New openings: Bounce gets ready to rally, LV chases Michelin star

Bounce will open on Holborn in October, on the site thought to be the place where the sport of table tennis was invented. The 12,500 square feet space will have seating for 130 and a menu featuring pizzas from a wood-fired oven, plus a cocktail bar and 17 table tennis tables. The team behind the concept include Dov Penzik, an entrepreneur and table tennis player; Adam Breeden, co-founder of the All Star Lanes concept; and Jo Jaques, grandson of the sport’s inventor.

Partners in the venture include Ed and Tom Martin of the ETM Group, Alex Chesterman, global vice president of Planet Hollywood, and Mark Sainsbury, co-founder of Moro and owner of the Zetter Townhouse hotel. Breeden said of the concept: “Some things are worth reviving and our love of ping pong is one of them. Ping pong is the most accessible and we believe the most fun sporting activity there is and Bounce is taking the game back to its roots by combining the sport with socializing, entertainment and a touch of glamour, and on the very birthplace of the game.”

Living Ventures has revealed more details of ifs new Manchester restaurant that it hopes will win both the company and the city its first Michelin star. The group has joined forces with Aiden Byrne, who was the youngest chef ever to win a star in the UK, to open at Tower 12 at The Avenue North on Spinningfields. Called The Restaurant and Lounge at Manchester House, it is scheduled to open in March 2013. Manchester has not had a restaurant with a Michelin star since 1974.

Kerbisher & Malt, the upmarket fish and chip restaurant opened on Shepherds Bush Road in Brook Green last year, has launched a second site on New Broadway in Ealing.

Cirrus Inns, the group set up by 333 Holdings founder Alex Langlands Pearse and former Gordon Ramsay chef Mark Askew, has bought the Yew Tree Inn in Highclere near Newbury. The pub with rooms was formerly owned by a consortium including Marco Pierre White. The deal was brokered by Davis Coffer Lyons.

Fast-growing cocktail bar group B@1 is to open a new bar on Gresham Street in London. It will succeed Bar Battu, which closed in mid-July, and joins 12 other B@1 venues in the capital.

Icelandic operator Tommi’s Burger Joint has launched into the UK with a restaurant on Marylebone Lane. The concept is run by Tomas Tomasson, who has opened several Burger Joints in Iceland as well as other restaurant operations. It is the latest addition to the thriving burger scene in London.

Absolute Pubs has reopened The Flower Pot pub-with-rooms in Sunbury-on-Thames after a £250,000 makeover in conjunction with Brakspear. The pub takes Absolute’s total to four.

Spice Market at the W Hotel on Wardour Street is to revamp to target a more mass market casual dining offer. The ground floor of the restaurant will become Spice Market Noodle Bar and Lounge, with more small plates, extended opening hours and prices ranging from £5 to £10, while the first floor restaurant will continue to offer an a la carte menu.

Mitchells & Butlers has opened a new Harvester restaurant on Aintree Retail Park. The brand recently passed the 200 mark in the UK.