Monday Bulletin: StreetSmart | Britain’s 100 Best Pubs 2025 | Posie

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THE GUINNESS OPEN GATE BREWERY

The long-awaited Guinness Open Gate Brewery London is to open its doors on 11 December on the site of the historic Old Brewer’s Yard in Covent Garden. The new 54,000 square foot venue will blend dining, tastings, and immersive experiences across multiple floors with guided microbrewery tours led by head brewer Hollie Stephenson. The venue has signed two hugely popular London chefs to head up its restaurants: Pip Lacey, ex-Hicce and Murano, and Calum Franklin, formerly of The Pie Room at Rosewood London. Lacey will take charge of two restaurants: Gilroy’s Loft, offering line-caught fish and native oysters on the rooftop, and The Porter’s Table, serving British dishes made for sharing. Franklin, meanwhile, will make his famous handmade pies to go alongside pints of the black stuff. The big question is, will it serve more pints of Guinness than The Devonshire – around 20,000 a week?

BRITAIN’S 100 BEST PUBS 2025

CODE’s sister publication, The Good Food Guide, has announced its 100 Best Pubs 2025, in partnership with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. Taking the top spot is the Highland Laddie in Leeds. Here’s the full list and your chance to win an exclusive brewery tour.

POSIE

Opening tomorrow in Manchester city centre: Posie, a cosy new bar on Marble Street from the team behind 10 Tib Lane. Highlights to include cacao nib Negronis, pork belly skewers, and £1 oysters between noon and 4pm.

40FT BREWERY

40ft Brewery has two new beers out in quick succession. ‘Overnight Success’, in celebration of ten years of TopJaw (all profits to StreetSmart); and ‘Eccles Stout’, its annual collaboration with St. JOHN, which launches at a party at the Blackhorse Road brewery on 9 November.

• Coming soon: The Opportunity Network, a networking group created by Social Pantry to encourage like-minded businesses to employ prison leavers. The first meeting takes place in London on 22 January. Register your interest here.
  
  
• Dan Cox has closed Crocadon, his farm-to-table restaurant in Cornwall, after two and a half years. Cox, who took on Crocadon Farm in 2017, is moving on to new projects and partnerships.
  
  
• StreetSmart kicked off its annual Christmas campaign at the weekend. 650 restaurants have already signed up to help tackle homelessness; join them here.
  
  
• Thesleff Group has a new concept in the pipeline: MA/NA, a 156-cover, high-end Japanese restaurant and bar in Mayfair, opening January 2026.
  
  
• Bubbledogs is back – for one night only. Get your grower Champagne and gourmet dog fix at Kitchen Table, Fitzrovia on New Year’s Eve. Tickets, £100.
  
  
• The late-night dining trend is catching on. Angela Hartnett has launched post-9pm ‘nightcap dining’ – £15 for any pasta, £5 for a Negroni – at Cafe Murano in Covent Garden, Bermondsey, and St James’s.
  
  
• Finally, sending the best of luck to the team at Som Saa in Spitalfields which reopens on 11 November following a fire in May.
  
  

WHAT WE’RE READING

Why Britain’s proper pubs must be celebrated: The Good Food Guide

It’s not about the food – the secret of a great restaurant: Jay Rayner, Financial Times

New York restaurant royalty: the ex-River Cafe cook behind King, New York

A24 just opened a restaurant in New York and it’s as cinematic as you’d expect: Wallpaper

THE DUMBWAITER

There are podcasts and there are podcasts. Leave it to The River Cafe’s Ruthie Rogers to secure Kamala Harris as a guest on the new series of Ruthie’s Table 4.

Global girl group KATSEYE were in London last week making their European debut. Fish and chips were a must: Yoonchae, the baby of the group, was spied at Goldies in Kingly Court.

To new bar Squeeze in Dalston to celebrate the 15th birthday of London On The Inside. Lily Vanilli, Abby Lee, and Mandy Yin all joined the fun.