Big brand, large-scale openings join intimate sites from first-time restaurateurs in our restaurant round-up. Sophie Witts reports
Canal Turn
Location Nottingham
Opening Spring
2018 MasterChef: The Professionals winner Laurence Henry is to open a restaurant at Nottingham's Island Quarter development in spring (pictured above). Details are yet to be announced. Henry won the BBC cooking competition aged 25 when he was sous chef at Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham.
Lisboeta
Location Fitzrovia, London
Head chef Nuno Mendes
Opening Spring
Chef Nuno Mendes is returning to the London restaurant scene after stepping away from Shoreditch restaurant Maos in 2020.
Lisboeta will be set across three floors and serve large sharing dishes inspired by ‘tasca' (casual Portuguese eateries) of Lisbon, alongside ‘pesticos' (small plates).
X by Harry Guy
Location Chester, Cheshire
Head chef Harry Guy Opening Summer
Harry Guy, winner of the 2016 Roux Scholarship, is to open his first solo restaurant at the boutique Wildes Chester hotel this summer. It will seat 50 covers and serve British dishes, and the chef will work with local suppliers and farmers.
Apricity
Location Duke Street, Mayfair, London
Opening March
Chef Chantelle Nicholson's next London restaurant will pioneer the principles of a circular economy. She has worked with head chef Eve Seemann to create a menu centred around seasonal produce from small-scale farmers and locally foraged ingredients, with a zero-waste approach to cooking.
Duck & Waffle Edinburgh
Location Edinburgh Opening 2022
Duck & Waffle is heading to Scotland for its first UK restaurant outside of London. The all-day venue will occupy an 8,400 sq ft site with an outdoor terrace on the fourth floor of the St James' Quarter development in Edinburgh. It will serve a playful twist on British cuisine, with dishes designed for sharing.
Gaucho
Location Glasgow
Opening February
Gaucho's first Scottish restaurant will serve exclusively ‘carbon-neutral steaks'. The group claims all carbon emissions from its beef will be offset through funding a reforestation programme in the Amazon rainforest with charity partner Not For Sale.
Cedric Grolet at the Berkeley
Location Knightsbridge, London
Opening Early 2022
French pastry chef Cedric Grolet has gained more than two million Instagram followers with images of his fruit desserts and delicate flower designs. His first pâtisserie outside France will open at London's Berkeley hotel alongside a new café, which will serve a teatime experience designed by the chef.
Björn Frantzén at Harrods
Location Knightsbridge, London
Opening Late 2022
Swedish chef Björn Frantzén (pictured), whose restaurants Frantzén in Stockholm and Zén in Singapore both hold three Michelin stars, is to open his first UK site at Harrods in London. Details are scarce but the restaurant is described as a state-of-the-art site that will serve Frantzén's signature cuisine, which traditionally draws on Nordic, Japanese and French influences.
Boxhall
Location Bristol
Opening Autumn/winter
Boxpark is to open its first shipping container food hall outside of London in Bristol. The 20,000 sq ft venture will feature local, independent street food traders and restaurant operators across seven kitchens and two external terraces.
The Aubrey
Location Knightsbridge, London
Opening January
The former Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London hotel is being relaunched as an izakaya-inspired bar and restaurant by hospitality group Maximal Concepts. The restaurant will offer lunch and afternoon tea before transforming into a ‘lively' evening destination.
Arcade Food Hall
Location Tottenham Court Road, London
Opening 2022
JKS Restaurants is relaunching the Arcade Food Hall at London's Centre Point after the development got off to a rocky start. The venue will have eight new kitchens and showcase multiple JKS brands under one roof, while a counter will serve coffee, sandwiches, pastries and an "immersive dessert experience".
Number Eight
Location Sevenoaks, Kent
Opening January
Stuart Gillies, former chief executive of the Gordon Ramsay Group, is to open a restaurant and bar in Sevenoaks in Kent. The menu will be based on Gillies' time working as a chef in cities including Stockholm, Rome, New York and London, with dishes set to include buttermilk chicken, barbecue sauce and blue cheese shavings; and fettucine of Dorset crab, chilli, spring onions and garlic (pictured).
Noci
Location Islington Green, London
Opening March
Louis Korovilas, the chef behind Bancone's signature silk handkerchief, walnut and confit egg yolk pasta, is to open a neighbourhood Italian restaurant in London's Islington Green. It will serve regional Italian dishes with a deli counter selling fresh pasta daily.
Aragawa
Location London
Head chef Kazuo Imayosh
Opening May
Tokyo restaurant Aragawa, which has been serving specialist Japanese beef for more than 50 years, is opening a restaurant in London. Its menu will focus on a strain of wagyu cattle, which will be grilled over charcoal and seasoned only with salt and pepper.
Rockfish
Location Salcombe, Devon
Opening Summer
Mitch Tonks' ninth Rockfish restaurant will launch in Salcombe in Devon this summer. It will overlook the seafront and serve sustainably caught seafood, including John Dory, hake, scallops and plaice, depending on the season, availability and weather.
M Newfoundland
Location Canary Wharf, London
Opening Spring
M is to open a 10,000 sq ft restaurant in the Newfoundland tower in London's Canary Wharf, the UK's sixth tallest building. Its design will be inspired by the French Riviera, with floor to ceiling windows, a 180-cover dining room, members' lounge and a ‘wagyu and wine' café.
Riding House Bloomsbury
Location Bloomsbury, London
Opening Spring
Adam White, who launched London's Riding House Café in 2011, is to open a second iteration of the restaurant in Brunswick Centre in London's Bloomsbury. The 6,000 sq ft site will seat 165 indoor covers and 65 outside. Executive chef Henry Omereye will serve an all-day menu with Bajan influences.
Continue reading
You need to be a premium member to view this. Subscribe from just 99p per week.
Already subscribed? Log In