Latest news with #SquareMeal
Scotsman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh's 12 ‘best' Chinese restaurants, including local institution opened in 1956
Edinburgh has plenty of amazing Chinese restaurants, and now SquareMeal has picked what it considers to be the best of them. Introducing its selection, the foodies guide says: 'Edinburgh is brimming with a great selection of Chinese restaurants, serving everything from pillowy dim sum, to bowls packed full of thick noodles. 'There's something for every style and budget, regardless of the occasion. Whether you're on the hunt for fine dining menus amongst an ultra-glam backdrop, or cosy little hideaways that are best known amongst the locals, Edinburgh's best Chinese restaurants bring some seriously good deals.' Take a look through our photo gallery to see the 12 best Chinese restaurants in Edinburgh, according to SquareMeal. 1 . Tattu Where: 18 West Register Street, EH2 2AA. SquareMeal says: 'Bringing a more contemporary feel to your Chinese dining, it doesn't get more glamorous than Tattu. This statement-making spot brings eye-catching decor and its famous foliage, alongside indulgent menus of authentic Chinese fare.' Photo: Tattu Edinburgh Photo Sales 2 . Street of Beijing Where: 37 Home Street, EH3 9JP. SquareMeal says: 'Beloved amongst locals, Street of Beijing brings an extensive collection of authentic cuisine, offering something for all tastes, and catering for a range of dietary requirements.' Photo: Street of Beijing Photo Sales 3 . Rendezvous Where: 10a Queensferry Street, EH2 4PG. SquareMeal says: Turning out authentic Chinese cuisine to the punters of Edinburgh since 1956, Rendezvous is one of the city's original Chinese restaurants, and decades later it's still a fan favourite. Photo: Rendezvous Photo Sales 4 . Beijing Banquet Where: 17 Maulsford Avenue, EH22 1PJ. SquareMeal says: 'The family-run restaurant is a local favourite and also has sites in Glenrothes, Sighthill and Renfrew.' Photo: Beijing Banquet Photo Sales Related topics: Edinburgh
Scotsman
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
15 of Edinburgh's ‘best' Italian restaurants for pizza and pasta aficionados to visit
SquareMeal, the respected independent restaurant guide, has picked what it considers to be the best places to enjoy Italian cuisine – and we have to admit this list is pretty much spot on. Take a through our photo gallery to see 15 of the best Italian restaurants in Edinburgh – according to SquareMeal – and please let us know your own favourite places to dine in the comments section before you go.
The Sun
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Michelin-starred restaurant to SHUT after 11 years as top chef trained by Heston Blumenthal teases ‘what comes next'
LONDON'S 'best restaurant' has closed its doors a year on from celebrating serving up 'low-key' Michelin-star food for a decade. Shoreditch-based restaurant Lyle's is closing its doors after 11 years, despite being a fixture on the World's Best Restaurant List since its opening in 2014. 5 5 5 Pioneered by maverick chef James Lowe, the fiercely no-frills concept offered a set menu averaging around £50 - radically cheap in the world of fine dining. Despite the pared-back approach, SquareMeal's restaurant guide named it the best in the capital last year. Even more impressively, it placed at number 33 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2021. Heston Blumenthal-trained restaurateur James Lowe's announcement that his Shoreditch-based restaurant will close on May 18 has sent shockwaves through the culinary world. His partner, JKS Restaurant Group, will hold onto the site as they signed a twenty-year lease in the Tea building, and potentially will open another fine dining restaurant. Legendary chef Lowe will part ways with the group to work on an 'exciting upcoming solo project,' with more details to come soon. Despite Lowe's aversion to mainstream TV appearances, the restaurant was frequented by A-listers such as Jake Gyllenhaal. In an extended farewell to its fans, the restaurant will serve up a carousel of its most popular dishes over the next few weeks before closure. The no-frills eatery 'reluctantly' received a Michelin star 18 months after opening in 2014. Impressively, Lowe has no formal training, and this was reflected in his no-nonsense, more 'affordable' approach to fine dining. He told Squaremeal how his sous chef said he was the 'most miserable chef to ever win a star.' When the news came, rather than jumping up and down with glee, his response was 'Oh, this is awful.' People are going to expect Michelin dining and be like, 'Where are the tablecloths?' 5 5 Restaurant loved by celebs and royals has to close after it's infested with rats Nevertheless, consistently flooded throughout the decade for " singular" chefs' culinary delights. Although James insisted that there was 'nothing vaguely rock and roll' about his "edible day dreams", which shunned 'wishy washy concepts', after receiving the star, footfall increased 35%. Of the closure, James said: "I couldn't be prouder of everything that we've accomplished at Lyle's over the last eleven years. 'I love what we've done, how we've grown, adapted and learned. I want to say an enormous thank you to all members of the team, past and present, It's been a privilege to have worked with so many brilliant people. 'Lyle's has also allowed me to work with some of the best fishermen, artisanal producers and farmers in the UK. 'To evolve our food alongside them has been a journey that's kept me inspired year after year. I'm looking forward to what comes next.' Lowe didn't elaborate on the reasons for the closure, but comforted his legions of foodie fans, saying that a 'personal, independent' project was in the works - and more details would be released soon. This comes as a slew of other fancy kitchens are closing their doors, with Great British Menu Chef Scott Smith announcing his Michelin-listed restaurant, Fhior, is closing just yesterday. Despite rising through the culinary ranks at lightning speed, he shunned TV work, preferring to focus on just serving up what the Times described as 'restrained, elegant food in an airy, austere setting.' After splitting with John Ogier, the partner he originally opened Lyle's in 2021, he invited world-famous chefs such as Sota Atsumi from Maison Paris and Daniela Soto Innes of Cosme and Atla New York City to guest star at Lyle's over the years. Fascinatingly, the darling of the British food scene had little interest in food as a child and subsisted almost exclusively on bacon. He told SquareMeal: 'There was always the joke about how the kid who only ate bacon started cooking and opening a restaurant.' After graduating from university, he secured a place on the British Airways pilot training scholarship scheme - but then 9/11 happened and the training was deferred a year. Desperate for cash, he worked as a waiter in East London's Wapping project. This decision proved transformative, and he pivoted from the cockpit to the kitchen. He said: 'I was working front of house, but got on very well in the kitchen. 'Everyone was driven, passionate and a bit nuts, I learnt on the floor.' After having one of the most 'mind-blowing meals of (is) life' at Heston Blumenthal's iconic 'bonkers' restaurant, the Fat Duck, he secured a day's work experience at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant. At the end of his shift, he begged for a job, but the chef said they were fully staffed. Stubbornly, he simply pitched up every day until they relented. After a five-year stint at St John Bread and Wine, he achieved his dream of opening a restaurant by the age of 30. Initially, his 'back to basics' approach was labelled 'boring' and made fun of as a pretentiously East London hipster. Gradually, the food spoke for itself, and after the shock Michelin star, the maverick consciously made the spot as 'anti-Michelin' as possible. He blasted the music louder, cut the size of the menu and refused to pomp and fluster that usually accompany high-end dining. Honouring the restaurant's tenth anniversary last year, he told ResturantOnline: "The principle of the restaurant has remained - honesty, transparency, humility and built to last. "The places that really inspired me were The Fat Duck, The River Cafe, but they are all around 30 years old now. He hinted that Lyle's might be in trouble confessing: "I had in my head that 10 years in things would be supersmooth, that we would have a strongly established culture and wouldn't worry about day-to-day trade or getting people in, but that's naive. "Even saying that, I feel stupid - stuff keeps happening, the cost of living, changes to salaries, we are down in numbers every month on last year. "Maybe I should have done that TV stuff that people said I should have done. "I've always said, you'll know the 4resturant's in trouble if you ever see me on weekend TV." He never did succumb to the lure broadcast, sticking to his guns. But sadly he the restaurant has become another casualty of the pressures on the hospitality industry. RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April. A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024. Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
The National
21-04-2025
- Business
- The National
Scottish restaurant named 'one of the best in the UK' to close
Fhior, a fine dining restaurant in Edinburgh which was listed in the Good Food and Michelin guides, will close on June 1. Scott and Laura Smith, Fhior's owners, said: 'After nearly seven incredible years, we've made the deeply difficult decision to bring our restaurant, Fhior, to a close. 'This has not been an easy decision. Fhior has meant the world to us — not just as a restaurant, but as a place where we've met lifelong friends, shared unforgettable moments, and worked with some of the most passionate, generous people we could have ever hoped to cross paths with.' READ MORE: Kevin Bridges rips into UK response to Donald Trump tariffs in hilarious skit They added: 'While the restaurant has achieved so much, the cost of doing things the right way in a very difficult hospitality climate has taken its toll. 'Rather than compromise what Fhior stands for, we've chosen to close on our own terms, with intention, and with the same care and integrity that defined every service. Our team has been part of this process and we've been able to help them all find new jobs.' Fhior won restaurant of the year at the Edinburgh Restaurant Awards in 2019 and made it onto the UK's top 100 restaurants named by the UK's leading independent guide SquareMeal.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pizza Express offering iconic pizzas for under £1 this month
Have you dreamed about being able to buy a pizza for under £1? Well, you're about to be able to (but you'll need to be quick). That's because Pizza Express has revealed it will be bringing back its retro prices from 1965 later this month, in honour of the chain's 60th anniversary. To mark 60 years of serving the nation classic Italian food, the company will be offering four of its iconic pizzas at prices as little as 33p, for one hour only. Spring has officially sprung and our icons just got BIGGER and BETTER 🤤. To celebrate our 60th birthday this year, we have some insane new menu items for you launching today in all pizzerias, so drop by and give them a try. These are not to be missed 👀. — PizzaExpress (@PizzaExpress) March 11, 2025 The Pizza Express anniversary deal will be available on Thursday, March from 5-6pm. The offer is set to include the Margherita (33p), the American (45p), La Reine (48p) and the American Hot (50p), reports SquareMeal. Plus, gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free alternatives are included at no extra cost. Customers will also be able to upgrade to a Romana pizza base for an extra £1.95. All Pizza Express fans need to do to make the most of the special deal is turn up within the 60-minute window at one of the UK-wide restaurants and place an order. Paula Mackenzie, CEO at PizzaExpress, commented: 'In 1965 we brought proper pizza to the UK, and what better way to mark those 60 years than with 60 minutes of our original pizzas at their original prices.' Other Pizza Express 60th anniversary celebrations for customers include a month-long 'Birthday Set Menu'. This allows fans of the chain to order a starter and any classic pizza for £19.65 – the offer is available until March 28. Recommended reading: Co-op shoppers discover 'God tier' crisps that are 'the best' in the UK Lidl launches £3.99 version of viral TikTok chocolate bar for a limited time Tesco makes change to meal deals with introduction of new limited edition items Pizza Express customers can choose from dough balls, calamari and mozzarella sticks to start, followed by the American, Fiorentina, Sloppy Giuseppe and more. Again, for those who fancy a Romana pizza base, an upgrade is available for an extra charge of £1.95. You can find out more information about the above offer on the Pizza Express website (a link to which can be found above).
