Carlo Scotto returns with Crazy Bear hotel restaurant

Carlo Scotto is to return to the UK restaurant scene as chef patron of a new restaurant at the Crazy Bear Hotel in Beaconsfield.

Bear by Carlo Scotto will open in spring 2025 as a chef’s table experience serving a tasting menu of foraged ingredients and seasonal vegetables.

It is the first new opening for Scotto since he left London’s Amethyst restaurant in June 2023 due to “differences with his business partners”.

Amethyst won four AA rosettes and received positive reviews but closed following Scotto’s departure after a year of trading.

The chef, who previously cooked at Xier in Marylebone, said he was taking a hiatus from the industry to consider his future options.

Scotto’s new restaurant will open amid renovations across both of Crazy Bear’s UK hotels in Beaconsfield and Stadhampton.

In October the hotel group, known for its eclectic designs, said it was seeking new investment as part of plans to reposition the business.

It followed the departure of Crazy Bear founder Jason Hunt, who opened the first hotel in 1993. Experienced hospitality manager Tom Etridge took over the business in January.