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More
restaurants have opened in London in the past 12 months than ever
before according to the new (17th) edition of Harden's London
Restaurants, published on 28 August.
The guide
records 158 openings of note in the past 12 months - some 13 per cent
higher than the August 2006 figure (136), and smashing the former
record of 142 noted in 2005.
"This
is a golden age for the London restaurant-goer" says Peter
Harden, co-editor of the guide, ""with the restaurant
scene reaching a stage which would once have seemed inconceivable. It
continues to evolve - generally for the good - faster than ever. We
are now seeing new openings annually at about three times the rate of
15 years ago (just before London's restaurant 'revolution' began)."
"This
year's openings seem to represent a decisive step forward, with
openings at last breaking out of the surprisingly narrow range -
between 120 and 142 openings annually - which prevailed for the
previous seven years. Perhaps it's not surprising when you consider
the amount of money which seems nowadays to be swilling around the capital."
Notable
openings (or re-openings) in the past 12 months include Bacchus,
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Rhodes W1 Restaurant, La Petite Maison
and Scott's,
CLOSURES
RISE EVEN FASTER.
However it is
not only the rate of openings which is on the up. After being
relatively 'flat' for the past two years (65 last year, and 67 the
year before that), the number of restaurants closing is up by no less
than a third, at 89. Peter Harden comments: "The closures we
are seeing at the moment are in large part the flip side of progress.
As more exciting and better restaurants open their doors, there is
obviously greater pressure on unsatisfactory concepts, and on tired
restaurants which are moving towards the end of their days."
Harden warns
that the closure pressure is likely to get greater before it abates: "Closures
move on a 5 to 6 year cycle, and history suggests that, once
established, a rising trend in closures will last at least two years.
The coming year may, therefore, see restaurants shutting up on quite
a scale, quite possibly exceeding the record number of 113, noted
four years ago."
Notable
closures of the past 12 months include Astor Bar & Grill, Bank
Aldwych, Hosteria del Pesce, Mocoto and Tugga.
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