Restaurant & Hospitality News 29 July

Eating at the newly-opened flagship Planet Hollywood restaurant in London is equivalent to a “TV dinner from hell”, according to the Evening Standard. Food critic David Sexton gives the restaurant in Leicester Square zero out of five stars saying the “cooking itself has nothing to be said for it”. full story

Britons can now enjoy a pint while collecting their parcel with a new online delivery service designed to boost the pub’s reputation as the hub of the community...read more

Beer sales in UK pubs are this year falling at a slower rate than the supermarkets, according to latest figures reported by the British Beer and Pub Association. Pub beer sales are down 4.5% compared to the second quarter in 2008 – the equivalent of 4.2m fewer pints - and were down 6.3% in the first quarter ... more

Restaurant & Hospitality News 28 July

Hong Kong-based restaurant group Aqua has revealed details of its forthcoming restaurants atop the former Dickins & Jones department store in central London. In a move first revealed by Caterersearch in May, Aqua, which operates ten fine dining restaurants in Hong Kong ... read more

Diners say they intend to eat out more over the next year, but will spend less on alcohol, starters and desserts when they do, according to the quarterly QuickBite survey... full story

The restaurant market is still suffering in the recession and, while diners are starting to eat out more, they are increasingly spending less, research has found. The Quickbite survey from market analyst Horizons, which questioned 1,000 consumers, found that more than two thirds... more

Restaurant & Hospitality News 27 July

Takeaway chain Domino’s pizza is thriving despite the recession with first half profits up by 25.2% to £13.6m. Sales increased by 15.4% over the six month period and like for like sales were up by 7.1%, but down from 9% in the first four months as the warmer weather coaxed customers to leave ... more

Camden Restaurant Coast is a palace of surf’n’turf. Cornwall meets Camden: the cool interior of the dining room at Coast on Parkway in Camden Town. With its clean, white interior, pebble-grey tiles and seaside art from St Ives, this fish-slanted restaurant delivers its promise of “a breath of crisp Cornish air in the heart of Camden” — even if Parkway is hardly a sea view. - full story

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

Restaurant & Hospitality News 24 July

New figures show Britain’s leading pub and restaurant groups continue to hold steady, as smaller, independently run businesses succumb to the recession ... full story

Roads may provide a second, money-spinning way for London restaurants to dispose of their old cooking oils responsibly without clogging up the nation’s drains. Aggregate Industries has discovered that used chip fat can be used in place of bitumen to make road construction greener and ... full story

D&D's Skylon in London's Southbank has been deemed the hospitality business delivering the highest level of customer service in London ... read more

Restaurant & Hospitality News 23 July

Hi Sushi Izakaya Restaurant in Covent Garden, located opposite the Theatre Royal, where Oliver! is playing, is the seventh outlet in the Hi Sushi group. Care has been taken not to give the various restaurants an identikit persona and this one — created 15 years after the first venue, Ikkyusan, opened in Gerrard Street — is modelled, says the publicity, on a traditional Japanese eating and drinking house... full story

Las Iguanas founder and director Ajith Jaya Wickrema has left the Latin American-themed restaurant chain after nearly two decades at its helm. Wickrema, who founded the business together with managing director Eren Ali in 1991, has left to pursue other opportunities. more

Where to eat lunch at Borough Market: ROAST The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, SE1 Perhaps the most grown-up restaurant in Borough Market, Roast occupies a magnificent space high in the old Floral Hall. The cocktail bar is comfortable and slick, as are the drinks. The menus depend on British produce, sticking to the seasons and nodding to traditional recipes. - full story

Restaurant & Hospitality News 20 July

Del Aziz, the all-day Eastern Mediterranean and North African restaurant chain, has opened a site in Bermondsey Square alongside its own boutique bakery and gift shop ... full story

Iconic London restaurant the Criterion on Piccadilly, which has been relaunched under the ownership of Georgian entrepreneur Vasily Sopromadze, has some way to go to live up to its original reputation, food critics say. Fay Maschler of the London Evening Standard says it may take a while ... full story

A million more trips taken in England this year. More than one million more holidays were taken in England this year as Britons elect to take breaks closer to home. - full story

Restaurant & Hospitality News 18 July

Cafe review: Villandry Kitchen: Marylebone favourite gets new Holborn branch... read full story

Bay Restaurant Group, operator of around 190 La Tasca, Slug and Lettuce and Ha Ha Bar and Grills, has financially restructured the business for the second time in 18 months... full story

Gallery Mess, the restaurant at the new Saatchi Gallery on London’s King’s Road, is art minus the artistry, according to the Metro’s food critic. Marina O’Loughin enjoys the interesting looking space, average food and, most importantly, the people-watching at the ... more

Restaurant & Hospitality News 19 July

Mark Derry is to step down from his position as managing director of Loch Fyne restaurants at the end of this month ... full story

Restaurant review - 1001 Nights: Can't afford posh spot Fakhreldine? Try its delish new sister resto ... read on

The collapse of Coffee Republic has hailed the start of a challenging time for the branded coffee chain market, a report has warned. The study, by market analysts Key Note, found that the branded coffee chain sector has come under intense competition as consumers decrease ... more

Restaurant & Hospitality News 17 July

Major banks have been accused of denying credit to owners of pubs and restaurants due to misplaced fears over their viability, a lobby group has warned. The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has urged banks to look at the feasibility of each pub on a case by case basis rather than more

Del'Aziz, a chic new Middle Eastern restaurant, bar and bakery, has just arrived in up-and-coming Bermondsey Square. The restaurant offers a modern twist on North African and Mediterranean food, while the bakery sells speciality breads and light bites to eat in or take away. With interiors by award-winning designer Shaun Clarkson (The Electric Birdcage, Carrington House) and a romantic al fresco terrace, it's sure to be popular with trendsetters this summer. full story

Restaurant review: Hi Sushi Izakaya: New Covent Garden Restaurant fails to impress... read on

Restaurant & Hospitality News 16 July

A conman who pretended to be a Michelin-trained chef with close relationships to Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay has been jailed for three-and-a-half years. Kenneth Goldsmith said he trained at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris but actually learned to cook in prison more

Taste North Carolina means one thing - slow cook pork. Joshua Stein tours the best joints ... read more

Fans of Jamie Oliver's "pukka tukka" will be delighted to hear that the cheeky Essex chef is opening a new restaurant in Canary Wharf this week. Jamie's Kitchen Canary Wharf is the fifth in Jamie's chain of "neighbourhood restaurants", which offer authentic Italian food at affordable prices. full story

Restaurant News 15 July '09

Today the Criterion Restaurant is reviewed under new ownership, Brighton's fishy fish is reviewed,, Fire shuts Quo Vadis

Over recent years love for Criterion Restaurant has waxed and waned. In 2001 Marco Pierre White bought the restaurant from Forte when My Kinda Town, the company that owned Chicago Pizza Pie Factory and Chicago Rib Shack among other brands, was managing it. Marco’s operation got off to a brilliant start — almost as dazzling as the venue’s neo-Byzantine golden mosaic ceiling — but the energy dwindled and the ownership divided. Read full review


Fishy Fishy seafood restaurant in Brighton - newly opened by TV personality Dermot O’Leary - is a great alternative to the seaside town’s mid-market dining scene, according to Tracey MacLeod. The Independent’s food critic says that like its owner, the restaurant is “unashamedly pitched at the mass market. Full review

London restaurant Quo Vadis will remain shut for two weeks after it was damaged by a fire that destroyed a neighbouring building in Soho. Owned by brothers Sam and Eddie Hart, Quo Vadis is located on Dean Street, directly opposite the office block that burnt down last week. more...

Restaurant News 13 July '09

Cheap eats in Mayfair (is that an oxymoron?), try out the 24-hour anniversary menu at Babur, Gourmet Burger Kitchen operator Clapham House is optimistic about future despite falling profits.

Noura is an elegant Lebanese restaurant that is part of a short chain and eating at Shepherd Market can be a wallet-friendly experience thanks to Sofra... more Mayfair cheap eats...

Award-winning Indian restaurant Babur celebrates its 24th anniversary this month, with a menu that lets you eat around the clock. The four-course evening menu starts with a "breakfast" of uppma (a South Indian semolina dish). Next is a "lunch" of organic chicken and corn kebab, followed by "dinner" – 24-hour marinated goat shoulder with spinach gnocchi. Read more...

Profits at restaurant group Clapham House have dropped nearly 20% but the Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Real Greek operator said it remains positive about the medium-term prospects for the UK eating out market. Clapham House reported pre-tax profits of £4.1m for the year to 29 March. Read story here

Restaurant News July 10 '09

Check out new Piccadilly restaurant Napket, Hi Sushi opens in Covent Garden, Eating Out Spending falls for the first time.

Fashionistas now have a new place to hang out in London's West End. Chic café company Napket has just opened a flagship branch in London's Piccadilly, with vintage/industrial décor by Peter Van Hooreweghe. more...

Looking for somewhere reasonably priced to eat in Covent Garden's theatre district? Check out Hi Sushi's new Covent Garden restaurant, Hi Sushi Izakaya, which is designed to look like a Japanese Zen garden, complete with floor-to-ceiling waterfall. On the menu, you'll find fresh sushi and sashimi (from £1.50) and noodles, as well as more substantial dishes like black cod miso, wasabi prawn and bento boxes. read on...

The amount spent on eating out of the home in the UK has fallen for the first time in 40 years as a result of a shift in consumer expectations that will continue after the recession, according to a new report commissioned by McDonald’s. Full report...

Restaurant News July 9 '09

Enjoy a tea dance at the Waldorf, Michelin Guide downsizes in face of uncertain economy, Gourmet Burger Kitchen operator Clapham House is optimistic about future despite falling profits?

Tea dancing is back in fashion, and The Waldorf Hilton has revived its famous Tango Tea – one of London's most legendary events in the early 20th century. More...

Michelin is not publishing guides for Los Angeles, Las Vegas or Austria this year amid the global economic downturn. The company said there will not be 2010 guides for the two US cities, although the suspension is temporary, while the publication of the Austrian guide has been terminated. Full story

Profits at restaurant group Clapham House have dropped nearly 20% but the Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Real Greek operator said it remains positive about the medium-term prospects for the UK eating out market. Clapham House reported pre-tax profits of £4.1m for the year to 29 March. Read story here

Restaurant News Round Up - 4th July

Continued mixed news for the restaurant industry as we see the return of diners to the high street (with strings attached) and more notices of big players going into administration, while some smaller outlets are taking the opportunity to look for ways to expand, plus a review of the latest London opening, Ba Shan. Today's top stories:

A quarter of British consumers are tackling the recession by only visiting a restaurant if they can get money off their meal, market research has found... (read more here and here)

Third time's a charm. Or is it? Seems that Shao Wei’s third Szechuan eatery Ba Shan has inherited the two least attractive aspects of its siblings: Baozi Inn’s uncomfortable surrounds and Bar Shu’s steep prices (read more)

Healthy fast food restaurant Pod has announced it is to take advantage of low property values with expansion plans to open three new London sites this year (more here)

Coffee Republic, the London-based coffee bar operator, has become the latest victim of the recession and entered administration. (more here)

Restaurant & Hospitality News 1 July

Today there's disappointing reviews for the newly launched The Palm, while Black and Blue continue their London-Wide expansion. Finally, there's my personal favourite: Birmingham fights to claim the Balti name for itself.

Tracey Macleod finds hefty prices and disappointing food at the newly-opened Palm restaurant, the first British outlet of the 27-strong New York steakhouse chain. The Independent’s food critic laments the quality of the food and wonders whether this can really be the food on which an empire was built? (article here)

Restaurant group Black & Blue has launched its seventh London outlet with the acquisition of the Archduke wine bar on the South Bank. The company, which operates five Black & Blue restaurants across central London as well as Mortimer’s Grill in Bloomsbury, took over the Archduke last week ... (more)

Birmingham City Council has launched a campaign to protect the famous Balti name by preventing Indian restaurants outside the city from using it. The very first Balti dish, which is named after the pot it is cooked in, is believed to have been served by a Pakistani immigrant called Mohammed Ajaib ... (Baltimore...)