Sod the sarnies and have an affaire to remember The Spiel: ;Sweet to savoury crêpes with ingredients that are natural and healthy for people on the go.; says Managing Director Daniel Spinath. Which means? The crêpes are baked ...
Toss the old '70s carcass aside for a sharp new-wave carvery When the news broke that Posh Spice had taken her kids to a Toby Carvery for lunch, the nation gasped. Surely even La Beckham's blessing couldn't save these '70s throwbacks?...
First in a new series that assesses a new concept's potential The Spiel: ;A contemporary twist on the traditional East End pie and mash shop.; Which means? Customers construct their meals from a selection of mashes, sausages or pies, ...
Two years after the contracts were signed, ‘London’s first truly modern Brazilian’ is here. When Mocotó opened its doors last week in the site that formerly housed Oliver Peyton's Isola, owner David Ponté, founder ...
Boutique bowling operator All Star Leisure is to open two more bowling alleys with upmarket American diners. All Star Lanes opened in Bloomsbury, last year, headed up by Charles and Adam Breeden of The Lonsdale restaurant in Notting Hill and co-owner...
The Chef: Giorgio Locatelli Chef/Patron Locanda Locatelli, London W1. The Kit: Ultimate combined pasta machine (with sheeter, cutter) • 95 x 45 x 90cm • 104kg • £5,000 + VAT The sales spiel ;Modula is the ultimate ...
Jean-Luc Naret is the public face of Michelin and the man navigating Les Guides Rouges into the 21st century Jean-Luc Naret has the perfect poker face. Sat in the lounge of Lanesborough hotel, the week before the announcement of this year's Great...
Less is now more at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons. Chef patron Raymond Blanc has slashed the number of dishes on offer from 31 to 23 and put up prices. Following a two-year study, Blanc has cut the à la carte menu to nine choices, introduced ..
Santa Maria del Buen Ayre is an amazing success story, so how about the sequel? I first met Alberto Abbate, manager and co-owner of Santa Maria del Buen Ayre, in December 2004, a week before he was due to open his first restaurant in Hackney's ...
This seems an odd time to be thinking about wine. The papers are full of bogus detox diets, everyone is talking about ‘taking it easy', and customers have credit card debts to meet, so this month I have decided to highlight a few wines that .
How the right soundtrack can set the tills ringing The Performing Rights Society (PRS) has just released a report outlining the benefits of music in restaurants, as part of an awareness campaign to highlight obligations regarding music licensing. ...
The crazy cocktail classes that can pull punters into your restaurant I'm not the most well coordinated person you're likely to meet, so the thought of trying to make cocktails, especially in the company of several London media ladies, ...
Don't trust to providence, provide for yourself If you are a restaurant owner, fit and well with a bustling business, a pension may be the last thing on your mind. After all, your business is your pension, right? Well, maybe, but to ensure you ...
Will Ricker has perfected the pan Asian restaurant formula. Buit with a new venture open and another coming, quality remains his mantra. Will Ricker, godfather of Pan Asian London restaurants, has been a bit quiet of late. The 44 year old Australian ..
Pourcel brothers pull out of Pulze partnership deal at 11th hour The Pourcel brothers have pulled out of the partnership deal with Claudio Pulze to take over ailing fine dining French restaurant W'Sens and turn it into a more mid-market concept....
To win the battle against bacteria, scrub your staff daily and make sure their habits are clean The chef wipes his nose with his hand and then dips a soiled finger into the sauce to taste it. The waiter bringing the starters to the table has an ...
It’s time to sort out the inconsistencies surrounding service charge in the uk. That’s our mission for 2007 and we need you to lead the debate. By 2008 we hope to have a solution that suits everybody.
Late nights, tempers frayed, nerves a-jangle – you can't imagine just how many times harmony has been restored in this office over an order of pizza from our local Strada. Sometimes it's the only thing that's brought us back from ...
To help restaurateurs save money and the planet, free workshops are available from the LDA Being energy efficient and minimising waste is not just about benefiting the environment, it is also a great way to save restaurateurs money and improve ...
Hamish Anderson on his artful development of the Tat's prestigious wine collection The Tate Gallery opened on the site of Millbank Penitentiary in London in 1897. Officially named the National Gallery of British Art, it quickly became known as ...
After a dismal season there's loose talk of an Indian summer, but as I write, it's too soon to say for sure. So in a spirit of optimism, let's consider some wines that will suit a warmish autumn before we start to think of the kind of ...
Knowing about good food and having great presentation skills simply isn't enough if you're thinking about jacking in the day job to become a restaurateur say first-timers You're sociable. You give dinner parties. You have ‘mine ...
