Recently in Galvin Category

Chris and Jeff Galvin's latest restaurant venture Galvin La Chapelle has been named the top newcomer by London restaurant guide Zagat.

The French restaurant in Spitalfields, east London, was praised for its "striking setting" and "absolutely superb" food offering and beat Italian restaurant Babbo and Philip Howard and Rebecca Mascarenhas's Kitchen W8 to win the award.

The 2011 Zagat London Restaurants survey, which includes ratings and reviews of nearly 1,200 restaurants in London and the surrounding area by more than 4,850 regular diners, gave Brett Graham's two-Michelin-starred Ledbury the award for best food, with The Ritz picking up the award for best décor and Caprice Holdings' Mark's Club coming top for service.

Gordon Ramsay's three-Michelin-starred flagship restaurant on Royal Hospital Road was named the most popular restaurant overall at the awards presentation, which took place at Koffmann's this morning.

Gordon Ramsay said he was honoured to have won the award. "It's all down to the team so big thanks to them," he said.

The celebrity chef also extended thanks to Pierre Koffmann, adding that he would not have been able to open the restaurant on the former site of La Tante Claire 12 years ago without his help. "He let me pay him half of the money upfront and the other half a year later, which coming from a French man was pretty amazing," he said.

Allan Pickett, head chef at the Aviator hotel in Farnborough, Hampshire, is leaving the property to return to restaurant group D&D London.

Pickett, who previously worked with D&D London (formerly Conran Restaurants) at Orrery, Bluebird and the Aurora restaurant at the Great Eastern Hotel, has been appointed head chef at Plateau in Canary Wharf.

He will start at the restaurant, which is located on the fourth floor of Canada Place, on 7 June replacing current head chef Tim Tolley, who has overseen Plateau since its launch in October 2003 and is returning to the USA.

Pickett said he was "very excited" to be returning to the capital. "I joined the Aviator about two years ago and it was a great opportunity for me to diversify," he said. "But I do miss London. It's got a more discerning clientele and keeps you on your toes."

Pickett added that while his cooking at the Aviator had been traditional English, he was returning to his roots at Plateau offering a modern French menu with Mediterranean influences. "I would really like to introduce a tasting menu at Plateau," he said.

Pickett joined the 169-bedroom Aviator, which is a joint-venture from operator Ken McCulloch and Farnborough Airport, in 2008. He was previously head chef at the then Michelin-starred Orrery in Marylebone before joining Chris and Jeff Galvin as head chef at Galvin Bistrot de Luxe in 2007.

Michelin's guide for Great Britain and Ireland has awarded its top accolade of three stars to French celebrity chef Alain Ducasse's eponymous restaurant at London's Dorchester hotel.

It is the first time since 2004 that Michelin has handed three new stars to a UK restaurant and brings the total of restaurants holding three stars to four including Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant on Royal Hospital Road in London, Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck and the Roux's Waterside Inn, both in Bray, Buckinghamshire.

The Ledbury in London is the only restaurant in this year's Michelin guide to have been raised to two-star-status, while 18 establishments have been awarded their first star.

This brings the total of Michelin-starred restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland to 140, the highest number in the guide's 36-year history.

Among the new one-star restaurants is the Harwood Arms in London, which sees Ledbury and Harwood Arms chef Brett Graham as the big winner in this year's guide being awarded a total of three stars at his two restaurants.

Other restaurants celebrating their first Michelin star are: Galvin at Windows, Apsleys A Heinz Beck Restaurant at the Lanesborough, and Texture, all in London, as well as the Samling in Ambleside, Cumbria, The Goose in Britwell Salome, Oxfordshire, and Paul Kitching's 21212 in Edinburgh.

Fifteen restaurants have lost their stars in the 2010 Michelin guide for Great Britain and Ireland, with the most high profile loss being Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's in London. The Capital in London, and the Vineyard at Stockcross in Berkshire have both been demoted from their respective two-Michelin-star status, following the departure of their respective head chefs Eric Chavot and John Campbell last summer.
 

Michelin has identified four restaurants as rising stars including Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor in Cheshire, who has been tipped as a future two-star establishment.

The Marquis at Alkham, Kent, the Black Swan at Oldstead, North Yorkshire, and Rosel and Co in Padstow, Cornwall, have named as rising one stars.

The 2010 Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland has named 28 new restaurants as Bib Gourmands, a move reflecting a continued trend within the UK dining market towards competitive pricing.

The Bib Gourmand status is awarded to a restaurant offering "good food at moderate prices" at £28 or less for three courses (€40 in Ireland). The 28 new Bib Gourmands bring the total to 31. 

London chef-restaurateurs Chris and Jeff Galvin have confirmed that their City of London restaurant will be called Galvin La Chapelle.

The long-awaited restaurant is due to open in late autumn 2009 in the Grade-II listed St Botolph's Hall in Spital Square, east London.

Its name is a nod to the Rhône wine Hermitage La Chapelle, vintages of which will be stocked at the restaurant.

Chris Galvin said: "The wines from the Rhone Valley have a particular resonance with our cooking - visiting the area had a big impact on us and we wanted to bring this to our new restaurant."

The 290-cover Galvin La Chapelle, which will comprise a fine dining area, café, bar and outdoor terrace, is the third Galvin restaurant to open in London, joining sister eateries Galvin de Luxe in Baker Street and Galvin at Windows at the London Hilton Park Lane.

It has taken the Galvin brothers around two years to tie-up the deal after they were forced to abandon plans to launch a restaurant at London's Waldorf Hilton hotel.

It means the restaurant will now launch in a recession, although the brothers said they'd never considered abandoning plans to expand their business.