Unfortunately the Hibuscus restaurant is closed. Hibiscus was a restaurant in London, owned and run by French chef Claude Bosi. Opened in 2000 in Ludlow, Shropshire, Chef Bosi used molecular gastronomy to put a number of dishes on the menu to improve their flavors, such as a proces for making Savoy cabbage purée from freeze-dried cabbage. The restaurant in Ludlow had a 36-seat capacity. Chef Bosi won his first Michelin star in 2001 and a second in the 2004 Guide.

Hibiscus received many ratings and awards

Although the restaurant has received mixed reviews from critics, it received many awards:

• In 2005 it was voted UK’s Best Restaurant by Egon Ronay.
• In 2010 it was listed in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
• The Good Food Guide has ranked Hibiscus at Eight best restaurant of the 2013 edition of the United Kingdom.
• In total it received five AA rosettes.

Relocation and closing

In July 2006, Bosi and his wife Claire announced that they would sell the Ludlow site and get closer from London. The property was sold in 2007 to Alan Murchison and Bosi bought a new site on Maddox Street in London. Hibiscus re-opened in October 2007 in its new location.

After many years Hibiscus restaurant was closed in 2016.

Restaurant

A restaurant (from the French restaurant) is a building structure in which various food and drinks are served, to be consumed in the hotel restaurant and sometimes to take away. The term covers a huge range of businesses and various types of cuisine.

Sometimes the restaurants are part of a larger complex, usually a hotel, in which case the dining rooms are designed for use by guests, but are often also open to external customers. Sometimes a restaurant is in a hotel or part of a b&b.

History

The French term restaurant (from restaurer, “to restore”) appeared for the first time in the sixteenth century, with the meaning of “a food that refreshes”, and referred especially to a rich and refined taste soup.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Sobrino de Botin, in Madrid, would be the oldest restaurant still in operation. It was in fact opened in 1725.

The modern meaning of the term was born around 1765, when a Parisian chef named Boulanger opened a restaurant business. The first restaurant to adopt the form that later became standard nowadays (with customers sitting at their table with their portion, also having the possibility to choose the course from a menu, during specific opening hours) was the Grand Taverne de Londres, founded in 1782 by a man named Antoine Beauvillier. It seems that the name is derived from the motto “come and I will refresh you” posted in the first place of this type.

Organization

The organization of the restaurant is mainly based on the coordination of the work of the dining and kitchen departments. These are managed respectively by a dining brigade under the orders of a maître, and a kitchen brigade under the orders of a chef. Other services can be added such as reception, bar or cloakroom. Usually, at the end of the drink, the bill is requested, to be paid at the table or at the cashier, at the exit.

Types of restaurants

Restaurants range from unpretentious locales for people working nearby, with low-cost simple food, to high-priced places, serving food, beer, whiskey and wine in a formal setting.

Usually the customers sit at their table, then their orders are taken by a waiter, who will also bring them the food when it is ready, and the customer pays the bill at the end of the meal.

Depending on the type of place, customers can add a tip, of varying proportions to the bill (usually 10-20%), which will go to the waiter or to the restaurant, logement or hotel. This addition can be directly added to the account (as usually happens in some countries, such as the USA) or given voluntarily by the customer.

Hibiscus

Hibiscus is a genus of about 200 to 220 species of flower plants from the Malvaceae family, which occurs naturally in Mediterranean, subtropical and tropical regions around the world. The genus includes annual, perennial plants, woody shrubs and small trees.

The leaves are scattered, single, oval to lancet-shaped, often with a sawn or lobed edge. The flowers are large, striking and trumpet-shaped. The colors vary from white, pink, red, purple or yellow and are 4-15 cm wide. The fruits are dry box fruits with five boxes, which contain different seeds per cage. The seeds appear when the box fruit opens at full adulthood.

Tea made from hibiscus flowers can be served warm and cold and is well known for its red color, sharp taste and vitamin C content. In our restaurant have more than 100 kinds of tea.

Denomination of use in France

The expression “theme restaurants” is used to indicate those restaurants in which a specific theme prevails over the type of furniture or clothing of the staff, or the type or name of the courses. Examples include American-themed restaurants, such as steak houses, which feature a menu consisting mainly of grilled meats and décor reminiscent of US saloons; vegetarian restaurants, which have a menu consisting solely of vegetarian dishes; or the dark restaurants, whose decor and the names of the courses on the menu recall horror environments or the great directors of the cinema of the genre. Hunt for game yourself and then have a professional cook prepare the food. Let’s also take a look at this website and, perhaps an even better example, this festival website.

Solidarity formulas

The COVID 19 pandemic has contributed to the spread of solidarity and charitable formulas, such as: the application of a surcharge to give a meal to the poor, initiatives such as “suspended dish” or even remote donations in favor of undernourished people in the Third World, as seen on this website.

Links to other restaurants, hotels and recreation possibilities:

If you’re looking for a similar fine-dining experience in London, there are many other Michelin-starred restaurants in the city, including The Ledbury, Sketch, The Ritz Restaurant, and Hakkasan Mayfair, to name a few.

More interesting links >