London

Night-time industry worth £66bn a year, say economists

13-Sep-2010 By Rachel Johnson

The British night-time industry is worth £66bn a year to the UK economy, according to a report published on Friday

Former Benugo man plans patriotic cafe chain

31-Aug-2010 By Joe Lutrario

The former operations director of Benugo has launched the first site of what is intended to be a national chain of food-led cafes.

After hours with… Katarina Todosijevic

27-Aug-2010 By Becky Paskin

Katarina Todosijevic left her small Swedish village for the bright lights of London at just 20 years old. Seven years later she is now the head chef of Searcy’s Portrait Restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery in London

YCYW 2010 regional finalists announced

24-Aug-2010 By Becky Paskin

The Restaurant Association has named the 48 regional finalists in this year’s annual Young Chef Young Waiter competition 2010

Blumenthal and Ramsay top Good Food Guide restaurant list once more

11-Aug-2010 By Becky Paskin

Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay have once again topped the Which? Good Food Guide’s Top 60 list of the UK’s best restaurants

Fire closes Rainer Becker's Roka restaurant

04-Aug-2010 By Chris Druce

A fire has closed Rainer Becker’s original Roka restaurant in London’s Charlotte Street, with the Soho venue not due to reopen for at least a month

Belgique cafe to open 11th site at London's Canary Wharf

02-Aug-2010 By Chris Druce

Continental style bakery and delicatessen Belgique café is to open its 11th outlet in London’s Canary Wharf

Tom Aikens to buy six Paramount sites

30-Jul-2010 By Mark Stretton

Tom Aikens, the Michelin-starred chef, is in exclusive negotiations to buy six eateries from Paramount Restaurants

Moshi Moshi puts flagship site up for sale

22-Jul-2010 By Hamish Smith

Moshi Moshi, Britain’s first sushi conveyor belt operator has put its flagship London restaurant Soseki up for sale

Drake & Morgan secures fourth London site

15-Jul-2010 By Mark Stretton

Drake & Morgan, the London bar-restaurant operator, is to open a fourth venue named The Folly in October

Cote expects to open restaurant number 20 this year

02-Jul-2010 By Mark Stretton

Cote, the French brasserie concept, intends to open its 20th restaurant by the year's end

July opening for Be At One's 10th bar in Shoreditch

17-Jun-2010 By Chris Druce

Cocktail bar chain Be At One’s 10th site in London’s Shoreditch will open next month with another set to follow soon after, the company has confirmed

Goodman steakhouse secures second London site

06-May-2010 By Joe Lutrario

Goodman - the top-end steakhouse concept - has completed on a site in the City, its second in London

S&M Café chain up for sale

30-Apr-2010 By Emma Eversham

Smash Foods, operator of sausage and mash-style restaurant chain S&M Café has put the six-strong group up for sale

After hours with… Jillian MacLean

26-Mar-2010 By Becky Paskin

Jillian MacLean launched bar and restaurant group Drake & Morgan in 2008, and is about to launch her third London site, The Anthologist,  near St. Paul's Cathedral next month

Drake & Morgan founder named industry rising star

04-Mar-2010 By Mark Stretton

Drake & Morgan, the fledgling bar-restaurant concept, founded by Jillian MacLean, has collected two titles at this year's Retailers' Retailer of the Year Awards

Business profile: Frank Dowling of Inc Group

03-Mar-2010 By Stefan Chomka

As founder of the Inc Group, Frank Dowling heads up a company that operates eight restaurants and bars in Greenwich

Mexican restaurant chain Chilango to expand in 2010

24-Feb-2010 By Emma Eversham

Chilango, the fast casual Mexican restaurant chain founded by Eric Partaker and Dan Houghton, will open two more sites outside the capital this year and is planning to open a 'handful' of central London sites

Restaurant operator sought for London’s tallest building

19-Feb-2010 By Becky Paskin

Heron International, the property group behind the Heron Tower construction in Bishopsgate, London, is seeking an operator for the tower’s Restaurant and Sky Bar, which upon completion will be the highest in London

Hilton spends £20m turning restaurant and bar areas into airport style lounges

15-Feb-2010 By Becky Paskin

Hilton is spending £20m on a programme to convert the food and beverage areas at 16 of its UK hotels into airport style executive lounges to attract more corporate guests

Review of the year 2009: Hotels

22-Dec-2009 By Emma Eversham

As the year comes to a close we take a look back at the hotel sector's major events of the year

Innovative design for W Hotel Leicester Square unveiled

14-Dec-2009 By Becky Paskin

The ‘extrovert and playful’ design for the new 192-bedroom W Hotel in Leicester Square, due to open in summer 2010, has been unveiled

AB Hotels to open boutique hotel in Marylebone

10-Nov-2009 By Emma Eversham

AB Hotels, operator of Sopwell House and Five Lakes hotels, unveils plans to open an 82-bedroom townhouse hotel in London next month

David Cameron praises British curry restaurants

09-Nov-2009 By Becky Paskin

The Conservative party leader David Cameron has praised Britain’s curry restaurants for demonstrating what can be achieved when communities collaborate

Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck comes top in National Restaurant Awards 2009

13-Oct-2009 By Emma Eversham

The Fat Duck tops a list of the 100 best restaurants in the UK at the National Restaurant Awards 2009

Restaurants, pubs and hotels promote British Food Fortnight

18-Sep-2009 By Emma Eversham

BigHospitality selects a few of the promotions, offers and marketing ideas being run by restaurants, hotels and pubs across the country for British Food Fortnight

Good Food Guide expands Top 40 restaurants list

08-Sep-2009 By Becky Paskin

The Which? Guide has expanded its list of the UK’s Top 40 restaurants to 50, after seeing a surge in the number of up-and-coming chefs making the grade

TGI Friday's fined £30k for running 'filthy kitchens'

28-Aug-2009 By Emma Eversham

The American-themed restaurant chain pleaded guilty to six food hygiene offences in court on Wednesday after inspectors found dead cockroaches, mouse droppings and grease-encrusted cabinets in its kitchens

Free bubbly at Grand Union and dog treats at Best Western

31-Jul-2009 By Emma Eversham

Restaurants, hotels and pubs share their marketing and promotion ideas

Wahaca to open third restaurant at Canary Wharf

24-Jul-2009 By Becky Paskin

Wahaca’s third restaurant will join Roka, Jamie’s Italian and Canteen when it opens at Canary Wharf this autumn

Fruitless Easter trading causes concern for regional hotels

28-May-2009 By Becky Paskin

While London hotels experienced a successful Easter break this year, those in the regions saw a ‘significant’ decline in custom

Trinity Square hotel receives planning permission

08-May-2009 By Becky Paskin

The landmark building at Trinity Square near the Tower of London has been given planning permission to transform into a 121-bedroom hotel and spa

Itsu announces expansion plans with Covent Garden branch

30-Mar-2009 By Becky Paskin

Healthy eating chain Itsu has announced plans to open up to six outlets in 2009, the first due to open in Covent Garden’s newly developed public square in May

Hospitality 2009 Salon Display winners

22-Jan-2009 By Becky Paskin

The results of the Salon Display section of the Salon Culinaire at the hospitality show 2009 at Birmingham’s NEC

London to get 2,012 new organic food sources

05-Nov-2008 By Becky Paskin

A scheme to increase the amount of food growing spaces in London will see restaurants’ supplier choice grow immeasurably

Canteen to open fourth site at Canary Wharf

31-Oct-2008 By Becky Paskin

The British diner is to open a fourth outlet at Canary Wharf, just as Tom Aikens withdraws plans for a second Toms Kitchen

Last Smollensky's London sites to be sold off

21-Oct-2008 By Emma Eversham

The two remaining Smollenskys sites in Londons Canary Wharf and on The Strand have been put on the market

Restaurant to become art installation

20-Oct-2008 By Emma Eversham

The team behind east Londons Bistrotheque restaurant create a temporary restaurant within a new exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts

Restaurants warned of three year recession

10-Oct-2008 By Emma Eversham & Becky Paskin

Food critic Charles Campion has warned of the arrival of a three-year ‘restaurant recession’ with mid-market restaurants set to take the biggest hit

Maze voted top UK restaurant

07-Oct-2008 By Emma Eversham

Gordon Ramsay Holdings restaurant comes first in Restaurant magazines top UK Restaurants 2008 list

Ubon by Nobu to close

17-Sep-2008 By Emma Eversham

The Japanese restaurant in Canary Wharf will close on September 26 as the group plans to relocate its second London restaurant to another site in the capital

Hakkasan removes ‘unethical’ shark-fin soup from menu

05-Sep-2008 By Becky Paskin

Alan Yau’s Michelin-starred London restaurant removed the Chinese delicacy after ‘pressure’ from anti-shark trade campaigners

Leicester Sq restaurant & nightclub is sold

02-Jul-2008 By Emma Eversham

The lease for London nightclub and restaurant Number One Leicester Square has been sold to Interguide London for £1m.

Bay Restaurants employee raises £10k for charity

20-Jun-2008 By Becky Paskin

The Bay Restaurant Group matched donations received from employee’s London marathon run

Ex-Savoy employees move on up

18-Jun-2008 By Becky Paskin

Two previous employees of London’s Savoy hotel, have now been appointed at the Landmark London, and the Balmoral in Edinburgh

LDA and AA Team Up to Get London Graded

18-Mar-2008 By Alan Lodge

The London Development Agency and the AA are driving a scheme that aims to increase the number of graded B&Bs in the capital and is offering ungraded B&Bs help to achieve this aim.

Van der Horst Gets Ready to Party

13-Mar-2008 By Carina Simon

Bjorn van der Horst tells of his vision to open a new style of restaurant in London based on the idea of the kitchen being the centre of any party following the recent demise of La Noisette in Knightsbridge, London.

PubChef Food Excellence Awards 2008

29-Feb-2008 By Lucy Britner

Former PR man Ross Williams, who only entered the pub trade five years ago, scoops the top prize at tonights glitzy awards bash at the Dorchester hotel in London.

Team behind The Greyhound to rejuvinate The Rosendale

31-Jul-2007 By Restaurant

Neglected Victorian coach house in the heart of West Dulwich is brought back to life The locals of West Dulwich in South London who have been tightly crossing their fingers for East Dulwich's gentrification to spread a little bit of its magic ...

Obika - the only mozzarella bar in the world

31-Jul-2007 By Restaurant

The spiel? ;Obika is, at the moment, the only mozzarella bar in the world. It combines the quality of Italian food with design which looks pretty Japanese,; says Stefano Potorti, Obika Managing Director. Which means? Italian ingredients, ...