- Chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias has been appointed as the new chef at Gwen, the Machynlleth-based restaurant run by Gareth Ward and Amelia Eiriksson. Earlier this month it was revealed that Gwen was closing after a three-year run; however, Ward and Eriksson appear to have had a change of heart. The project is being billed as a return to the stoves for Sanchez-Iglesias, who closed his sole remaining Bristol restaurant Paco Tapas last year. Best known for his progressive modern British fine dining restaurant Casamia, the chef is also understood to have recently left Decimo, the Spanish Mexican restaurant he launched at The Standard London in 2019. Following this departure Paola Arenas has been appointed to lead the kitchen at Decimo. The Mexico City-born chef has been working at the restaurant for the past six months, during which time she has ‘gradually helped shape the direction of the kitchen’. Arenas’ appointment will place Mexican cooking at the heart of the restaurant but some of Sanchez-Iglesias’ dishes are set to remain, including marinated red peppers with bread and tuna tostada.
- Minor Hotels, the group behind the Wolseley, has announced that it will open its first London hotel - The WestDill Mayfair Hotel London - later this year as a part of the group’s new Colbert Collection. Housed within a Grade II listed building on the corner of Piccadilly and Albemarle Street that was the former NatWest bank and offices, the hotel will have 50 rooms as well as a restaurant and bar and will open in partnership with Royal Group of Companies, a Singapore-based real estate investor and developer. Minor Hotels describes its Colbert Collection as a range of hotels and resorts that ‘effortlessly integrate the local community and social spaces to connect guests with the people around them and inspire them to write their unique travel story together’.
- The Pachamama group is working with The Portman Estate to bring two new restaurant concepts to Marylebone later this year. Soraya, located at 96 George Street, a prominent corner site with dual frontages onto George Street and Loxton Walk, will be the group’s largest site, spanning 6,000sq ft and seating 190 covers. The restaurant – which offers ‘a contemporary interpretation of Persian cooking’ - follows the launch of Soraya in Abu Dhabi. Next door, at 8 Loxton Walk, Pachamama Group will launch a smaller, 1,200 sq ft street food concept, with further details on its name and cuisine to be revealed in due course. The two openings will form a part of Loxton Walk, a new retail, wellness and dining destination.
- Yotman Ottolenghi is opening a site in Scotland, his first UK restaurant outside of England. The restaurant, set to open on George Street in the centre of Edinburgh this autumn, will be overseen by Scottish-born executive head chef Neil John Campbell, who has been with the group for almost a decade, celebrating Scottish produce with Ottolenghi’s trademark vegetable-forward cooking. Ottolenghi currently operates six restaurants in the UK, four under its key Ottolenghi brand in Bicester Village, Hampstead, Islington and Spitalfields as well as ROVI in North London and NOPI in Soho. It also has four standalone delis in Chelsea, Marylebone and Notting Hill and Richmond as well as international sites in Amsterdam and Geneva.
- The Miami-based brand Coyo Taco will make its UK debut this summer with an opening in Orchard Place. The site marks the start of the brand’s UK expansion, with a further two sites already planned for 2026. Coyo Taco’s new venue follows Kuvi Hospitality securing exclusive franchise and development rights for Coyo Taco across the UK, Ireland, and GCC, with a long-term goal to scale the brand to more than 50 locations across the UK and Ireland. Its operating model includes daily, from-scratch preparation following the brand’s ‘todos es fresco’, or ‘everything fresh’, philosophy, including hand-pressed corn tortillas, made-to-order guacamole, responsibly sourced meats and seafood, and a dual-format approach combining high-throughput dining with a late-night bar offer. Coyo Taco, which was founded in 2016, currently operates across seven sites in Miami and a further six sites globally.