@footsteps.london — 14x breakout

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making sense of the London dining scene (unofficial)

@footsteps.london

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Why it worked

The post provides a highly organized and visually appealing overview of a complex topic (the London restaurant scene), making it easily digestible and shareable for users interested in food and dining.

Summary

This post breaks down the London dining scene by categorizing restaurants into groups and chains, and then listing independent establishments. It aims to help viewers understand restaurant ownership and make informed choices about where to dine.

Structure

1Introduction to the London dining scene
2Restaurant groups and chains (JKS, Super8, Harts, Big Mamma, etc.)
3Chains (examples of dine-in focused ones)
4Independent restaurants
5Concluding thought on understanding the scene

On-screen text

making sense of the London dining scene (unofficial) restaurant groups & chains restaurant groups JKS Restaurants* FRISHNA HERRERS LEGADO BERENJAK BIBI SPEEDBOAT BAR KITCHEN TABLE Super8 Restaurants KILN BRAT SMOKING GOAT DIAFA GROUP HARRY'S BAR SCOTT'S THE IVY SEXY FISH BACCHANALIA PARMILLION Harts Group impala quo vadis Daskal Big Mamma Pachamama Group ZEPHYR MINN BOTTARGA DIZERA Gloria Juezzis Public House Group PELICAN HERO BADGER HART CANTEEN MJMK Restaurants KOL FONDA 200 CAFA dcco Group ACORA Difficult Name THE DOVER DOVER STREET MARKET MARTINOS Other groups: Jason Atherton, Jeremy King Restaurants, Angela Hartnett, Studio Paskin, Corrigan Collection, The Wolseley Group, The Enotria Collection, Gladwin Brothers, Woodhead Group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, Fatlow Group, H&M restaurants, Azumi, Hakkasan etc. *JKS sold its stake in Bao to Singapore's L& Behold Group in 2025. chains (examples of dine-in focused ones) FRANCO MANCA Nando's WAHACA PIZZA PILGRIMS CARAVAN THE REAL GREEK GRANGER & Co. Zizzi COTE Pho BRASSERIE HONEST ROSI'S THAI STICKY N' SUSHI LINA STORES wagamama Bilis independent restaurants (-60-70% of total restaurant numbers, no official published figures) @footsteps.london

Original caption

my latest attempt to understand the london food scene🫣🙇🏻‍♀️!! i recently read a substack article “how london learnt to eat” and realised how little i know about the dining scene here even though i create content.. so i decided to do some research, and this one-pager is the summary! i never realised how many of my fav restaurants are part of the same group, and understanding that gives me new perspectives on how to 1) pick a new restaurant; 2) understand their focuses better and 3) understand the invisible power dynamics in the industry. operating a restaurant in london is soooo fkg difficult…!!😮‍💨 this one-pager is by far the most challenging one and took me days to complete - i couldn’t find the latest official figures on # restaurants by category or ownership; and there’s been so much m&a activity in the industry all the time.. but i just wanted to share this and i hope someone finds it useful?🫣 as usual this is just my personal attempt to learn and it’s never official!! and pleasee pleaseee share your insights and suggestions on what i’ve missed, what takes you have etc!! 🙇🏻‍♀️🫶🏼 do you have any favorite restaurant groups? #londondining #londondiningscene #londonrestaurantguide #londonrestaurantgroup