Openings
Duke of Sussex
75 South Parade,
Chiswick, London W4 5LF
0208 742 8801
Who: After eight years as head chef at St John's, in Archway, Chris Payne has made the move to Chiswick.
What: The Grade II-listed building contains many intricate internal features and
traditional wood and leather furnishings, wall lamps and old prints of the area. Builders drinking beer in the garden rub shoulders with well-to-do Chiswick diners.
Food: The menu features a mixture of British and Spanish dishes, prepared using seasonal and well-sourced produce from responsible suppliers. This eating house has no rules, allowing customers to eat or drink whatever they choose from a menu that is not split into starters and mains.
On the menu: Gazpacho (£4.50); potted rabbit (£5.50); whole mackerel escabeche (£5.50); Spanish cured meats (£6.50/£13); fabada (£10.50); monkfish, black rice, aïoli (£13); pot-roast guinea fowl with bacon & lentils (for two to three sharing) (£23); pink fir apple potatoes, green salad, fresh peas, (all £3 each); Bakewell tart, plum fool, English strawberries & cream, (all £5).
The Devonshire House
126 Devonshire Road, Chiswick, W4 2JJ 0207 592 7962
?gordonramsay.com
Who: This is celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's second pub venture after the Narrow, in London's Limehouse. The opening takes place ahead of Ramsay's re-opening of the Warrington Hotel in Maida Vale. Executive chef is Mark Sargeant, head chef at Claridge's.
Food: The Devonshire menu will follow the style of the Narrow, with a focus on classic British dishes based around an array of seasonal ingredients.
On the menu: Grilled Dorset mackerel with potato salad; braised Gloucester pig cheeks with mashed neeps and whole baked gilthead bream with fennel and watercress. Every Sunday there will be a traditional Sunday roast in addition to the à la carte menu. Average spend on lunch: £10; dinner: £24
The White Bull Hotel
Water Street, Ribchester, Lancs PR3 3XP
01254 878303
?whitebullrib.co.uk
Who: Tenants Chris and Kath Bell. Chris heads up the kitchen while Kath looks after front-of- house. Chris has been recognised with the Bibendum Stamp in the Michelin Pub Guide 2008. The pub is one of only two new entrants from Lancashire to be included in The Good Food Guide 2008. The couple have moved from Paul Heathcote's Longridge Restaurant, where they worked together as head chef and general manager.
What: A family-friendly country pub
environment with an affordable menu.
Food: Honest, down-to-earth British classics, based on fresh, seasonal, locally-sourced produce.
On the menu: Starters: Bury black pudding fritters, English mustard mayonnaise, cress salad (£5); Lancashire cheese & herb fritters, creamed cauliflower, walnuts & watercress (£4.50). Mains: slow-cooked shank of Cumbrian fell-bred lamb, mash, root vegetables & rosemary gravy (£11); Goosnargh game pie, buttery puff pastry, braised cabbage & chestnuts (£10). Desserts: sticky toffee pudding, Gornalls clotted cream (£5);
toasted oatmeal parfait, Bushmills whiskey prunes (£4.50).
The White Star Tavern & Dining Rooms
Oxford Street, Southampton, Hants
023 8082 1990
?whitestartavern.co.uk
Who: Ideal Leisure has launched 13
individually-styled luxury guest rooms and a redesigned bar and restaurant at the newly-refurbished White Star.
What: The launch follows an extensive three-month refurbishment programme that has transformed the former Seafarers hotel to now offer boutique accommodation. Bedrooms include hand-sprung mattresses, soft Egyptian linen, oversized showers and plush, deep, roll-top baths.
Rooms are designed to capture Southampton's busy corporate and fast-growing cruise-ship market and are equipped with broadband Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs, mini-bars and personal safes.
Each room is named after one of the White Star Line's great liners or one of the original J-Class yachts in memory of the first America's Cup around the Isle of Wight.
Other aspects of the refurbishment include a fully-equipped private meeting room for up to 16 delegates, dedicated lounge and reception and trendy urban roof garden.
