Chef Shaun Presland to open his own restaurant in London

The chef behind the Sake success story is taking his culinary act overseas. Shaun Presland will open his own restaurant in London next year.

Presland left the Rockpool Dining Group HQ in recent weeks to relocate to London after rejoining Rockpool last year to get its Sake brand humming again.

RDG chief Thomas Pash says Presland isn't lost to Australia. He retains a strategic consultant role that will see him regularly jet in to work across the Sake portfolio.

Presland, who is currently signing off on a site in the British capital, will be involved at Sake Manly, which opens late October on the top level of Manly Wharf, with chef Shoji Toru heading its kitchen.

Sake Manly will have a new neighbour, with Pash confirming they've jettisoned plans to open Fratelli Fresh next door in favour of its El Camino Cantina concept.

Pash says Fratelli isn't on the nose; rather, the success of the Tex-Mex restaurant at The Rocks and its younger demographic was a good fit for the northern beaches.