Deliveroo names top delivery dishes in 60 UK towns and cities: Deliveroo has named its top delivery dishes in 60 cities and towns in the UK. The data showed Brits are burger lovers, with 28 of the 60 places on the list choosing some sort of burger as their top dish. 7Bone Burger, which is backed by Kings Park Capital, was the favourite of both Bournemouth and Southampton. Seven of the most popular deliveries are Thai food, six are burritos and just four cities went for pizzas. There was a mix of chains and independent restaurants, although PizzaExpress, Wagamama and Barburrito seem to be the most popular chains, each with three appearances. All but two of the towns and cities favourite deliveries are savoury meals – Chester and Peterborough opted for desserts. The list reveals some cities are clearly more adventurous than others. While burgers with all the toppings and trimmings emerged victorious across the nation, Livingston, in contrast, played it safer with a PizzaExpress margherita emerging as the most popular takeaway. Meanwhile, just Cheltenham chose fish and chips as its top delivery meal. The list, provided to the Evening Standard, was as follows: Aberdeen: Chicken Katsu curry – Wagamama; Aylesbury: Khao Suay – Simply Thai; Basingstoke: The Taxidriver – Gourmet Burger Kitchen; Bath: Chicken Tinga Burrito – Mission Burrito; Belfast: Burrito Bowl – Boojum; Birmingham: Chilli Squid – Yakinori; Bournemouth: Prince Charles is Overrated – 7Bone Burger; Brighton: The Dead Hippie – MeatLiquor; Bristol: Six-ounce prime beef burger – The Burger Joint; Cambridge: Byron Burger – Byron Burger; Canterbury: Pork Roll – Pork & Co; Cardiff: John Wayne – The Grazing Shed; Chelmsford: Chicken Katsu curry – YO! Sushi; Cheltenham: Cod – Simpson’s of Cheltenham; Chester: Kinder Bueno waffle – Off The Waffle; Coventry: Classic eight-ounce cheeseburger: Burgers by Millsys; Derby: The bacon cheddar beef burger – The Forge Gourmet Bar & Grill; Dundee: Build your own pizza – The Canavan; Durham: Pad Thai with chicken – Nadon Thai; Edinburgh: Steamed chicken gyoza – Wagamama; Ellesmere Port: Two dine at home meal – Prezzo; Exeter: Khao Suay – Thai Orchard; Glasgow: Cheese and bacon burger – BRGR; Gloucester: Hunter’s chicken – On Toast; Guildford: Grilled chicken burrito – Tortilla; Harrogate: Smokeback Mountain – Boss Burgers; Hereford: Farmer Tom’s beef burger – A Rule of Tum Burger Shop; Leeds: Chargrilled chicken tortilla – Barburrito; Leicester: Smokey and the Bandit – Meatcure; Lincoln: Huckleberry’s Classic – Huckleberry’s Bar + Grill; Liverpool: Awesome Frickin Chicken – Almost Famous; Livingston: Margherita – PizzaExpress; London: Byron Burger – Byron Burger; Lytham St Annes: American – PizzaExpress; Manchester: Chargrilled chicken – Barburrito; Milton Keynes: American – PizzaExpress; Newcastle: Fat Hippo – The Fat Hippo; Norwich: Fried duck gyoza – Wagamama; Nottingham: Chargrilled chicken – Barburrito; Oxford: Big Ron – Atomic Burger; Peterborough: Hot Fudge Hot n Cold Volcano – Creams; Plymouth: Hub Burger – Hubbox; Portsmouth: House burger – 6oz Burger; Reading: Chicken Japan Katsu curry – Coconut Bar & Kitchen; Royal Leamington Spa: Smokey + The Bandit – Meatcure; Royal Tunbridge Wells: Chicken Thai green curry – Giggling Squid; Sevenoaks: Chicken Shish – Hattusa; Sheffield: Big Daddy Kane – Twisted Burger; Shrewsbury: Big Poppa – The Burger House Lab; Southampton: Prince Charles is Overrated – 7Bone; Southend: Texan – Mangetout; Southport: Mixed platter – Asiatique; St Albans: St Peter’s burger with mature cheddar cheese – The Meating Room; Stirling: MJ’s house burger – Monterey Jack’s; Stoke: The Taxidriver – Gourmet Burger Kitchen; Watford: Beef cheese burger – Tinseltown; Winchester: Pad Thai – Koh Noi; Windsor: Pad Thai – Thai Square; Worcester: 100% grass fed Herefordshire beef – BurgerWorks; York: Chicken satay – My Thai York.

Russell Norman and Richard Beatty to start expansion of Spuntino with second site, in Bristol: Polpo founders Russell Norman and Richard Beatty are set to open a sister site to their Soho restaurant Spuntino this spring, in the Bristol Cargo 2 shipping container development in Wapping Wharf. Spuntino, which means “snack” in Italian, will offer small plates of Italian-influenced New York comfort food. Dishes will include Spuntino’s signature truffle egg toast, lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, and Bismarck pancake with fried buttermilk chicken and maple syrup. Snacks will include sesame eggplant chips with fennel yogurt, while desserts include Spuntino’s renowned peanut butter ice cream sandwich. Spuntino Bristol’s interior will take inspiration from the roadside diners of 1950s America. The space will seat 27, the same as the Soho site, with the addition of an elevated outside terrace with views of the harbour that will be home to a barbecue in the summer months. Norman said: “Wapping Wharf is fantastic. So vibrant and exciting. It’s imaginative, intelligent urban regeneration with a completely sympathetic connection to the traditions and history of its location. It’s also beautiful. We feel fortunate to be part of the Cargo development and, even though it has taken us six years to find the right location for our second Spuntino, we are so happy it’s going to be here.”

Bone Daddies launches fifth London site: Japanese ramen bar concept Bone Daddies has opened its fifth London site, this time in Marylebone. The company, founded by chef Ross Shonhan, has opened the restaurant in James Street, which features new robata and wok dishes exclusive to the site. Interiors have been overseen by B3 Designers, with the upstairs space featuring sake crates as stools, a nine-seater bar and overlapping layers of timber, tiling and metal grille lining the walls. Downstairs, a hand-painted mural creates a downtown urban vibe, with a communal table seating 14 guests as the focal point. The drinks list features Japanese beer, cider, sake and wine, alongside cocktails and freshly squeezed juices. Shonhan said: “I am particularly excited about the new robata and wok dishes (group executive chef) Tom (Moxon) and I have been developing for James Street – working with charcoal grills has been something we have been looking to build into the menu for some time.” Bone Daddies’ other sites are in Bermondsey, Kensington, Old Street and Soho. A sixth site is set to launch in the Nova development in Victoria in spring. Shonhan also operates Asian fusion restaurant Shackfuyu in Soho and Japanese pub concept Flesh & Buns in Covent Garden.

Caffe Nero to convert used coffee beans at London sites into fuel: Caffe Nero has launched a partnership with recycling company Bio Bean to turn waste coffee grounds at its 122 London sites into biomass pellets, which can be used to heat homes and, eventually, fuel cars. Caffe Nero said 218 tonnes of coffee grounds could be turned into enough pellets to heat more than 450 homes. Bio Bean is also exploring options to turn refining oils from coffee waste into biodiesel. Bio Bean said its research showed the amount of waste coffee made by Caffe Nero’s sites each year would get a car around the M25 3,689 times. Caffe Nero is working with another waste expert, First Mile, to deliver the scheme. The concept was first formulated between Caffe Nero and First Mile at the end of 2015 and introduced in July. First Mile provides Nero with special sacks for coffee grounds, which First Mile collects each night in its fleet of 65 specialist vehicles. Caffe Nero commercial director Matt Spencer said: “We are always looking at ways to improve our recycling so we are very excited to be working with First Mile and Bio Bean on this initiative and will seek to extend it beyond Greater London. We are committed to doing our bit to help address the recycling issues we all face.” First Mile chief commercial officer Joe Allen added: “Waste coffee grounds would previously go to incineration or landfill and it is fantastic to see Caffe Nero embrace this new initiative.”

Stonegate buys two more JD Wetherspoon pubs: Stonegate Pub Company has exchanged contracts to buy a further two JD Wetherspoon sites, totaling 12 acquired from the company in the past four months. The Jug & Jester, Leamington Spa; and the Robert Ransom, Ipswich; will complete in the next four to six weeks. It has already been announced the Robert Ransom will join the Yates brand soon after completion. All 12 sites will be invested to convert the pubs to one of Stonegate’s eight trading formats. Hull and Torquay are now trading as Yates following an £800,000 investment; Ipswich will convert to Yates; while the remaining nine will operate within the traditional division. Chief executive Simon Longbottom said: “The diversity and flexibility of our trading formats, both traditional and branded, enable us to transform pubs under-performing their potential, into thriving businesses meeting the needs of today’s consumer. The people operating these pubs are a significant part of the journey to success and we look forward to welcoming the Ipswich and Leamington teams into our business.”