As we head into a new month, food writer Jonathan Trew looks at some of the latest restaurant and bar openings happening across the UK.
Le Social
Le Social Taking the concept of ‘compact and bijou’ to its limits, Le Social is a new, three table wine bar set in a shipping container in Manchester’s Pollard Yard. Serving a carefully curated selection of wines, Le Social’s tables can be booked for two-hour slots every Saturday. Nibbles on offer include duck rillettes, roasted artichokes, and wood fire-grilled octopus
Luciano
Sleb chef Gino D’Acampo has opened a second branch of his Italian restaurant brand Luciano. The new venture on London Road in Alderley Edge follows on from his first Luciano on The Strand in London. If you find yourself in Cheshire and in urgent need of some braised beef cannelloni or grilled langoustines in a Catalana sauce, then D’Acampo’s kitchen team will be delighted to start rattling the pans.
V Honest
The Honest chain of burger restaurants has opened its first fully plant-based unit on Garrick Street in London. Pulled shiitake mushroom fritters, plant burgers, and vegan fried chicken are all up for grabs alongside rosemary-salted chips and umami mayo.
Number Eight
Not everyone is a huge fan of Chef Ramsay’s TV persona but there is no denying his influence on the UK’s dining scene. Having worked for the Gordon Ramsay Group, Stuart Gillies and his wife Cecilia are striking out on their own and opening Number Eight, a restaurant and bar, in Sevenoaks, Kent. Chef Gillies has manned the pass in cities including London, Rome, and New York. The Number Eight menu reflects his experiences with dishes such as buttermilk chicken with barbecue sauce and blue cheese shavings or the fettucine of Dorset crab with chilli, spring onions and garlic.
Gaucho
In Glasgow, the Argentinean steakhouse chain Gaucho is preparing to open on West Nile Street. What is noteworthy of the launch is that they intend to sell beef which will be 100% carbon neutral. Given the current push for plant-based diets, the concept of carbon neutral beef might strike a jarring note. However, Gaucho has been busy with reforestation and offsetting projects in South America. Last year, they put over 4,000 trees in the ground and it is calculated that these will offset over 1,400 tonnes of carbon emissions. T-bones all round!
East Finch
Like many a fledgling business, Edinburgh’s East Finch found that their launch plans were knocked awry by omicron in the run-up to Christmas. More happily, they are now up and running smoothly on Hanover Street. ‘New Orleans food x New York drinks’ is how they describe their offering. This mean stacked po’ boy sarnies, plates of Creole-flavoured pork belly and funky cocktails all set to a background of hip hop and jazz remixes.
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