Review: Is Porto Zante in Zakynthos the ultimate CEO retreat? June 26, 2025 We have plenty of talented journalists at City AM to tackle foreign travel stories. But we only have one person qualified to discover if Porto Zante is, as claimed, the ultimate CEO retreat. As the only CEO available at the time of writing, the assignment fell to me. So I dusted off my notebook, roped [...]
The Ivy: Jobs continue to be cut as Richard Caring nears £1bn sale June 26, 2025 Jobs have continued to be lost at the group behind restaurant chain The Ivy as billionaire owner Richard Caring edges closer to a £1bn sale. Troia (UK) Restaurants cut more than 100 roles during its latest financial year as its pre-tax profit also declined despite a rise in revenue, new accounts filed with Companies House [...]
Chef Tom Sellers interviews former England player Joe Cole June 26, 2025 For our Chef’s Table series, Michelin starred chef Tom Sellers has lunch at his restaurant Story Cellar with former England player Joe Cole. They talk fatherhood, friendship and the future Tom Sellers: We’ve known each other for years now, do you remember when we first met? Joe Cole: Yeah – I came into Restaurant Story and we got [...]
Pop star Estelle tells us what she’d eat for her last meal June 26, 2025 Grammy award-winning British singer, rapper, and actor Estelle tells us what she would eat for her last meal, from West African puff puff to Granadian saltfish and a glass of whisky My mother and my grandma were both chefs. Mum went to school for it, and learned how to cook all these amazing things. She would come [...]
Bella Italia owner slashes losses after shedding 700 jobs June 25, 2025 Losses at the owner of Café Rouge, Bella Italia and Frankie & Benny’s have been slashed after shedding 700 jobs during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The Big Table cut its headcount from 4,236 to 3,531 in the 12 months to 27 October, 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. Over [...]
PPHE unveils £90m plan to turn lap dancing club into luxury London hotel June 23, 2025 Hotel giant PPHE has unveiled plans to turn an east London lap dancing club into a huge new hotel as it continues its expansion in the capital. The London-listed firm today unveiled a £90m proposal to construct a 21-story tower on Leman Street in Whitechapel, which will feature 182 rooms, a restaurant, bar, gym and [...]
A week in the life of 1 Lombard Street June 19, 2025 Soren Jessen of Square Mile institution 1 Lombard Street on seven days in the City… MondayDawn, and boxes of fresh fish on ice are arriving from Dorset. Chef checks the gills and the eyes for freshness and decides on the Fish of the Day for the menu. More boxes arrive packed with gloriously colourful vegetables [...]
Premier Inn owner Whitbread sees UK sales falter amid shake-up of pub business June 19, 2025 Hospitality giant Whitbread has reported a downturn in UK sales amid a “challenging market backdrop” and a restructure of its pub and restaurant business. The Premier Inn-owner told markets this morning that overall sales in the UK fell five per cent in the first quarter of the financial year, driven by a 16 per cent [...]
London food scene says farewell to Richard Vines at Quaglino’s June 18, 2025 On Tuesday evening the great and good of the London restaurant world gathered at Quaglino’s to celebrate the life of food writer Richard Vines, who died earlier this year. Vines was the restaurant critic for Bloomberg for 26 years until his retirement in 2021. Known for his natty sense of style – paisley shirts and [...]
Inside Queen’s Club: Life as a member at exclusive west London institution June 17, 2025 For a fortnight in June, Queen’s Club becomes the centre of the tennis world; a sort of boutique version of Wimbledon as thousands descend on a small corner of west London to catch a glimpse of the world’s best players trying to fine-tune their grass-court games in the lead-up to the Grand Slam. The other [...]