Caterer and Hotelkeeper 100: George Bukhov, Goodman Restaurants and Burger & Lobster

06 December 2012
Caterer and Hotelkeeper 100: George Bukhov, Goodman Restaurants and Burger & Lobster

Overall ranking: 97 (NEW ENTRY)
Restaurateur ranking: 24 (NEW ENTRY)

George Bukhov - Snapshot
George Bukhov-Weinstein, usually referred to as George Bukhov, is the director of Goodman UK, and Burger & Lobster UK. Goodman Restaurants is a steakhouse brand, of which there are three in London, while Burger & Lobster, which serves only the eponymous ingredients, has three London restaurants with a fourth imminent in early 2013.

George Bukhov - Career guide
Goodman Restaurants is a Russian company which started in 2001 in Moscow. George Bukhov joined Goodman Restaurants as an investor before becoming a director. He was sent over to the UK in 2007 to open Goodman on British soil.

Bukhov hails from outside the restaurant business. Before Goodman he was head of corporate legal operations for MTV Russia and director of VH1 Russia.

George Bukhov - What we think
Goodman Restaurants, and Burger & Lobster, are prime examples of how the "kiss" mantra (keep it simple stupid) can be a winning formula, and have wooed punters since the first Goodman opened in 2008 on London's Maddox Street.

Pre-opening, restaurant critics were sceptical of the return of the steakhouse concept but soon swallowed their words (and the dishes cooked to order in charcoal ovens).

The Maddox Street restaurant was followed by ventures in the City and Canary Wharf, and their rapid ascent was soon to be matched by the stratospheric rise of the Burger & Lobster concept.

December 2011 saw the opening of the first Burger & Lobster, in Mayfair. In May 2012 Goodman restaurants paid £1.2m for two sites from Bistro du Vin, in Clerkenwell and on Soho's Dean Street, and openings followed. The menu, like the leather-seated and bare light bulb décor, is pared down to a few stylish basics, and some of the sites do not offer bookings (although this policy was being reviewed as we went to press).

The fourth Burger & Lobster, of 120-covers including bar, looks set to open on London's Bread Street in January 2013, and then according to a company spokeswoman, Burkhov will "take a break".

However it looks as though some breathing space will do no harm, as within their first year the Burger & Lobster concepts have wowed customers, who have given them a high ranking in the Zagat London Restaurant Survey 2012.

Bistro du Vin sold for £1.2m to Burger & Lobster >>

London restaurant scene recovering, reports Zagat >>

Goodman City, London >>

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking