Bites: Locals get chippy

New restaurants in search of another excuse for not opening on time to add to the established triumvirate of unrealistic architects, lazy builders and pedantic licensing regulations, can now point the finger at a new enemy: interfering local busybodies.

The latest notably late arrival is Tom's Place, the eco-friendly chippy by way of Chelsea from Tom Aiken (pictured); mooted to launch last autumn, it has only just opened. The neighbours apparently weren't enamoured with the idea of a fish 'n' chip shop on their doorstep, albeit one serving sustainable seafood. Aikens is joined in his frustration by Tom Pemberton of Hereford Road and Vineet Bhatia of Urban Turban, both of whom were recently terribly tardy with their new restaurants after lengthy local-resident intervention.