Here’s What Happened in the London Restaurant World Last Week

London’s restaurants, cafes, pubs, and bars will emerge from the current national lockdown into tier two coronavirus restrictions from 2 December. Here’s how that went down, and all the rest of the biggest London restaurant news this week.

• Staff and diners got the news they had been waiting for: London will go into tier two coronavirus restrictions from 2 December. Pubs that cannot “operate as restaurants,” must close, with indoor household mixing prohibited and outdoor dining subject to the rule of six. The business meeting loophole has not been tied off.

• Here’s a concise, straightforward explainer of everything tier two means for dining out in London.

• Lobby group U.K. Hospitality has said that these measures could cause a £7.8 billion loss of turnover across the country in December, and again urged the government to respond with proportionate financial support, including a solution on back rent. Currently, restaurants will have to pay on 1 January 2021, with no new legislation in sight. Separately, it pushed chancellor Rishi Sunak to see a link between preserving jobs now and boosting economic recovery when a vaccine is available.

• A good way to support restaurants is buying things that aren’t food: Step forward the Eater London Christmas Gift Guide.

• Away from restriction and into extravagance — an explainer of how and why Matt Hancock ordered £50,000 worth of food from a Filipino-inspired restaurant in Hackney, and why that restaurant has now closed its doors for good.

• Some restaurateurs are forging ahead through national lockdown with fervently anticipated openings. Anna Tobias’ Café Deco, a temple to the russets, umbers, and khakis that comprise “brown food” has opened in Bloomsbury, first as a deli. Asma Khan has taken the same route at her new, larger site for Darjeeling Express, in Covent Garden, while west London pizza impresario Santa Maria will open a second site in its home base of Ealing.

• Gordon Ramsay’s version of forging through restrictions is slapping an £80 wagyu burger on the menu at Harrods.

• Others have been forced to close their doors. Two Lights, the Modern American sibling to Michelin-starred restaurant The Clove Club, will not reopen on Kingsland Road in Shoreditch.

• On Instagram, “comfort food” has veered into “anything goes” territory. All to the good, it’s 2020, go nuts.

• Great British Bake Off update: GBBO 2020 has a winner, and a path to being better next year.

Where to eat in London for the rest of lockdown...

• Start with the ultimate guide to eating at home in London, of course. But to break it down further:
• The best restaurants for delivery and takeaway.
• The most interesting restaurant meal kits to order.
• London’s 38 stand out restaurants, for those December reservations.
• And restaurant Sunday roasts to eat at home.

Until next week, eat well and be safe.