What does it take to be one of CODE Hospitality’s Happiest Places to Work? There’s no one single answer: the positive workplaces that made the cut last year were characterised by a hundred positive words and actions. Head to the link in bio to read about 12 standout initiatives from CODE’s Happiest Places to Work 2025.
Register your company now to take part in CODE’s Happiest Places to Work 2026, in partnership with @planday , at the link in bio.
CODE’s Woman of the Year 2026: @nieves_barragan1 , the Bilbao-born chef director of @legado_ldn in Shoreditch and @sabor_ldn in Mayfair, is one of the UK’s most respected and beloved chefs. Arriving in the UK at 20 with no English, she’s worked her way up from kitchen porter to the founder of two Michelin-starred restaurants in London.
Read our interview with Nieves at the link in bio.
CODE’s Women of the Year ‘Breakthrough Year’ award, sponsored by @sanpellegrino_uk , goes to @dara.klein , chef and founder of @tiella_trattoria in East London. Klein made her name with a near two-year residency at @comptonarmsn1 but this year has seen her find a permanent home for her trattoria Tiella and prepare for publication of her debut cookbook La Trattoria, both tributes to Maria Pia’s, the family restaurant she grew up in. “The first time I actually saw it,” says Klein of own place on Columbia Road, “I stopped and I had this funny feeling. I was like, that's my restaurant.”
Read our interview with Dara at the link in bio.
Find your next job on CODE Careers from Assistant General Manager at @poons_ldn to Junior Sommelier at @bruno___london .
Explore CODE Careers at the link in bio.
A first look inside @arcadelondon ’s third site, now open in Covent Garden. Set on Bedford Street in the heart of the neighbourhood, Arcade is home to a collection of global kitchens including @manna_burgers , @graceyspizza , @solisgrill and Hero, alongside standalone restaurants @plazakhaogaeng and @zylia_taverna .
Follow us and sign up to our free newsletter at the link in bio to stay up to date with the latest openings.
CODE members will be lucky enough to access 50% off food every Sunday in June to celebrate the London opening of two-Michelin-starred chef @aktarislam_ ’s @oudh1722 . Named after the Awadhi region, a cuisine born in the royal kitchens of Lucknow, members can enjoy king prawn kebabs with wild garlic and mango, heaping oxtail biryani, and a rich selection of curries from Awadh.
Our exclusive preview sold out within hours of going live. If you’re opening a new restaurant and want to get the industry through the doors early, submit a CODE preview enquiry via the link in bio.
The CODE team has been eating some straight-up bona fide, modern London classics this last week. We ticked off pizza at the new Dough Hands, the nettle tagliolini at Padella, the char siu at Cafe Kowloon, and the panna cotta at Tiella. It was a good week, all told.
Pizza at @doughhandspizza at @allmyfriends.uk
Nettle tagliolini at @padella_pasta
Panna cotta at @tiella_trattoria
Pad kra prow ga at @rosasthai (30% off total bill on CODE)
Char siu mangalitsa at @cafe.kowloon (25% off total bill on CODE)
Fritto misto di mare and verdura at @theo.randall 's on the Terrace
Risotto at @ducksoupsoho
Deep-fried rabbit leg at @maremma_restaurant
Palo short rib at @filipinothaifriendship
Pho at @hanoipho.21
Sign up to our free newsletter at the link in bio to follow where the CODE team eat.
For the first in our new series, CODE Neighbourhoods, CODE heads east to Hackney, home to some of the best restaurants in town. We asked the CODE team where they head to for a drink in Hackney, and this is what they said. Where should we go next?
Discover our top CODE offers in Hackney at the link in bio.
What happened in hospitality last week? An update from the CODE bulletin newsletter:
1. @spencermetzger , executive chef at @rowon5london , is opening a French bistro in Mayfair on 1 June in partnership with @_jasonatherton and Irha Atherton. @chezroselondon will take over the former Little Social site on Pollen Street.
2. London, Chicago, Miami, Rutland... You read that right. @nobuhotels is opening its first countryside hotel, restaurant, and residences near Stamford. Nobu Woolfox, launch date tbc, will be positioned as a membership club and wellness retreat under an hour from London.
3. India's largest sweet and snack brand @haldiramsuk (est.1937) makes its London debut with a restaurant and retail space opening on Leicester Square next month.
4. Argentine-inspired @tano.gelato is setting up shop at @tomspastadeli in Hackney Downs from now until September. The dulce de leche is the one.
Sign up to the CODE Bulletin at the link in bio to be the first to hear about hospitality news.
Ever since, the CODE team went to the brand new @padella_pasta in Soho, we’ve been dreaming about the fresh spinach tagliarini with nettles. Just look at that golden egg yolk... Oh, and don’t miss the tiramisu for dessert.
Find your next job on CODE Careers from Marketing Consultant at @hakkasanlondon to Head Chef at @theunionrye .
Explore CODE Careers at the link in bio.
You may detect a slight East London bias to our eating out this week. Our new series, CODE Neighbourhoods, has just launched, so we obviously had to visit a few of the postcode’s best loved locals including Sune and Wonton Charlie's.
Spring lamb at @restosune (50% off food on CODE)
Wonton soup at @wontoncharlies (25% off total bill on CODE)
Leek skewer at @silk_ams
Date loaf and butterscotch sauce at @st.john.restaurant
Sea bass at @lokallondon
Rotisserie chicken at @piquenique32
Classic Claypot Chicken Rice at @medsalleh.london
Cottage pie at @marksman_pub
Pork and cuttlefish sausage at @tavernlondon
Prawns and asparagus, zeera aloo espuma, tomato rasam at @tresindmayfair
Sign up to our free newsletter at the link in bio to follow where the CODE team eat.
