QSR & Street Food

The Barbican re-launching restaurants and catering services

25-Mar-2015 By Sophie Witts

The Barbican Centre has announced new catering contracts with Searcy’s and high street brand Benugo. 

Whaam Bánh Mì restaurant founder plans 10 sites

11-Mar-2015 By Emma Eversham

Tom Barlow, the founder of new Vietnamese restaurant brand Whaam Bánh Mì, plans to roll the concept out to 10 sites over the next few years following its launch in Soho next month. 

The Mac Factory begins London expansion with Covent Garden pop up

02-Mar-2015 By Sophie Witts

Street food concept The Mac Factory is opening a weekly pop up at Covent Garden based Earlham Street Clubhouse, and plans to open a permanent site later this year.

Restaurant trends for 2015

07-Jan-2015 By Stefan Chomka & Joe Lutrario

Fast fine food, shawarma with drama, rotisseried vegetables and the return of the plate: Restaurant magazine predicts what’s on the menu for 2015.

Twelve restaurants confirmed for Manchester Corn Exchange

10-Nov-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Wahaca, Vapiano, Cabana and Pho are among the operators to have secured sites at new restaurant and café hub the Manchester Corn Exchange, with 12 of the building's units now filled.

Domino's and PizzaExpress lead Youth100 list

07-Nov-2014 By Mark Wingett

Domino’s Pizza has topped the fast food and restaurant category in this year’s Youth 100 List: which highlights the UK’s top brands according to 18-24 year olds.

Obesity experts call for crack down on eating out sector

13-Oct-2014 By Carina Perkins

Health experts have called for tough new pressures on fast food outlets and restaurant chains to tackle the obesity epidemic in the UK.

Friska plans national roll-out following £1.25m investment

06-Oct-2014 By Carina Perkins

Healthy fast-food chain Friska has revealed plans to open 10 new sites in Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester after raising £1.25m in funding.

'Informed but informal' dominates dining trends

29-Sep-2014 By Melodie Michel

The increase in eating out and higher customer expectations are driving the continued growth of ‘informed but informal’ dining experiences.

Starbucks unveils POD tie-in

24-Sep-2014 By John Harrington

Starbucks has announced a tie-in with POD, the healthy fast food concept, to sell selected items from its breakfast and lunch ranges at three Starbucks stores in central London under a trial period from Thursday (25 September).

Customers more satisfied with fast food than full-service restaurants

11-Sep-2014 By Carina Perkins

Quick-service restaurants are outperforming full-service restaurants in terms of customer satisfaction for the first time, according to the latest National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI-UK).

Battersea Power Station to become collective food hub

09-Sep-2014 By Melodie Michel

Battersea Power Station will welcome an eclectic mix of local and international street food vendors, pop-ups and permanent restaurants from 2016.

Mile High creators launch long-term pop-up space Carousel

08-Aug-2014 By Melodie Michel

Shuttlecock Inc, the company behind pop-up event range Mile High, has taken on a five-year lease on a three-storey Marylebone property which will host a variety of pop-ups and chef residencies.

Pizza Pilgrims expands offering for new site

26-Jun-2014 By Melodie Michel

Street food vendors turned restaurateurs Thom and James Elliot are expanding their food, drinks and entertainment offering for their new site, opening in Kingly Court in late July.

Design: Restaurant design trends for 2014

23-Jun-2014 By Carina Perkins

In the first part of our special feature, we look at how restaurant design is finally moving away from American-inspired industrial chic and reflect on the next big trends for 2014.

Casual dining restaurants see continued growth

17-Jun-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Foodservice industry figures from global information company The NPD Group show that casual dining establishments have attracted an extra 47m visits each year in comparison to five years ago.

ISD Solutions extends cold storage range for hospitality sector

16-Jun-2014 By Lauren Houghton

ISD solutions is expanding its offering of energy efficient modular walk in cold and freezer rooms for the hospitality sector.

Burgers and coffee shops lead strong 2013 chain performance

11-Jun-2014 By Melodie Michel

Burger, coffee shops and Italian/pizza were the menu categories that registered the greatest sales among the 100 largest UK chains in 2013, according to data released by Technomic.

Kerbisher & Malt to open fourth site with further expansion imminent

30-May-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Modern British fish and chip shop Kerbisher & Malt is opening its fourth London site in Clapham at the beginning of June, with plans to expand further before the year is out.

Street food consumption on the up

20-May-2014 By Melodie Michel

The street food market is set to keep growing as 47 per cent of consumers plan to eat more of it in the next year, according to research conducted by Allegra Foodservice for ingredients supplier Santa Maria.

Taking it to the streets: UK dining scene democratised by street food

16-May-2014 By Carina Perkins

Street food is democratising the UK dining scene and driving some of the hottest new restaurant openings in London and beyond, according to journalist and author Richard Johnson.

Square Pie launches first foodservice wholesale range: Canapies

08-May-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Operator of five fast casual restaurants in London Square Pie has launched Canapies, miniature pies for foodservice wholesale. 

Tanner brothers to open new pub restaurant

03-Apr-2014 By Mark Wingett

High-profile chef James Tanner and his brother Chris are set to open a pub restaurant later this spring near Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, M&C Report understands.

Caffè Culture Show 2014: Artisan food focus reflects changing marketplace

03-Jan-2014 By Luke Nicholls

Some of the brightest business minds from the café bar industry will descend on London's Olympia this May as the Caffè Culture Show returns for its ninth year.

High street restaurant brands score highly in customer satisfaction survey

05-Dec-2013 By Emma Eversham

Restaurant and café brands have scored highly in a list of the top 50 high street brands for customer satisfaction with Wagamama taking the number one spot overall.

KERB partners with NCASS to increase street food safety

03-Dec-2013 By Luke Nicholls

London-based street food organization KERB has announced that all of its members will become part of the Nationwide Caterer’s Association (NCASS) in a bid to improve public confidence in the safety of food sold on the streets.

Restaurants confirmed for new Victoria developments

30-Oct-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Land Securities is continuing its transformation of London’s Victoria with Spanish restaurant Ibérica secured for the property firm’s upcoming Zig Zag Building and two high street operators soon to open within its 62 Buckingham Gate development.

Trinity Leeds looks to revolutionise food retailing with new street food concept

10-Oct-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Trinity Leeds, Land Securities’ £350m, city-centre shopping and leisure development, is pioneering ‘a new take on eating out’ with the launch of a new food hall, housing street food vendors, pop-up market stalls and emerging high street food brands.

Survey reveals growing influence of restaurants on local property prices

10-Oct-2013 By Luke Nicholls

High-quality restaurants in London can boost nearby residential property values by up to 20 per cent, while fast food outlets often have the reverse effect, causing a drop in property prices by 15 per cent in the immediate vicinity. 

In the black: Quality coffee could hold the key to customer retention for pubs

09-Sep-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Pubs are increasingly realising the importance of coffee for their business, with national operators now selling more of the hot beverage than high street coffee shops. However, a ‘quality’ cup is apparently still hard to find in the licensed trade as...

Bunnychow parks up in Boxpark

15-Aug-2013 By Luke Nicholls

After three months roaming London’s streets in its eponymous truck, South African street food vendor Bunnychow has secured its first semi-permanent site at one of the saught-after shipping containers within Shoreditch’s Boxpark development. 

New Leeds music hall opening to include two street food restaurants

09-Aug-2013 By Emma Eversham

New music venue Belgrave Music Hall will open its doors in Leeds in October and will house two restaurants designed to support new street food concepts. 

Old dogs, new tricks: how restaurant chains are branching out

08-Aug-2013 By Stefan Chomka

The trend for restaurant chains to create separately branded spin-offs as a way of moving into new territory appears to be at an all-time high, with a number of branded players developing ‘satellite’ concepts over the past few months.

Independents v chains: Are big brands ‘ruining’ the high street?

03-Jul-2013 By Luke Nicholls

The co-owner of a new restaurant in Watford has said the domination of branded restaurant chains and fast food outlets is making it increasingly difficult for independents to stay afloat and contributing to Britain’s obesity crisis.

Tamarind Collection eyes Imli Street roll-out

25-Apr-2013 By Emma Eversham

Restaurant group Tamarind Collection has outlined its plans for the year ahead, which include rolling out its Indian street food restaurant Imli Street and gaining a Michelin star for company newcomer Zaika.

Street food concept Daisy Green takes up permanent Marble Arch site

24-Apr-2013 By Peter Ruddick

Frozen yogurt-focused street food concept Daisy Green has opened a permanent 60-cover shop, café and restaurant with an expanded menu near Marble Arch. 

Food inflation forces restaurant and pubs to put up menu prices by 6%

08-Apr-2013 By Emma Eversham

The rising cost of food has forced restaurants and pubs to push up the price of dishes on their menus by 6 per cent over the last six months with the average price of a dish now up to £6.69 from £6.29 

Tesco acquires Giraffe restaurants

13-Mar-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Supermarket giant Tesco has today announced that it has bought a 100 per cent stake in the 48-strong family restaurant chain Giraffe in a deal worth £48.6m.

Ex-Petersham Nurseries chef officially launches first solo restaurant in Fulham

01-Mar-2013 By Peter Ruddick

Claude Compton, ex-Petersham Nurseries and Club Gascon chef and founder of street food company Green Goat Food, has launched his first solo restaurant - Claude's Kitchen - in Fulham.

The A-Z of Restaurants

28-Jan-2013 By Luke Nicholls

The restaurant sector is a busy place, full of operators large and small, formal and casual, corporate and independent, high-end and mainstream, which can make it hard to define. Here in our A-Z guide we summarise it in just 26 words, explaining some...

Recession-proof? How Jamie Oliver's restaurants are dealing with the downturn

31-Oct-2012 By Peter Ruddick

In a special audio report recorded at The Restaurant Show, Jacques Dejardin, head of operations at Jamie Oliver, reveals how the group is looking to retail, takeaway and collection, event catering and possibly all-day dining to protect its restaurants...

Street Food: Is there a danger the trend could become too popular for its own good?

09-Oct-2012 By Peter Ruddick

Restaurant operators have been warned the growing popularity of the street food trend could lead to an unsustainable growth in the market and a dilution of the original origins of the concept.

British street food: Awards to be followed by special focus at The Restaurant Show 2012

21-Aug-2012 By Emma Eversham

The spotlight is to be placed heavily on British street food this autumn, with awards celebrating the new wave of street food vendors being followed by a special focus at this year’s Restaurant Show.

Business Profile: Chipotle

14-Aug-2012 By William Drew

Jacob Sumner, responsible for US burrito chain Chipotle's expansion into and across the UK, talks about the business and its mission to show UK consumers that fast food doesn’t necessarily have to be bad food.

Kerbisher & Malt opens second London fish and chip restaurant in Ealing

02-Aug-2012 By Luke Nicholls

Kerbisher & Malt, the fish and chip restaurant in Brook Green, has opened the doors of a second London venue in Ealing, featuring advanced bookings, table service and al fresco dining.

Steve Easterbrook leaves Pizza Express to join Wagamama

02-Aug-2012 By Luke Nicholls

Steve Easterbrook has left Pizza Express after less than a year as chief executive, joining fast-casual noodle chain Wagamama as successor to Steve Hill. 

Rohit Chugh: Career Profile

27-Jul-2012 By Luke Nicholls

Rohit Chugh landed his first position in the restaurant industry as managing director of Cinnamon Club in 2004. In 2008, he set-up its sister site, Cinnamon Kitchen. Chugh then decided to fulfil a lifelong ambition to run his own Indian street food restaurant,...

Breaking the discount bind: Loyalty schemes provide effective alternative for restaurants

20-Jul-2012 By Luke Nicholls

Deep discounts, special offers and the use of daily deal websites could soon become a thing of the past for restaurants and pubs as customers are becoming more attracted to outlets which offer rewards for loyalty as opposed to money off, according to...

Leon looks to its customers to help raise £1.5m for expansion

09-Jul-2012 By Emma Eversham

Fast food restaurant chain Leon is aiming to raise £1.5m by starting a customer bond scheme which it hopes to use to fund expansion over the next three years. 

Generation Y: Eating out becomes ‘lifestyle’ for young people, finds Taste of the Nation survey

04-Jul-2012 By Luke Nicholls

Consumers from ‘Generation Y’ (18-34 year-olds) are continuing to defy the recession by going out to eat and drink 29 per cent more often than last year, a survey has found.