Monday Bulletin: Impala | ATLAS | The Sea, The Sea

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

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ATLAS BY JAMES & MARIA CLOSE

James and Maria Close have revealed details of their new restaurant (full name: ATLAS James & Maria Close) at Rockliffe Hall in County Durham and it is every bit as ambitious as one would expect. The 36-cover standalone restaurant, due to complete in summer 2026, is just one part of five-star resort Rockliffe Hall’s multi-million-pound transformation into a world-class, gastronomic destination. The Closes have designed their dream dining space in a contemporary colonnaded pavilion on the estate, featuring not one but three kitchen islands; a chef’s table for six; ageing fridges, a spice wall, and a Champagne and apéritif bar. The concept will offer an “immersive chef-guided experience, combining culinary expertise with global flavours, emotions, and traditions”. Manual Ghezzi, former head sommelier at The Connaught, joins as head of wine. Comments James Close: ““After the Raby Hunt, it’s great to be stepping back into the process of creating a restaurant at this level. I’m particularly proud to be doing it again in the north east, where I’m from, and putting the resort on the global culinary map.”

THE SEA, THE SEA

Chelsea fishmongers and bar The Sea, The Sea, is moving into new premises in May 2026. The larger location, still on Pavilion Road, will have space for a new 40-cover bistro and 10-seater seafood counter, led by TSTS head chef Nick Marsden.

OSTERIA VIBRATO

Charlie Mellor has chosen an auspicious day on the restaurant calendar for the launch of his new Soho restaurant Osteria Vibrato: St. Valentine’s Day. Mellor took time out from the pre-launch madness to tell CODE all about it.

WHITELEY’S KITCHEN, BAR AND CAFÉ

Six Senses London, the luxury wellness hotel at The Whiteley London, has revealed details of its ‘maverick British concept’, Whiteley’s Kitchen, Bar and Café launching 1 March. Expect ancestral techniques, live fire, fermentation and plant-forward cooking.

• Ahead of Impala’s spring opening, Meedu Saad is collaborating with Jeremy Chan on a ten-course dinner at Ikoyi on 7 March. Tickets, £250, on sale now via Ikoyi.
  
  
• Linhui Hu and Ziqi Wang missed Lanzhou homecooking so much while studying in London, they decided to start a noodle house. Noodle Nova serves hand-pulled noodles in eight different widths in a 400-year-old building on The Strand.
  
  
• Farm-to-fork champions, the Gladwins, are opening their first pub-with-rooms. The Black Horse, located in their home village of Amberley, Sussex, opens on 25 March.
  
  
• Country Creatures’ Sam and Georgie Pearman are bringing another historic Cotswolds inn back to life. The Wild Duck Inn in Ewen launches on 2 March.
  
  
• Ophélie Théberge of Juliet in Stroud, is heading back to Canada. There’s still time to catch her before she goes; she’s doing a wine takeover at Carmen Street Wine in Bristol on 11 February. Walk-in only.
  
  
• Now open in Brighton: Crossbar, the UK’s first ever dedicated women’s sports bar.
  
  
• Vienna’s legendary Hotel Sacher checks into The Lanesborough on 10 February and  will serve its famous Sachertorte, £16, and Strudel, £18, there until the end of May.
  
  
• Solan, in residence at Pasero in Tottenham until 28 February, is a complete original. Its inventive Polish-Italian menu includes bigos croquettes with apple mostarda.
  
  
• It’s last orders at Pascal Aussignac’s Club Gascon on 28 March. The Michelin star French restaurant in Smithfield opened its doors in 1998.

WHAT WE’RE READING

Whitewashed inns and Wuthering Heights: where to eat, drink and stay in Swaledale: The Good Food Guide

Mambow restaurant review: ‘It’s fantastic. A total knockout’: The Times

To slay, or not to slay: Vittles

Often dismissed by the industry, club bartending endures: VinePair

I’m a hospitality consultant. Here’s what you should know: Countertalk

THE DUMBWAITER

Timothée Chalamet dined at The Devonshire last week. No sign of his mini Hermès Kelly bag but he did accessorise with the obligatory pint of Guinness.

Chefs are a cultured lot. Witness Marco Pierre White eating a McDonald’s, in homage to Jørgen Leth’s iconic ‘Andy Warhol Eating a Hamburger’ short film; and chef Michael O’Hare, who cites Martha Graham’s seminal modern dance solo Lamentation as inspiration for his new restaurant In Lamentation.

Interview Magazine critic J Lee (AKA @carry_bradshaw_) had Keith McNally on the seasonal finale of his Expense Account podcast last week. Among the many pearls of wisdom from the famously curmudgeonly restaurateur came the advice to always admit the uncool people. But that surely can’t be why the Dumbwaiter can get in everywhere, can it?