An Italian affair at the Four Seasons March 21, 2011 Amaranto Hamilton Place, Park Lane W1J 7DR Tel: 020 7499 0888 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £55 AFTER its £125m makeover, the Four Seasons is looking just like you’d imagine. It’s dripping in chandeliers, coated in lacquer and bedecked with equine sculpture. It hardly feels homely, but it does feel rich. It’s [...]
THE TIPSTER March 28, 2011 HOTEL and restaurant operator Whitbread has been on the up since last week with high expectations for their annual figures to March. Annual profits are suggested to come in at £279m, which is up from £208m last year. With the dividend expected to be increased to 42p, the company appears to be moving in a [...]
Shaftesbury raises cash to expand March 3, 2011 LONDON landlord Shaftesbury yesterday tapped investors for £102m in a share placement to help fund acquisitions as more assets come up for sale in its core West End market. The real estate investor, which owns more than 500 shops, restaurants and bars in the West End, said it had placed 22.7m new ordinary shares at [...]
FISHY FAVOURITES IN THE CITY February 14, 2011 CATCH AT ANDAZ The Andaz hotel’s grand 1901 restaurant tends to get the attention, but Catch is worth a visit for its fresh, expertly-cooked seafood. Menu highlights include confit of Arctic salmon with duck egg and spinach gnocchi, and pan roasted brill cutlet with octopus, fennel and sepia ink risotto. 40 Liverpool St, EC2M 7QN. [...]
It’s time to uncork a bottle of bubbly or ten April 27, 2011 NO doubt there’ll be rather a few champagne glasses being clinked around the country tomorrow. One of the more predictable aspects of attending a good wedding is the certainty of a pulsating champagne hangover the next day, and this time that applies to street parties, garden parties, pub gatherings and all the other get-togethers taking [...]
Greene King buys Cloverleaf January 31, 2011 Greene King has bought carvery and pub chain Cloverleaf Restaurants for £56m. Cloverleaf has 12 sites in the Midlands and the north of England with plans for 10 more. Meanwhile Suffolk-based Greene King said sales from outlets open more than a year in its largest unit, Retail, rose 3.9 per cent in the 38 weeks [...]
Greene King buys Cloverleaf January 31, 2011 Greene King has bought carvery and pub chain Cloverleaf Restaurants for £56m. Cloverleaf has 12 sites in the Midlands and the north of England with plans for 10 more. Meanwhile Suffolk-based Greene King said sales from outlets open more than a year in its largest unit, Retail, rose 3.9 per cent in the 38 weeks [...]
BELSTAFF DIRECTOR ON-BRAND IN PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN CAMEO May 16, 2011 NEVER mind the drawn-out takeover struggle by its largest shareholder Peel Holdings – the real action at Pinewood Studios has been filming the next instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, out tomorrow. Cinemagoers hoping to catch Pinewood’s chairman Sir Michael Grade in a cameo in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will [...]
BELSTAFF DIRECTOR ON-BRAND IN PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN CAMEO May 16, 2011 NEVER mind the drawn-out takeover struggle by its largest shareholder Peel Holdings – the real action at Pinewood Studios has been filming the next instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, out tomorrow. Cinemagoers hoping to catch Pinewood’s chairman Sir Michael Grade in a cameo in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will [...]
2011 is the year that London becomes the world’s best place to stay February 20, 2011 JUST when it seemed as though London couldn’t fit another slice of luxury into its five star-crammed hotel scene, along comes… well, everything. This has been a huge year for the capital. The completion of the spectacular £200m refurb of the Savoy sparked the buzz of excitement. Since then, Park Lane has seen the rebirth [...]