Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Hawksmoor owner Will Beckett and his business partners plan to open a second branch of the steak house in London’s West End next May because the original location in Shoreditch is “grossly oversubscribed.”

Beckett said he’s about to sign on the site, which he declined to identify.

“We’re turning down more than 1,000 people a week,” he said. “In the year just ended, we were up 21 percent (on revenue) from a year earlier and this year, we’re doing still better. It’s a delicate thing opening at this time, but things are going really well and we’re determined to get it right.”

Palm restaurant is serving an “American Thanksgiving in London menu” on Nov. 26 for 30 pounds. For information, telephone +44-20-7201-0710. At Le Cafe Anglais, the special menu is 36.50 pounds. Telephone +44-20-7221 1415 or click on http://www.lecafeanglais.co.uk/PDFs/thanksgiving%20menu1.pdf. Christopher’s American Bar & Grill weighs in with a 40 pounds traditional menu. Telephone +44-20-7240-4222 or click on http://www.christophersgrill.com/valentines_menu.html.

Mark Hix plans to open his third London eatery, Hix Restaurant and Champagne Bar, in Selfridges on March 1. It will be located on the mezzanine level that was the Gallery and will serve breakfast and afternoon tea as well as lunch and dinner. Conran Associates is creating the design.

Serpentine Bar & Kitchen is erecting a marquee to cover the whole outdoor-seating area to create a pop-up restaurant with a Christmas tree where diners sit at communal tables to enjoy festive food while listening to live jazz and folk. Open from Nov. 19 to Dec. 23, it is timed to coincide with Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland, which will feature an ice rink, a Ferris wheel, a circus and a Bavarian village offering hearty food.

Prism, the fine-dining City restaurant owned by Harvey Nichols, has been reborn as a brasserie. Out go elaborate and expensive dishes in favor of starters such as grilled mackerel, crushed potatoes, lemon, chili and parsley (8.50 pounds/$14.30) and a main of beef burger and chips for 14.95 pounds. From my last visit, in 2007, I recall a dessert called “Richard’s Last Wish” that cost 75 pounds and featured three different dishes with matching cognacs. How long ago that all seems.

Jean-Christophe Novelli, the heartthrob French chef, is offering cooking classes in his 14th-century Hertfordshire farmhouse. The daylong intensive course is 995 pounds but there are cheaper options. Alternatively, you can get two free tickets to see him in action at The France Show if you register before Dec. 1. The event will be held at London Earl’s Court. There’s also a competition to join Novelli on stage and to gain a 50 percent discount on any Novelli Academy cooking course.

Chef Giorgio Locatelli will create the menu for this year’s Berkeley Square Ball, on Dec. 3, and Nobu Berkeley Street will host the reception at the start of the evening. The Prince’s Trust will be the charity benefiting from the event, whose theme is “A Winter in New York City.” Tickets cost 600 pounds plus VAT, or 5,500 pounds for a table. For information, call Sophia Pasetti on +44-20-7644-1420 or e-mail Sophia.pasetti@vpmg.net.

Tom Aikens has teamed up with School Food Matters, a campaign to promote healthy meals for children. The chef will be holding practical cooking sessions for up to 15 pupils at primary and secondary schools in the London borough of Richmond.

Laya’lina, a modern Lebanese restaurant and bar, has opened in Knightsbridge serving mains such as Siyyadiyeh, a fish and rice dish that originated in the coastal city of Tripoli. At weekends, there’s a DJ and live music. For information, click http://www.layalina.co.uk/. In the City, the first London outpost of the Istanbul restaurant Tike is gaining praise for its Turkish cuisine, including a meter-long Adana kofte kebab. For information: http://www.tikerestaurant.co.uk/.

The restaurateur Oliver Peyton will host a Christmas market at Inn the Park on Dec. 19, showcasing produce from farms around Britain. The idea is that you may buy all the elements of a holiday feast under one roof. The market is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Inn the Park, St James’s Park, SW1A 2BJ. Telephone +44- 20-7451-9999 or click http://www.innthepark.com/index.asp.

Raymond Blanc’sLe Manoir aux Quat’Saisons won the Conde Nast Johansens Award for The Most Excellent Restaurant 2010.

The village of Bray -- population 8,460 -- west of London, is best known in culinary terms for the Fat Duck and the Waterside Inn. There’s a third restaurant destination: Caldesi in Campagna, run by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi. Katie has a new book, “The Italian Cookery Course” (Kyle Cathie Ltd., 30 pounds) that explores the regional cuisines of Italy.

Galvin La Chapelle and Cafe de Luxe, the new venue of brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin of Galvin Bistrot de Luxe, will open on Nov. 18. The restaurant is housed in the 19th-century St. Botolph’s Hall, in Spitalfields, with an all-day cafe next door and a connecting aperitivo bar. Telephone +44-20-7299-0400.

Champagne maker Philippe Brun is hosting a Roger Brun Champagne dinner at Texture on Dec. 4. It’s 99 pounds for five courses with matching bubbles. Telephone +44-20-7224-0028.

(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 11, 2009 19:00 EST