- Adam Byatt has closed his Clapham neighbourhood restaurant Bistro Union after almost 15 years. Located on Abbeville Road, a short walk from Byatt’s flagship Trinity, the restaurant opened in 2012 with a more casual British offer. The closure follows a relaunch in March, when Bistro Union brought back its original 2012 menu and prices in response to the rising cost of dining out in London. The ‘new old’ menu featured dishes including chicken Kyiv and toad in the hole, alongside bar snacks and daily specials.
- The Government has announced a £210m funding package aimed at transforming vacant high street shops, pubs and clubs into shared workspaces, cafes and community hubs. The investment includes a new £125m Derelict Buildings Fund, which will support local authorities in bringing empty shopping centres, former cinemas and other long-vacant properties back into use as commercial and community assets. A further £65m will help communities acquire and revitalise local assets at risk of closure, including pubs, sports clubs and other community venues. The funding is intended to tackle the decline of town centres while supporting local economic growth and job creation.
- Internationally acclaimed 99 Sushi Bar & Restaurant is set to make its UK debut this November with the opening of a flagship restaurant in London’s Mayfair. Located at 22 Park Lane, the opening will mark the latest expansion for the contemporary Japanese restaurant group, which has sites in Madrid, Barcelona, Marbella, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Monaco, Rabat and Budapest. The 60-cover restaurant will serve a modern interpretation of traditional Japanese cuisine and feature a four-seat sushi counter where diners can watch dishes being prepared. The site will also feature a 19-cover cabaret bar.
- The company behind Jason Atherton’s London restaurant Sael has entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation, with Kevin Weir of Hudson Weir appointed as liquidator, following the St James’s restaurant’s closure earlier this year after less than two years of trading. Carlton Social Ltd’s latest accounts, covering the year to 29 April 2026, showed total assets of £2.5m, cash of £19,000 and net liabilities of £598,000. The company employed an average of 29 people during the period. The modern British brasserie had received positive reviews from The Times critic Giles Coren and The Standard’s then restaurant critic David Ellis.
- Andrew Wong will relaunch his two-Michelin-starred Pimlico restaurant later this month following a two-month hiatus, with a new tasting menu, redesigned dining room and new show kitchen. The new Collections of China menu draws on Wong’s research in Beijing and Shanghai and explores traditional Chinese cooking techniques and their development in contemporary kitchens. The menu places particular emphasis on texture, with dishes featuring ingredients including sea cucumber and hand-pulled noodles, alongside techniques such as slow-simmered stocks, clay-jar mother brines and pickles. The restaurant’s new menu will also explore the role of tradition in modern Chinese cuisine.