Debts to go unpaid after collapse of Simon Rimmer’s restaurant chain December 12, 2024 How much the well-known restaurant chain co-founded by celebrity chef Simon Rimmer owed when it collapsed into administration has been revealed for the first time. Vegetarian restaurant Greens first opened its doors in Didsbury, Manchester, in 1990 but was forced to close in January 2024. That closure was followed by the chain’s other site in [...]
Nando’s to open new UK restaurants as peri-peri chicken chain cuts loss November 29, 2024 Nando’s has revealed plans to open new restaurants across the UK after it cut its pre-tax loss during its latest financial year. The chain, famed for its peri-peri chicken, is to open 14 sites during its current financial year. It has already launched new restaurants in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Doncaster, Taplow, Bognor, Watford, Northampton and Belfast. In [...]
Gordon Ramsay: Why celebrity chef’s restaurant empire is backing London November 22, 2024 The boss of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants empire has opened up about why the celebrity chef is launching new sites at the top of the City of London’s tallest building next year. In May it was announced that the group, which already includes more than 50 sites, had leased around 30,000 sq ft across four floors [...]
Inside the Farringdon restaurant serving crocodile goujons and excellent steak November 7, 2024 Vivat Bacchus in Farringdon is now serving customisable braai boards, but City AM popped in for crocodile and sirloin steak WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH VIVAT BACCHUS? Translated from Latin, Vivat Bacchus means ‘glory to the wine god!’, which, as sayings go, feels like a fitting starting pistol to a City lunch. Vivat Bacchus has a [...]
Debts revealed at Michelin-starred restaurant backed by Gary Neville November 7, 2024 The company behind a Michelin-starred restaurant backed by Gary Neville that closed last year owed almost £1m as it entered liquidation, it has been revealed. The restaurant, called The Man Behind The Curtain, was located in Leeds and run by chef Michael O’Hare. It was awarded a Michelin star in October 2015, three AA Rosettes in 2016, and attracted investment [...]
London steak fantasies: Carnivorous desires are sated at Fazenda Bishopsgate November 2, 2024 We dine at London steak restaurant Fazenda Bishopsgate FAZENDA IS ALL ABOUT… Meat! As far as the eye can see. But not how you’d normally order it. Disembodied limbs from (insert any legally edible animal) are unceremoniously carted around the restaurant on skewers and taken to tables, where if you have a certain sign facing [...]
This amazing London restaurant is celebrating 60 years of history November 2, 2024 We review Grumbles, a London restaurant that’s more like an institution The capital is overrun with restaurants that look the same. They have emerald green and pink coloured furniture and there is probably a palm tree in the corner. Horrifically, some of these plants are plastic. Stats show that half of these restaurants close within [...]
Hawksmoor: Sales and profits sizzle as steak chain hunts for a buyer October 29, 2024 Sales and profit both surged at Hawksmoor during its latest financial year ahead of a potential sale which could value the steakhouse chain at £100m. The London-headquartered business has reported a turnover of £89.7m for 2023, up from the £73.9m it achieved in 2022. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have also revealed that the firm’s [...]
The Square Mile and Me: M Restaurants founder Martin Williams on backpack etiquette and mandatory two hour lunches October 17, 2024 Each week we ask a City figure to take a trip down memory lane. Today it’s Martin Williams, CEO of Groucho and founder of M Restaurants on the City staple’s 10th birthday What was your first job? I started working in hospitality when I was sixteen, as a dishwasher in a grotty hotel in North Yorkshire. I [...]
Employer National Insurance hike could risk jobs amid 95,0000 vacancies October 15, 2024 Increasing employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) could pose a risk to jobs amid some 95,000 vacancies across pubs and restaurants, a hospitality lobby group has warned. Data released from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed there are a “stubbornly high” 95,000 openings across the sector, including in venues, cafes and eateries. Hospitality UK [...]