London’s New Restaurant Openings

Keeping track of London’s new restaurant openings is enough to give any normal person a headache. But we’re not normal. And nor are you. You love finding the latest spot that you simply have to tell your friends about before anyone else does. So do we. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to all the new openings that have caught our eye. Just remember, this isn’t an endorsement, as we haven’t been to all of these places. It’s for you to go and find out what’s what for yourself, so fare forward voyagers.

Also check out our guide to the best new restaurants we've visited, The Hit List.

September 2023

After opening their first spot in King’s Cross, Hiden have opened a second Japanese curry restaurant, this time in Finsbury Park. You can expect the same foolproof formula of beef, chicken, and vegetable curries, except this time there’s seating.

We were immediately obsessed with this West African spot’s original Brixton restaurant (and the groundnut soup they served), so to say we’re glad Chishuru is back would be a huge understatement. The new Fitzrovia location is serving a set menu of inventive West African dishes like peppersoup broth and moi moi.

We checked out Chishuru and added it to the Hit List.

Honey & Co. Daily is the latest spot from the people behind Honey & Co and Honey & Spice, and the Middle Eastern dishes and bakes look equally as delicious. Find things like merguez sausage rolls and egg salad on challah in the sandwich section, and strawberry pistachio buns.

The second spot from the people behind Sushi Heads, OkonomiHeads is a new Japanese spot in Haggerston where you’ll find things like tuna mayo onigiri, kimchi yakisoba, and plenty of different okonomiyaki options. 

If you’re into wine and fancy sausage rolls, then Red Vine in Clapham Common should be on your radar. It’s a British spot serving classics like fish and chips, and roast chicken with mash in a charming English townhouse-type space. They’ve even got sticky toffee pudding to finish.

With pastas named things like ‘stunning’, ‘dazzling’, and ‘ravishing’, and a burger that has a whole burrata in it, Guilty by Olivier is not for the minimalists among us. In fact this OTT, European-leaning spot inside hotel Nhow near Old Street has a Big Ben meets NASA installation that is not for the faint-hearted.

London’s bagel scene has just got a lot more exciting, and it’s not just because James Corden may or may not have been spotted waiting in line at this new Primrose Hill spot. Celebrity sightings aside, this new bagel shop is from photographer and New York native Dan Martensen, so you can expect NY-style bagels with everything from lox, to a cheese, egg, and bacon number. It’s already pretty popular so get a coffee for the queue. 

Notting Hill is home to a lot of exciting things. Colourful houses that double up as photo opps, Portobello Market, and the lingering essence of Hugh Grant. And now Ria’s, an all-day spot serving coffees by day and thick Detroit-style pizzas by night. You can also find natural wines, beers, and £5 margarita Mondays. 

Just up the road from the original Peckham Cellars, Little Cellars is a neighbourhood wine bar in Camberwell with an impressive wine list, plenty of cheese and charcuterie, and things like confit chicken leg on the menu. As you can probably tell from the name, it’s a little smaller than the original spot, but that hasn’t stopped them from having a wine shop next door where you can get bottles to go.

Everyone's favourite south London rooftop bar, Forza Wine, has opened another location—this time a little more central. You’ll find this new spot in South Bank’s National Theatre, where it’ll be open from midday to midnight, serving cocktails, Italian-inspired small plates, and their must-order soft serve. 

August 2023

What’s better than one Sticky Mango? A trio of sticky mangoes. The south east Asian-inspired restaurant has added a Tower Bridge spot—and coming soon, an Islington location—to its fruit bowl. Expect cherry blossom-filled interiors and fan favourite chicken curry puffs.

“I’m just Ken”—unlike a bandana-clad Ryan Gosling, Ken’s is so much more than a scowling accessory. The wine bar and restaurant is from the people behind Dan’s wine bar in Dalston and the new Exmouth Market location will have a similar small plates and sharing menu, with a wine list focusing on natural wines and small producers.

42 Holborn is on 42 Kingsway and has 42 dishes on its menu. It might sound like a concept you and your oldest friend would scrawl on the back of a napkin after a big night out. But it’s more sophisticated than that. Inside this Grade II-listed building, there’s a hulking bar with scale-like jade tiles, marble tables, free-hand artworks on the walls, and curved leather seating. Expect Mediterranean-inspired dishes like Tuscan chicken and Spanish lentil stew.

After 25 years of serving the people of Stoke Newington home-cooked Caribbean food, neighbourhood spot Junior’s shut its doors last year. The good news is that it has now reopened under new management, with the same reliable menu of curry goat and rum wings, and the same head chef. The only new thing is the name, the spruced-up modern interior, and the fact you can get a pastry and a coffee in the morning.

A New York import which is llama in name, but strictly none on the menu has opened in Shoreditch. The Peruvian spot has things like lomo saltado and scallion pancakes on offer, and we have a feeling this is going to be popular.

A restaurant with butter in its name is already winning in our books. This steak spot in Holborn has outposts around Lebanon, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia, and is now bringing its straightforward formula to London. The choices are easy: steak, chicken, or salmon. Oh, and their secret butter and 33 (!) herb sauce. 

Naan the size of your torso, lamb-filled mantu, and chicken koobideh rolls you can eat on the go are what you’ll find at this new Afghan restaurant in Highbury Park. 

The Guinness World Book of Records is full of people who did things for the first time ever, and really shouldn’t have. Luci will be hoping their Covent Garden spot makes more sense than eating 250 mangoes in under three minutes. The spot claims it’s ‘London’s first Italian dining bakery.’ Split over two levels, there’s a counter downstairs with freshly baked goods and upstairs is where the sit-down menu is served. Luci can take you from coffee and viennoiserie through to focaccia, pizza, and pasta. 

Jin Jiang is a Chinese restaurant in Deptford with a simple, airy dining room, complete with whitewashed columns and faux marble tables. There’s lobster available to pre-order, chilli clams, and bright red, spicy pots of mao cai. 

Tatale has hung up its apron at The Africa Centre and made way for Cally Munchy. The Afro fusion street food stall and pop-up is calling this venture the Cally Munchy Lounge. There’ll be drinks from African cocktail bar Abura and while dishes are yet to be confirmed—keep an eye on their Instagram page—Cally Munchy specialises in dishes like moi moi burgers and efo tempura prawn bao.

Like you trying to decide what to have for dinner, The Table took 17 years to open a new location. But finally the OG brunch restaurant in Southwark has a sibling in Battersea. There’ll be a similar menu in the mornings—ham hock and chorizo hash, burgers, and brunch club sandwiches—but unlike the other spot, there’ll be a small plates menu in the evening too. 

Corn ribs are like catnip for a certain type of Londoner. Throw in tuna tostadas and kimchi bloody marys, and we’re surprised Mexican Seoul hasn’t been overrun already. The Mexican-Korean fusion spot is close to Victoria Park and has DJ sets on weekends and collaborations with local breweries. So many east London buzzwords. 

Imad—chef and owner of this Syrian restaurant on the top floor of Kingly Court—knows how to create a space that feels like home. We know that because we’ve visited, reviewed, and continued to recommend the excellent baba ghanoj at his previous restaurant (also in Kingly Court) to anyone looking for top Syrian food. This new larger spot will serve more excellent classics, as well as breakfast for the first time.

A vegan spot with a cult-like following, CookDaily has been in motion for almost a decade. From a stall in Boxpark Shoreditch to a sit-down restaurant in Hackney—the latest iteration is a permanent spot in Spitalfields. They’ll be serving plant-based bowls inspired by a fusion of cuisines, all cooked to order.

The Mediterranean is so large that when a restaurant serves “Mediterranean food” it could mean anything—from a Turkish kebab to Spanish andrajos. But at this spot in Battersea, there’s a fusion of them all. Expect things like Albanian dolma japrak, stuffed courgettes, and crispy calamari.

Aussie brunch is high on our list of wholesome Sunday activities. This St. John’s Wood spot is open for blueberry buttermilk pancakes and fried sweetcorn fritters in the AM, and switches the mood up in the evenings where you’ll find lemon sole and chicken parm for dinner.

Despite it sounding like the lovechild of a butcher and a banker, this halal burger spot in Kensington seems pretty straightforward. There are double patty beef smashburgers, grilled chicken and halloumi options, and zero screens showing ChartMill. 

We recently checked out Crypto Burgers. Read our first thoughts here.

Previously Sowa, this Polish kitchen has reinvented itself a mere three-minute walk away from its original Ealing restaurant. What’s changed? The name, the location, and a few new special additions to the menu. Find things like Polish black pudding, sour soup, and Galician-style pierogi.

Cattle that’s been fed grass and cooked over coals is on the menu at Grassfed in Camden. Expect sustainable cuts of meat slathered with truffle mayonnaise and crispy onions, sandwiched in a hot dog bun, and BBQ day boat fish with smoked seaweed butter. The two-storey restaurant will have canal-side seating and a counter space too.

If you look on Evi’s stripped-back website, their menu consists of one word: souvlaki. This Greek spot started out as a market stall and pop-up, and now it has a permanent home in East Dulwich. Their handmade pitas will come stuffed with tzatziki, tomatoes, Cretan oregano, a choice of pork or chicken, and a side of holiday dreaming.

There’s a case to be made that hot, crispy chicken between toasted slices of bread is the best sandwich. Japanese Chicken Shop—a street food spot joining the line-up at Vinegar Yard food court in London Bridge—definitely feels that way. There’s a menu of fried chicken, togarashi fries, and sandwiches “stacked to the gods” with things like pineapple jam, dark soy caramel, kewpie mayo, and that chicken.

The pizzeria with the cutest name is adding to its fluffle (the actual name for a group of rabbits). Four Hundred Rabbits has opened a spot in Battersea with the same tangy sourdough pizzas as their other restaurants, plus gelato in flavours like salted caramel, alphonso mango, and peanut. There’s an outdoor terrace to drink frozen margaritas on too.

Silk handkerchiefs to rival anything in Hugh Grant’s wardrobe and oozy, runny egg yolks put Bancone on the map. Now this Italian pasta restaurant is opening its third spot. The two-floor Borough Yards restaurant is set into a railway arch and will serve fan favourites as well as some new dishes like smoked potato ravioli.

Your family thought they were fancy going in on that paddling pool together. This family owns a farm, an aquafarm, and a vineyard. They probably have a paddling pool too. Origin City is a family-run restaurant in west Smithfield that sources its meat, fish, and wine from their own places. The dishes—texel hogget, aged black pig cutlet, merguez and salsa verde—reflect their British, Scottish, Provençal, and Slavic heritage.

Like you at a party, Tendril aims to be imaginative and approachable. This pop-up turned permanent restaurant does mostly vegan food, but there's not a slab of fake meat or slice of fake cheese in sight. Instead, this Oxford Circus restaurant champions vegetables in dishes that draw influences from around the world.

What was once a coal-fired power station is now home to a spot that serves smashburgers and bao. Arcade is a 500-seater food hall that’s opened its second spot inside Battersea Power Station. It includes Manna's peerless burgers among its food options, as well as twice-cooked crispy chicken from Indonesian spot Bebek! Bebek!. There’ll be the same direct to table ordering system as the Oxford Street spot.

Fazenda sounds like the kind of place Don Draper goes to tuck into a marbled Japanese wagyu and sip Ardbeg Uigeadail whisky. The South American spot is in Bishopsgate and specialises in grilled meats carved at the table, as well as lighter dishes like beetroot tortellini. It’s a big space with brown leather seating and sprawling plants spread over two floors, and a big wine menu with options from Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.

This new French restaurant is from the team behind Quality Chop House and promises to have decidedly unstuffy bistro energy. 64 Goodge Street’s menu will be based on “French cooking from an outsider’s perspective”—which translates to snail, bacon and garlic bon bons, lobster vol-au-vents, and Basque chicken ballotine.

We checked out 64 Goodge Street and added it to the Hit List.

July 2023

There always seems to be something interesting going on at 180 Strand and that’s certainly the case now AngloThai has a new pop-up at Outcrop—its new restaurant, bar, and events space. The Thai-British kitchen has created a delightful-sounding menu of bits to share—from hot and sour soup with mussels and langoustines, to pork fat jungle curry, to green curry and summer beans flatbread. FYI, it’s here until late September.

40 Dean Street has a new sibling a one-minute walk away. ​​64 Old Compton Street follows suit in both name and vibe—a comfortable, inclusive Soho restaurant, serving homely Italian classics. We’ll see you there for some chicken milanese.

Worry not, this new Canary Wharf restaurant isn’t a Squid Game spin-off. Instead, London has a new British spot for charcoal grill enthusiasts who like to eat both fish and game. Everything is sourced from the UK and the menu includes a few choice-sounding dishes, like tigella bread with rabbit and offal, or raw langoustines with rosemary and samphire. Space-wise it looks pretty slick and shiny.

After having two Brats, Tomos Parry is ready to climb a mountain. The chef behind the Shoreditch and Hackney restaurants is opening another spot—but this one is called Mountain, is inspired by travels in Spain, and it’s in Soho. There’ll be dishes like Majorcan lobster stew, a wood-fire oven in the basement bar, and a beautiful counter reserved for walk-ins.

We recently checked out Mountain. Read our first thoughts here.

Dovetale has looked deep into your soul and knows what you want. And that is a knickerbocker glory trolley. The British restaurant is opening inside 1 Hotel Mayfair. There will be tableside dessert-making, grand mariner soufflé, and an impressive-looking terrace with a copper fireplace and pergola.

The Lacy Nook is bringing food from the Balkan Peninsula to a residential corner of Wood Street near Walthamstow. Dishes include beef cevapi, prawn saganaki, and fire-baked feta with confit tomatoes. There’s a covered outdoor space, big tables for groups, and a baklava cheesecake sprinkled with pistachio to finish.

We recently checked out The Lacy Nook. Read our first thoughts here.

June 2023

Breakfasts don’t come much more aspirational than crème brûlée pain perdu served on glazed crockery (that you can buy), served in a dining room that has two huge laurel trees. Lórian, a deli, bakery, and restaurant on Chelsea’s Sloane Street, has a barista counter for morning pastries plus comfy banquettes for long lunches involving salt-baked beetroot and grilled greens. 

The relaxed, all-day Italian restaurant Lina Stores has opened a spot overlooking Clapham Common. Its tell-tale mint-green humbug stripes and fresh pasta are still front and centre, with dishes like crab linguine, burrata ravioli, and lamb sausage ragu with pappardelle. 

After a pain-staking restoration project, The Earl of Derby has opened and it’s serving food by Gengelly’s. Inside, it’s a handsome mix of moody mahogany, leather-backed banquettes, and warm orb lighting. The food at this Peckham spot is classic pub stuff too—pies, chargrilled meats, and bar snacks to pick at while sipping a pint. 

Not since Gordon Ramsay smooshed someone’s face between bread and called them an 'idiot sandwich' has there been such exciting news about a Michelin-starred chef. Yannick Alléno, who holds 15 Michelin stars, is opening Pavyllon London at the Four Seasons in Mayfair. The all-day spot will serve modern French dishes like brioche-crusted sea bass and langoustine with white onion emulsion.

We recently checked out Pavyllon. Read our first thoughts here.

You’ve got to admire the bratwurst on Bierschenke. The German beer hall company has opened a massive site in Covent Garden, right across the road from the new Guinness brewery (expected to open later this year). Their answer to Taytos is a menu of German dishes like crispy schnitzel, currywurst, and flammkuchen.

At Manzi’s, a seafood restaurant in Soho, sea-green mermaid sculptures hold up the bar, chairs have scalloped edges, and the ceiling is decorated with a swirling wave mural. The nautical playground aesthetic is matched by whimsical dishes—an oyster shell ice cream sandwich, monkfish wellington, and a sharing-sized knickerbocker glory.

We recently checked out Manzi's. Read our first thoughts here.

Counter 71 is an all-counter seating restaurant in Shoreditch inspired by the British Isles, with dishes like brown crab donut and raw langoustine. Its downstairs bar, Low Country, has a menu of whiskey cocktails and grits prawn toast inspired by the American South. This is the kind of special relationship we can get on board with.

Close your eyes, stroke the Japanese cedar wood counter, and desperately try to pretend you didn’t spend £420 to eat here. Sushi Kanesaka is the first London restaurant from sushi chef Shinji Kanesaka, who already has Michelin-starred spots in Tokyo. The omakase restaurant will serve up to 20 courses in a Park Lane dining room that seats just 13.

Sonora Taquería is now open for lunchtime tacos from 12-4pm, with a view to extending to include breakfast from mid-July. What started out as a Netil Market stall is now a permanent spot in Stokey serving brilliant chorizo tacos, nopales, and bean quesadillas.

We checked out Sonora Taquería and added it to the Hit List.

Mallow is a new plant-based restaurant from the team behind Mildreds. Expect pretty, crowd-pleasing dishes like fluffy chocolate pancakes, shiitake miso croquettes, and sweet potato laksa are served in the bright, two-floor dining room overlooking Canary Wharf.

The closure of east London wine bar P Franco and sister restaurant Bright was a huge loss to the city's dining scene earlier this year. But the good news is that the former has reopened, currently under the name 107 (after its door number on Lower Clapton Road). Stay tuned to its Instagram page for news of its next induction hob, small plates residency.

We checked out 107 Wine Shop & Bar and added it to the Hit List.

The team behind Gunpowder is expanding to Notting Hill with a new concept inspired by old-school 1970s curry houses. There are plans for plenty of disco with a side of Old Delhi butter chicken, lobster biryani, and more north western-influenced Indian cuisine. 

We recently checked out Empire Empire. Read our first thoughts here.

If you’ve been thinking that Carnaby Street needs a Latino fried chicken specialist with a basement cocktail bar, then you’re in luck. El Pollote is from a Venezuelan team who have made their name making Latino fried chicken covered in sauces like habanero mayo or guava glaze. Their first location, complete with outdoor terrace, is opening in the heart of the West End. 

A new sandwich spot with an international flavour is opening in Old Spitalfields Market. Crunch is an experimental brioche sandwich specialist, which means exactly whatever it wants it to mean. Fillings range from slow-cooked duck leg with a smoked apple sauce to fried oyster mushrooms and miso vegetables with a nori and shichimi togarashi mayo.

As our grandmother always says, “when life gives you a cab shelter, make a cafe on Chelsea Embankment.” Café Pier is a pocket-sized cafe in an old cabmen’s shelter. It looks out over Albert Bridge and serves takeaway sandwiches, freshly baked focaccia, and breakfast pastries.

Broken Eggs serves comforting, gooey tortillas, filled with things like chorizo and melted manchego, and for afters, there’s burnt Basque cheesecake. Siblings Gabriel and Marta had already been delivering these eggy delights—either stuffed in a bocadillo, or enjoyed as a pintxo—but this Fitzrovia spot is their first permanent Spanish-inspired restaurant. 

We checked out Broken Eggs and added it to the Hit List.

A big Covent Garden space, with big menus, and even bigger steaks, Gaucho has got a formula and it’s sticking to it. The latest Argentinian-style steakhouse from the group has a suitably high-end, art deco style—with velvet armchair seating, spiral staircases, and moody low-level lighting. It’s open late until 12pm, and has tango performances and DJ sets. 

The much-loved taqueria that started life as a tiny Wood Street Market spot has expanded and found a new home in a mural-covered Leytonstone High Road restaurant. There’s still the same heavily stuffed tacos—with things like bavette steak and chicken barbacoa—but also larger dishes, like bone marrow and braised chuck. Fans of the original Walthamstow spot will be pleased to see Homies has kept true to its market-style roots with a ‘no cutlery, no exceptions’ policy. 

We checked out Homies On Donkeys and added it to the Hit List. 

The latest opening from a restaurateur looking to conquer Hammersmith—no prizes for guessing what his name is—Sam’s Kitchen is a corner cafe right on the Thames. It’ll be breakfast to lunch serving an array of, quite frankly, delicious-sounding meals. There’s a bacon muffin with emmental and hot sauce, homemade crumpets with crab and lobster mayonnaise, and never-not-great kimchi toastie.

Kachori is the latest opening in that preened re-developed bit in Elephant and Castle. It’s a modern Indian restaurant complete with a big outdoor terrace that has an ex-head chef from Gymkhana, so our expectations are understandably high. The menu ranges from a fried butter chicken burger to dal tacos, and Keralan beef ulathu.

Leo’s is an exciting combination of the team behind Juliets Quality Food working with an ex-Bright (RIP) chef. The cafe, bar, and restaurant is taking over the space that was once Jim’s Cafe on Chatsworth Road and turning it into a classy-looking Italian canteen full of mahogany browns and white tablecloths. The full menu is currently under wraps, but expect things like rabbit agnolotti and grilled pork loin with braised broad beans, alongside a vibe that looks extremely on point.

We checked out Leo's and added it to the Hit List.