- Gennaro Contaldo is teaming up with Prezzo owner Brava Hospitality Group to open his first new restaurant in nearly two decades. BOLO, named after the Italian chef’s signature bolognese recipe, is set to open later this year on Glasshouse Street in Soho. The intimate 32-cover restaurant will serve a pared-back menu of traditional Italian dishes and will sit next to a Prezzo Italian. It marks Contaldo’s return to the restaurant scene following the closure of Passione in Fitzrovia in 2009, after 10 years of trading. Born in Campania, Contaldo was an early mentor to Jamie Oliver, with the pair first meeting in the 1990s at Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden.
- Former Hide chef Ollie Dabbous is returning to London’s dining scene next month for a two-week residency at new live-fire restaurant Kāio. Running from 16 to 19 September and again from 23 to 26 September, the residency will see Dabbous team up with Kāio head chef Sachin Mistry for a series of dinner services. He’ll serve a six-course tasting menu built around seasonal ingredients, considered flavours and Kāio’s live-fire cooking style. The residency comes as Dabbous continues to be linked with speculation over a potential new restaurant of his own.
- Profits at the UK’s 100 largest restaurant groups - based on turnover - have fallen by 44%, according to new data from accountancy group UHY Hacker Young. Combined profits dropped to £204 million in the latest year, down from £365 million previously, despite turnover across the Top 100 increasing from £12.9 billion to £13.3 billion. Martin Jones, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said the decline reflects the growing pressure from increases to the National Minimum Wage and employers’ National Insurance contributions, alongside higher business rates and continued inflation in food and energy costs.
- Canadian restaurant operator Groupe Grandio is bringing its La Cage ‘sports brasserie’ brand to London, with a new site set to open on Kensington High Street early next month. The restaurant will serve Canadian-inspired food and cocktails alongside live sport. Founded in Montreal in 1984, La Cage is described by Groupe Grandio as a Quebec institution and now operates nearly 40 restaurants across the province. The brand made its international debut in Bordeaux-Bègles, France, in 2023, followed by a second French site in Aix-en-Provence earlier this year. The London opening will mark La Cage’s first move into an English-speaking market, with the Kensington site set to act as a flagship for its wider international expansion.
- Financial Secretary to the Treasury James Murray has warned that cutting hospitality VAT from 20% to 10% would cost ‘a lot of money’, according to The Sun. Speaking to the newspaper, Murray said any reduction would need to be ‘fully funded’ and deliver value for taxpayers, while stressing that the Government remains keen to support the sector. He said the Government would not ‘get ahead’ of any measures that could be announced at the Budget, but added that it needs to keep looking at ways to support high streets and pubs.