- Pizza Express announced this week that it is bringing US-born brand Houston Hot Chicken to the UK with three restaurants scheduled to open in 2026. The move marks the latest diversification for Pizza Express, which has already expanded beyond its core pizza business to include Mac & Wings. The fried chicken brand offers tenders, waffles and nuggets alongside a range of sandwiches, including its Original Hot Chicken Sandwich, available in a range of spice levels, including its signature ‘Houston, We Have A Problem’ heat level, which the company says measures two million Scoville Heat Units and requires customers to sign a waiver before ordering. Founded in 2020, the brand has grown rapidly in the US and has revealed plans to roll out 50 UK locations over the next three years. It is backed by restaurant-focused private equity firm Savory Fund, which has invested in several US food service brands, including Swig.
- Former BiBi and The Harwood Arms chef Keiran Mustafa is teaming up with restaurateur Dom Hamdy to launch Kismet, a Turkish restaurant above the Globe Tavern in Borough Market. Opening in mid-July in the former Barang site, the concept takes inspiration from the traditional meyhanes of Istanbul and northern Cyprus, with a menu centred on meze and mangal-grilled kebabs served either à la carte or as a £48 set menu. Raki, Türkiye’s anise-spiced national spirit, will sit at the heart of the drinks list, with regulars encouraged to buy a bottle and store it on Kismet’s shelves. Mustafa is best known for launching the progressive Mayfair Indian restaurant BiBi, where he worked alongside chef-patron Chet Sharma. He has also worked at Michelin-starred West London restaurants Chez Bruce and The Harwood Arms. Since leaving BiBi, he has worked as a consultant at restaurants including David Carter’s Borough Market Greek venture OMA. He has also run a series of pop-ups under the name Kıbrıs at venues including Fitzrovia’s Carousel, a Turkish concept similarly inspired by meyhanes.
- Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen is set to open its 10th UK location later this summer after agreeing a deal with Bath’s DoubleTree by Hilton. The opening marks the third hotel partnership announced by Gordon Ramsay Restaurants Global – the arm of the business that is focused on venues that aren’t company owned – this year. It follows last month’s announcement of a new restaurant in partnership with London’s South Bank hotel Sea Containers and plans unveiled in March for a fine dining restaurant at the Fairmont Cheshire. Reflecting the ‘energetic spirit of the Bread Street Kitchen brand’, the interiors are being overseen by Aspinall Creative Studios and will feature rich leather seating, bespoke artwork and atmospheric lighting, ‘creating a warm and welcoming space’.
- Mission Mars has said in its strategic report that it is considering overseas expansion of its Albert’s Schloss brand after reporting record financial results. For the year ended 28 September 2025, the group’s revenue increased to £116.5m, up from £92.9m the previous year, with Rudy’s contributing £62.2m and the group’s bars business contributing £53.8m. Pre-tax profit rose from £2.5m to £7.2m and the group also reported group like-for-like (LFL) growth of 5.1%, compared to 8% in FY24. Its four Albert’s Schloss venues in London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester contributed a combined revenue of £45.8m, rising from £37.5m, while Rudy’s, which operates around 40 sites, increased its revenue contribution by 34% year-on-year and also increased adjusted site EBITDA by 46% to £10.4m. Mission Mars opened seven new sites under the Rudy’s Pizza brand during the period and is set to open a further six pizzerias in the current financial year. It also reported that both businesses have traded well in the first seven months of the current financial year, with Albert’s Schloss delivering record revenues of £29.9m and Rudy’s revenue rising to £41m.
- Market Place Food Hall will open what it describes as the UK’s first food hall within a train station this autumn with the launch of a site at London’s Victoria station. The 5,000sq ft venue will seat more than 200 guests and bring together 10 F&B concepts featuring a central bar serving craft beers, cocktails and premium drinks alongside a mix of street food vendors spanning international flavours. The venue also plans to show live sports screenings. The operator says community engagement will play a key role in the venue’s launch and long-term strategy, with plans to work closely alongside local businesses, residents, and organisations to establish Market Place Food Hall as a ‘central part of Victoria’s social landscape’.