LDNGuide

London’s New Restaurant Openings

The new London restaurant openings you should know about.
A savoury brioche with sausage in it sitting in gravy from Josephine.

photo credit: Josephine

If you tried to keep track of every new restaurant and bar in London, your head might spin. So just read this list instead. These are the openings that seem like they have the most potential. Although, keep in mind, we make no promises about the places we haven't visited yet. Go forth and be a pioneer—or just keep up with our Hit List to see which new restaurants we checked out and loved.

March 2024

Arlington

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From the same people behind The Wolseley and Brasserie Zedel, The Arlington is a modern European spot in St. James’s with a history of feeding famous faces in its previous life as Le Caprice. This new sceney spot, with its rattan chairs and artsy black-and-white portraits dotted around, will serve things like blueberry cheesecake waffles for brunch, and equally tempting shepherd’s pie for dinner. 

This Mayfair spot specialises on what it says on the shiny gold tin—caviar. But as well as that, you’ll find other fish-centric dishes, like smoked salmon platters and poached hake. Just be prepared for a lot of gold detailing and ocean-blue floors.

photo credit: Two Dudes UK

food spread at Nancy Spains

Nancy Spains

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We know a thing or two about Guinness, and the pints at this Irish pub in Shoreditch could very well make it on the list. You’ll find some fun Irish takes on classic cocktails like Barrys Pornstar—a mashup between the classic pornstar martini and an East 8 Hold Up—as well as a food menu that changes depending on which chef is in the kitchen. Currently BocaChica are bringing Dominican flavours with pulled beef palmeritas and papitas fritas.

photo credit: Lateef Photography

A sprea of dishes in bowls, sandwiches, glasses of wine, and a cocktail on a tiled table surrounded by a brown leather booth at Fish & Bubbles.

Fish and Bubbles

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The team behind La Mia Mamma—potentially London’s most famous mammas—have opened a seafood aperitivo bar in Notting Hill. On the agenda are things like panini di mare, fish sharing boards, and Italian champagne. 

Arguably the most exciting Hollywood export to have hit London in recent years. Trejo’s Tacos—that’s Danny Trejo of Machete, Heat, and Breaking Bad fame—is finally opening in Notting Hill. The much-anticipated Mexican restaurant has a huge menu that includes chilaquiles, steak asada tacos, carnitas bowls, churros, and cocktails from its “illicit underground speakeasy”. 

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

The regular smashburger from Bun & Sum.

Bun & Sum

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We ranked the best smashburgers in London—and Bun & Sum was our champion. Put it this way, Ronald McDonald would approve of these LA-style burgers. The pickles are thick and ridged, the cheese is perfectly melted, the patty is thin, and the all-important sauce is creamy, tangy, and slightly sweet. And now you can get them from Hackney as well as Mile End. 

Veg & Tings serves comforting-sounding vegetarian Caribbean food like Trinadadian doubles, curried mango with stewed vegetables, and corn soup. It’s from the same people as Fish, Wings & Tings, a cheerful Caribbean spot next door with a great patio for hanging out with your mates when the sun shines. Expect the same outdoor seating setup at the new spot, as well as a regular crowd of Brixton locals. 

photo credit: Cinnamon Bazaar

A spread of various dishes and colorful drinks from Cinnamon Bazaar on a wooden table.

Cinnamon Bazaar

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Like our commitment to high-waisted jeans, the people behind Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Kitchen have found something that works, and they’re sticking to it. Their newest restaurant, Cinnamon Bazaar, has a similar pan-Indian menu to the other spots and takes its inspiration from street-food dishes. As well as chaat, expect takes on full English breakfasts, a lamb roganjosh shepherd’s pie, and a “naughty dreamy paneer” on the all-day menu. 

Mexican restaurant Azteca is hopping over the river and giving its original Chelsea spot a Battersea sibling, Azteca Öme. The new south London restaurant will be a little different, with an added Japanese influence in some of the dishes—like the miso cod and maitake mushroom tacos. There’ll also be a late night bar and a small terrace for rare sunny days. 

photo credit: Josephine

A salad, and a carbonara pasta from Josephine served in white dishware with a red border.

Josephine

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Everything about Josephine sounds charming. It’s run by a husband and wife team, Claude and Lucy Bosi. It’s named after Claude’s grandmother. And it’s perched on a picturesque corner of Fulham Road in Chelsea. Inside it looks like the setting of a French bistro romance, with linen curtains embroidered with the name of the restaurant, white tablecloths, and classic dishes—tartare, soufflés, rabbit, choux pastry—delivered to tables by waiters in crisp white shirts. 

photo credit: Yum Bug

A flatbread with cheese, fried bugs, and pomegranate seeds from Yum Bug.

Yum Bug

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There’s something reminiscent of an  ominous movie poster about Yum Bug’s announcement that “this time, the bugs are back for good”. What started as a Shoreditch pop-up championing the use of insects in cooking has now become a permanent restaurant in Finsbury Park. The menu includes burrata with golden beetroot cricket and peanut XO sauce, as well as pulled cricket taco, with mole and rhubarb hot sauce. 

February 2024

The menu at Chapel Market Kitchen is entirely dictated by what’s on sale at its namesake Islington market. So it’s just like your midnight dash to Tesco for a meal deal, but instead they have their pick of fresh, juicy vegetables and seasonal produce. The seafood spot will serve up oysters, changing glasses of wine, and its signature kingfish dish. 

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Slices of pizza at Detroit Pizza.

Detroit Pizza Islington

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Detroit Pizza’s original Spitalfields location serves some of our favourite pizza in London. So we’re excited to see them expanding to a bigger spot in Islington, with a bigger menu. Expect the same pillowy, deep dish pizza, plus Italian-American dishes like spaghetti alla vodka, boulder-sized meatballs, and a deep dish lasagna we’ve been eyeing ever since they teased this new opening.

photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli

A noodle dish at Master Wei, Dream Xi'an's sister spot.

Dream Xi'an

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If its other two sibling spots are anything to go by—Xi’an Impression and Master Wei—Dream Xi’an is going to be excellent. There’ll be hand-pulled noodles on the menu, Xi’anese street food dishes like wontons in broth, as well as specials like kung pao chicken. It’s also right opposite the Tower Of London which feels handy for escaping the crowds/tourists/pigeons.

photo credit: Lateef Photography

A dish at Mistress Of Mayfair with sauce being poured on it.

Mistress Of Mayfair

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This is a St James’s restaurant we’re keen not to Google again in public. If their Instagram is anything to go by, Mistress Of Mayfair will be all red velvet fringing, lobsters, and champagne trolleys. Expect a Parisian-inspired menu which reads like an overdraft warning: wagyu tomahawks, oysters, fillet mignon, and a late-night lounge where you can try and forget all the money you’ve spent.

photo credit: Morchella

A food spread at Morchella.

Morchella

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Nothing says welcoming in spring like a bowl of Sicilian seafood stew. Morchella is a new Mediterranean restaurant in Exmouth Market that specialises in holiday-sounding sharing plates, like salt-baked poussin and octopus dishes. There’ll be a separate wine bar next door for pre and post-meal drinks and snacks.

Does London need another place to get almond croissants and oat milk flat whites? Anna Highman—previously of Flor and The River Café—thinks not. Her new Islington bakery, Quince Bakery, will focus on British baking traditions. Think rustic baguettes, country loaves, sourdough, and handmade pies, as well as a small grocery selection of honeys, chutneys, and cheeses.

photo credit: Bruno

The interiors at Bruno.

Bruno

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Sager + Wilde and Sager + Wilde Paradise Row have a new sibling: Bruno. The new wine bar will serve filled pretzels inspired by the owner's Swiss heritage. Housed in a converted stable in Victoria Park Village, the space is decorated with reclaimed furniture, restored teak countertops, and architectural salvage—which sounds like the title of a Channel 5 show we’d watch. 

photo credit: Rob Billington

The food spread at Singapulah.

Singapulah

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Singapulah is a hulking four-story Singaporean restaurant on Shaftesbury Avenue. The restaurateur behind it, Ellen Chew, is responsible for spots like Arôme, Rasa Sayang, Mrs Chew’s Chinese Kitchen, and Shan Hui. Her latest launch sees her team up with the Singapore government and tourist board to serve classic dishes, but also sell souvenirs and the ingredients used on the menu.  

Nico’s is a neighbourhood spot in Haggerston that’s a deli by day and an Italian restaurant by night. There’s a short menu made up of crowd-pleasers—garlic butter knots, penne alla vodka, cannolo—and for a £10 corkage fee you can BYOB.

photo credit: The Shoap

Pies at The Shoap in Angel.

The Shoap

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Self-proclaimed “purveyors of Scottish scran”, Auld Hag, have opened their first permanent spot in Angel. The Shoap will be stocked with smoked fish from East Neuk, Bare Bones chocolate from Glasgow, pork from Leith, and more. There’ll be morning rolls filled with square sausage and coffee from beans roasted on the Isle of Skye, plus cans of Tennent’s and mince on toast in the evening. 

photo credit: Camille

A dish at Camille in Borough Market.

Camille

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Camille is a Stoney Street restaurant that will be great for hiding from the Borough Market crowds while eating burnt milk tart. The founders of Ducksoup and an ex-107 Wine Shop & Bar chef are behind the French bistro. Its menu includes lemon sole and snail butter, cured pig’s cheek and walnut, and crab toast—using ingredients from the market where possible. There’ll be a daily specials board and a weekly changing list of bottles from small independent winemakers.

Yuki Bar is a stripped-back little wine bar in London Fields, tucked away underneath a railway arch. It opened without much fanfare and the low-key, walk-in only spot currently serves snacks and wine, with the view to adding a Japanese menu over the coming weeks.

photo credit: Bellazul

A cocktail at Bellazul garnished with rosemary.

Bellazul

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The menu inspiration at Bellazul reminds us of how we plan a February holiday: Italy, Greece, Morocco—just get us somewhere where we might see the sun. The Mediterranean food flits from lobster spaghetti to tagine, and the dining room has a similarly sun-kissed look with lots of natural light and airy decor. We’re particularly excited about the signature martini made with focaccia-infused gin.

January 2024

photo credit: Grasso

A table at Grasso with plates of pasta, pizza, and bottles of beer.

Grasso

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Grasso is a family-run, Italian-American restaurant that’s taken over a two-floor space on Dean Street. The spot is serving a menu that reflects the family's journey from Sicily to New York—with dishes like spaghetti al pomodoro, penne alla vodka, chicken parm, and The Big Caesar. The bar will serve creative cocktails like a Cherry Coke long island iced tea, and there’s a DJ booth for weekend Italo disco and New York house sets.

Farm Shop, a deli in Mayfair, has just opened most people’s dream basement. The wine bar beneath their shop serves platters of cheese (of the Swiss and cider rind-washed cow’s milk variety), glasses of wine starting at £5.50, and half rotisserie chickens. It sounds like the best bits of a fancy picnic, but in a sexily lit basement rather than a soggy field.

Yiqi Pan Asian Cuisine

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Yiqi Pan Asian Cuisine’s dining room is decked out in natural wood and rattan, and its photogenic food looks just as inviting. The Chinatown spot’s pan-Asian menu ranges from a cordyceps flower chicken soup, to sous vide lamb chops, and their signature bamboo tube rice filled with pork trotters and seafood.

photo credit: Clap

A dish at Clap in Knightsbridge.

Clap

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Clap has made its way from Dubai to Knightsbridge, and the description of the restaurant as a “sensory” experience feels like low-hanging fruit. This Japanese fine dining spot will serve à la carte and omakase menus in a glamorous setting. Expect decadent-sounding dishes like wagyu beef tartare and foie gras gyozas. The restaurant will be spread over two floors, with a rooftop terrace and robata counters.

Philippe Conticini Islington

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Philippe Conticini is filling an oversized croissant-shaped hole in the lives of Islington residents. The coffee spot and patisserie specialises in XXL croissants, the sort that fill tables and TikTok feeds. Much like the South Kensington and Camden spots, this location will have French breads, cakes, and regular-sized pastries too.

photo credit: Juno Omakase

The nigiri at Juno Omakase

Juno Omakase

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There’s nothing like kicking off the new year with a scrummage for restaurant bookings. Juno Omakase is a tiny omakase restaurant with 15 courses, no menu, and just six seats. It’s above Los Mochis in Notting Hill and all the food will be nut and gluten-free.

photo credit: Big Night

A food spread at Big Night with bottles of beer and small plates

Big Night

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If your idea of a big night usually involves a creeping sense of beer fear and a lukewarm McDonald’s, this new yakitori izakaya-inspired restaurant can change that. The Hackney spot promises food that’s “simple, loud, and fun”. There’ll be big communal tables, things like lamb's heart, squash, and pork cooked on skewers over charcoal grills, and banoffee crème tea caramel for dessert.

Not so much a new opening as a very hefty facelift. Restaurant Story, the Bermondsey restaurant from Tom Sellers, is opening after being closed for nine months. That’s enough time to grow a baby or drop a cool £2.5 million on a refurbishment project to ring in a restaurant’s 10th anniversary. Whose to say which is more magical? Expect a modern, fine dining European menu, a chef’s table with 12 seats, a bigger wine menu, and a whole new floor.

Kebabs come in all different shapes and sizes. Well they certainly do at this three-storey restaurant in Soho where you can get kebab burgers, rice bowls, and the good old wrap. It’s a loud and proud kind of place where you’ll also find foosball and arcade games to keep you entertained.

photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli

A bowl of pancetta carbonara.

Emilia’s Crafted Pasta

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Handmade pasta places are always welcome in our eyes. And the people behind this new spot on Baker Street have a reputation for making some pretty decent Italian comfort food.

photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli

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Pockets

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Formally a Netil Market stall with a fanbase that spans way further than E8, Pockets has finally opened a permanent spot on Mentmore Terrace in London Fields. Expect their signature, filled-to-the-brim pitas and long lunchtime queues. 

December 2023

photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli

The tacos al pastor at La Chingada in Euston

La Chingada Euston

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We’re big fans of the original La Chingada spot in Surrey Quays, and in their new Euston location we’re hoping for more scrunched napkin, salsa-dripping fun. Expect tacos de carnitas, chorizo burritos, well-stuffed torta, and a selection of margaritas from this fun-loving Mexican restaurant.

We recently checked out La Chingada. Read our first thoughts here.

photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli

The beef biang biang noodles at Master Wei

Master Wei Hammersmith

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We gave the OG Master Wei in Bloomsbury an 8.5—here’s hoping that the new Hammersmith location can live up to its overachiever sibling. Expect a casual Chinese restaurant serving Xi'anese specialties that are worth going out of your way for. And yes, the signature biang biang noodles are on the menu here too.

photo credit: Kinkally

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Kinkally

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At this Georgian restaurant in Fitzrovia, dumplings are *fancy*. They're filled with things like wagyu and peppercorn plum sauce, or langoustines with tarragon. Plus you should know this high-end spot also has a downstairs bar that’s open late.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Roti and dhal

Roti King

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Roti connoisseurs and one of our favourite Malaysian spots, Roti King has a reputation for making the most flaky, buttery rotis in the city. We have a feeling the mini-chain’s new Waterloo location will be no exception.

Upper Street is home to this new, bright and airy Vietnamese cafe where you’ll find things like skillet bánh mì, crispy salted eggs, and comforting phở.

Neapolitan-style pizzas and calzone fritters are just a couple of things available at this new Italian spot in Covent Garden. And with toppings like beef ragu and béchamel, you’ll find a lot more than just your classic margherita here.

photo credit: Haydon Perrior

The tea bar at Chai Guys Bakehouse. There are large silver teapots on the silver countertop and various plants.

Chai Guys Bakehouse

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With takeaway stalls in several London markets, Chai Guys are a lot of people’s go-to for a warming chai fix. Their latest opening is a sit-down cafe and bakery in Notting Hill where you’ll also find Japanese, Scandinavian, and French pastries to eat alongside your tea.

A burger place with spots all over the UK, Phat Buns has now got a sit-down restaurant in Bayswater. The fun part is that you get to make your own burger. No, you won’t need a hairnet and authorisation to get behind the counter, but you will be able to add any toppings from onion rings to mac and cheese.

photo credit: Gaia

Gaia's dining room

Gaia

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Gaia is a fancy-looking Mayfair spot with equally fancy-sounding versions of Greek classics. Move over regular cheese pie, because Gaia has added truffle to the mix. 

photo credit: Edward Howell

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Capilungo

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While you and your family were busy bickering about who’s bringing the sprouts, the Capilungos opened a cafe and wine bar. Named after the family, this Italian spot in Covent Garden is inspired by cafes in Lecce, in southern Italy. It will serve pistachio cream pasticciotto in the morning, pizzettas in the afternoon, and small plates and wine in the evening.

photo credit: Ottolenghi Hampstead

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Ottolenghi Hampstead

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How can you make a walk on Hampstead Heath even more, er, Hampstead? With a stop-off at Ottolenghi for fried turmeric eggs and courgette cake, that’s how. The Middle Eastern deli and casual restaurant has added a new spot to its growing list. This location will do the same selection of seasonal salads and cakes, but there’ll also be special dishes added to the all-day menu just for Hampstead.

With spots in Hampstead, Wanstead, and St Albans already, Must Wine are proving there really is no such thing as too much wine. Their new spot is tucked away down Camden Passage in Islington. There’ll be 100 wines by the glass from 25 countries—the kind of maths we can get on board with. Upstairs expect a European-leaning food menu and downstairs there’ll be a private tasting lounge.

If you’ve been on Instagram at all in December, you’ll know about The Dover. The Mayfair restaurant appears in blurred videos as a dimly lit space with twinkling chandeliers, beneath which lobster rolls are eaten and phone cameras zoom in on caviar-topped potato cakes. The Dover describes itself as a New York-Italian restaurant and bar, and the menu is full of pastas and grilled meats.

We checked out The Dover and added it to the Hit List.

photo credit: Edward Howell

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Whyte's

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Whyte’s, a new restaurant in Hackney, has a menu that begs to be read aloud. There’s burnt leeks that come served with “the good olive oil”, a house bread with “normal butter”, and a burger described simply as “the burger”. Cuisine-wise, the menu jumps around—there’s katsu curry sauce, oysters topped with Monster Munch, and BBQ squid. But the signature dish—a brown butter veal sweetbread—takes its inspiration from “masters of the ocakbasi grills” in Dalston.

photo credit: David Loftus

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Jamie Oliver Catherine St

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To quote ourselves—we make no promises about the places we haven't visited yet. Now that we’ve got that disclaimer out of the way, Jamie Oliver is returning to London. His new spot is inspired by “familiar dishes from childhood and years in the kitchen”. Expect things like puffed crackling and devilled eggs, as well as a selection of pastas, scampi and chips, and a beef pie to share. The Covent Garden spot also has a courtyard garden for warmer days and a collection of Oliver’s favourite artwork.

The Butcher's Tap And Grill

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The man who made you believe that maybe you could cook a tomahawk steak is adding another pub to his growing collection. The Butcher’s Tap And Grill might share its name with Tom Kerridge’s Marlow restaurant, but you should expect a more local, neighbourhood feel at this Chelsea spot, and a menu of burgers, hot dogs, and treacle-cured t-bone.

Temper shows no signs of calming down. The Paddington Basin restaurant will be the group's fifth restaurant—the others are in Soho, Covent Garden, City, and Shoreditch. There’ll be lots of BBQ on the menu, with meats aged and butchered in-house, as well as drunken pig tacos served with a shot of tequila. But this new spot will be the first to serve halal meat. We hear Sunday roasts are coming in 2024 too.

photo credit: Gilgamesh

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Gilgamesh

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Gilgamesh is ready for its comeback story. The pan-Asian restaurant was originally a mammoth restaurant in Camden. Having been closed for a few years, it’s reopening in Covent Garden. The menu still ranges from sashimi platters to Chilean sea bass and Japanese pizzas with tuna and truffle. And the space, although smaller, promises to capture the feel of a “Babylonian-inspired palace”.

photo credit: Donia

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Donia

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When the people behind one of your favourite sandwiches in London, Panadera, open a restaurant, you take notice. Donia is a modern Filipino restaurant that will combine Filipino flavours with British ingredients. The result is dishes like roasted pork belly with liver peppercorn sauce, ceviche-style sea bream, and melon sours. You can find the restaurant in Soho’s Kingly Court.

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


November 2023

photo credit: Ania Smelskaya

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Sune

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Sune’s all-day menu features dishes that have made us trigger-happy on their booking button—looking at you, egg, chips, and anchovy. The pretty spot, just off Broadway Market, looks to be taking influences from around the world with dishes like za’atar-spiced lamb ribs and a smoked eel caesar salad.

photo credit: Boca a Boca

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Boca a Boca

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Chipirones (tiny fried squid), beef tartar, and a paella that looks like it weighs the same as a five-year-old are all things you’ll find on the menu at Boca A Boca. A Spanish-inspired, Ukrainian import, this Charlotte Street restaurant-cum-wine bar has tonnes of traditional Spanish dishes plus plenty of wine.

Colonel Saab Trafalgar Square

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At Indian spot Colonel Saab, located near Trafalgar Square, you can expect butter chicken, beef pepper fry, and prawn moilee, as well as an afternoon tea with an Indian twist. Which very much means swapping English breakfast tea for spiced chai.

photo credit: Florencio Pizza

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Florencio Pizza

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Seven pizzas on the menu. Approximately 15 bottles of wine lining what was originally meant to be a bookshelf. And a sofa long enough to seat your extended family. That’s pretty much all you need to know about this Argentinian-inspired pizza spot in Marylebone. 

We recently checked out Florencio Pizza. Read our first thoughts here.

photo credit: Mariell Lind Hansen

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Botanica Hall

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The people behind Martello Hall are bringing their brand of all-day bottomless brunch, handmade pasta, and hot desk dining to Clapham. But this new spot might have an edge on the others. It’s in a beautiful Grade II-listed building—the burnt orange booths look particularly good—and has its own gin and vodka distillery.  

photo credit: Mambow

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Mambow

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We loved Mambow’s combination of modern Malaysian dishes and excellent wines when it had a spot in Market Peckham. Now it’s bringing its sarawak pepper curry chicken and kam heong mussels to Clapton. Expect a cosy dining room, colourful cushions, and great cooking.

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

The Sidemen’s story arc goes a little something like—started on YouTube, brought their fried chicken to food halls, and now they’ve got their own bricks and mortar restaurant in Dalston. They’ll be serving the same tried and tested formula they’ve perfected over the years—a mixture of chicken, vegan dishes, and sides like waffle fries and cheese poppers. 

Tashas already has several restaurants in South Africa, but this Battersea Power Station spot will be the first in the UK. There’ll be a ‘classics’ menu of global comfort foods which changes very little and one that’s a little more creative and takes cues from different time periods and cultures. Expect dishes like cornflake pork schnitzel and syrup-soaked brioche.

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

photo credit: The Tamil Crown

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The Tamil Crown

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This sequel is even more highly anticipated than the Mean Girls musical. The Tamil Crown is from the same people behind The Tamil Prince, and will be within walking distance of the OG spot in Islington. Expect the same pub atmosphere and south Indian cooking, plus a Sunday roast—think masala beef, turmeric potatoes, and spiced cauliflower. Cocktails have been curated by Three Sheets and there'll be Indian beers on offer too.

We checked out The Tamil Crown and added it to the Hit List.

photo credit: James McDonald

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Dear Jackie

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The most impressive thing about Broadwick Soho, a new Soho hotel, isn’t the Francis Bacons and Andy Warhols hanging on the walls. There’ll be a rooftop bar and an Italian restaurant, Dear Jackie, in the basement. It’s all dim lighting, private nooks, and a classic menu filled with things like braised rabbit pappardelle.

photo credit: Ixchel

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Ixchel

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Ixchel has the largest collection of agave-based liquor in Europe. The 200-plus bottles at this Chelsea spot put your stamp collection to shame. As well as plenty of things to drink—no fewer than six margaritas—and look at—a vibrant wraparound mural—there’ll be an all-day menu featuring southeastern Mexican dishes like crab macha tostadas and roasted celeriac pastor.

photo credit: Pearly Queen

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Pearly Queen

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There’s nothing like a 100-layer cuttlefish lasagna to get the people going. At Pearly Queen, the main focus is UK-sourced oysters—buffalo-fried ones, ones with champagne jelly, and ones made into pâté. But there’ll also be fish platters on the menu at this Spitalfields spot too.

Dalla has only posted a handful of images to its Instagram account—a handwritten menu, an artfully messy table at the end of a meal, tortellini wiggling out of frame—and already the Hackney restaurant has got people talking. Details on the Italian menu are limited, but expect seasonal pastas in an achingly stylish dining room.

photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli

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The Wolseley City

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Breakfast at The Wolseley is an experience that makes our cold, little London hearts warm up a little. And now, with a second restaurant in the City, more people can experience these berry pancake stacks. The new spot will be a supersized version of the original, with three bars and private dining rooms, but expect the same European-leaning menu and old-school glamour.

photo credit: Eggslut

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Eggslut

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LA brunch import Eggslut has opened its fourth London location, this time in Stratford. The egg baps are buttery, scrambled, and topped with things like hardwood-smoked bacon or chipotle ketchup. 

photo credit: Justin DeSouza

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Aragawa

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You can tell how expensive a restaurant is by its cancellation policy. A pricey spot will charge something like £50 for a no-show. Aragawa—a new Japanese restaurant in Mayfair—charges £100. Translation: this place is expensive. That’s not surprising when they specialise in kobe beef, and are located in London’s most expensive neighbourhood.

photo credit: OshPaz

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Oshpaz

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Say lagman hand-pulled noodles three times and we shall appear. In fact, name anything from this Uzbek spot on Regent Street’s menu and we’ll be there. Plov (a rice dish) is topped with slow-cooked lamb or dolma, and beef dumplings are covered in chilli sauce. 

photo credit: Charlie Mckay

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65a

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French spot 65a has opened in Spitalfields, and you’ll find whole rotisserie chickens, grilled lobsters, and French onion soup (of course) at this brasserie-style restaurant.

photo credit: Iné

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Iné

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It’s now possible to eat a 15-course omakase menu on Hampstead High Street, and live the baller life you were always destined for. Iné is a Japanese restaurant with casual booth seating for those who want to pop by for some sushi and sashimi, and an eight-seater omakase counter for those that want to settle in for the long haul. 

photo credit: Caravan

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Caravan

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At this point, it’s safe to say that world domination is on Caravan’s agenda. The restaurants are known for their crowd-pleasing brunches and they’re adding another spot to the roster. This one is in Covent Garden and it’ll be the biggest of the lot—spanning two floors and spilling out onto a sizable terrace. Expect great coffee and the kind of oozy egg dishes that draw a crowd.

You had us at cacao and date negronis. That and the promise of Ghanaian donuts. Akara is a West African restaurant from the people behind Fitzrovia’s Akoko. This new spot will be in Borough Yards and the menu is split into akara—fritters stuffed with a variety of fillings—‘plates’, which include some barbecued dishes, and a sweets section.

photo credit: Ben Broomfield

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Kolae

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There’s a lot going on with Kolae. Namely, mussel skewers which are grilled over coconut, a historic coach house dining room, and a pickled green mango dirty martini. The Borough Market spot champions southern Thai cooking and will be split over three floors, with an added courtyard.

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

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A variety of dishes from Kolae served on various ceramic plates sitting on top of a raw wooden table.

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