US-style barbecue brand Hickory’s Smokehouse has opened at Caldecotte Lake in Milton Keynes. Hickory’s now has 16 restaurants, with two more coming soon in Sheffield and Swindon.
US brand Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer has just opened its flagship UK restaurant on Glasshouse Street in Soho. It is a two-floor site with 160 covers. It is a second UK location after Westfield Stratford. Black Tap has six restaurants in the US and 17 internationally. 
The Three Cheers Pub Co is opening in an old bank building on King’s Road in London. It will open as the Trafalgar Public House in the Autumn, becoming the group’s tenth pub.
Famous New York restaurant Charles Pan Fried Chicken is to operate in the UK during a two-week pop-up on the South Bank in London in May. It is a collaboration with Truffle Burger, which has a site on the South Bank.
Thai Express is opening at Cabot Circus in Bristol in the Summer, local media report. It will be a ninth location for the brand.
All-day restaurant group Megan’s will launch in Windsor in the Autumn. It will be called Megan’s by the Crown and is in a unit previously occupied by Carluccio’s. Megan’s currently has 21 restaurants in London and the South East.
Indian restaurant and craft beer bar Tap & Tandoor has just opened on Richmond hill in Bournemouth. It is in a unit previously occupied by Wildwood. Tap & Tandoor’s four other sites are in Peterborough, Portsmouth, Solihull and Southampton.
Canada-based fried chicken brand MB Chicken is about to open at Miller Arcade in Preston, local media report. It is a fourth UK site, joining two in Northern Ireland and one in London.
Pizza Express has launched its on-the-go brand Pod at the Tesco superstore at Swansea Marina. It debuted the format at Tesco in Southampton late last year. 
Irish-themed pub brand Katie O’Brien’s is opening in Lincoln, local media report. It is taking on a unit that was previously occupied by TGI Friday’s. Katie O’Brien’s currently has seven pubs in the North and Midlands.
Gordon Ramsay Restaurants’ Street Pizza brand is launching at the O2 centre in London. It will be a seventh location, after three in London and one in Liverpool, Reading and Woking.
African and Caribbean restaurant group Manjaros has announced an opening in Peterlee in County Durham—its 18th location.
Soho burger restaurant Supernova is opening a second restaurant on North Audley Street in the Summer.
Mr Porter Steakhouse, Bar & Lounge has opened at the Park Lane Hilton hotel in Mayfair. It is the fourth site for the brand, which is run by the Entourage Group and has three locations in Europe.
Bam Boo, an all-day restaurant and bar on Bold Street in Liverpool, is opening a second site in the city, on Lark Lane.
Hollywood Bowl has just opened at Inverness retail park—its sixth location in Scotland. It has also just confirmed an opening at the Oracle centre in Reading.
Squeezed, a burger restaurant in Wapping Wharf in Bristol, has launched a second site at Wiper and True’s taproom in Old Market in the city.
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To read the previous new openings round-up, click here.
