It has been announced that three more Pig hotels - or rather ‘restaurants with rooms’ - will open over the next two years: The Pig at Bridge Place near Canterbury will be first, followed by conversions of two Grade II-listed buildings in Arundel and Padstow, with interiors by Judy Hutson. As with the rest of the litter, the menu is dictated by what’s good that day on the hotel’s farms, with many of the kitchen staff doubling as foragers and gardeners.
Gary Usher
Chef, restaurateur and serial crowd-funder Gary Usher is to add two new restaurants to his Elite Bistros empire in 2018. The first, Pinion, will take the site of a former Betfred shop on Prescot high street and hopes to be part of the community’s plan to regenerate the area. Details of the second new opening, Kala, in Manchester city centre are still under wraps but rumour has it the site will be on King Street.
BrewDog Hotel
Craft beer lovers – rejoice! Enjoy BrewDog Punk IPA on tap in the comfort of your hotel room, or if you prefer, grab a cold one from the built-in fridge in your shower, or stroll down for a tour of the brewery. Due to open in early 2019 in northeast Aberdeenshire, DogHouse Ellon will have 26 rooms overlooking their brewery and will sport the same industrial, post-apocalyptic punk aesthetic synonymous with the BrewDog brand.
Spuntino taking off
Dear Lilly
A floral fantasy world, Dear Lilly is designer Ashley Sutton’s latest creation, and another collaboration with Dining Concepts, the fastest-growing hospitality group in Hong Kong. It’s definitely not a place for hay fever sufferers as flowers are hung dreamily from the ceiling by kinetics, draped over staff and artfully stuffed into vintage perfume bottles, recreating the feel of reading a love letter at a Parisian flower market. There are rumours of a new Dining Concepts bar opening in the 19th century Central Police Station, named Dragonfly.
Gjelina NYC
It seems that Gjelina’s new NoHo site will be bringing their New American cuisine and Gjusta-baked delights to the Manhattan masses. There’s been some to and fro since the project was first announced in 2016, but is now touted for a spring opening. A lot of the details are still shrouded in mystery, but it seems that the new Gjelina will be a twin of its LA sister, with a similar menu on offer. Expect beautiful Manhattanites photographing their vegetable-focused dishes in a minimalist setting.
Tokyo Midtown Hibiya
Feast your eyes skyward upon the new behemoth of Midtown Hibiya: designed by UK-based Hopkins Architects, the 35-storey building comprises 60 shops and restaurants with office space and a whopping 2,300 seat cinema. Fresh from Paris and New York, Buvette are opening their third site here, and eminent Ginza cocktail bar Star Bar will be operating from their second site. There’ll be plenty of homegrown talent too, with a high-class dining room from ex-Hyotei chef Yoshihiro Takahashi, serving dim sum and kaiseki, and a second Morceau for acclaimed chef Sakura Akimoto.
El Jardín
Wilkins will be opening her first solo venture this spring in San Diego. The modern Mexican restaurant will comprise 100 covers on an outdoor patio with five seats at a chef ’s counter offering a more experimental tasting menu. Inspired by her restaurateur aunt, ZepedaWilkins hopes to smash the ‘patriarchy of cuisine’ and will work with a predominantly female team.
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Issue 14 | Spring 2018 | codehospitality.co.uk
Things are taking off for the Spuntino brand with news that Polpo founders Russell Norman and Richard Beatty have signed a deal with airport operators TRG Concessions. The franchise agreement will see the smallplates format adapt to the airport audience with the addition of breakfast, takeaway and on-board options (think bottled negronis), whilst retaining the look and feel of the original Soho restaurant. The number of sites and location details are yet to be announced.
Rest of the world
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