London

BHA backs hoteliers after criticism of Olympics profiteering

25-Mar-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) yesterday refuted claims that the country’s hotels are profiteering by charging higher room rates during the Olympic Games.

Novus completes Balls Brothers acquisition

15-Mar-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Restaurant and bar operator Novus Leisure has acquired Balls Brothers and Lewis & Clarke out of administration.

Roux Scholarship 2011: finalists announced

14-Mar-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Six finalists have been announced for this year’s Roux Scholarship, narrowed down from the 18 regional finalists that competed in week’s regional heats.

London hotels more popular than New York and Paris

09-Mar-2011 By Becky Paskin

Hotels in London boasted the third highest occupancy levels in the world last year, finishing ahead of those in Hong Kong, New York and Paris.

Boisdale Canary Wharf site set to open in April

02-Mar-2011 By Lorraine Heller

Boisdale will be opening its third site in London’s Canary Wharf, which will include a restaurant, a live music area, a whisky bar and a cigar lounge.

New service provides UK hotel data and analysis

28-Feb-2011 By Lorraine Heller

A new hotel data service has been designed to provide intelligence and benchmarking analysis to a range of businesses with interest in the UK hotel sector.

Soho House goes west with Pizza East

21-Feb-2011 By Mark Wingett

Soho House Group, the bar, restaurant and private members club company owned by Richard Caring and headed by Nick Jones, has acquired a second site in London for its pizzeria concept, Pizza East.

Ask the Experts: Preparing for the 2012 Games Part I

14-Feb-2011

The eyes of the world will be on the capital as London hosts global events in 2012 and in the run-up to the 2012 Games. Vince Fihosy, Director of London 2012 City Operations, tells BigHospitality readers how the hospitality sector should prepare for the...

London experiencing luxury hotel boom

11-Feb-2011 By Mark Stretton

London is experiencing a luxury hotel boom ahead of the Olympics, new research suggests.

Tapas restaurant opens second site in Charing Cross

27-Jan-2011 By Lorraine Heller

The owners of the Spanish restaurant Jamon Jamon, located in London’s Camden, have purchased a new site in central London, where they plan to open a second branch next month.

Battersea Power Station development is go

23-Dec-2010 By Mark Stretton

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has given the green light to a new attempt to regenerate the capital’s Battersea Power Station, this time into a £5.5bn mixed-use development with homes, office space, hotels and restaurants.

La Rosetta’s Riccioli to open London restaurant

07-Dec-2010 By Rachel Johnson

Italian chef Massimo Riccioli, chef patron of La Rosetta in Rome, is to open a seafood restaurant in London in April next year.

Government urged to rethink London tourism cuts

29-Nov-2010

The tourism industry and the British Hospitality Association (BHA) have written to London Mayor, Boris Johnson, the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, urging them to consider the risks of funding cuts...

How to deliver "outstanding" service like The Ivy

29-Nov-2010 By Becky Paskin

With the 2012 London Olympics fast approaching, the hospitality industry needs to step up its service standards to provide visitors with a warm, British welcome.

Mexican chain Chilango to open fifth London restaurant

18-Nov-2010 By Becky Paskin

Chilango, the fast-casual Mexican burrito chain, has acquired its fifth restaurant in Holborn, as the group focuses its expansion plans on London

Hawksmoor owners sell Green & Red to fund expansion

02-Nov-2010 By Becky Paskin

The Underdog Group has sold its East London tequila bar Green & Red to concentrate on the expansion of its steak restaurant concept Hawksmoor

Hotels fare well but future could be tight, says consultant

27-Oct-2010 By Lorraine Heller

Strong hotel business in most parts of the country over the past few months will help brace the industry for a tough road ahead as the effects of the Government’s spending review start to be felt

The Ledbury named Restaurant of the Year at National Restaurant Awards 2010

11-Oct-2010 By Lorraine Heller

The Ledbury has tonight been named National Restaurant of the Year, beating The Fat Duck and Bistro Bruno Loubet to the top spot in the National Restaurant Awards 2010

The Restaurant Group buys O2’s S&M Café

05-Oct-2010 By Becky Paskin

The Restaurant Group has acquired the former Smash Foods-operated S&M Café at the O2 in Greenwich, London.

Sol Melià brings new ME city hotel brand to London

30-Sep-2010 By Rachel Johnson

Spanish hotel chain Sol Melià is to bring its latest hotel brand, ME, to London, as it announces plans to open a site in Holborn in 2012

Tom Aikens abandons Paramount restaurant purchase

23-Sep-2010 By Mark Stretton

Tom Aikens, the high-end chef, has walked away from a deal to buy six sites from Paramount Restaurants  

London Olympics to hit UK hotel recovery

20-Sep-2010 By Martyn Leek

The 2012 Olympic Games could harm the strength of the UK hotel recovery, especially in host city London, according to new research

Night-time industry worth £66bn a year, say economists

13-Sep-2010 By Rachel Johnson

The British night-time industry is worth £66bn a year to the UK economy, according to a report published on Friday

Former Benugo man plans patriotic cafe chain

31-Aug-2010 By Joe Lutrario

The former operations director of Benugo has launched the first site of what is intended to be a national chain of food-led cafes.

After hours with… Katarina Todosijevic

27-Aug-2010 By Becky Paskin

Katarina Todosijevic left her small Swedish village for the bright lights of London at just 20 years old. Seven years later she is now the head chef of Searcy’s Portrait Restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery in London

YCYW 2010 regional finalists announced

24-Aug-2010 By Becky Paskin

The Restaurant Association has named the 48 regional finalists in this year’s annual Young Chef Young Waiter competition 2010

Blumenthal and Ramsay top Good Food Guide restaurant list once more

11-Aug-2010 By Becky Paskin

Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay have once again topped the Which? Good Food Guide’s Top 60 list of the UK’s best restaurants

Fire closes Rainer Becker's Roka restaurant

04-Aug-2010 By Chris Druce

A fire has closed Rainer Becker’s original Roka restaurant in London’s Charlotte Street, with the Soho venue not due to reopen for at least a month

Belgique cafe to open 11th site at London's Canary Wharf

02-Aug-2010 By Chris Druce

Continental style bakery and delicatessen Belgique café is to open its 11th outlet in London’s Canary Wharf

Tom Aikens to buy six Paramount sites

30-Jul-2010 By Mark Stretton

Tom Aikens, the Michelin-starred chef, is in exclusive negotiations to buy six eateries from Paramount Restaurants

Moshi Moshi puts flagship site up for sale

22-Jul-2010 By Hamish Smith

Moshi Moshi, Britain’s first sushi conveyor belt operator has put its flagship London restaurant Soseki up for sale

Drake & Morgan secures fourth London site

15-Jul-2010 By Mark Stretton

Drake & Morgan, the London bar-restaurant operator, is to open a fourth venue named The Folly in October

Cote expects to open restaurant number 20 this year

02-Jul-2010 By Mark Stretton

Cote, the French brasserie concept, intends to open its 20th restaurant by the year's end

July opening for Be At One's 10th bar in Shoreditch

17-Jun-2010 By Chris Druce

Cocktail bar chain Be At One’s 10th site in London’s Shoreditch will open next month with another set to follow soon after, the company has confirmed

Goodman steakhouse secures second London site

06-May-2010 By Joe Lutrario

Goodman - the top-end steakhouse concept - has completed on a site in the City, its second in London

S&M Café chain up for sale

30-Apr-2010 By Emma Eversham

Smash Foods, operator of sausage and mash-style restaurant chain S&M Café has put the six-strong group up for sale

After hours with… Jillian MacLean

26-Mar-2010 By Becky Paskin

Jillian MacLean launched bar and restaurant group Drake & Morgan in 2008, and is about to launch her third London site, The Anthologist,  near St. Paul's Cathedral next month

Drake & Morgan founder named industry rising star

04-Mar-2010 By Mark Stretton

Drake & Morgan, the fledgling bar-restaurant concept, founded by Jillian MacLean, has collected two titles at this year's Retailers' Retailer of the Year Awards

Business profile: Frank Dowling of Inc Group

03-Mar-2010 By Stefan Chomka

As founder of the Inc Group, Frank Dowling heads up a company that operates eight restaurants and bars in Greenwich

Mexican restaurant chain Chilango to expand in 2010

24-Feb-2010 By Emma Eversham

Chilango, the fast casual Mexican restaurant chain founded by Eric Partaker and Dan Houghton, will open two more sites outside the capital this year and is planning to open a 'handful' of central London sites

Restaurant operator sought for London’s tallest building

19-Feb-2010 By Becky Paskin

Heron International, the property group behind the Heron Tower construction in Bishopsgate, London, is seeking an operator for the tower’s Restaurant and Sky Bar, which upon completion will be the highest in London

Hilton spends £20m turning restaurant and bar areas into airport style lounges

15-Feb-2010 By Becky Paskin

Hilton is spending £20m on a programme to convert the food and beverage areas at 16 of its UK hotels into airport style executive lounges to attract more corporate guests

Review of the year 2009: Hotels

22-Dec-2009 By Emma Eversham

As the year comes to a close we take a look back at the hotel sector's major events of the year

Innovative design for W Hotel Leicester Square unveiled

14-Dec-2009 By Becky Paskin

The ‘extrovert and playful’ design for the new 192-bedroom W Hotel in Leicester Square, due to open in summer 2010, has been unveiled

AB Hotels to open boutique hotel in Marylebone

10-Nov-2009 By Emma Eversham

AB Hotels, operator of Sopwell House and Five Lakes hotels, unveils plans to open an 82-bedroom townhouse hotel in London next month

David Cameron praises British curry restaurants

09-Nov-2009 By Becky Paskin

The Conservative party leader David Cameron has praised Britain’s curry restaurants for demonstrating what can be achieved when communities collaborate

Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck comes top in National Restaurant Awards 2009

13-Oct-2009 By Emma Eversham

The Fat Duck tops a list of the 100 best restaurants in the UK at the National Restaurant Awards 2009

Restaurants, pubs and hotels promote British Food Fortnight

18-Sep-2009 By Emma Eversham

BigHospitality selects a few of the promotions, offers and marketing ideas being run by restaurants, hotels and pubs across the country for British Food Fortnight

Good Food Guide expands Top 40 restaurants list

08-Sep-2009 By Becky Paskin

The Which? Guide has expanded its list of the UK’s Top 40 restaurants to 50, after seeing a surge in the number of up-and-coming chefs making the grade

TGI Friday's fined £30k for running 'filthy kitchens'

28-Aug-2009 By Emma Eversham

The American-themed restaurant chain pleaded guilty to six food hygiene offences in court on Wednesday after inspectors found dead cockroaches, mouse droppings and grease-encrusted cabinets in its kitchens