- The #VATsTheProblem campaign, backed by Tom Kerridge, has gathered significant momentum, passing 100,000 signatures in just five days. At the time of writing, 111,881 people had signed the petition calling on the UK government to cut hospitality VAT from 20% to 10%. Kerridge is urging hospitality operators to rally support by encouraging their teams - along with friends and family - to sign the petition ahead of a wider consumer-facing launch on 1 July. The campaign’s ultimate goal is to reach one million signatures in support of the proposed reduction. The issue was raised in Parliament earlier this week during Prime Minister’s Questions, when Rosie Duffield, independent MP for Canterbury, asked whether the government would reduce the rate in line with Europe. Prime Minister Keir Starmer pointed to existing support measures, including business rates relief for pubs and the temporary VAT cut on children’s meals, but stopped short of committing to a broader reduction for the sector. Backed by major industry bodies such as UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association and the British Institute of Innkeeping, campaign organisers argue that a permanent 10% VAT rate would bring the UK more closely into line with many European countries, where hospitality businesses benefit from lower rates.
- Two-Michelin-starred chef Andrew Wong is set to open a Chinese pub in Shoreditch later this year in partnership with Dishoom co-founder Amar Radia. The new venture, Kong, will become the anchor tenant at British Land’s Norton Folgate development, which is also home to Osteria Angelina and Kolamba East. The pair are taking on a former pub within the development that first opened in 1792 - around the same time the first Chinese settlers arrived in east London. Over the years it has traded as the Pewter Platter, The Poet and the Water Poet. Kong aims to fuse two traditions under one roof: the classic East London pub and the Chinese kitchen, with a menu spanning ‘dumplings at dawn, noodles at lunch, grills with a cold pint at dusk’. Occupying just under 6,000sq ft, the site includes an 800sq ft courtyard and has been secured on a new 20-year lease with British Land. Wong is best known for his Pimlico restaurant, A. Wong, which made history in 2021 as the first Chinese restaurant outside Asia to be awarded two Michelin stars.
- Nick Jones is set to launch an all-day restaurant, Café Clement, in partnership with former River Café head chef Danny Bohan. Opening on 16 June, Café Clement will offer have a south-facing terrace and garden square. The menu will draw on Bohan’s 25 years of experience, including time working with Rowley Leigh and River Café founders Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. The restaurant forms part of Jones’ new St Clement Hotel - his first hotel project since departing Soho House in 2022. Located within the 180 Quarter development, the hotel will comprise 90 bedrooms and 15 suites, as well as a late-night venue, Bobbi’s Bar. St Clement Hotel is scheduled to officially open in September.
- In a second high-profile partnership this week, the company behind Michelin-starred Marylebone restaurant Lita is joining forces with chef Luca Natalini to launch an Italian restaurant just off Regent Street. Called Salone, the 6,700sq ft, two-storey venue will open on Vigo Street and marks Natalini’s UK debut. Best known for his Michelin-starred Milan restaurant Autem, he is recognised for blending Italian and French techniques and has also appeared on Italian television cooking programmes. According to landlord The Crown Estate, the restaurant will offer all-day dining inspired by Italian culinary traditions, with open kitchens across both floors. The ground floor will focus on pizza, while the first floor will feature a pasta station, with the menu also set to include seafood and meat dishes alongside a bar-led aperitivo offering designed for both daytime and evening trade. The space will feature a long communal table and counter seating to encourage informal, walk-in dining throughout the day.
- The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has suggested he will intervene after the Soho Society announced plans to challenge all new pub and restaurant licensing applications in Soho. According to reports, the residents’ group - founded in 1972 to ‘preserve the character of Soho’ - has voted for a new licensing mandate, meaning it will challenge all new applications for bars and restaurants in the area, including renewals of existing licences. It also plans to oppose any venue seeking to trade beyond ‘core hours’, which Westminster Council defines as 11pm. In a briefing originally reported by The Sunday Times, Khan said: “The Soho Society’s decision to oppose all new and extended licence applications is the wrong one – it’s bad for London.” He pointed to forthcoming powers from central government that would allow him to overturn council decisions blocking pubs and bars from opening. Currently in the consultation stage, the Mayor of London’s Draft London Strategic Licensing Policy 2026–31 sets out his vision for licensing across the capital, establishing principles that all 33 London boroughs must follow when making licensing decisions. Key changes that could make it easier to obtain and amend licences include an explicit pushback on blanket conditions and rigid core hours policies, with each application assessed on its merits.