Monday Bulletin: Black Swan | Aces Foodcraft | The Cooper’s Rest
Published 4 August 2025
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BLACK SWAN SWITCHES OUT SEAFOOD
Hand-dived Scottish scallops and line-caught Cornish turbot are officially off the table at the Black Swan in Oldstead. With diners travelling from around the globe to this picturesque corner of North Yorkshire, Tommy Banks, executive chef Callum Leslie and head chef Alice Power have announced a menu more closely drawn from the local landscape and livestock from the Banks’ family farm. Elsewhere in the Tommy Banks sphere, the General Tarleton has a confirmed launch date of 29th August.
ALEX CRACIUN
Fans of Jason Atherton’s Sosharu in Clerkenwell, which closed in 2018, will be happy to hear its executive chef, Alex Craciun, is back in London with a new opening in Fitzrovia. Aces Foodcraft, which is set to open in the autumn, will serve a casual à la carte menu during the day, with a nine-seater chef’s table offering a high-flying experience in the evenings. Diners can expect Japanese flavours, in which Craciun is particularly well versed.
THE COOPER’S REST
The owners of Newbarns brewery and The Palmerston will open a pub in Edinburgh. The Cooper’s Rest will be a joint venture and open early in 2026. Of the launch, The Palmerston’s James Snowden said, “we realised we’re all gagging for Edinburgh to have a proper pub which serves proper pub food.”
LANNAN PANTRY
Darcie Maher is to open Lannan Pantry in Edinburgh this autumn. Neighbouring Lannan Bakery, as featured in The Good Food Guide’s Best Bakeries, the new venue will sell seasonal produce, as well as homewares. Maher was also in CODE’s Women of the Year 2025.
- Arcade has acquired the former TGI site in Covent Garden. This will be the third site in London for the food hall business following Tottenham Court Road and Battersea Power Station.
- South African chefs Luke Moody and Layla Morris have been named winners of Brixton Kitchen 2025. The restaurant incubator competition by Brixton Village has awarded the duo with a six month chef residency for their Durban Curry House concept.
- Gemma Bell and Company has recently announced it has been awarded B Corp Certification, taking full responsibility for social and environmental impact of work across PR, Marketing, Partnerships, Events and Projects.
- Smash burger brand Supernova has opened its second London restaurant on Thurloe Place in South Kensington.
WHAT WE’RE READING
Giles Coren reviews Canal: The Times
THE DUMBWAITER
Professor Green was spotted at Burger & Beyond last week.
A warm welcome back to Thomas Kochs who, after a decade, has returned to Claridge’s hotel as its managing director.
No kitchen nightmares for Gordon Ramsay this summer. The chef has been holidaying on the Beckham’s yacht in the south of France.
Who needs Graham Norton’s sofa when you’ve got a trio of actors like this: Jodie Foster, Andy Serkis and Stockard Channing were all spotted dining at Delamina last week.
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