The Time Out London blog team

Londoners, it might be time to show your closest burger joint some love, because restaurants are closing faster than you can say ‘quarterpounder with cheese’. In the space of just two weeks, two big hitters – MeatLiquor and Patty&Bun – both announced they’d be shuttering multiple venues. In the latter case, closures have been the result of a major restructure, with the chain promising that ‘this isn’t goodbye to Patty&Bun. It’s just the end of this chapter’. As for MeatLiquor, well, founder Scott Collins told the Telegraph last April that he didn’t expect the business to be ‘making any money in the next financial year, and that’s with opening a brand new site, so the coffers are empty’. A year later, his prediction seems to have come true. Collins confirmed last month that the group had appointed BPI Asset Advisory to assess its options, and the chain has shuttered more than half of its venues.  Collins founded MeatLiquor with Yianni Papoutsis in 2011 and its no-nonsense attitude to ‘dude food’ soon put it on the map. By 2018 it operated 11 outlets, including Meat Mission in Hoxton and Meat Market in Covent Garden. Now, MeatLiquor’s burger bars in Clapham Junction, Queensway and Islington have all closed their doors. Its Brighton outpost, which has been flipping patties and toasting buns for 13 years, is also out of commission, as is The Dartmouth Arms pub in Forest Hill, also part of the group’s estate. Until recently, the group operated seven branches in London and one...

April 7 update: Following significant backlash, Kanye West’s headline shows at Wireless 2026 have been cancelled. All ticket-holders will be refunded. On March 30 Ye – the artist formerly known as Kanye West – was announced as the headliner for all three nights of Wireless Festival 2026.  Today (April 7), however, the festival has been cancelled. Wireless’ organisers Festival Republic said that the Home Office has withdrawn Ye’s ETA, thereby denying him entry into the UK. The shows would have marked Ye’s first UK performances in 11 years, following his controversial Glastonbury headline slot in 2015. He’s no stranger to Wireless, having headlined when he last appeared at the festival in 2014.  RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London. Kanye West’s now-cancelled dates at Wireless 2026 The shows were scheduled for July 10, 11 and 12 2026.  Why was Kanye West’s appearance at Wireless 2026 controversial? How long have you got? Ye declared himself a ‘Nazi’ on X last year and took back a public apology for his antisemitic rhetoric. He later announced that he was ‘not a Nazi’ – before trying to sell t-shirts with swastikas on them. In May 2025, he released a song called ‘Heil Hitler’. Earlier this year, Ye took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to apologise for his behaviour. ‘I am not a Nazi or an antisemite,’ he wrote. ‘I love Jewish people.’ He added: ‘One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type-1 are the disconnected moments – many of which I still...

Major news, music fans. Back in February it was revealed that former One Directioner, three-time Grammy winner and general pop culture icon Harry Styles would be curating the 2026 edition of Meltdown, following in the footsteps of David Bowie, Patti Smith, Grace Jones, Jarvis Cocker and countless other musical legends in selecting the line-up for the Southbank Centre’s renowned summer music festival.   And now, hot on the heels of his chart-topping fourth album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, the heartthrob has revealed the first wave of acts set to join him at the central London arts institution this June. On the bill for Meltdown’s 31st edition is an eclectic roster of established and up-and-coming artists, including plenty of artists born or based in the capital.  Harry Styles’s Meltdown opens with Warpaint’s only live date in 2026. The California-based indie rock outfit will play at Royal Festival Hall on Thursday 11 June in what promises to be an atmospheric opening for the eleven-day festival. The festival’s first Friday will feature gigs from folk singer Stephen Fretwell (Purcell Room, Fri 12 June), electronic producer Ninajirachi (Queen Elizabeth Foyer, Fri 12 June) and British jazz composer and multi-instrumentalist Shabaka Hutchings, who will be inviting a host of special guests to join him on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall for a one-off collaborative performance (Fri 12 June).  Also appearing over the opening weekend are experimental pop singer Erika...