Square Meal
SquareMeal is a restaurant review and booking website and smartphone app, with reviews of 5,000 London and UK restaurants and bars.[1][2]
The site publishes a yearly restaurant and bar guide[3] and runs the BMW Restaurant of the Year Awards. The 2014 winner was Gymkhana.[4] Previous winners have included The Five Fields in 2013,[5] Dabbous in 2012[6] and Pollen Street Social in 2011.[7] The award for BMW Square Meal Award for Best UK Restaurant went to Northcote.[8] Previous winners include Purnell's Bistro[9] and The Kitchin.[10]
SquareMeal provides à la carte restaurant bookings in the UK, with users making reservations by telephone, email and online booking. The website lists over 11,000 bookable restaurants online, in addition to restaurant news, reviews and articles. Diners can review and give restaurants a star rating whilst bloggers can link their blog reviews of restaurants. The site also runs a premium points-based Reward scheme with members receiving points when they book online. Their Concierge service, launched in 2012, allows bookers to find restaurants or venues for private dining.
SquareMeal’s holding company, Monomax Ltd, is the publisher of printed versions of the SquareMeal Restaurants & Bars Guide and Venues & Events Guide. These are free to qualifying executives in Central London and have a circulation of 104,000.[11] Members also receive a quarterly restaurant and lifestyle magazine and e-newsletters.
Venues & Events
SquareMeal’s Venues & Events is a guide and website that provides events professionals with information about venues and events suppliers in London and the UK.
Their annual trade show, Venues & Events Live is held in September at Old Billingsgate Market. Its 2013 show drew over 7,000 events organisers.[12] Members of the SquareMeal venues and events audience receive a quarterly Magazine, e-newsletters and the annual Venues and Events Guide, published by Monomax Ltd. SquareMeal also runs a free helpline to assist events professionals. It handles over £5m of venue & corporate entertainment enquiries annually.[13]
History
SquareMeal was founded in 1989 by University friends Simon White and Mark de Wesselow,[14] whilst working in the City of London.[15]
Connections
The online restaurant booking service is powered by BookaTable (previously known as Livebookings[16][17]) and OpenTable.[18]
The site's editor Ben McCormack is a contributor to the Telegraph Luxury magazine.[19]
SquareMeal supports homeless charity StreetSmart.[20] The campaign is supported by Richard Bacon and Stephen Fry and chefs including Angela Hartnett, Marcus Wareing, Jason Atherton and Fergus Henderson.[21]
References
- Nicholls, Luke. "The A-Z of Restaurants". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/iosapps/best-restaurant-apps-for-iphone-3502457/
- "Square Meal - The Guide". Magazines about... Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- McCormack, Ben. "Gymkhana wins BMW Square Meal Restaurant of the Year award 2014". SquareMeal.co.uk. Monomax Ltd. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- "The Five Fields wins the BMW Square Meal Restaurant of the Year 2013". Hospitality and Catering News. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- Byrne, Jonathan (Spring 2014). "The Constant Eater". The London & UK Datebook. 19 (3): 11.
- Girl, Guide. "Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social wins Square Meal's best restaurant award". Guide Girl Blog. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Northcote Wins 2014 BMW Square Meal Award for Best UK Restaurant". http://www.thestaffcanteen.com/. Retrieved 13 January 2015. External link in
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(help) - "About Glynn Purnell". Purnell's Bistro. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- Evans, Nicky. "The Kitchin wins Square Meal BMW award for Best UK restaurant 2011". SquareMeal.co.uk. Monomax Ltd. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- "Square Meal Magazine". Magazines about... Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Venues & Events Live drew 7,000". Conference News. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "About Square Meal". Square Meal. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
- Pigott, Sudi. "From deals to meals". Financial Times. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Square Meal". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Livebookings joins forces with Square Meal". Eat Out Magazine. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- Emma, Eversham. "Big Hospitality". Livebookings and Square Meal announce partnership. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Stay booked with OpenTable". TopTable. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Our Experts". Telegraph Luxury. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Restaurant Guide Backs Homeless Charity with Celebrity Chef Campaign". PR Web. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Helping the Homeless at Christmas". StreetSmart. Retrieved 19 March 2014.