Top 10 restaurant openings of 2015
Caprice Holdings launched Sexy Fish in October, its first new concept in several years and one of the most anticipated openings of 2015. The Mayfair restaurant boasts artwork from Damien Hirst and Frank Gehry and interior design by Martin Brudnizki.
An aquatic photoshoot featuring pop star Rita Ora as a mermaid helped to promote the Berkeley Square venue.
Operations director Laura Montana
Restaurant director Paul Murashe
Executive chef Ben Orpwood
Typical dishes Seared salmon, black bean, pickled daikon and sea purslane; Cornish butterflied sardines with cherry tomatoes and chives; and beef tataki, crispy shallots, toasted rice and truffle
2)Hoppers
A much more low-key opening was Hoppers, a casual-dining restaurant on Frith Street in London's Soho from JKS Restaurants, the firm behind restaurants including Michelin-starred Gymkhana and Trishna.
Offering cuisine from Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu, with a spin on Sri Lankan street food pancakes known as hoppers, the restaurant was a hit with the critics, sparking rave reviews from the likes of the London Evening Standard.
Operator JKS Restaurants (Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi)
Covers 36
Typical dishes Chicken heart chukka; cashew, cassava and ash plantain fry; and buffalo buriani, duck egg kari, yogurt, brinjal moju
Covers main room 70; private dining room: 22
Chef-patron Tom Kitchin
Typical dishes Hand-dived Orkney scallops baked in the shell, served with a white wine, vermouth and wild herb sauce; and roasted loin of roe deer from the Borders served with root vegetable mash, apple from Kate's garden and a juniper berry sauce
D&D London has opened cafés, restaurants and bars at the German Gymnasium, the newly renovated gymnasium in King's Cross. Originally designed by Edward Gruning in 1865, the building was the first purpose-built gym in England. German-born executive chef Bjoern Wassmuth, formerly kitchen director at Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg, has created menus featuring classic Mittel-European dishes.
Covers 447
Operator D&D London
Head sommelier Virgile Degrez
Designer Conran and Partners
Typical dishes Forman's London cure smoked salmon rosti and horseradish; and roast cod fillet, pickled vegetables, capers, lemon
and smoked fish broth
Chef, food writer and TV presenter Stevie Parle has opened Craft London - a three-floor restaurant, café, cocktail bar and shop in Greenwich, London. The project, in partnership with Tom Dixon, began with a café/roastery
in October 2014.
Opened 27 April
Covers Main restaurant: 90; café, indoor: 30 café, outside: 10; bar: 65
Typical dishes Cauliflower, carrot and turnip brine pickles with salted yogurt; and clay-baked duck, honey, broad bean and barley 'miso' served with brine pickled vegetables
Chef Robert Thompson has opened his first solo restaurant on the Isle of Wight in Newport. It offers a contemporary open kitchen and a modern British menu inspired by the flavours of the island. It is located within a restored building with many of its original features, and the menus include an eight-course tasting menu, Á la carte options and a separate lunch menu.
Opened August 2015
Covers 48
Owner Robert Thompson
Typical dishes Ceviche of mackerel with cucumber, English wasabi, avocado and ponzu
7)Simpsons
Michelin-starred restaurant Simpsons in Edgbaston, Birmingham, has unveiled a major new revamp with a fresh, modern style. The refurbishment involved knocking through a wall to create a single dining space, opening onto a newly decked area for alfresco dining.
Reopened September 2015
Chef-patron Andreas Antona
Chef-director Luke Tipping
Head chef Nathan Eades
Typical dishes Carrot consommé, burrata, ginger, thyme; and honey parfait, fennel and yogurt sorbet, lemon and poppy seed cake
The latest restaurant from Jason Atherton's Social Company is located on London's James Street, just off Oxford Street. Headed by the group's executive sommelier, Laure Patry, it features over 500 bins alongside a tapas menu devised by head chef Frankie Van Loo. Atherton's sixth London site is set over two floors and includes a wine shop on the ground floor.
Covers 66
Manager Laure Patry
Typical dishes Jamon, Manchego and truffle toastie; heirloom tomato salad with burrata, basil and gazpacho dressing; seafood and rabbit Spanish rice; and crème Catalan with orange
9)The Vincent Café and Cocktail Bar
The Vincent Café and Cocktail Bar has opened in Liverpool with a breakfast-to-dinner menu designed to appeal to families. Paul Adams, who runs the Vincent hotel in Southport, is behind the venture, with financial backing from footballer Steven Gerrard. The restaurant serves a mixture of British and international dishes, including 'Gringo sushi' - a meat alternative to fish.
Opened 21 June
Covers 190
Owner Paul Adams
Typical dishes Breakfast: smashed avocado, lime, mint, toasted black quinoa, goats' milk feta and sourdough; mains: Vincent monkfish curry, ginger, almond, chilli, jasmine rice and
cucumber yogurt
Canada-based Greek restaurateur Costas Spiliadis, credited with revolutionising North America's Greek food scene, opened his first restaurant in London, Estiatorio Milos, in St James's earlier this year. Centre stage in the new venue is a huge iced "fish market" displaying the day's catch.
Covers 180
Fish market A choice of over 20 species of fish, such as barbouni, gonos, maridaki, lithrini, scorpina and rofos
Typical dishes Seasonal oysters; and sushi-quality grilled octopus with Santorini fava
