Italian food hall brand Eataly has announced it will make its long-awaited launch into the UK at 135 Bishopsgate in Broadgate in 2020. It has signed a lease for a site covering 42,000 square feet over two floors. The venue will have a cooking school, production labs and events spaces as well as restaurants and bars. Eataly has around 35 food halls around the world, including one of its biggest yet in Bologna late last year, with more than 40 restaurants and bars.
BrewDog has announced that Edinburgh will be home to its first airport bar. It announced its plan to open in travel hubs recently, and more sites will follow. The bar will be airside, and will launch in the summer. Announcing the launch, it said: “We believe airport bars should serve amazing beer, in the right way, in a location you want to be in rather than one you head to as the last resort.”
Vietnamese restaurant group Pho has signed a deal to open at the Tunsgate Quarter development in Guildford. It has taken a 3,700 square feet site.
Nando’s opens a 129-cover in Dover next week, at the new St James shopping centre.
Singapore brand Old Chang Kee is to make its UK debut with a site on New Row in Covent Garden later this year. The deal for the 300 square feet site was brokered by Shelley Sandzer. Old Chang Kee was founded in 1956 and currently has 78 branches, in Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Singapore. The brand is most famous for its curry puffs, and tested the waters in the UK with a pop-up in Kentish Town last year. Director Sandra Leong said: “Our curry puffs have a rich heritage as early ‘fusion food’, and we are thrilled to bring them back to Britain along with the very best of our snacks and meals.”
Yorkshire-based Brazilian concept Estabulo Rodizio Bar and Grill is to open a fourth restaurant on Flemingate in Beverley next Friday (16 March). It is a 3,500 square feet site with 120 covers. The brand already has two sites in Leeds and another in Wakefield.
SSP has launched a new Sip & Stone restaurant and bar concept at Belfast airport. It includes an in-house bakery as well as all-day restaurant operation.
Franchisees of US-based Tex-Mex concept Taco Bell have applied for permission to open in Bournemouth, local media report. The brand opened in Poole last year.
US diner brand Denny’s is seeking to open in Manchester and Edinburgh, according to media in the cities. The concept recently made its launch into the UK in Swansea.
Hawaiian restaurant concept Honi Poke has opened its second site on Fenchurch Street in the City. It has 65 covers over 2,150 square feet. The first Hani Poke is on Dean Street in Soho.
Tapas bar and restaurant Porta, which runs sites in Altrincham and Chester, is to open a third location in Salford. Subject to planning and license approval, it should launch in the summer.
Revolution Bars Group is to open a Revolucion de Cuba bar and restaurant at Harbourside in Bristol. It is to take over a site previously occupied by Bordeaux Quay restaurant.
A new deli concept called Popina opened this week no Duke Street in Mayfair. The operation began at Portobello Market and has sold at various other London markets as well as through Harrod’s, Fortnum & Mason and Harvey Nichols. The Mayfair site will be open from 8am to 6pm daily, and has seating space for 20 people.
JD Wetherspoon is opening a new pub at St Martin’s Walk in Dorking, according to local media. It meanwhile launches its new pub in Gorleston in Norfolk next Tuesday (13 March), called the William Adams.
Upmarket bar and Chinese restaurant concept Tattu is to open a major new venue in the basement of the Grand hotel in Birmingham later this year. It will be a third site for the brand, which operates in Manchester and Leeds.
Tom Oldroyd, former chef director at Polpo and founder of Islington restaurant Oldroyd, is to open a pub and dining room called the Duke of Richmond on the corner of Queensbridge Road and Richmond Road in Hackney this summer. It will have a 30-cover dining area, a bar area with space for 35 and a terrace for 20.
