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Re-furb
- Murano is celebrating its 15th birthday with a facelift (and new chef)
How best to celebrate your 15th birthday? Well, if you're Angela Hartnett's Michelin-starred restaurant Murano then you give yourself a bit of time off for a makeover.
Hartnett's Mayfair restaurant will close for three weeks over August and September before returning with a new look and a new head chef. George Ormond has just taken over the kitchen here from Emily Brightman, having worked alongside her for the
... - Islington restaurant Bellanger gets a major makeover
Updated 1/6/23 with new images
For the past month, Bellanger has been closed for what turns out to be a major overhaul. If you know the restaurant either from its Bellanger days or, before that, Browns you'll be aware that the space has always had the bar running down the right-hand side of the room on a different level.
As it gets ready to reopen, we've been hearing more details
... - Gordon Ramsay's The Savoy Grill reopens with new wine room and bar
After a two month closure, Gordon Ramsay's The Savoy Grill has just thrown open its doors again to show off a brand new look. The main restaurant has been given what they're describing as a Gatsby makeover with blush silk-lined walls and a new colour scheme making the whole space look very elegant indeed.
It's not just about the wallpaper though - the restaurant now has a new look scalloped pewter bar and
... - Quo Vadis is getting a big refurb and doubling its capacity
Some years ago, when Barrafina moved to Dean Street, it came at the cost of dramatically reducing the space available for Jeremy Lee's Quo Vadis. Now we're happy to report that Quo Vadis itself is doing something of a land grab and will soon have double the space inside.
Previously only able to take 20 diners, capacity will be expanding to a much more convivial 40. The move comes
... - The Chelsea Pig will be furniture designer Timothy Oulton's first pub
Updated 14/10/21 with opening date
He has stores worldwide from Miami to Moscow, but now interior designer Timothy Oulton has returned back to the UK to open his first pub.
The Chelsea Pig is a bit of an SW3 landmark, having been around since the 1890s. Now for the 2020s it's getting a new lease of life. Obviously, design is to the fore with a moonstone bar, vintage furniture from Timothy's own collection and
... - The Beaumont (and Colony Grill) is coming back with a new look
11/8/21 - Updated with photos
It's been closed ever since the first lockdown, but now The Beaumont hotel in Mayfair is finally reopening - and there are a fair few changes as it re-emerges.
The hotel, once run by Corbin & King, is just a few steps from Oxford Street. Both the bar and restaurant have always been pretty handy for escaping the shopping masses (who
... - New China rises from the ashes to reopen in Chinatown
Well before Covid decimated trade in London's Chinatown, longstanding New China restaurant on Gerrard Street suffered its own catastrophe. A fire ripped through the well known restaurant back in September 2019, leaving most of the restaurant seriously damaged.
But now, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the restasurant has finally reopened its doors. Over the last 20 months it's had a full refurb
... - Test Driving J Sheekey - a London institution celebrating its 125th birthday
Truly a London institution, Sheekey's celebrates a landmark birthday this year. We revisted the Covent Garden restaurant to see how they're looking at 125 years young.
- Selfridges' alto rooftop restaurant gets a Dior makeover for summer
If the alto rooftop restaurant at Selfridges wasn't already enough of a draw in this summer months, its latest design iteration should make it practically impossible to get a table there anytime soon.
For the summer, it's been taken over by Dior and given a summery makeover by the fashion house. So the roof has been draped with Dior's toile de Jouy, with new summer seating, parasols and deckchairs.
That's not all
... - The Perry Hill Pub gets a new lease of life in Catford
Back before Christmas, there was a distinct frisson of excitement in South London when it was revealed that local pub the Perry Hill was being taken over by new company, Doghouse Pubs. The pub's been closed for quite a while, so this was great news for locals. Even more so when it turned out that Doghouse Pubs was run by Phil Sutton (previously at the Florence in Herne Hill) and his wife Oonagh McCormack.
Now, in
... - Highgate's The Bull and Last reopens after a major makeover
Eighteen months ago, popular North London gastropub, The Bull and Last, closed for what would be the mother of all makeovers. The whole pub was getting a fresh look and they were adding six new bedrooms for bed and breakfast.
Well now the wait for Highgate pub, which regularly featured on the top 50 gastropubs list, is over. It reopens tonight.
"We’ll be dinner only," they told Hot Dinners, "with lunch services starting
... - Big changes are coming to Camden Town Brewery including a new restaurant
Celebrating a decade since they opened in 2010, Camden Town Brewery will re-open under the railway arches with a revamped space that houses not just their award-winning beers, but their first restaurant, an extended taproom and immersive brewery tours. - The Duke of York in Haggerston is reopening - and this time it's all about the booze
Updated 17/10/19 with menu and images
If you've been wondering what's going on at the Duke of York on Downham Street (where the old Beef & Brew was) then let us enlighten you.
It's expected to reopen today under new management. Running the show now is Barworks - the folk behind Mare Street Market, The Well & Bucket and more. Hot Dinners spoke to the company's co-owner Marc Francis-Baum who told us that while in previous
... - First look: Hélène Darroze at The Connaught reopens after 10th birthday makeover
Two months after closing for a major refurbishment to coincide with the restaurant's 10th birthday, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught has now reopened with quite the new look.
Hot Dinners popped down for a preview dinner at the weekend to check out the work of Parisian design team Pierre Yovanovitch Architecture d’Intérieur and to try out Helene's new menu for the restaurant.
... - Julie's Restaurant in Holland Park is reopening with Shay Cooper as chef
12/9/19 - updated with pics of the interior and the opening date
Martin Amis wrote about it, Kate Moss had parties there and Tina Turner danced on the tables - ever since it opened back in 1969 Julie's Restaurant in Holland Park has had A-list glitter sprinkled all over it. It was the kind of place you'd find Princess Diana having lunch with her besties or Mick Jagger having dinner a deux with Princess Margaret.
The name came from
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