Thai brand Giggling Squid has just opened its first restaurant in London—on the High Street in Wimbledon village. It brings Giggling Squid’s total number of sites to 22, with new restaurants due to open soon in Beaconsfield and Bath.
Bombay café-style brand Dishoom officially opens its latest new restaurant on Derry Street in Kensington next Friday (15 December). Ahead of the full launch, the site is hosting an immersive theatre production modelled on a Bombay jazz club called ‘Night at the Bombay Roxy’.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen has opened a new 2,500 square feet restaurant at the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield. It is part of a revamp of the centre’s Oasis Dining Quarter and has 100 covers. Alice Keown, F&B asset managed at British Land, said: “Gourmet Burger Kitchen launching at Meadowhall adds even more variety to the selection of family focused restaurants situated on the upper level of the Oasis Dining Quarter.”
TGI Fridays is opening a new restaurant in Romford next year, the local Recorder reports. It has secured a 6,000 square feet unit at the Brewery shopping centre, and should open in the spring.
Five Guys has lined up new sites on King’s Road in Chelsea and in Richmond. The sites are reported to be pared-down versions of full-scale Five Guys restaurants. Five Guys meanwhile opened late last week in York, and earlier this week in Colchester.
Gusto has just opened its new restaurant at the Mulberry Walk development in Mere Green in the Midlands.
Sticks ‘n’ Sushi opens at the Nova Victoria development on Friday (8 December). It is the Denmark-based brand’s fifth restaurant in London and seventh in the UK. It joins a line-up at Nova that includes Bone Daddies and Ahi Poke.
Camerons Brewery will open a new Head of Steam pub in Birmingham in May. It will start work on a unit on Temple Street early in the new year.
The Loungers group opens its latest new Lounge bar and restaurant in Sudbury next Wednesday (13 December). It is called the Prado Lounge.
London wine bar group Humble Grape has secured a fourth site, on Devonshire Row off Bishopsgate. It will open in February, joining branches in Battersea, Islington and Fleet Street, and will serve as a shop as well as bar and restaurant.
The Remarkable Pubs group has opened the Virgin Queen pub in Haggerston. It was previously known as the Albion, and is a joint venture with the Fish House of nearby Victoria Park, which will supply the food. It becomes Remarkable’s 14th location.
The San Carlo group is to open a café, patisserie and ice cream bar concept called Gran Café at Selfridges in Birmingham. It will be a fourth venue in the site for the group, which already operates a Fumo restaurant inside Selfridges, and a second Gran Café after its debut at Selfridges in Manchester. Managing director Marcello Distefano said: “We’ve been blown away by the incredible start Fumo at Selfridges has made, and now we’re excited to unveil our latest exclusive concept.”
Brighton’s vegan pizza restaurant Purezza is to open a second site in Camden. It will be a 100-cover venue over two floors and should launch in February.
Miller & Carter and All Bar One are both opening before Christmas at the revamped Bell Court development in Stratford-upon-Avon. Brands including Nando’s, Veeno and ASK Italian are already open there.
PizzaExpress has just opened at the Dolphin Square development in Weston-super-Mare. It is a 127-cover restaurant.
Canadian coffeeshop brand Tim Hortons is opening its first drive-through site in Salford in the next few weeks as it continues its rapid expansion into the UK. More franchise openings are planned in the Manchester area shortly, including at the Golden Square shopping centre in Warrington and the Mill Gate centre in Bury, and in Altrincham and Sale.
Brunning & Price is to open in Kelsall in Cheshire after acquiring the Lord Binning pub, previously operated by the New Moon Pub Company. It will revert to its original name of the Morris Dancer when it relaunches next summer.
Butcombe Brewing Company has acquired two new pubs in Somerset—the Bower Inn in Bridgwater and the Rodney Stoke Inn. Butcombe, owned by the Liberation Group, now has 45 pubs—more than double its number at the start of the year. It has also just opened its new depot in Bridgwater.
Jidori, a Japanese restaurant in Dalston, will open a second site on Catherine Street in Covent Garden in February. It will have 50 covers, specialise in yakitori and have a small karaoke bar as well as restaurant.
Santi, an Italian restaurant in Stratford in east London, has acquired a second site in Watford. It is 3,100 square feet site in the Parade.
Brakspear has acquired the Lion pub in Wendlebury near Bicester. It is a 190-cover pub with 13 bedrooms under construction. The acquisition brings Brakspear’s estate of managed pubs to 11.
Nespresso has opened a new store at the Touchwood centre in Solihull.
