Monday Bulletin: Marea | Junk | Maray

Catch up on the latest industry news stories of the week from the CODE Bulletin

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THAI RESTAURANT RESURGENCE

The trendwatchers and tastemakers have been caught napping. Thai food wasn’t in any of their 2025 forecasts. So completely had their heads been turned by Korean cuisine, they’ve slept on a quiet but significant Thai restaurant resurgence. Just this week, two press releases hit our inbox: one for Platapian, a reimagining of 20-year-old Patara in Soho, by second generation Thai restaurateur Nam Parama Raiva, niece of Patara’s founder; the other for Khao Sō-i, a Chiang Mai noodle bar with a cult following that has chosen Fitzrovia for its first international location in October. Add to that the continuing buzz around Singburi in Shoreditch and the expansion of Speedboat Bar to Notting Hill, and it’s clear, we’re in for a hot Thai summer.

MAREA

Da Terra’s Rafael Cagali and his partner Charlie Lee are opening a new restaurant in Hove. Marea (‘tide’ in Italian), launching in September, will be ambitious, though less formal than Da Terra (rated ‘exceptional’ in The Good Food Guide).

JUNK

The race to capture the smashburger market is on. Parisian brand Junk, which debuted in Soho in October, is growing. A new 40-cover St. Christopher’s Place location will open next month. The aim is to have around 10 locations by 2026.

MARAY

Maray, the independent restaurant group born in Liverpool in 2014, is to open its fourth site, in Chester, this winter. The Middle Eastern menu will include the signature “Disco Cauliflower” and Medjool date bread and butter pudding.

• JKS Restaurants has sold its stake in Bao after ten years. Bao has a new partner in Singaporean hospitality group, The Lo and Behold Group.
   
• Manchester’s Nell’s Pizza opens its fifth site this autumn. The new MediaCity location will have private karaoke booths and shuffleboard tables.
   
• Vintage London greasy spoon, The Regency Café, est. 1946, has reopened under new ownership. Brand partnerships, merch, and even overseas expansion are in the offing.
  
  
• Tom Sellers of Restaurant Story has acquired Gywn’s Bakery in Horsham. The bakery, founded by Ben Lines in 2020, will supply bread to Sellers’ three London restaurants.
  
  
• Pa Modou’s East London bakery Suba has a new Clapton home. Sourdough and Gambian-inspired pastries soft-launching 1 August.
  
  
• Mezcal and music bar Small Fires has opened its doors on Bethnal Green Road. Cocktails by Oaxaca’s Sabina Sabe; small plates by Rodolfo Castellanos of Oaxaca’s Origen.
  
  
• Congratulations and good luck to Manchester PR queen, Lucy Noone Blake, who has left Pear after six years to go freelance.
  
  
• Coop, the fried chicken and lobster roll pop-up from Tomás Gormley of Cardinal, returns for the Edinburgh Festival. Find it at The Gilded Saloon until the end of August.
  
  

WHAT WE’RE READING

The story of London’s best local restaurant: an extract from Ida, At My Table: The Good Food Guide

The ‘real’ drinking pubs serving £5 pints and no fancy food—and thriving: The Telegraph

What it takes to run the UK’s busiest Michelin-starred restaurant: Restaurant

Singburi, but in Shoreditch—Jay Rayner reviews a new iteration of a London legend: FT Weekend

THE DUMBWAITER

Who drank all the Château d’Yquem? Jason Atherton’s customers at Row on 5, where they’ve recently uncorked their fifth methusaleh of the French dessert wine.

To Fortnum & Mason, for the launch of Mandy Yin’s new book Simply Malaysian. Shuko Oda, Abby Lee, and Sabrina Gidda were all in attendance.

The beau monde has descended on Mayfair this summer. Martha Stewart has apparently been staying at The Connaught, while designer Vera Wang has been spotted at Tamarind.

Estelle Manor was the venue for the wedding of Eve Jobs, the late Apple founder’s youngest daughter. Ruthie Rogers was a guest, as well as Kamala Harris, who—according to The Sunday Times—stayed at The Bull in Charlbury.

The Dumbwaiter’s attempts to secure a real Labubu, meanwhile, have come to naught (customers guard them far too closely). Nothing for it but a £58 Lafufu from London’s Japanese patisserie Sakurado instead.