From Boxhall City to Chotto Matte Manchester, here is the latest hospitality news from the CODE Bulletin

Catch up on the latest industry news stories of the week from the CODE Bulletin

Boxhall City

Boxpark will open a Boxhall site in the City in the summer following the announcement of its new sister concept last year. The group has agreed a 15-year lease with Transport for London (TfL) to operate at the Metropolitan Arcade building, which first opened in 1912 and is located close to Liverpool Street station. There will be 16 kitchen units at the “all-day social dining experience”, with two bars and 266 covers spread across 17,000 sq ft. It will follow the launch of Boxhall in Bristol, and there are more locations on the way, we understand. Boxpark founder and CEO Roger Wade said: “Our team has worked extremely hard to secure the Met Arcade – a fantastic, historical site built in the Victoria era, originally the entrance to Liverpool Street Station. We are excited to repurpose the building and make it home.” Nigel Pickup, head of commercial property at TfL, promised both Boxpark and TfL “[will] work hard to support small and medium-sized businesses” and added the space “will provide a range of food and beverage options to the thousands of people who visit, work or pass through Liverpool Street every day.”

Chotto Matte

Chotto Matte will open its first UK restaurant outside of London having set out a major expansion drive in 2021. The international Japanese-Peruvian group, which already has sites in Miami and Toronto, is expected to launch in Manchester in 2024. A 20,000 sq ft rooftop space overlooking the city’s town hall will feature Chotto Matte’s signature sushi, robata grills, and graffiti-inspired artwork, and will join planned new openings in Doha, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, each of which is scheduled to be trading by the end of 2022. Founder Kurt Zdesar, formerly of Nobu, said: “I am very excited to bring Chotto Matte to such an ambitious place. I have been monitoring the city’s growth for years but never found the right opportunity until now. The city is growing at an exciting pace and timing couldn’t be better for Chotto Matte to bring diversity to the local landscape. I see this new opening as an important part of our international expansion plan.”

Brindisa closure and opening

Brindisa has closed its Shoreditch restaurant after ten years, but plans are in motion for a new central London site. Group co-owner Ratnesh Bagdai said: “After ten very happy years, Brindisa Kitchens will be moving from their Tapas Brindisa Shoreditch restaurant on Curtain Road to pastures new. It’s been a great journey in the Shoreditch area but as always, as a small independent group, we need to re-evaluate the estate from time-to-time.” He said details of the new location will “follow in the coming weeks”. For now, five Brindisa Kitchens remain – in Battersea, Richmond, South Kensington, Soho, and London Bridge. 

Small plates

JKS co-founder Jyotin Sethi has said Thai cuisine will be the next focus for the group and the hope is to open a restaurant in the category by the end of the year. We suppose any launch will be not dissimilar to Plaza Khao Gaeng, the Thai restaurant concept already operating at JKS’ Arcade Food Hall near Tottenham Court Road. Apparently it’s the business. 

The modern Asian restaurant Mr Ji will open a second site in Camden next month. Hot Dinners reported the space – formerly Hook, where Mr Ji popped up years ago – will open as early as May 27. Zijun Meng and Ana Gonçalves’ hit dishes from Soho will feature alongside a few new ones.

A new wine bar has opened in Camberwell. Véraison Wines is the work of Patryjca Lorek, once of Bubbledogs, and before that Covent Garden’s 10 Cases. Lorek has taken over a former hairdressers on Church Street, the Camberwell Clarion first reported. 

This year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards were due to be held in Moscow, but for obvious reasons they now won’t be. The ceremony has been moved to London, and numerous collaborative dinners are in the works.

The Nosebag

Oxford’s much-loved restaurant institution The Nosebag will close on April 27 after more than 50 years of jacket potatoes and excellent lasagne. Since 1971, the restaurant has served students, locals, and tourists excellent home-cooked food and homemade cakes (the almond slice most notably), with prices never veering off-piste and the service always prompt. In its early years, The Nosebag featured in The Good Food Guide, our sister title, more than once, and since then has maintained a loyal following. Read the full story.

Joe and Luke Grayson

Brothers Joseph and Luke Grayson with close their acclaimed Sheffield restaurant Juke & Loe on May 28 after five years. Read the full story.

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