Daniela Toporek

German Doner Kebab is taking over the UK with plans to open a whopping 25 more restaurants across the country in 2025. GDK, which is owned by Glasgow-based company Hero Brands, opened its first new outlet of the year in London’s Victoria Place Shopping Centre (attached to Victoria station). It became the 55th German Doner Kebab location in the Big Smoke and the chain’s 144th UK outpost.  GDK Victoria will also be the third lucky store in London (and 6th nationwide) to offer the restaurant’s new breakfast menu. Served until 11am, guests can take a bite of items like the ‘big breakfast wrap’, a flatbread stuffed with doner meat, free-range eggs, hash brown bites, onions, tomatoes, melted cheese and yogurt sauce. ‘We launched our campaign, “Doners worthy of the daylight”, last year, informing the UK public that GDK makes kebabs suitable to be enjoyed at any time of day,’ said GDK’s CEO Simon Wallis about the breakfast. ‘We wanted to give guests the opportunity to enjoy GDK at breakfast and developed a special range with items UK consumers know and love.’ The news comes after two successful years for Hero Brands. The company opened 16 GDK locations in the UK in 2024 and 19 in 2023, with plans to continue growth for the next five years. Now, now who will be crowned the quick-service, chain-opening winner – GDK or Gail’s? Only time will tell. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel

Further encouraging Londoners to ditch gas and energy-guzzling cars for sustainable cycling, e-bike firm Forest will roll out three new e-bike models in the capital by the end of this year.  Gone are the days of passengers riskily perching on e-bikes’ handlebars or back wheels (neither of which are endorsed by Time Out, obvs). These roomier, upgraded models, put into production thanks to a £13m investment from firms Fintex Capital and B8 Venture Partners, will allow extra passengers to hop along for a ride, as well as providing extra storage space for cyclists.  One of the models – the Forest Duo – has a passenger seat installed behind the cyclist saddle, while the Forest Kid model offers child safety seats. For extra storage space, the Forest Cargo model has the classic front basket, as well as a built-in luggage rack to strap on additional luggage.  Forest is one of the most popular e-bike firms operating in London, and the company has plans to expand in Hackney. It currently has 15,000 bikes around the city and hopes to launch its first non-UK service in Paris by late 2025. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.