QSR & Street Food

The Lowdown: Fast food fakeaways and restaurant recreations

16-Apr-2020 By James McAllister

With restaurants expected to be closed for the foreseeable future, chefs and operators have begun publishing recipe tutorials showing how to make some of their signature dishes at home.

Telling Whoppers? Burger King ads banned

15-Apr-2020 By Joe Lutrario

Burger King’s Rebel Whopper adverts have been banned for suggesting the burgers - which are cooked on the same grill used for meat and contain mayonnaise made with egg - are suitable for vegans.

KFC reopens 11 restaurants for delivery only

15-Apr-2020 By Finn Scott-Delany

KFC has reopened a number of its restaurants for delivery only, with further reopenings planned in the coming weeks.

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Caterers must adopt a model that has affordable food at its heart

02-Apr-2020 By Mark Laurie

The game has changed, the economy has changed, and the needs of the population have shifted immeasurably. Catering businesses that understand and support that shift will become vital to their communities during and after this crisis

Future of street food traders in doubt as 70% fear they will go under

31-Mar-2020 By Restaurant

Almost 70% of mobile catering, festival and street food traders believe their businesses will close permanently as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, according to the trade body that represents the sector.

Eat announces permanent closure of UK business (updated)

24-Mar-2020 By James McAllister

High street sandwich chain Eat has permanently closed its doors in the UK after 24 years.

Wandsworth’s StreetCube declared ‘official emergency food solution’

17-Mar-2020 By Joe Lutrario

Sustainable-minded street food project StreetCube has declared itself an ‘official emergency food solution’ for people in the Wandsworth area.

Good To Go secures second site

10-Mar-2020 By James McAllister

Plant based grab-and-go concept Good To Go is to open a second London outpost on Charing Cross Road later this month.

Latest opening: Hankies Haymarket

06-Mar-2020 By James McAllister

Indian street food restaurant Hankies has opened its third London site no more than a roti’s throw away from Trafalgar Square.

TÁ TÁ Eatery and TŌU founders looking to further develop katsu sando concept

04-Mar-2020 By James McAllister

Popular pop up TÁ TÁ Eatery is to end its residency at Tayēr + Elementary in Shoreditch this month, with founders Ana Gonçalves and Zijun Meng looking to take the opportunity to further develop their spin-off katsu sando concept TŌU.

How I Got Here: Christa Bloom-Burrows

04-Mar-2020 By James McAllister

Christa Bloom-Burrows co-founded jackfruit-based vegan fast food brand Biff’s Kitchen with her husband, the eponymous Biff.

Pure to open first airport location

28-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

Health-focused grab and go brand Pure is to launch its first airport site at Gatwick’s North Terminal next month.

Market Halls CEO: "We expect a churn in traders"

27-Feb-2020 By Sophie Witts

The chief executive of Market Halls says there are “around 300” food traders who are keen to open in the schemes.

Hankies opens third London restaurant

25-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

Indian street food and roti restaurant Hankies is opening its third London location close to Haymarket on Suffolk Place today (25 February).

Omurice restaurant Buy & Bite secures third London site

25-Feb-2020 By Sophie Witts

Japanese grab and go restaurant Buy & Bite has secured its third London site, in Fitzrovia.

Chick 'n' Sours to convert Islington restaurant to CHIK’N concept

24-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

David Wolanksi and Carl Clarke are to convert their Chick 'n' Sours site on Upper Street in London’s Islington to their quick-service spinoff concept CHIK’N.

Meet the Roti King

24-Feb-2020 By Hilary Armstrong

Kalpana Sugendran Sugendran has overcome a number of setbacks to bring the food of Malaysia – in particular the roti canai – to London. Now with a standalone restaurant and two Market Halls locations, and with more in the pipeline, the roti king is on...

Island Poké to ramp up international expansion with 40 sites planned

20-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

Island Poké is to more than double its estate this year as it pushes forwards with plans to expand the concept internationally.

Bulgarian chain Happy to open in London

19-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

Bulgarian-based bar and grill brand Happy is to open its first UK outpost on the former TGI Fridays site in London’s Piccadilly Circus next week.

Bundobust confirms it will open 150-cover restaurant and brewery in Manchester

13-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

Gujarati street food and craft beer concept Bundobust has given more details about the launch of its second Manchester location, due to open later in the spring

Market Halls co-founder Simon Anderson to leave the business

13-Feb-2020 By Stefan Chomka

Simon Anderson is to leave his role as chief creative officer of Market Halls after helping found the business back in 2018.

Itsu plans to open 100 new restaurants by 2025

12-Feb-2020 By Sophie Witts

Itsu is planning to open 100 new restaurants in the UK and overseas over the next five years.

UK food to go market to reach £21.7bn value in 2020

11-Feb-2020 By Sophie Witts

The UK food to go market is set to grow by 2.7% in 2020 to reach a value of £21.7bn, according to research from insight agencies MCA and HIM.

Humpit Hummus to triple its estate in five years

11-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

Hummus and pita bar concept Humpit is planning to open a further 30 sites across the UK and beyond in the next five years.

Flower Burger planning UK roll out

10-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

A Milan-based vegan burger chain has signed a master franchise agreement to bring the brand to the UK with a view to opening more than 40 sites.

King Cook to build CookDaily franchise model following restaurant closure

05-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

CookDaily has closed its bricks and mortar restaurant in London Fields, with its founder saying he now plans to create a franchise-ready model for the vegan concept.

Mowgli set for first Scottish opening

05-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

Indian street food restaurant group Mowgli is to open its first location north of the border at the tail end of the year, having secured a site in Edinburgh.

The Flank duo on burgers, Market Halls and going permanent

04-Feb-2020 By Finn Scott-Delany

From pub pop-up origins, Flank has gone through various iterations since arriving in London. Directors Tom Griffiths and Ben Rowland discuss developing a more commercial edge at the business, while keeping in touch with their founding ethos.

Dirty Bones to grow plant-based offering following launch of first Dirty Vegan site

03-Feb-2020 By James McAllister

New York-inspired restaurant group Dirty Bones is to broaden its Dirty Vegan spinoff by converting its Soho site to the concept every Monday from next week (10 February).

Million Pound Menu’s Baba G’s closes bricks and mortar restaurant

27-Jan-2020 By Sophie Witts

Baba G’s, the street food trader which won an episode of the BBC's Million Pound Menu, has closed its first bricks and mortar restaurant after less than a year.

Wulf & Lamb to open second site

23-Jan-2020 By James McAllister

Fast casual vegan restaurant Wulf & Lamb has secured a second London location on Chiltern Street in Marylebone that's set to open next month.

Tamarind Tiger launches in Marylebone

21-Jan-2020 By Finn Scott-Delany and James McAllister

Indian food service corporation K Hospitality has opened a fast-casual takeaway concept in London’s Marylebone.

Crussh CEO steps down

15-Jan-2020 By Sophie Witts

The CEO of the Crussh health food and juice chain is to step down ahead of the ‘next phase of development’ for the company.

Shopping centre 'sorry' to see Market Halls site close

09-Jan-2020 By Sophie Witts

The intu Lakeside shopping centre in Essex has insisted its £72m leisure extension is performing well despite Market Halls pulling out of the scheme.

James Cochran's GOAT site at Croydon Boxpark has closed

09-Jan-2020 By James McAllister

The first permanent location for chef James Cochran's GOAT street food venture has closed less than six months after opening.

HộP Vietnamese launches crowdfunding campaign

07-Jan-2020 By Joe Lutrario

City of London-based fast casual chain HộP Vietnamese has launched a public crowdfunding campaign after raising more than £830,000 from existing investors and customers.

Market Halls closes Essex site after less than six months

07-Jan-2020 By Sophie Witts

Market Halls has closed its site at the intu Lakeside shopping centre in Essex after less than six months of trading.

SushiDog to open in Covent Garden

06-Jan-2020 By Sophie Witts

Sushi roll concept SushiDog is to open its first bricks and mortar restaurant in London’s Covent Garden this spring.

Sugo launches crowdfund with aim to create Italian street food chain

03-Jan-2020 By Sophie Witts

Italian street food trader Sugo has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the opening of its first bricks and mortar restaurant in London.

Itsu sets 'future direction' with overhauled menu and store design

20-Dec-2019 By Sophie Witts

Itsu is the latest restaurant chain to overhaul its offer, pivoting away from sushi towards hot food and introducing self-service screens.

Wahlburgers to introduce menu and concept changes at London site

17-Dec-2019 By James McAllister

US burger and bar chain Wahlburgers looks set to overhaul its menu and introduce ‘concept changes’ at its London restaurant in Covent Garden, six months after opening.

McDonald's to launch ‘fully vegan’ meal

11-Dec-2019 By James McAllister

McDonald's is to introduce a Veggie Dippers option onto its UK menus in the new year in what’s being dubbed the fast food chain’s first ‘fully vegan’ meal.

Chilango confirms CVA proposal to secure its future

10-Dec-2019 By Sophie Witts

Burrito chain Chilango has confirmed it is proposing to enter in to a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in a bid to save the business.

Polish restaurant chain North Fish lands first UK site

06-Dec-2019 By Sophie Witts

Polish restaurant chain North Fish has lined up its first UK site, in Birmingham.

Five Guys marks launch of 100th UK store with new breakfast menu

03-Dec-2019 By Stefan Chomka

US burger chain Five Guys is opening its 100th restaurant in the UK next week, in the capital.

Wagamama opens Mamago spin-off restaurant

26-Nov-2019 By Sophie Witts

Wagamama has opened its spin-off restaurant brand Mamago in the City of London today (26 November).

YO! to open sushi counters in 50 Tesco stores

26-Nov-2019 By Sophie Witts

Japanese restaurant group YO! says it is on track to roll out sushi counters in to 50 Tesco stores nationwide.

Olive+squash opens second site

25-Nov-2019 By James McAllister

‘Sustainable’ lunch-focused brand olive+squash has opened its second London location in Holborn’s New Street Square.

Breddos Tacos to open within King's Cross food hall

25-Nov-2019 By James McAllister

Breddos Tacos has secured a site within a new food hall that’s backed by Ben Lovett, a founding member of the band Mumford & Sons.

Tom Brooke to double up on Burra Khana

22-Nov-2019 By Georgi Gyton

Red Dog Saloon founder Tom Brooke is to open a second site under his modern Indian street food concept Burra Khana, in Liverpool, and also has plans to tweak the offer at Red Dog Soho, BigHospitality’s sister site MCA reports.