Smashed goes live tonight with guest Dan O'Regan of Notes on a Napkin
Here's how to join
Smashed will make its live Substack debut tonight, Monday 4th August at 6pm when I will be talking to Bristol-based restaurateur Dan O’Regan who publishes the brilliant Notes on A Napkin newsletter. If you don’t know Dan, I’d highly recommend subscribing. There are more details about Dan and his newsletter below. The broadcast will last 45 minutes. To join, you’ll need to download the Substack iOS or Android app to your phone. If you make sure to enable notifications, the app will notify you when I’m live. Just tap the notification and you’re in. It’s that easy!
I’ll be chatting to Dan about how he got into the business and the highs and lows of running a restaurant for about the first 15-20 minutes, then there will be a Q&A session for the remainder of the running time. If things go well on the day and there are lots of questions, both Dan and I will be happy to carry on for the full hour. I’ll take questions on the day via Substack chat, but please send your questions for Dan in advance of the day either via the Substack chat by clicking here or by emailing me at andylynes@gmail.com. The chat thread will be open during the event too. Hope to see you on at 6pm tonight!
About Dan
Dan O'Regan is a restaurateur, writer, and recovering coffee obsessive based in Bath.
He started his hospitality journey behind espresso machines, competing in national coffee championships and immersing himself deeply in the speciality coffee world. After several years in coffee, he moved into restaurants, founding BANK, a neighbourhood spot built around cooking over fire, and more recently opening Lapin, a modern French restaurant at Bristol’s Wapping Wharf.
Dan writes candidly about hospitality on his Substack, Notes on a Napkin, sharing honest reflections on restaurant life, customer quirks, and celebrations of service. He’s happiest speaking plainly and sharing stories without fuss or pretension.
About Notes on a Napkin
If you're curious about what happens behind the scenes at a restaurant, you will love Notes on a Napkin. Bristol-based restaurateur Dan O’Regan describes his recently launched newsletter as ‘a behind-the-scenes look at what really goes on — the myths, the madness, the moments that matter — written by a self-taught restaurateur still figuring it all out.’ O’Regan runs the critically acclaimed Bank and Lapin and is frank and funny about the hospitality industry.
So far, he’s covered subjects including ‘Where the Money Goes: Anatomy of a British Restaurant in 2025’ (‘Burrata costs more than beef. Storms wipe out seafood supplies or send prices soaring. Turbot is delicious, but not at £50 a portion’, why ‘Everyone Thinks They Can Run a Restaurant’ (‘100-hour weeks, ovens that catch fire mid-service, and answering 2am emails because someone insisted we sprint to Tesco, buy sausages, and cook it for their hungry dog’) and ‘What Makes a Bad Review Good’ (‘One snotty comment from a stranger and suddenly you're questioning your life choices, your kitchen setup, your music playlist, and whether your entire existence is a lie built on under-seasoned courgettes’). It’s very well written, thought-provoking stuff. You could think of it as a more well-mannered Substack equivalent of Gary Usher’s old Twitter feed. I can’t wait for the next edition. Make sure you don’t miss it by subscribing here.