Arbutus and Wild Honey duo put new City restaurant plans on ice

The owners of London’s Arbutus and Wild Honey restaurants have dropped plans for an eatery in the City because of the economic slowdown, reports Bloomberg.

Will Smith, co-owner of the restaurants with chef Anthony Demetre told Bloomberg: “We'd been in lengthy negotiations for a site in Smithfield but we've decided to wait for six to 12 months and hold back a bit to see what happens.”

“We've got two restaurants that are operating very solidly but we felt times are going to get tougher and we're not sure we should be contracting on a third unit and taking our eye of our other businesses,” Smith said.

Smith and Demetre won the prestigious Restaurant of the Year – Independent accolade at the recent Cateys ceremony. Watch footage from the evening here. 

They are also a past Caterer Adopted Business.

See Bloomberg article in full >>

Anthony Demetre and Will Smith masterclass - 2008 Chef Conference >>

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Arbutus: The critics' choice >>

By Chris Druce

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