A wine-oriented culinary reinvention will always prick the ears of the Harpers team, and news of the relaunch of Boxcar Bar & Grill as Boxcar Fire & Wine did just this. A stone’s throw from Hyde Park, the reinvigorated restaurant, with a revamped interior to boot, is led by head chef Zisis Gkalmpenis. Hailing from Greece, his experience incorporates time at top London restaurants including the Michelin-starred Pied à Terre. Central to the kitchen’s creations is the use of an open grill, with direct, elemental cooking its MO. Expect inventiveness, from Galician blonde beef rib to brill with asparagus and wild garlic. Wine takes centre stage too with an emphasis on small-scale, sustainable producers from the world over. Included in the restaurant’s wine list will be its own-label rosé, Tinted Glasses, created in collaboration with Château Saint-Maur in Provence.
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London’s Marylebone is already spoilt for top restaurants, with new Middle Eastern venue Noreen adding to this culinary grandeur. Diners at the new eatery can expect recipes taking inspiration from across the region. The menu, steered by ex-Dorchester chef Mehdi Hani, will includes mezzes to share, complimented by Tannour-oven fired flatbreads as well as selections from the Minqala grill for carnivorous diners. The drinks menu will include cocktails from Mr Lyan Studio, taking inspiration from the Middle Eastern ingredients including the distilled spirit arak, as well as hibiscus, za’atar and tahini. The wine list will spotlight a number of emerging regions, including Lebanon and Turkey.
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Nestled beneath Covent Garden Market, Courtyard Wine Cellars will bring an expansive wine offering to the central London tourist hotspot. The venue, which opened in May, touts itself as the capital’s largest wine bar, offering everything from reasonably priced Provence rosé by the glass to bottles of claret approaching the grand mark. The 1,000-strong wine list will cater to the diverse array of shoppers in the market, as will the gastronomic options, with a hearty lunch menu complementing more relaxed, pizza-oriented evening fare.
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Published: 30 April, 2025
Wine wholesaler Evertons Wine Merchants has announced the opening of a retail site, with a new wine shop set to open in Worcester on Friday 2 May.
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Published: 18 April, 2025
Opening in the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery is the latest eponymous offering from Giorgio and Plaxy Locatelli, in partnership with catering supremo Searcy’s. The menu from chef Giorgio Locatelli will draw inspiration from the hallowed paintings that call the National Gallery home. So if Caravaggio-inspired Italian food, from braised veal ravioli to Tiramisu, piques your interested, then a trip to the new 80-seater restaurant opening on 10 May could be in order. The opening of the venue coincides with the reopening of the Sainsbury Wing after a two-and-a-half year transformation, undertaken to mark the bicentenary of the famous gallery. The wine list, devised by Martin Didden, head of Champagne and wine for Searcy’s and wine director Virgilio Gennaro, will include vintages from Broglia, the oldest vineyard in Gavi as well as Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta.
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Published: 16 April, 2025
Championing the diversity of Spanish cuisine is the latest restaurant from Michelin-star awarded chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho, in partnership with JKS Restaurants. The Shoreditch venue will offer recipes that take inspiration from across Iberia, from Galician seafood in the north west to the tabancos of Cádiz and Jerez in the south. Legado, meaning ‘legacy’ in Spanish, is a nod to not only Spain’s gastronomic heritage but Mohacho’s personal journey as a chef. Having arrived in London in 1998 at the age of 19, she worked her way up in the industry, eventually opening her Michelin star-winning Sabor in 2018. The new eatery, expected to open this summer, will reflect both the chef’s food and drink memories and her continual culinary discoveries.
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Published: 14 April, 2025
Authentic pasta made from traditional recipes used in Italian households is the idea behind Officina 00 Covent Garden – the newest collaboration between best friends and business partners Elia Sebregondi and Enzo Mirto. The pair already have several Officinas dotted around Fitzrovia and Old Street, all of which bring a polished edge to classic Italian fare, while also giving the impression of serving up dishes straight from grandma’s table (hearty and moreish being the key words). The cocktail list is just as good as the food menu, incorporating the likes of Italian Margarita, Pink Americano and 00 Spritz, all brought together by a selection of slick Italian vinos.
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Published: 21 March, 2025
Sky high have always been Gordon Ramsay’s ambitions, and his new Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High takes this vision quite literally. Based on floor 60 of the City of London’s tallest building, 22 Bishopsgate, the venue hopes to be a 12-seat chef’s table experience unlike any other. The three-sided dining table’s would-be fourth side takes in a stunning panorama of the capital. Diners can view the twinkling lights of Canary Wharf and the river traffic rounding the Isle of Dogs. The experience hopes to embody the legacy of Ramsay’s flagship three-Michelin-starred Chelsea restaurant while serving elevated neo-Nordic and Japanese-inspired dishes, guided by head chef James Goodyear. This venue is one of four new Gordon Ramsay Restaurants venues at 22 Bishopsgate.
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Published: 19 March, 2025
Unpretentious and welcoming is the MO of the new NoNo wine bar in Leeds. Opening in the Dark Arches at Leeds’ buzzy Granary Wharf, the venue hopes to attract wine lovers both new and experienced. The venue opens on 20 March and is the latest venture from the West Yorkshire-based wine merchant Barrique Fine Wines. The 60-seat venue hopes to champion quality, terroir-driven wines for a new audience, and in doing so making wine discovery a less intimidating prospect for its patrons. The venue’s proximity to Leeds train station should be a boon for footfall, while its location in Granary Wharf will allow it to seamlessly slot into a thriving hub of hospitality venues.
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Published: 17 March, 2025
The second iteration of ZIMA, whose flagship Soho restaurant has done much to enlighten intrepid foodies on the diversity and delectability of Russian and Eastern European cuisine, opened in Not-ting Hill on Valentine’s Day. The 45-cover venue will hope to further refine ZIMA’s contemporary take on the region’s food by collaborating with Eastern European chefs who will bring forth their own contemporary interpretations of the cuisine. The first chef to take on this challenge will be Michelin-starred chef Evgeny Vikentev, a pioneer of modern Russian gastronomy. Expect every-thing from royal Siberian black caviar to pirozhki buns stuffed with beef, along with a selection of Georgian wines, at the new west London venue.
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Published: 21 February, 2025
The Megaro Hotel in King’s Cross is set to open a new signature restaurant in collaboration with the much-vaunted Adam Simmonds. The Michelin star-winning chef hopes to provide Scandina-vian-inspired fare underpinned by bold flavours and a unique mission. His menu will look to explore food’s intimate ties to our senses and memories to provide an unconventional but thought-provoking dining experience (or ‘voyage’). As chef patron at the hotel, he will also oversee the operation of its all-day eatery Spagnoletti. The adventurous restaurant opens its doors on 29 January.
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Published: 19 February, 2025
A third offering from East London Mexican food aficionados sees the group open its first central London venue in Marylebone. The team, led by Edson Diaz-Fuentes and Natalie Feary, will be serving regional Mexican delights with an emphasis on guisados, slow-cooked traditional dishes and antojitos mexicanos, including hand-pressed corn dishes like empenadas. Their commitment to authentic Mexican cuisine is highlighted by bringing what were, until recently, inaccessible ingredients to UK shores, like purple heirloom corn for their antojitos. Adding to the fold British produce such as West Country venison for traditional dishes, the restaurant hopes to show the dynamism and creativity inherent to Mexican cuisine. Santo Remedio Casona & Cantina in Marylebone is set over two floors with 85 covers and a ground floor bar which will be serving tequila and mezcal cocktails.
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Published: 17 February, 2025
Glasgow is to gain a new gastropub offering early this month with The Noble Public House. The 100-cover venue is spearheaded by Glaswegian hospitality group The Superlative Collection which hopes to blend classic pub vibes with a gloss of premium bar sophistication. Standing out in Glasgow’s dynamic food and drinks scene is no mean feat but the new venue’s unique approach to familiar Scottish food and drink may help it do just that. On the drinks front this includes signature cocktails in a partnership with The Macallan whisky and beers from local brewery Jump Ship. Food will include British pub staples with a Caledonian twist, while the venue will open from 9am to entice intrepid commuters from the nearby Glasgow Central station to its breakfast menu.
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Published: 20 January, 2025
Opening with former executive chef at The Ritz Spencer Metzger and Roxane Dupuy as executive sommelier, chef-proprietor Jason Atherton has tailored a dream team for this sister outpost to Dubai’s Row on 45, where Metzger’s input helped deliver two Michelin stars. With just 28 covers and a 15-course ‘best of British’ tasting menu on offer, to be complemented by the 4,000-odd bottles in the cellar, Atherton says Row on 5 is to be his legacy from a lifetime’s cheffing. Expect a frenzy on the one booking day a month.
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Published: 17 January, 2025
Tamarind Mayfair has celebrated 30 years as one of London’s top Indian restaurants by launching a standout, 50-cover year-round dining terrace with its own central bar. The new terrace gives extra oomph to the venue in terms of design and also the drinks menu, where a new list has been designed by cocktail maestro Carole Brown in collaboration with Boatyard Distillery. A truly well-thought-out extension to the Tamarind brand, which should bring in fans both old and new.
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Published: 15 January, 2025
February is to see the opening of a restaurant and bar at Hambledon, backed by a team studded with well-respected names. Head chef Nick Edgar, who won a Michelin star at Samling in the Lake District, will ply his trademark seasonal cuisine, rooted in kitchen garden and local produce. James Osborn, formerly MD at Squerryes Wine Estate in Kent, brings wine expertise, and Katherine Fromm, out of The Pig, Limewood and Portetta, comes aboard as head of hospitality. And, as you might expect from this Berry Bros & Rudd-owned estate, there’s a private St James Tasting Room available for bookings, overlooking Hambledon’s oldest vines.
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Published: 04 November, 2024
After a hiatus of several years the original site of the first Oxford Wine Café is to be reborn as the Oxford Wine Tavern.
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Published: 09 October, 2024
Last month saw the opening of Café François, a modern-day French canteen in Borough Yards from the team behind Maison François. Drawing together influence from Paris’ classic cafés, the contemporary delis of California and stylish bistros of Montreal, founder François O’Neill has created a menu that pays homage to affordable French classics while also embracing the global influences that have shaped French cookery outside France. On the drinks side, a short, inventive wine list leads the charge, curated by wine director Daniel Illsley, with a strong message of sustainability throughout its playful selection of cool and original bottles. A considered cocktail list is also available, focusing on the classics.
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Published: 07 October, 2024
Bookings are now open at Margo restaurant – a new concept from Scottish restaurant group Scoop and headed up by Glasgow native Robin Aitken. Due to open this month in Glasgow, the new drinking and dining outpost is intended to be an evolution of Scoop’s first restaurant Ox and Finch, which has just celebrated its 10th birthday. Situated in the city centre, Margo will maintain a flavour-led approach with a focus on Scottish meat and seafood, while the drinks list will be led by cocktails designed specifically to complement Aitken’s food. Margo will also offer Scoop’s most comprehensive wine list to date, with classic fine wines sitting alongside natural and biodynamic bottles from small, independent producers.
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Published: 04 October, 2024
Cocktail bar and late-night lounge Luum will soon be opening its doors alongside two other entirely new concepts inside what was previously the Pantechnicon building. Meaning ‘earth’ in Mopan Mayan, Luum takes its inspiration from Mexican heritage and culture and has chosen to focus on mixology, with three signature concepts set to launch the venue with the wider theme of mother nature.
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