Refurb

• Kitchen Table is coming back with a completely new look (and a new bar)

  

  It closed along with everything else when the pandemic hit last year, but now Kitchen Table is returning and it's got a brand new look. 

  James Knappett and Sandia Chang's restaurant still retains the big counter around the kitchen where all the action happens - but big changes have been made. It now seats 18 (that's down one) and the previous steel counter has been

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• J.Sheekey is reopening with a weatherproofed year-round terrace

  

  It was one of the last places we visited before the Christmas lockdown, but fans of Covent Garden restaurant J. Sheekey will be aware that the restaurant had yet to reopen its doors this summer. Turns out a 125 year old restaurant needs a bit of work done to look its best, so they've been spending that time giving it a bit of a refurb.

  To that end, Sheekeys is getting ready to open again this month and probably the biggest

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• The Cavendish relaunches with ex-Oystermen and Hartnett chef and new look

  

  Over in Marylebone, gastropub and dining room The Cavendish is about to reopen and is setting out its stall as a serious destination for food. Key to that is who they've put in charge of the kitchen. Executive Chef Alex Povall was most recently Head Chef at The Oystermen, but before that spent years working under Angela Hartnett at her restaurants.

  At his new digs in Marylebone, Alex will reference his most recent position, by featuring

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• Queen's Park restaurant Milk Beach is expanding - with more alfresco seating and a new bar

  

  A lot of restaurants in London have taken the enforced downtime of lockdown to take stock of their business. And over in Queen's Park, Aussie restaurant Milk Beach has decided that expansion is the way forward.

  The team behind the all-day restaurant, which is tucked away on Lonsdale Road mews, have taken over next door Hugo's Restaurant. They'll be doing renovations over the coming two months, during which time they'll run as an outside shop

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• Gaucho's redesigned Charlotte Street restaurant will have a beef bar for counter dining

  The Gaucho group is back from administration woes with a new CEO and a new concept, starting with a reinvention of its Charlotte Street site.

• Soho’s Ember Yard restaurant gets a big refurb and a new menu

  Ember Yard, the fourth of the Salt Yard Group’s Spanish-Italian’s restaurants, will re-open its Soho doors with a new design and new menu after a month-long refurbishment.

• Mark Jarvis and Xavier Rousset take over Gunmakers in Marylebone

  

  Updated 13/1/19 with menu

  He may have left the sadly departed Neo Bistro and Stem behind (with Anglo still going strong), but Mark Jarvis has already started on his next venture. He's joined forces with Xavier Rousset (Blandford Comptoir and Cabotte) to re-open Gunmakers in Marylebone, a pub that's been around for 300 years at this point. 

  The plan is to open a 40 cover restaurant below the pub and add six bedrooms upstairs too. It's

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• Helene Darroze at the Connaught is getting a big refurb for its tenth anniversary

  

  Already one of London's very few two-Michelin-starred restaurants, Helene Darroze's restaurant at the Connaught is about to get a big new refit. Coming a couple of years after The Connaught's last big change - launching Jean Georges' restaurant - this will see the restaurant close for two months for "full refurbishment and modernisation".

  It's coming just as the restaurant celebrates its 10 year

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• Polpetto gets a new chef, look, menu - well everything really

  

  Polpetto (from the same stable as the Polpo family) has been given a new lease of life with a redesign, a new chef at the helm and a new menu and wine list to boot too.

  It sounds like the space has had a total revamp, with an entirely new layout, styling and design. Booths will run along the walls and we’ve been told there'll be better spacing with larger tables, which will come in hand for the new menus which are designed for sharing and feasting. The chefs

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• Mayfair’s The Square is getting a big refurb, and a new chef too

  Clément Leroy helped earn Paris’s Restaurant Guy Savoy its third Michelin star, shuns butter and cream in favour of lightness and texture, and is the new head chef at swish Mayfair restaurant The Square.

• Islington’s Thai Square reopens nearly a year of post-flood refurbishment

  

  Lots of us will remember when last year, a burst water main led to some pretty epic flooding around Islington’s Upper Street. The cost of the damage caused ran into the millions, and of course, affected the area’s abundance of

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• Smithfield's Michelin-starred Club Gascon is returning after a big refurb

  

  After a serious refurbishment, and a temporary relocation @club_gascon, Club Gascon is finally set to reopen the doors of its Grade II listed building. The entire space has been completely redesigned as well as adding a bigger kitchen, an extra basement space and a newly designed menu.

  Now, the

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• Michel Roux Jr unveils new look Roux at Parliament Square

  

  Hot Dinners was in Westminster last night for the relaunch party of Roux at Parliament Square. The party was a chance to showcase the restaurant's major revamp and Michel Roux Jr was on hand to oversee the celebrations. "I've been told it looks like Le Gavroche," he told guests, "but with a more contemporary feel, which I think is a huge compliment."

  The evening was a bit of a get together for MasterChef folk - the restaurant's head chef Steve Groves won MasterChef

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• A first look at the revamped Simpson's in the Strand

  Simpson's in the Strand is one of London's most iconic restaurants - and it's just emerged from a much-needed revamp...

• Simpson's-in-the-Strand to re-open after a big refurbishment

  

  Updated with opening date.

  West End institution Simpson's-in-the-Strand is about to get a majorfacelift, courtesy of the Savoy. It's rare that you can get away with describing something as "iconic" and while Simpson's fits that bill, it's been clear that something extra was needed to bring the place back to its glory days. Here's what you need to

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