Restaurant reopening
- Test Driving Davies and Brook To Go - fried chicken buckets from Claridge's
With Eleven Madison Park and Nomad closed in New York, the new Davies and Brook 'To Go' box from Claridge's is the only way to eat chef Daniel Humm's food during the lockdown. We gave it a go.
- Soho street festival campaign wants to pedestrianise Soho for the summer
How will London's restaurant scene survive Covid? Actually, will it survive Covid? That's the question being asked by more and more restaurant, bar and pub operators, as the prospect of opening with a potential 2m social distancing rule looms.
But rather than buckle under the weight of such restrictions, one London area has decided to fight for its future. The Soho Summer Street Festival campaign aims to pedestrianise Soho for the summer, allowing
... - The St John Bakery, and their amazing doughnuts, is back
Have you been missing St John's amazing custard doughnuts? Or maybe there aren't enough Eccles cakes in your life right now? Well, the wait is nearly over as this week sees the return of the St John Bakery.
They're starting things off with the main bakery on Druid Street in Bermondsey and we're promised the return of fresh doughnuts, pastries, sourdoughs, raisin loaves, wine and more. Quoting Fergus
... - Claude Bosi's Oyster Bar at Bibendum starts a weekend delivery menu
We're still a little way off from London's Michelin-starred restaurants being reopened, but in South Kensington Claude Bosi isn't hanging around. While his two Michelin-starred restaurant upstairs in the Michelin building will have to wait - right now he's concentrating on the downstairs oyster bar.
From this week, they'll have a new set menu every day for collection - running from Thursday -
... - Nasi Economy Rice is reopening as a Malaysian deli
You've got to feel for the many London hospitality businesses who opened their doors in the weeks running up to lockdown. All that excitement, passion and energy followed by an abrupt closure and then, nothing. Mandy Yin's Nasi Economy Rice was one such place, opening for business just 10
... - Flor reopens in Borough, and they're bringing the brown butter cakes
We had a bit of a preview yesterday as Flor - the sister restaurant to Michelin-starred Lyles - started selling pastries through Dalston's Snackbar.But now Flor itself has joined the steady stream of re-opening restaurants.
Flor will only be opening for takeaway to start with - starting
... - Boris hints that restaurants and pubs may open sooner than July, and the 2m rule is being reviewed
The rules around the relaxing of the lockdown have been somewhat vague, as anyone who's been to Barnard Castle knows. Until yesterday, while restaurants were open for delivery, we knew that they wouldn't be opening up for diners until 4 July at the earliest. There was also no solid information about pub openings. Yesterday, that changed thanks to Boris Johnson's appearance at
... - Padella enter the DIY game with cook-at-home pasta kits
The good news is that Padella is going to be doing pasta deliveries from this weekend. The bad news is that, to begin with, you have to be in either Hackney or Islington to avail yourself of the service.
If you do happen to be in either of those boroughs then you can order up one of two pasta kits to cook up at home in less than five minutes. The options are their famous pappardelle beef shin ragu, which Grace
... - Wander in Stoke Newington starts delivering weekly banquets
When Wander in Stoke Newington closed at the beginning of the lockdown, there was some worry that it wouldn't return. But now it's back in its new delivery-only guise, with two new meal kits that look well worth your time.
The first is the Wander Banquet. That's five dishes of the kind previously served in Wander, with just a little finishing at home. To give you an idea, this week's meal
... - Pascal Aussignac launches meals-to-go at Comptoir Gascon
Returning to the City today is Pascal Aussignac and his restaurant Comptoir Gascon, kicking off a new collection service. It's the first week Pascal's takeaway selection has been available since lockdown and, much like the restaurant, there's a very classic French feel about the dishes on offer with the chef's signature foie gras making an appearance.
Here's a selection of
... - Fortnum & Mason reopens its Piccadilly food halls today
Slowly but surely, London's department stores are beginning to emerge from Lockdown. A few weeks back we had Selfridges reopening their food hall. This morning it's the turn of Piccadilly's Fortnum & Mason.
The West End grocers will open the doors to the ground and basement first - allowing Piccadilly
... - Bar Douro is delivering Portuguese food to Londoners
Fancy getting some Portuguese food in? Well, Bar Douro have just returned to help you with that.
From Friday they're returning, kicking off with delivery on Deliveroo. The menu will be similar to the restaurants, with sections for Petiscos (snacks), Horta (garden), Mar (sea) and Terra (land).
- Din Tai Fung returns to Covent Garden, delivering dumplings, noodles and more...
We are seeing rather a lot of restaurants making their return to London right now. And next up are the hugely popular Din Tai Fung in Covent Garden.
It's delivery only, of course, so you won't be able to see the artists at work creating the xiao long bao dumplings (it's so soothing - we could watch that for ages) and indeed, it doesn't seem that the soup dumplings available at
... - Ottolenghi is back - starting with Notting Hill and Islington
Have you missed that whole wandering past an Ottolenghi, being tempted by the cake displays in the window, and then popping in to order as much as you could carry thing? Well, that chance is coming back with the news that two of the stores are getting ready to reopen.
It all starts with Notting Hill today, with Islington to follow on Friday. They're starting slowly - first with a reduced "essentials"
... - Honest Burgers are open for delivery again across London
The latest to come back all guns blazing after lockdown is Honest Burgers. If you've been missing their rosemary fries, then you'll be very pleased to know that they're slowly reopening all their restaurants across the country (delivery only, of course).
Here are the London Honests that are open now:
- Borough
- Brixton
- Canary