united kingdom
Stories tagged “united kingdom”

England and Wales allow digital ID for alcohol sales
Certified apps from Yoti, Luciditi and the Post Office can now stand in for a passport at the bar, though pubs are not required to accept them.

92 Degrees Coffee opens inside a Sainsbury's store
The 20-café specialty chain from north west England opens its first supermarket counter in Neston, with more sites planned before the year is out.

Duda Diner brings Malaysian cooking to a Paddington hotel
The Nunhead pop-up's Hakeem and Zura Ahmad take over The Pilgrm's kitchen from 17 September, closing out a year of guest-chef residencies with tempoyak oyster and laksa-glazed fish.

Beefeater closure: Whitbread shuts its last 106 restaurants
The carvery chain's final site traded on September 10, the last of three closure dates that also emptied Table Table, Cookhouse + Pub and Brewers Fayre this month.

Au Vodka acquisition: Sazerac completes $405m deal
Sazerac, the New Orleans spirits group behind Buffalo Trace and Fireball, has bought the gold-bottled UK vodka brand for a reported $405 million, its fourth British deal since 2024.

Ranjitkumar Sukumaran named chef at Hyde & Seek
The Londoner's former executive head chef takes charge of two kitchens at a new Tribute Portfolio hotel opening this month opposite Hyde Park.

Wales business rates to fall 30% for pubs and cafés
The Welsh government will replace a temporary hospitality discount with a permanent, deeper one from April 2027, funded by higher rates on the most valuable properties.

English whisky wins protected status after six years
Defra grants Geographical Indication status to English whisky, closing the last gap in UK spirit protections and tying the name to home-grown cereals.

Pearl Mayfair opens with Lisa Goodwin-Allen's menu
The Beaumont's second restaurant opens today in Mayfair, its Mediterranean menu spilling onto a replanted Brown Hart Gardens.

Hospitality VAT cut: 800 businesses press Burnham on 10%
Chefs from Tom Kerridge to Heston Blumenthal and chains from Wagamama to Wetherspoon want the rate halved to 10%. The Treasury says any cut must be fully funded.

Beefbar opens a London flagship at Broadwick Soho
The Monaco-founded steakhouse group takes over Dear Jackie's Broadwick Soho space with Kobe and Wagyu cuts, plus two dishes made only for London.

Craft Guild names its 2026 Graduate Award winners
Winners span the Royal Household, the RAF, Harrods and the House of Commons, in an award that has tracked young UK chefs' careers since 2002.
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