Monday Bulletin: Da Pino | Manna | Rake

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

To get the CODE Bulletin direct to your inbox every Monday morning sign up here.

Let us know your news to potentially be featured in the CODE Bulletin or Good Food Guide Weekly newsletters, as well as across CODE and Good Food Guide social platforms.

DIN TAI FUNG 

Din Tai Fung has something a little different planned for its fifth London location, opening in King’s Cross this December. The 160-cover site on Lewis Cubitt Walk will be the Taiwanese brand’s first “lifestyle-led destination” in the UK, with a purpose-built masterclass and community space and a 30-cover al fresco dining space.

MANNA

Now open on James Street, W1, the first standalone site for Feroz Gajia and Arcade London’s smashburger concept Manna. Site exclusives include a trifle and a cola float in classic, chocolate and cherry versions. Walk-in only.

BEAUFORT WINE BAR

This October, the Savoy will open the doors to Beaufort Wine Bar, “a dedicated house of wine”. It will have one of the UK’s largest by-the-glass programmes, with glasses from £9 to £1000, and vintages from 1975 to 2025. There will be cheese, jamón, and live music too.

DA PINO

Bianca’s in Stoke Newington has closed, far too soon, but in its place comes Da Pino, a new neighbourhood spot from two of the team, Pugliese chef Giuseppe Pino and manager Federico Giannuzzi. The menu is still under wraps but there will be riso, patate e cozze. Opens 1 October. 

You have until 19 December to make it to Rake at The Compton Arms in N1 before it moves on. What’s next for Jay Claus and Syrus Pickhaver’s project? Watch this space.

Phil Howard and Rebecca Mascarenhas’ Michelin-starred Elystan Street reaches ten years this month. To celebrate, a seven-course menu of signatures, £150, available from 14-30 September.

Aulis London’s annual 20/20/20 charity dinner is back on 27 September, with 20 star chefs cooking 20 courses. Raffle tickets to win a chance to attend are – you guessed it – £20. Proceeds to Hospitality Action.

Bavette in Leeds will celebrate the wines of Jura on 29 September. The menu, £65, is a joy: think saucisse de Morteau tartelette and Comté soufflé.

Don your lederhosen – Albert’s Schloss is celebrating Oktoberfest across all its venues from 19 September to 25 October and will be among the few places outside Munich pouring all six official festival beers. Oompah!

Sohaila, the Shoreditch Lebanese restaurant, has a new chef in Ellie Shaw (ex-The Clink at HMP Brixton). CODE members get 30% off.

The latest edition of Jenny Lau’s Rice & Friends takes place at the ESEA Community Centre in Hackney this Thursday 10 September with guest chefs including Uyen Luu. There’ll be mahjong and an Asian dessert exchange too.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Where to eat in Chinatown: a local’s top eight picks: Good Food Guide

• Inside the Carbone crew’s decadent bid for world domination: GQ

• “A crisis of authenticity”: the truth about food influencers: The Guardian

• New Kid in town: the fire and friendship behind this year’s hottest opening: The Observer

THE DUMBWAITER

To the Ottolenghi Harvest Party at Rovi on Thursday where Gay Nigella (head pastry chef at Fink’s) got to meet the actual Nigella (Lawson).

Every day’s a school day at LIU Xiaomian in Carnaby Street, where a chalkboard by the kitchen offers a primer on the Chinese city of Chongqing, population 32 million, and the birthplace of the xiaomian noodle. The Dumbwaiter feels cleverer already.

It makes a change for a closure announcement not to open with “it is with a heavy heart”, so it’s heart-warming to hear the founders of Sonora Taqueria pronounce themselves “super happy, fulfilled and excited” to be shutting up shop on 31 October. It’s just the rest of us who are devastated.