As the year comes to a close, we've gone back and crunched the numbers to find out precisely which were the news stories that you all wanted to read on Hot Dinners in 2023.
A TV competition results in a Five Star pop-up
Over six weeks contestants on Channel Four's Five Star Chef thrashed it out to win the chance to open a restaurant at the luxury Langham London hotel in Marylebone. Michel Roux Jr, food writer Ravneet Gill and restaurateur Mike Reid were the judges who picked and propelled chef Dom Taylor to fame. Taylor's resulting residency was a sell-out hit as well as being our most-read story of 2023 by a huge margin.
More about The Good Front Room
Marcus Wareing calls it a day at The Berkeley
For two decades chef Marcus Wareing has presided over the Michelin-starred main restaurant at Knightsbridge hotel The Berkeley. But all good things must come to an end and in 2023 the hotel and chef agreed to part ways a year after the departure of the restaurant's chef patrons Shauna And Mark Froydenlund. The last service was on Boxing Day. Now everyone's waiting to hear what will replace it.
More about Marcus at The Berkeley
An under-the-radar pub opened its doors in Soho
Can there really be a food or Guinness-obsessed Londoner that hasn't heard about The Devonshire? Quite apart from the fact that the Hot Dinners team appeared to be spending an almost worrying amount of time in there, this joyous new addition to Soho's drinking and dining scene proved to be a story that everyone wanted to know about.
TOWIE favourite Sheesh arrives in town
Out in the wilds of Essex (OK, Chigwell) Sheesh had built quite the reputation for being a place for star-spotting everyone from Rod Stewart to Russell Crowe. But it's one thing to wow the burbs and quite another to translate that to West End success. No critic ended up reviewing it (something of a surprise, frankly), but the place certainly seems busy whenever we wander past.
Folks get in a froth about Big Mamma's Jacuzzi
The Big Mamma Group don't do restaurant openings on the QT. Just like their restaurant designs, the arrival of one of their new restaurants in London is usually heralded with a frenzy of activity and anticipation. This year they debuted not one but two restaurants. And while Carlotta in Marylebone may have been our own personal favourite of the two, it was Jacuzzi on High Street Ken that created the most buzz.
The Tamil Crown opens in Islington
That Tamil Prince caused quite a stir when it opened in Islington last year. It revitalised the pub it took over with a truly excellent menu of south Indian food. So it's not a surprise that the same team taking over another Islington pub (this time the Charles Lamb near Angel) proved just as popular.
The Cotswolds get a lavish new estate with 5 new restaurants
American aspirational lifestyle folk RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) spent a very large sum of money doing up a country estate in the middle of the Cotswolds with all manner of amazing-sounding restaurants and bars to try. The only problem for Londoners is that there are no bedrooms, so this is either a blowout day trip or somewhere to head if you're weekending nearby.
Supernova smashes Soho's burger scene
It's super rare these days that anyone manages to launch a new London food place without any kind of promotion. But word spread quickly and quietly about the arrival of a new smashed burger place in Soho and Hot Dinners was the first place to write about it. If you fancy getting a burger, be prepared for queues...
Harrods spot a trend with a Yayoi Kusama patisserie pop-up
If you'd missed the boat with artist Yayoi Kusama's immersive show at The Tate Britain there was a chance to try her art in a new format this year. Harrods' latest popup with Louis Vuitton featured a patisserie counter with choux buns and eclairs decorated with Kusama's trademark polka dots. Oh, and there was a robot Kusama too!
Ivan Ramen pops up in Islington
For weeks London's ramen lovers flocked to Islington to slurb bowls and bowls of NYC ramen king Ivan Orkin's trademark noodles. Unfortunately, the place that housed the popular popup, Neighbourhood, didn't fare so well and has now closed its doors permanently.
Also see
Subscribe to hear the latest from Hot Dinners
