Middle East

San Carlo sets its sights on international expansion

25-Mar-2024 By Shwetali Sapte

San Carlo Group is preparing to open at least six restaurants in the next 18 months, according to managing director Marcello Distefano.

Alcohol-free restaurant Coco chooses Saudi Arabia for first international site

28-Jun-2023 By Joe Lutrario

London and Essex-based alcohol-free restaurant brand will open a site in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh towards the end of the year.

Famiglia face: Marcello Distefano on running one of the UK’s largest family-owned restaurant groups

07-Feb-2023 By Joe Lutrario

San Carlo Group’s smartly dressed MD has the premium casual Italian space all sewn up on these shores, and increasingly oversees too.

José Pizarro to open a restaurant in Abu Dhabi

09-Jan-2023 By Restaurant

Spanish chef and restaurateur José Pizarro is to become the latest UK-based operator to open in the Middle East.

Covent Garden-based flatbread restaurant Manakish & Naanza to close

22-Mar-2022 By Restaurant

Covent Garden-based Middle Eastern flatbread restaurant Manakish & Naanza is closing its doors due to the recent hike in food and fuel costs.

Alexandre Santamaria: “The curfew was worse than the lockdown”

27-Nov-2020 By Joe Lutrario

The co-owner of Notting Hill’s Cha Cha X Sister Jane on being an international restaurant consultant in the time of Covid-19 and his Japanese dark kitchen business Oro.

Latest opening: Abd El Wahab

07-Mar-2018 By Georgia Bronte

Lebanese restaurant brand Abd El Wahab has made its UK debut in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Abd El Wahab chooses Belgravia site for its international debut

21-Feb-2018 By Georgia Bronte

Lebanese restaurant brand Abd El Wahab will make its international debut next month, opening a restaurant in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Leon to launch Asian concept ahead of overseas expansion

12-Feb-2018 By Sophie Witts

Healthy fast food restaurant chain Leon is to launch an Asian dining concept as well as expand further across Europe and the Middle East this year.

Ottolenghi's head chef is going solo with new opening in 2018

12-Oct-2017 By Georgia Bronte

Ramael Scully, former head chef of Ottolenghi’s NOPI, will open his first solo venture in early 2018.

Waffle restaurant Pure Waffle to relaunch in London

06-Dec-2016 By Hannah Thompson

Pure Waffle, the waffle restaurant group previously found in London’s Duke Street, is to relaunch in Knightsbridge, as part of a stated expansion plan in the UK and abroad.

Coya to open second London restaurant

08-Jul-2016 By Sophie Witts

Peruvian restaurant group and member's club Coya has announced plans to launch two new sites this year and a further three in 2017.

Grosvenor House hotel GM: Why we're about more than our Great Room

30-Jun-2016 By Emma Eversham

Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel, is aiming to become known as more than an events venue following an £8m refurbishment of its public spaces.

EasyHotel plans Ipswich hotel

14-Jan-2016 By Emma Eversham

'Super budget' hotel operator EasyHotel is planning to open a hotel in Ipswich after conditionally acquiring a former nightclub. 

SMALL TALK

Chef Selin Kiazim on opening her first restaurant Oklava

06-Nov-2015 By Stefan Chomka

The Turkish-Cypriot chef’s long-awaited restaurant, Oklava, opens this month in Shoreditch serving her celebrated modern take on Middle Eastern food.

Hey big spender: Shopping tourists visiting UK spend 80% more

26-Aug-2015 By Emma Eversham

International tourists who visit the UK primarily to shop spend 80 per cent more during their stay than those visiting for other reasons, according to research by VisitBritain. 

Meat & Shake eyes expansion after change in direction

28-May-2015 By Mark Wingett

Meat & Shake, the London-based concept, is eyeing further expansion after securing three new sites and changing its model from burger-led to a more smokehouse-based format, according to BigHospitality's sister publication M&C Allegra Foodservice.

Skyline Worldwide to double London portfolio in 2015

08-Jan-2015 By Patrick McGuigan

Corporate serviced apartment provider Skyline Worldwide will open four new developments in London this month as part of a plan to double its portfolio in the capital during 2015.

Burger & Lobster eyes Canary Wharf opening

18-Aug-2014 By Mark Wingett and Carina Perkins

Burger & Lobster, the London-based group, is in talks to open its seventh site in the capital in Canary Wharf, according to BigHospitality's sister title M&C Report.

Overseas visits to the UK hit record in H1 2014

14-Aug-2014 By Melodie Michel

Visits to the UK by overseas residents hit a record 16.4m between January and June 2014, up 8 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

Restaurant Magazine: Mezze momentum

03-Jun-2014 By Melodie Michel

Restaurateurs are banking on home-cooked authenticity to bring the variety of cuisines from Greece, the Levant and the rest of the Middle East to UK tables, writes Joe Lutrario in the June issue of Restaurant Magazine.

Luxury Hotels Group taps midscale market

19-May-2014 By Melodie Michel

Luxury Hotels Group has launched a new platform to help 3 and 4-star hotels improve their marketing strategy.

Planet Hollywood founder launches UK company to drive expansion

28-May-2013 By Emma Eversham

Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl has created a company in the UK to drive expansion of the movie themed restaurant concept and increase the footprint of his Buca di Beppo Italian restaurants and Earl of Sandwich sandwich bars. 

Park Plaza gains full ownership of three London hotels

05-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The hotel group Park Plaza has acquired full ownership of three London Hotels that it had previously operated under contract.

Snowy January forces Manchester restaurant Ithaca to close

17-Feb-2010 By Becky Paskin

The icy weather experienced last month has forced award-winning Manchester restaurant and bar Ithaca to announce its closure at the end of February, after trading plummeted by 80 per cent

Business profile: San Carlo

31-Jul-2009 By Paul Wootton

Food, atmosphere, hard work and passion have helped San Carlo become one of the most successful family-owned restaurant companies in the UK – and landed them a franchise deal with one of the Middle East’s richest companies

Triple launch for Ford in May

07-May-2008 By Andy Lynes

Dominic Ford extends Butcher and Grill and Bincho Yakitori concepts and opens Food Inc food market in one month.