US customizable sandwich concept Which Wich has just opened its first restaurant in the UK, at the Central St Giles development. Former Mitchells & Butlers managing director Kevin Todd has helped to oversee the launch from Which Wich Superior Sandwiches UK. Which Wich currently has around 500 sites around the world, and plans to have ten stores open in the UK within the next four years, as well as sites around Europe. Founder Jeff Sinelli said: “London is a global hub and entry point into Europe. The opening of the first European location is a major milestone for Which Wich and we’re thrilled about the larger continental expansion that’s set to follow.”
New World Trading Company has officially opened its new Florist bar and restaurant in Bristol. Another branch of the fledgling brand is due to open in Liverpool soon.
Darwin & Wallace is opening its sixth site in Wimbledon in the spring. Called 601 Queen’s Road, it will be an all-day operation modelled on modern pubs. Founder Mel Marriott said: “We are delighted to be opening in the bustling heart of Wimbledon, a quintessential London village.”
JKS Restaurants is to open a new Indian barbecue restaurant and bar concept called Brigadiers at the Bloomberg Arcade in the City. The 140-cover venue is inspired by India’s army mess bars and will be zoned into different rooms, with a terrace, live sport, pool tables and games all part of the mix. It will sell specially commissioned beers from breweries including Thornbridge, plus cocktails. The venue is due to open in May.
Cocktail bar group Be At One has reopened its Battersea Rise bar after a £200,000 refurbishment. It was the first Be At One bar to open in 1998, and the group now has 33 sites, with plans to reach 70 in the next five years.
Mitchells & Butlers will open an All Bar One in Aberdeen’s Marischal Square development in the next few weeks, local media report.
Mitchells & Butlers has also set out plans to open a Miller & Carter steakhouse in Kennington in Kent. If plans are approved, it will be a 170-cover restaurant with bar.
Craft Union Pub Company, the managed pubs business within Ei Managed Operations, has reached the milestone of 200 sites with the Black Bull in Clayton in Bradford. It has relaunched following a £132,000 refurb. The Craft Union operation was initially rolled out in northern England, but Ei now plans to open more sites in the Greater London area. Operations director Frazer Grimbleby said: “The Craft Union model puts great quality pubs back in the heart of local communities by reinvigorating them with targeted investment that enhances the original features of the pub and improves the overall customer experience.”
The Manchester-based San Carlo restaurant group is opening a venue on Regent Street in London in May. The 130-cover restaurant will be called San Carlo, and arrives in the area after the Crown Estate’s £500m investment in St James.
US-based burger brand Five Guys has confirmed an opening at the Rushden Lakes development in Northamptonshire as it continues its rapid expansion around the UK. An opening date has yet to be set.
JD Wetherspoon will open its new pub in Liskeard in Cornwall in May, local media report.
TGI Friday’s opens its latest new restaurant at the Lexicon development in Bracknell on Monday (5 March). It is a 190-cover site over two floors.
Filmore & Union has just opened an all-day café and restaurant within John Lewis in Newcastle. It follows a similar joint venture at John Lewis in York.
A Lebanese restaurant operator called Abd el Wahab is launching into the UK with a restaurant on Pont Street in Belgravia this week. The 120-cover venue is over two floors. The brand has restaurants in Beirut, Dubai and Cairo. Abd el Wahab director Mark Dickinson said: “London is one of the most exciting cities in the world but it is surprisingly under-represented by restaurants offering authentic and exciting Lebanese food.”
London vegan kebab shop What the Pitta is opening a third location in Camden. It will launch on Bayham Street next Friday (9 March). What the Pitta already has sites at the Boxpark collectives in Croydon and Shoreditch.
A new Korean concept called Bibimbap has opened on West Nile Street in Glasgow.
A new vegan concept called Greazy Vegan is to open in Cardiff in April. It has previously run as a pop-up, but will now take on a permanent site on Castle Street in the city.
Handmade Burger Co is opening a new restaurant on Paragon Street in Hull, according to local media, after closing its previous location in the city at St Stephen’s shopping centre.
North Fish, a Poland-based quick-service seafood concept, is seeking to open new sites in the UK. It has appointed Savills to find high footfall locations, initially in shopping centres.
