Round-up: New openings in London, Leeds and Glasgow

Our latest round-up of new openings to keep an eye out for include a Ukrainian restaurant in Shoreditch, a business expansion in Leeds, a relaunch in Borough Market and an exciting new venture in Glasgow.

EXTRA_ORDINARY, GLASGOW

Australian chef Tobias Fiegel has opened a pan-Asian restaurant in Glasgow Finnieston, blending Japanese, Korean and Chinese dishes.

Extra_Ordinary is open now and is an all-day dining 25-cover restaurant.

The menu includes udon, X_O mussels, char sui pork, bao, miso butterscotch and ricotta hotcakes.

"Opening Extra_Ordinary is an incredibly exciting opportunity that enables me to combine my passion for various Asian cuisines and share them with the people of Glasgow,” said Tobias.

“Essentially, this is the cuisine I like to prepare and eat, and I'm excited to have the chance to work with products and innovative techniques that I truly love in this setting. 

“Our menu has been meticulously developed to provide an exceptional blend of traditional Asian foods, with many components made from scratch and reinvented using creative recipes."

Australian-Italian Tobias grew up in Sydney, with this being his first solo restaurant venture, having gained experience across Scandinavia and Scotland.

APPLEBEE’S, LONDON

Relaunching in Borough Market this week after a refurb is Applebee’s, celebrating their 25th anniversary.

Starting out as a fishmongers, the family-run business has continually evolved with Jack Applebee spearheading the relaunch, alongside his two brothers.

Frankie van Loo has now been appointed executive chef. The menus are dictated by what lands on the coast of Devon and Cornwall dayboats each morning.

Standout dishes include grilled Dover sole, a zero-waste British bouillabaisse and Applebee’s signature seafood platters.

Frankie spent 13 years at Jason Atherton’s Social Company restaurant group.

Jack said: “As part of our reopening, we will be providing all guests, old and new, with a more elevated dining experience in a fresh space with a greater emphasis on the journey in which our seafood takes from when it is caught.”

The 70-cover space, redesigned by A-nrd, opens on February 13.

Tatar Bunar, LONDON

Coming in March is Ukrainian restaurant Tatar Bunar in Shoreditch.

This will be a first London venture for restaurateurs Alex Cooper and Anna Andriienko.

Inspired by Alex’s hometown of Tatarbunary, Tatar Bunar will reflect decades of old family traditions, with a menu led by Alex’s grandmother’s recipes.

Heading up the kitchen will be Kate Tkachuk, with dishes set to include chicken Kyiv and borscht, a traditional beetroot soup.

Alex and Anna said: “We have long admired the food scene in London and its ability to celebrate and champion cuisines from all over the world.

“We believe there is still work to be done in showing London how wonderful Ukraine food is, which is why we have decided to open Tatar Bunar and we can’t wait to show London what Ukraine cuisine has to offer.”

The Highland Laddie, Leeds

This spring will see the expansion of Leeds duo Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton’s business, with the opening of The Highland Laddie.

Sam and Nicole own and run Empire Café and have now decided to take on a site in Burley which has been empty since April 2023.

Joe Carroll will work as head chef at The Highland Laddie, where the plan is to bring the old pub back to life with a menu of dishes cooked over flame, supported by small plates.

Sam said: "We see no difference between running a pub or a café; both serve the community. Our goal is simply to do it better. 

"We’re stepping into another heritage building in Leeds to refine and enhance it, much like we did with Empire. First and foremost, it will be a pub where you can come and have a drink, much like Empire, where you can still come and get a bacon sandwich and a mug of tea. We want to embrace the heritage and pub tradition but make it our own."

Want to feature in our next round-up? Email tom@thestaffcanteen.com