Latest opening: Aces Foodcraft
Eight years in the making, Alex Craciun and Aleksandra Jazevica debut restaurant delivers on its promise of inventive cooking shaped by Japanese technique.
Fine Dining
Jikoni founders to open South Asian vegetarian restaurant in Bloomsbury
The founders of Marylebone restaurant Jikoni are set to open a new South Asian vegetarian restaurant, Karam’s, in Bloomsbury in the second quarter of next year.
Trio of food and drink operations to open at the new The Shepherd Mayfair hotel
A modern brasserie, late-night cocktail bar and all-day cafe will open in Mayfair next year as part of new hotel The Shepherd Mayfair.
Mark Birchall: “It’s been one of the best years we’ve had here”
The chef behind Moor Hall, the UK’s most recently anointed three Michelin-starred restaurant, reflects on what can only be described as a vintage 2025.
Latest opening: Mezzogiorno by Francesco Mazzei
Francesco Mazzei has made a triumphant return to London’s restaurant scene with an Italian restaurant within five star hotel Corinthia London.
Italian restaurant Tortello to open at Royal Lancaster London hotel
Italian restaurant Tortello will add to the capitals’ burgeoning pasta scene when it opens at Royal Lancaster London hotel in the new year.
New details revealed for the relaunch of Simpson’s in the Strand
Jeremy King has released further details about his upcoming relaunch of Simpson’s in the Strand.
Gold Service Scholarship 2026 finalists revealed
The Gold Service Scholarship has revealed the ten front-of-house professionals who will go through to its final early next year.
Prawn stars: how the Bar Shrimp trio are shaking up Manchester’s cocktail scene
Having rewritten the rules of fine dining with Higher Ground, Joseph Otway, Richard Cossins and Daniel Craig Martin are turning their attention to bars.
Restaurant backed by Pep Guardiola announces sudden closure
Paco Pérez’s Spanish restaurant Tast Cuina Catalana in Manchester has announced it will close later this month.
Pho Mile stalwart Sông Quê Café to double up
East London Vietnamese restaurant Sông Quê Café will open a second restaurant later this month having acquired the former Pearly Queen site near Spitalfields.
Nick Nairn’s Kailyard Restaurant to close after 16 years
Nick Nairn’s Kailyard restaurant at Dunblane Hydro Hotel will close next year after more than a decade and a half.
Thomas Straker opens events and chef incubator space
Thomas Straker has opened a dining room that will double as an incubator space for emerging chefs next door to his Notting Hill restaurant Straker’s.
The Clink Charity’s Brixton prison restaurant to remain open after tender victory
The Clink Charity restaurant at HMP Brixton will continue to operate after it retained its tender for a further five years.
Uncorked: Helen Everitt-Matthias
The co-owner of Cheltenham’s Le Champignon Sauvage on holidaying in France, Gérard Basset and Château d’Yquem 1998.
Latest opening: HOAX
Well-known duo Simone and Lidia Crepaldi have opened a modern Italian restaurant and ‘secret’ cocktail bar in Dalston.
Moor Hall launches new PDR in partnership with The Macallan
Three Michelin-starred Lancashire restaurant Moor Hall will open a new private dining experience in collaboration with single malt Scotch whisky company The Macallan later this month.
Chiswick’s Annapurna closes after 55 years
Chiswick Indian restaurant Annapurna has closed its doors after over half a century’s trading.
Change at the top for award-winning gastropub
Chef-patron Dave Wall is “thrilled to continue the Unruly Pig legacy” as he becomes the owner of the top gastropub in the country, with Brendan Padfield announcing his retirement.
Home truths: Chez Antoinette’s husband-and-wife duo on revamping their family-run restaurant
Aurélia and Jean-Baptiste Noël-Delclos on the refurbishment of Chez Antoinette and navigating the restaurant scene in Covent Garden.
Latest opening: Gilroy’s Loft
London’s Guinness Open Gate Brewery has opened its doors, with a seafood restaurant at the top.
Nathan Outlaw’s flagship Outlaw’s New Road to close
Nathan Outlaw will close his Michelin-starred flagship restaurant Outlaw’s New Road early next year.
Uncorked: Elinor Blair
The bar manager at Wildflowers’ Bar Flor on La Grange del’Oncle Charles, Gran Canaria and pairing Champagne Morley’s chicken wings.
Latest opening: Namo
Lampang-born chef Bookie Mitchell has launched a distinctive Thai restaurant in Brighton’s The Lanes.
Former Sosharu chef returns with “boundary-pushing” Fitzrovia restaurant
Former Sosharu chef Alex Craciun has returned to the London dining scene after a seven-year hiatus, launching a “boundary-pushing” produce-led fine dining restaurant in Fitzrovia.
Hedonism’s sister wine bar to close due to redevelopment
The team behind Mayfair’s Michelin-starred HIDE will close its nearby wine bar later this month due to landlord redevelopment plans.
The creator of The Laughing Heart returns with a new Italian restaurant
Charlie Mellor, the well-known restaurateur behind The Laughing Heart, will open his new restaurant Osteria Vibrato, alongside sommelier Cameron Dewar, in Soho next year.
The long and short of it: how drinks consultant Zoe Burgess is mixing up the restaurant approach to cocktails
The founder of drinks consultancy Atelier Pip has devised a customisable cocktail menu for Michelin-starred restaurant Skof that puts the drinker in control.
Latest opening: Khao Bird Soho
Mike Palmer and Luke Larsson’s northern Thai–inspired restaurant concept has landed on Brewer Street.
F&B revealed for upcoming Fitzrovia hotel The Newman
London-based hospitality management company Kinsfolk & Co. has revealed the F&B offering for its debut project.
Uncorked: Max Graham
The founder of Portuguese restaurant group Bar Douro on Mário Sérgio, Quinta das Marias Encruzado, and his father Johnny, who founded Port house Churchill’s in the early 1980s.
Ramsay’s secret weapon steps into the limelight
Kim Ratcharoen is stepping out of the shadows to lead the next era of the restaurant in which Gordon Ramsay made his name some 25 years ago.
JKS sells its trio of London pubs
JKS Restaurants has sold its three-strong London pub business through a private investment round led by founder and managing director Dominic Jacobs.
Billy Stock and Ellie Topham’s Margate pub to launch later this week
More details have been released for chef Billy Stock and his partner Ellie Topham’s upcoming North Kent pub.
Edinburgh’s Lyla to become restaurant with rooms as Stuart Ralston pushes for two stars
Stuart Ralston has acquired the upper floors of the Georgian townhouse that houses his Michelin-starred Lyla, adding four bedrooms and a 12-cover private dining room.
Gordon Ramsay takes to the screen again in a new series following high-end restaurants
Gordon Ramsay is appearing in yet another series focusing on the skills and pressures of the fine dining sector.
How I Got Here: Martin Lange
The man behind Islington restaurants Oui Madame and Salut! on not regretting mistakes, misplaced trust, and why discipline - not creativity - is the true foundation of the sector.
Anthony Demetre takes additional space within the Sofitel London St James
Anthony Demetre will open a new private dining space within the Sofitel London St James later this month.
The Biryani Centre duo launch more elevated concept
The team behind The Biryani Centre has launched a more refined Indian restaurant concept in Southfields, West London.
Restaurant radar: December 2025
A wave of new restaurant launches closes out the year, from modern Cantonese and reimagined noodles to an urban winery entering London’s drinking scene.
Latest opening: Nora
The brothers behind London’s Café Beam have opened a modern Turkish restaurant in Canary Wharf.
Going for gold: meet Team UK’s Bocuse d’Or candidate
Chef Oliver McGeorge on his restaurant journey so far, working with Clare Smyth, and what it takes to prepare for the world’s most demanding cooking competition.
Harts Group to relaunch its cocktail bar beneath El Pastor Soho
Harts Group will relaunch the cocktail bar beneath its El Pastor restaurant in Soho early next year, repositioning it as a more grown-up venture offering table service only.
Glasgow’s The Gannet to relaunch as Eleven Fifty Five
Chef Peter McKenna will relaunch his Glasgow restaurant The Gannet as the more casual Eleven Fifty Five early next year.
Uncorked: Jake Garstang
The restaurant manager and sommelier at Hove’s Maré by Rafael Cagali on being inspired by the film SOMM, Jonathan Kleeman and Pieropan’s La Rocca.
Trullo’s Conor Gadd is opening an Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
Conor Gadd, chef co-owner of Trullo in Highbury, will open an Italian restaurant in Covent Garden next year.
Damian Clisby joins The Rectory as its head chef
Former Petersham Nurseries chef director Damian Clisby has been announced as the new head chef at boutique hotel and restaurant The Rectory.
Celentano’s to relocate to upcoming hotel Arthouse Glasgow
Anna and Dean Parker will bring their Italian restaurant Celentano’s to Arthouse Glasgow when the hotel launches early next year.
Aqua Restaurant Group brings Dim Sum Library to London
The group behind London restaurants Aqua, Hutong and Shiro will launch its Hong Kong-born concept Dim Sum Library in Covent Garden early next month.
Net closes in on ‘langoustine lady’
A woman who attracted widespread social media attention and condemnation for taking £300 worth of langoustines from Michelin-starred Chelsea restaurant Elystan Street is alleged to be the same thief who targeted another top London venue.