Dubai restaurants to make UK debut through Deliveroo

Pinza pizzeria and its sister brand BR8 – aka Bright Kitchen – will join the delivery-only ‘dark kitchen’ in Battersea, south London in May.

It comes after Milan pizzeria Lieveta became the first overseas restaurant to make its UK debut​​ through Editions late last year.

Pinza, which has three sites in the UAE, serves a “low-calorie” dough base with different toppings it describes as halfway between a pizza and a flatbread, while BR8 offers health-conscious dishes such as avocado on toast and customisable salads.

Deliveroo began working with the two brands at its Editions kitchen in Dubai in late 2017.

The delivery company, which is active in 12 countries, told BigHospitality ​there was scope for further international collaborations going forward.

A Deliveroo spokesperson said: “We’re already in discussions about further cross-border partnerships and are keen to hear from any other restaurant businesses looking to get involved.

“We definitely incentivise successful partners in international and UK Editions sites to consider expanding their reach via the Editions infrastructure. We get a lot of inbound leads and make sure that we offer those opportunities when restaurant partners are operationally capable of scaling out of their native market.”

Growing platform​

Deliveroo Editions launched in the UK in April 2017 after a short trial in London.

Several restaurant operators have since raised concerns over its use,​​  and the concept has also met with some resistance from local authorities.

Brighton and Hove council has ordered the closure of Deliveroo Editions in Portslade​​ after deciding its B1 license was not appropriate and the site was causing “harm” to local residents.

Deliveroo is appealing the decision and says is uses the same license in its kitchens across the UK. It maintains its platform is beneficial for restaurants, allowing them to reach customers in new areas without a bricks and mortar site.