Hotel Openings

🍴 Singapore-based restaurant Burnt Ends, ranked 34th on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list and 15th on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list, has withdrawn plans to open at Harrods, London, announced in March last year. The collaboration ended due to the inability to install a four-tonne wood-burning oven and grills in the historic Grade II listed building. Chef-owner David Pynt founded Burnt Ends in 2012; the restaurant is now in Dempsey Hill, Singapore.

🍽 Liverpool City Council approved The Ivy Group's conversion of the Grade-I listed former Bank of England building for their first restaurant in Liverpool. The Ivy will join two other north-west England locations, expanding their UK presence with over 40 sites. The restaurant will serve from breakfast to dinner seven days a week, featuring contemporary and classic dishes. This follows news of a potential Troia sale by owner Richard Caring. The planning was facilitated by Pegasus Group, who emphasized Liverpool’s growth in premium hospitality.

🍕 London-based Zia Lucia pizzeria, founded in 2016, operates nine restaurants across London and one in Reading. Teaming up with GNF Worldwide, Zia Lucia aims for international expansion and UK growth, planning to open 5-10 sites in three years. A new Chelsea location will mark their tenth in London. Their unique menu offers pizzas on various dough types, including traditional, gluten-free, wholemeal, and charcoal. Founders Gianluca D’Angelo and Claudio Vescovo also run the fresh pasta restaurant Berto. They envisage reaching 100 stores in five years.