London Food And Drink News: 6 March 2014

Ben O' Norum
By Ben O' Norum Last edited 120 months ago
London Food And Drink News: 6 March 2014

BottleDog

Welcome to our weekly round-up of all that’s happening in London’s food and drink scene.

Inside this week: Bo, beer, sex and the Shard

Bo London closes

It transpired on Wednesday that Alvin Leung’s Mayfair restaurant Bo London has closed. Known as the Demon Chef, Ozzy Osbourne look-a-like Leung runs highly-regarded Bo Innovation in Hong Kong where he serves experimental dishes in a style he calls ‘X-treme cuisine’. He brought the concept to London in December 2012 and though it received mixed feedback, it seemed to be going well and even won a Michelin star. Exact reasons for the closure are still not known, but it signals the end for one of London’s most outlandish dishes: a dessert named Sex on the Beach was crafted to look like a used condom lying on the sand. If you haven’t seen it already, do take a look.

High expectations: Shard restaurant reveals

More details and opening dates have been revealed for three eating and drinking venues which will open as part of the Shangri-La hotel in the Shard this Spring. On 6 May, the same day as the hotel opens, Ting will launch on the 35th floor serving an "Asian-inspired European menu". A ground-floor patisserie and delicatessen named Lang will also open on this day. A couple of months later, in July, Champagne and cocktail bar Gong will open on level 52; when it does, this will be London’s highest cocktail bar by a country mile.

Jason Atherton’s also getting high

It’s been known for a while that Pollen Street Social chef Jason Atherton is to open up a new restaurant called City Social at the top of Tower 42 in, er, the City. It’s currently the tallest building in the Square Mile, and set to offer some pretty impressive views for diners and bar-goers. Speaking of the opening, Atherton said: “You will walk into my restaurant from the lifts and immediately see the Gherkin, the Cheesegrater, and all those iconic buildings that have shot up in London over the past decade… the restaurant will serve beautiful cuisine in a glamorous environment". As well as Pollen Street, Atherton runs Social Eating House in Soho, Little Social in Mayfair and Berners Tavern in Fitzrovia. He’s also a backer of a new restaurant in Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel which will replace the now closed Nuno Mendes restaurant Viajante.

BrewDog: they’ve got bottle

You could easily be forgiven for thinking that Scottish brewery BrewDog are trying to take over the world. In no time, they’ve gone from being a small but shocking brewer of exceedingly strong beers to having bars in Camden, Shoreditch and Shepherd’s Bush as well as all around the UK. They even opened up in Tokyo the other week. Next on their masterplan is a beer shop, due to open in late April under the name BottleDog. Set on Gray’s Inn Road near King’s Cross station, the shop will sell all of the brewery’s bottled beers as well as some unusual numbers from around the world. They are also promising home brewing equipment, books and glassware along with space to sit and taste some beers before you buy.

New openings

The week so far has seen the launch of Georgian restaurant Marani in Mayfair and neighbourhood Italian Bibo in Putney. Spanish restaurant Bravas Tapas will open tomorrow in St. Katherine Docks, as will the second branch of Tommi’s Burger Joint in Chelsea, joining the Marylebone original.

Talk to us

We still want your help to keep these weekly food and drink news round-ups as relevant, up-to-date, and interesting as possible. Got any top tips, local gems or foodie news? Tried one of the new restaurants we mentioned? Leave a comment below or hit us up at hello@londonist.com. ‘Til next week…

Last Updated 06 March 2014