Will Ricker heads back East with his new bar-cum-robata-grill, Glo Glo’s

If top pan-Asian food, cocktails, glam and a bit of casual sleb-spotting are your thing… then chances are you already know Will Ricker.

Over the last year, dining options in South West London were drastically affected when Eight Over Eight, one of Ricker’s glossiest spots, closed its doors (after some scallops caught alight and started a nasty fire). But all’s well once again now that it has just reopened – and is looking swankier than ever.

Kelly Hoppen has spruced it up so that the bar is far roomier and has one of those wall-mounted fireplaces, and the restaurant seems bigger and lighter due, mainly, to the much larger mirrors on the walls – all the better for people-watching while you try and concentrate on getting a beef and foie gras dumpling in your mouth at the same time.

But perhaps the most exciting news is that Ricker is heading back East. This Friday the space formerly known as the Great Eastern Dining Room’s bar (one of his first establishments) is to become Glo Glo’s, an intimate cocktail lounge with a Japanese robata grill. Chief cocktailian Hannah Lanfear has created a range of liquid delights (it’s all about the Yokohama Sour) while Ricker’s executive chef Neil Witney has devised a menu that includes dishes like black salmon with sweet miso and grilled tiger prawns.

Chilling poolside at Shoreditch House may have been the hottest option when the sun was out. But now the nights are drawing in, I know where I’m heading.

INFO
Eight Over Eight
392 King’s Road, SW3 5UZ
www.rickerrestaurants.com

Glo Glo’s
54-56 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3QR
www.gloglos.co.uk

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SEE – the influence of Japanese design: Future Beauty: 30 Years in Japanese Fashion. 11am-6pm, daily, Thurs: 11am-10pm, Barbican, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS. £8-£10.

LAUGH – Get the endorphins flowing at the long-awaited, When We Are Married. 2:30pm or 7:30pm, Garrick Theatre, 2 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0HH. £29.50-£49.50.

HEAR – a musical exploration into the concept of performance, Galvanized: Singularities. 8pm-late, Cafe OTO, 10-22 Ashwin Street, E8 3DL. £8.