MAGAZINE

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Welcome to your first edition of Dine Out for 2026, which, when looked at in its entirety, seems to have taken on a rather Italian theme. 

Since announcing his departure from BrewDog and arrival at Prezzo, James Brown is someone I’d been looking forward to sitting down and talking all things hospitality with. It was quite the jump – one minute you’re ‘punk’ and anticipating the next controversial headline at any given moment, the next minute you’re sat at the top of a clean, family-friendly casual dining brand looking to restore its future on UK high streets. To be honest, same agenda, different approach.

Rather than jump on the new CEO as soon as he’d taken post, we thought we’d give it a year or so to see what unfolded over his first 12 months in charge. What a decision that turned out to be! Soon after he took the reins, the business rebadged and rebranded to Prezzo Italian. A few months after that, he helped launch Brava Hospitality Group – the new vehicle that would allow Brown and the head office team to operate multiple restaurant brands. Three months later, Brava announced it is bringing Jamie’s Italian back to central London, with an expansion plan waiting in the wings. He’s been busy. You can read about all that and much more in my interview with Brown from page 16.

Brand evolution plays a big part in this issue’s restaurant review as well, as we document the journey Pasta Evangelists took from a fresh pasta delivery company to a restaurant operator hoping to launch 100 UK sites (page 34). The fact its first restaurant outside of London happened to pop up in Guildford, the closest city to where I live, was clearly a sign. I had no choice but to visit, eat some pasta, then tell all of you wonderful people what I thought about it.  

Tristan O’Hana
Editorial director