Openings of the week

The Ivy Asia, Cardiff

The Ivy Asia is opening a 166-cover restaurant on The Hayes at St David’s in Cardiff this summer. The restaurant will have indoor dining, a terrace, and an all-day offering including lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, late night cocktails, and weekend brunch.

The Asian-inspired concept will also feature late-night DJ performances at the new venue, as well as a sushi bar. The menu will incorporate customer favourites from the Chelsea and Brighton locations, including a sushi and sashimi selection, wagyu beef tataki, and plant-based options. Cocktails, sakes, wines, champagnes, and Asian teas will feature as well.

Din Tai Fung, Centre Point

Taiwanese restaurant Din Tai Fung will open its third London site at Centre Point in the West End on 22 September. The dumpling specialist will serve the same menu as its sites in Covent Garden and Selfridges, including its signature xiao long bao, but will have a separate bar area unique to the new venue.

The 13,500 sq ft space will have 218 covers, an open kitchen, and will feature serving robots – first trialled at Din Tai Fung’s Selfridges location, which opened earlier this year.

Burger & Beyond, Borough Yards

Burger & Beyond will launch a third restaurant in Borough Yards on 4 August, following the opening of a second site in Soho last month. The new venue will feature its signature dry aged beef burgers and sides as well as new dishes exclusive to the site, including cheeseburger-stuffed wontons.

The site will also offer a dessert menu and an extensive drinks list, including beers, cocktails, and wines.

Clean Kitchen Club, Brighton, Soho, Battersea

Plant-based restaurant chain Clean Kitchen Club announced a series of new openings, including one in Brighton, one in Manchester, and two in London. The Battersea Power Station opening will be a 2,441 sq ft flagship venue, opening in August. The other openings will be on Soho’s Old Comption Street, with five further sites slated to open in 2022, including Manchester and Brighton.

The announcement follows a £2m second seed funding round.

Oowee, Brighton

Plant-based concept Oowee will open its fifth site on Brighton’s Market Street, following a successful pop-up in the city last year. The venue will serve plant-based burgers and chicken as well as its range of sides. The 40-cover restaurant will join two existing sites in Bristol and one each in London’s Dalston and Brixton.

Las Iguanas, Canterbury and Peterborough

Latin American-inspired casual dining concept Las Iguanas will open in Canterbury and Peterborough this autumn.

The 284-cover, 7,000 sq ft restaurant and bar on Longmarket in Canterbury will open in September and will include two terraces and a late night cocktail bar. The Peterborough location will open on Church Street in October as a 150-cover, 4,500 sq ft location. It will also have a restaurant, bar, and terrace.

The two new locations will bring Las Iguanas’ site total to 50 venues and follows the recent announcement of two new sites at Center Parcs holiday villages in Elveden Forest and Sherwood Forest.

Last year, the Big Table Group announced plans to almost double the size of the Las Iguanas estate over the next three years as part of a more than £50m investment in new sites and renovations across its brands.

Slim Chickens, Liverpool ONE

Slim Chickens has debuted a 5,000 sq ft flagship store at Liverpool ONE. The American chicken concept, operated by the Boparan Restaurant Group, has opened a 175-cover restaurant featuring an al fresco dining area.

The menu includes signature items such as buttermilk chicken tenders, chicken wings, wraps, and waffles.

KOKORO, Elephant Park

Korean Japanese concept KOKORO has opened its 55^th restaurant in London’s Elephant Park. The Northeast Asian-inspired restaurant will serve a variety of options, including sushi selections alongside grab-and-go, dine-in, and vegan options, with a focus on healthy offerings prepared on premises.

The chain plans to open a total of 30 sites in England by early next year.

Gravity, Liverpool ONE

Gravity Active Entertainment has revealed details of its forthcoming flagship venue at Liverpool ONE. The 100,000 sq ft venue will be the experiential concept’s biggest venue and offer its first rooftop bar, as well as live entertainment, e-karting, urban golf, and bowling, with a total of 12 experiential activities.

Gino D’Acampo, Liverpool

Gino D’Acampo has launched a secret garden as part of the Old Hall Street restaurant and 360 Sky Bar at INNSiDE by Melia in Liverpool. The Secret Garden is a 400 square metre open-air area catered towards al fresco socials, launched one year after the opening of the 200-cover Italian restaurant.

The space will feature a 25-metre island bar serving a selection of Italian and international wines, cocktails, spirits, and beers with an open lounge and open outdoor kitchen with a cicchetti menu of small Italian sharing plates. It will also have resident DJs.

Gino D’Acampo also has openings in Manchester and Leeds planned this autumn. 

Feels Like June, Wood Wharf

California-inspired restaurant Feels Like June will open in London’s Wood Wharf next month. The restaurant will serve a Europe-meets-West-Coast all-day menu, along with a wine list with a selection of Californian wines as well as lagers and IPAs from the US.

The restaurant will occupy the third floor of the TRIBE London Canary Wharf Hotel and joins a series of recently announced openings in the area, including Dishoom, Hawksmoor, and Caravan.