Gastroblog
You've got to hand it to Fortnum & Mason; the Piccadilly store has scored a tremendous coup in getting the Queen to make a rare public appearance with her granddaughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, whilst taking tea under their roof.
We hear that Her Majesty will be in Piccadilly on 1 March 2012 with both her daughter-in-law, Camilla and Kate to try out the department store's newer restau…
Read more: The Queen, Camilla and Kate to take tea at Fortnum & Mason
They've had success only just up the road with the Chiswell Street Dining Rooms and now the Martin Brothers are opening their 10th London pub nearby - the Jugged Hare.
The restored grade II building is a gastropub with a dining area and has an open kitchen with rotiserrie and charcoal grilled food the focus. Head Chef Richard O’Connell plans a seasonal menu and as the pub will be open on Sun…
Read more: Tom & Ed Martin launch their tenth pub, the Jugged Hare, on Chiswell Street
[Updated 13/02/12- Ceviche will open on 12 March at 17 Frith St in Soho]
One of the biggest trends for next year promises to be Peruvian food - so there's a lot of people looking forward to restaurateur Martin Morales and chef Alejandro Bello's Ceviche, which opens March 2012.
The restaurant will, of course, focus on ceviche - freshly caught sustainable fish cold-cooked in Tiger’s Milk marinade ma…
Read more: Peruvian cuisine and Pisco Sours come to Soho with Ceviche
Earlier this week, Hot Dinners popped along to the launch of the London International flagship Le Cordon Bleu School, taking up its grand new residence in Bloomsbury Square.
Visitors were treated to a Willy Wonka affair for grown-ups with a ticket to access all areas across five floors and six training kitchens, in the new venue, which has capacity for up to 700 students – double the intake amount…
After losing its head chef Tristan Welch who's moved to spend more time with his family in Sweden, Launceston Place has a new face in the kitchen, Timothy Allen.
Allen has spent the past seven years working at the two Michelin starred Whatley Manor in the Cotswolds.
Already busy working on his new menu for Launceston Place, the Yorkshireman has a first-rate background. Before his work at Whatley M…
We're suckers for good bar snacks or any kind of free food in fact, so we welcome the news that Pizza East Portobello is launching an aperitivo period.
Following in the Milanese fashion of offering free small plates of food to go with after-work drinks, the aperitivo time will run from 5-7pm Monday through to Wednesday each week.
Antipasti will be served on large wooden boards on the bar and deli…
They're just the length of Usain Bolt's warm-up track away from the Olympic Stadium and now Formans restaurant on Fish Island have started taking bookings for the Olympics period. The restaurant which sits on top of the famous smokehouse (their salmon can be found in Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament) will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Although most of their bookings will p…
Read more: Formans of Fish Island open restaurant reservations for Olympics
Russian restaurant Mari Vanna is almost about to throw open the doors in Knightsbridge. This Russian restaurant already has popular outposts in Moscow, St Petersburg and New York and becomes the latest London restaurant to court London's resident oligarchs.
Situated in Knightsbridge, a few steps from the station and right next to the new Bulgari Hotel, the restaurant will be aiming for the style o…
Read more: Russian favourite Mari Vanna to open London restaurant in Knightsbridge
What can you tell me about Roti Chai?
It's an Indian restaurant nestled in the heart of Mayfair - but with a difference. Roti Chai's main speciality, and one you'll see as you enter the brightly lit first floor, is of Indian Street food. So the restaurant is split into two - the upstairs mainly focuses on the street food aspect, but the downstairs is a more traditional Indian restaurant. We decide…
Read more: Chicken lollipops and bun kebabs - Roti Chai in Mayfair
[Updated 9 February 2012]
We're loving the sound of an upcoming opening over in Broadway Market in March. Market Café will apparently "recreate the spirit of the classic Italian “formica” café of the 1950’s". It's a labour of love for Hugo Warner, one of the founding members of Benugo.
"Often dismissed as greasy spoons and poor relations to their continental counterparts, these working class, form…
Read more: Benugo founder to open Market Cafe on Broadway Market
[Updated 9/3/12 with the menu details]
Six of the world's best female chefs are going to be cooking together in London for a series of exclusive dinners this March. The idea sounds great, even if the title is bloody awful - Girl's Night Out. Can you imagine Heston Blumenthal working alonside Thomas Keller for a "Boys Only" event? Anyway, we digress. The main point is the sheer amount of talent tha…
Read more: Angela Hartnett teams up with Prune chef for London's girls night out
It's a bit of a coup for Iqbal Wahhab’s Roast over in Borough Market as they get their hands on ex-Caprice Holdings chef Marcus Verberne. Marcus has worked alongside Mark Hix for over a decade at places including Le Caprice, J Sheekey, The Ivy and Hix at The Albemarle where he was Head Chef.
Verberne is already in the kitchens over at Roast, with some of his dishes - including chargrille…
Read more: Roast at Borough Market lures ex Mark Hix chef to head up kitchens
Their first venture was a pop-up Sunday Roast supperclub at F Cooke & Sons on Broadway Market and they followed that with a Burger pop-up in the same venue. Now Superette Sundays are branching out with a new Sunday roast pop-up, this time taking place at one of the locations run by Upper Street furniture shop Castle Gibson. The chefs are brothers Ben and Matthew Bishop who've served time in th…
Read more: Superette Sundays team up with Castle Gibson for a roast pop-up
Want to make your almost unhealthy interest in food look a little more highbrow? We've heard of a couple of events that could work for you.
First up, the British Library is taking chef interviews to a new level. Several London chefs, including David Eyre, of Eyre Brothers, are taking part in "Food: From Source to Salespoint" - an oral history of the history of British food.
Eyre has contribu…
Adam Byatt's Trinity restaurant in Clapham is a South London favourite, and he's now expanding to nearby Abbeville Road with Bistro Union.
The kitchen will be run by head Chef Karl Goward. He's worked at St John Bread and Wine from its launch and before that in NYC at Soho House and the hugely popular and very trendy (but quite small) Prune. The Bistro Union menu will have a strong focus on Britis…
Read more: Trinity's Adam Byatt to open Bistro Union in Clapham
