Keeping your finger on the pulse? London’s always got a hot new restaurant opening. Here are the ones you need to look out for.
It’s safe to say that London is never short of a new restaurant opening. Month on month this bountiful city provides us with new and exciting places to eat, but we’ve all been in that disappointing situation when you finally visit a new spot, only to find it has been overhyped and it’s all style and no substance.
So which spots are worth spending your hard-earned cash on? Don’t fret – we’ve got you covered with this guide to great new restaurants in Londonl.
Pssst… keep reading until the end for a couple of restaurants to keep on your radar for when they open.
Price Guide (based on a main):
£ – under £10
££ – between £10 – £15
£££ – over £15
New Restaurants in London You Have to Visit
Donia
Kingly Court
Opened in November
££
The already well-supplied dining hotspot that is Kingly Court added another restaurant to its repertoire recently. Donia is a Filipino restaurant serving a modern take on the country’s cooking.
The team behind the venture are also the folks that run Panaderia Bakery, Mamasons and Bintang.
Founder Florence Mae Maglanoc will be doing what she does best with the new venture: taking fresh British ingredients and using them to recreate exciting takes on the food of her home country. She’s one of the top Filipino cooks in the city and the formula absolutely works.
Tashas
Battersea
Opened in November
££
Hitting the already poppin’ dining scene at Battersea Power Station is a new venture called Tashas. The concept is a laid-back setting where you can chow down on an eclectic menu of world-cooking classics seven days a week.
That food is inspired by the founder’s – and her two head chefs’ – travels. Tashas was founded in South Africa and has found some worthy success over the years. This will be their first UK restaurant.
Although the brand hails from SA the cooking looks to be way lighter and more healthy than the meat-heavy plates you’d expect from that country – shedding light on the chefs’ global inspiration.
Pearly Queen
Shoreditch
Opened in November
£££
In our opinion Pearly Queen is one of the most exciting London restaurant openings of the year. This new venture comes from Tom Brown, a Cornish-born chef whose Hackney Wick seafood restaurant Cornerstone is the proud holder of a Michelin star.
Brown’s love of seafood endures at Pearly Queen but instead, he looks to the East End for a muse. Traditional ingredients like oysters and other shellfish will feature heavily under Brown’s signature elevation – bringing them in range of a Michelin inspector’s sights.
The big question on lips is: will he be serving a tarted-up version of jellied eel?
Mambow
Clapton
Opened in November
£££
One of our favourite spots at Peckham Market Halls, Mambow, is has left its digs behind to set up a fully operational restaurant in Clapton.
Chef Abby Lee, the brains behind the operation, has been noted for her modern takes on the Malaysian cooking of her home country, often adding to some very homely cooking with touches of flare, making dishes super exciting and a joy to eat.
The restaurant seats 40 hungry diners and features an outdoor terrace for a bit of al fresco dining when the weather permits.
Aragawa
Mayfair
Opened in October
£££
One of the most high profile openings of the year, Aragawa comes to us from Japan – a country where it ranks among the most expensive restaurants, so also ranking it the same by global standards.
Their speciality is Kobe beef. It comes as steaks that will push your bill comfortably into the triple-digit realm. They’re also known for serving whole salmons that they smoke slowly in an in-house kiln.
Their reputation at home is lofty and this is their first foreign venture – we’re excited to see how it goes, though we might have to put some money aside before we think about going.
Edo Izakaya
Shoreditch
Opened in October
££
Another Japanese restaurant opening we’re very excited about is Edo Izakaya. They’re a new opening from the people behind Robata in Soho and have set up shop on Old Street.
The menu, as you might have guessed from the name, is mainly comprised of sushi and small plates or grilled snacks and food that would accompany a good drink or two.
As for those drinks, the sake menu is looking strong and they’ve got some Japanese-inspired cocktails that really hit the spot.
London Stock
Mayfair
Opened in October
£££
Mayfair gained another fine-dining establishment in October. London Stock is actually not an entirely new opening but a relocation of a very successful eatery from Wandsworth to London’s monied dining hub.
Meals are based around tasting menus and usually sit at the eight-course mark, changing with the seasons. In a move that is nice to hear, they’ll offer vegetarian tasting menus too. And in another one, they haven’t upped their prices since moving to Mayfair.
Kolae
Borough
Opened in October
££
The pair that started som saa (no, they don’t use capital letters), Mark Dobbie and Andy Oliver, have opened a new restaurant in Borough Market.
This new restaurant will follow on the theme of Thai food, mainly inspired by the cooking of the country’s south. That means you can expect lots of chicken and plentiful dishes that use marinades of coconut and zingy ingredients like lemongrass to create rich, fresh flavours.
They’re also throwing together a nice, succinct drinks menu of about 15-20 good-quality wines and some original cocktails to wash down all the spicy food with.
Il Gattopardo
Mayfair
Opened in October
££
Another hot new restaurant in London comes to us in the form of Il Gattopardo. This Italian eatery is a new venture from the team behind Coya, Amazonico and Bar des Pres and will follow in its predecessor’s footsteps when it comes to a taste of the high life.
The food takes Italian classics and gives them a touch of the Riviera (read super luxury) with Massimo Pasquarelli doing that good work. He’s got a star-studded CV but the highlight is probably the decade he spent working under the great Alain Ducasse – one of the finest chefs in the world.
Need we say more?
Akara
Borough
Opened in October
£££
Any fans of Fitzrovia’s fancy West African eatery Akoko, you’re in for a treat. The team behind that quality kitchen have opened a sister restaurant in Borough.
Akara has made itself a home in Borough Yards and serves up a type of bean fritter that give the restaurant its name – pimped out with all sorts of goodies of course.
These often take on flavours from Brazil to tie the bow on a very multicultural style of cooking and are joined by a menu of larger plates that sound absolutely tantalizing.
Sushi By Masa
Knightsbridge
Opened in October
£££
Harrods, never one to shy away from a ritzy partnership, have landed world-class sushi chef Masayoshi Takayama for a swanky restaurant, Sushi by Masa, in their department store.
If you need any clue as to this guy’s credentials, know that he’s the guy credited with making sushi ‘a thing’ in America, that he ran the first sushi restaurant on that side of the pond to win three Michelin stars, and that it was, for a time, the most expensive restaurant in the whole wide world.
His London home will be in the dining hall at Harrods where he’ll be turning out menus of omakase sushi and cocktails.
Hainan House
Islington
Opened in October
££
London gets a new Chinese restaurant this month. Hainan House showcases cooking from the southern Chinese island of Hainan, an interesting place for cuisine because of its proximity to Vietnam, the rest of Southeast Asia and the minorities of mainland China itself.
They’ve run some very popular pop-ups around London in recent years. We’ve been speculating that it’s a matter of time before they open a brick-and-mortar restaurant, and here it is.
Food is creative, utterly delicious and not like much else you will have eaten in London. If you’re looking for something exciting and new, get yourself a table here.
Bambi
Hackney
Opens in October
££
Bambi is the project of James Dye, man behind The Camberwell Arms and Frank’s Cafe. He’s hired the ex-chef of Peckham Cellars to get behind the cookline for what looks to be a menu of small plates designed to be shared alongside a killer wine program.
During the day the place will play the role of a sandwich shop, offering up hefty focaccia lunch options. Word is they’re already locking in resident DJs for when the mood requires a bit more of a beat.
Fowl
St James’
Opened in October
££
Some of the most exciting news of the month is the arrival of Fowl. This spot is comes from the dream team behind one of our favourite restaurants in the city, Fallow, and is hitting town with the ambition of upping London’s whole chicken shop game.
As with Fallow, the food here will be nose-to-tail, or more specifically beak-to-feet. That’s a nice way of saying they’re not going to waste any of the animal to bring you what we’re sure is some very delicious cooking.
Their Instagram shows legs with the claw still on, and chicken pies with the head (beak ‘n’ all) sticking out. Don’t be put off, these folks know exactly what they’re doing.
BKC
Soho
Opened in September
££
Coupette founder, Jeet Mitra, has expanded his empire by one with the opening of a second and slightly smaller sister branch of BKC in Soho. The original spot in Marble Arch serves up some solid Northern Indian food. Its name stands for biriyani, kebab and chai which gives you a pretty good guess at what you’ll be eating should you dine here.
The environment is nice too, blending Indian colour schemes and a touch of London style in a mix that feels just right for the affable approach BKC brings to the Indian dining scene.
L’Atelier Robuchon
Mayfair
Opened in September
£££
After the closure of the Covent Garden location in 2019 there’s been a Robuchon-shaped hole in our hearts. That space is soon to be filled with the reopening of the restaurant in a swanky new Mayfair location.
Much of the formula remains the same at this iteration of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon. They’re even reviving the colour palettes from the old locations.
We’ve been down there to give it a try and were very impressed. The food was as good as you’d expect it to be at a place like this – meaning it was truly excellent. The rustic Les Champignon starter of ham and mushrooms has been running through our heads for weeks now.
Also excellent were the drinks. Cocktails were highly creative and the wine pairings were a perfect match every time.
The OWO
Whitehall
Opened in September
££
News that a series of old war-era offices on Whitehall would be turned into a glamorous dining hub dropped last year, but it’s taken some time to get the project up and running. Not surprisingly when you consider the job they must have had landing some of the world’s most glamorous brands and retrofitting a gorgeous building to make it even more gorgeous.
The OWO (Old War Offices) is now open. The space is gradually filling up with fancy restaurants from around the world looking to sink their teeth into the London market. Paper Moon from Italy and Café Lapérouse from France are just two of these spots – both of which look set to be very special London openings.
Eve
South Kensington
Opened in September
££
Eve looks like it could be a goodun. The restaurant focuses on the cooking of the eastern and southern Mediterranean, meaning you can expect a lot of well-prepared vegetables, grilled meats and seafood.
Talia Prince is in the role of Executive Chef which is promising news as she’s got experience at some of the UK’s best restaurants behind her, including places like The Fat Duck and Le Gavroche. She’ll be serving up this fine cooking as a selection of small plates.
The space itself will feature a bar, restaurant and cafe and it looks like the food is going to be running off an all-day menu. We’re optimistic about this spot, and really looking forward to getting down and giving it a try.
65a
Spitalfields
Opened in September
£££
The already restaurant-filled hub of Spitalfields is now also home to 65a, a new brasserie-style restaurant with lots of promise. The dishes will take their cues from the French tradition but not too rigidly, and they’ve said that they’re aiming to go for a laid-back and welcoming atmosphere.
The space looks pretty stunning with high ceilings and tall, arched windows. There’s also a terrace, which is where you’ll find us when the warmer climes return to London.
Geode
Knightsbridge
Opened in September
££
One of the most exciting openings of last month is probably Geode. This new restaurant comes from the people at Arrow Hospitality who also run Kutir in Chelsea and Manthan in Mayfair and will showcase some theatrical open-fire cooking.
The food will be a mix of Mediterranean and Asian flavours and includes some pretty tantalising hits, a dish of beef tartare on roasted bone marrow being one of them. All this will be washed down with an array of cocktails in an elegant conservatory with an open kitchen.
Bocconcino Soho
Soho
Opened in September
££
To continue this run of September openings, let’s talk about Bocconcino. It’s one you may have already eaten at before in Mayfair – an Italian trattoria that does high-end food and cocktails in a setting that is only befitting of a touch of la dolce vita.
Dishes range from Italian classics to cicchetti (Venitian tapas). There are also wood-fired pizzas on offer and a hefty menu of Italian wines to accompany. This spot expands their empire a couple of kilometres closer to the city centre and opens in a very stylish Soho venue for much of the same.
Chishuru
Fitzrovia
Opened in September
££
We were disappointed to hear the news that our favourite West African restaurant was closing down a while back, but that disappointment was replaced with anticipation on hearing the news that it was to return in September.
If you didn’t get a chance to try the excellent cooking at Chishuru when it was running in Brixton you should absolutely put it at the top of your list of places to eat now that it’s opened again.
The cooking does a great job of being artful and small-plates-y while still retaining a healthy dose of the homeliness that we (and everyone else) love about the place.
Upcoming Restaurant Openings in 2023
These are the spots to keep on your radar this year…
I Am Döner
Camden
Opens in December
££
If you love your kebabs (who doesn’t when the time is right?) You’ll want to find yourself up in Camden ASAP. London is getting its first branch of I am Döner – the award-winning kebab joint by Paul Baron.
Don’t picture your greasy night-out slop. This is kebab as anyone who’s eaten the things in Berlin or Istanbul will wish they came in this city: beautiful wraps that deliver on the wow factor and don’t make you feel an ounce of regret.
Need any proof? Know that Paul Baron trained in Michelin-level kitchens – though don’t expect white tablecloths and silver service from this venture. It’s still very down to Earth.
Shrimp Shack
Streatham
Opens in December
££
A new dining concept hits south London in December. Shrimp Shack is a restaurant focussed all on its names delightful shellfish and it sounds so very simple. You pick the size of your shrimp and what goes on top of it…
They’re talking about a bunch of sauces that sound pretty tantalizing on top of some well-cooked seafood, emon butter, garlic butter and peri-peri to name a few.
The place is describing its niche as ‘fast-casual’ so expect a no-frills experience – just good, honest grub.
GAIA
Mayfair
Opens in December
London loves a swanky restaurant. We’ve got some of the poshest in the world. It looks like we are about to get one more.
Anyone who’s used to the jet-set, millionaire life might recognise GAIA’s name from layovers in Dubai or summers in Monte Carlo. The restaurant is a super-high-end eatery that attracts the mega-rich with plates of Greek cuisine.
The food is surprisingly simple. You won’t find gold leaf here. Nor will you find caviar or truffle being overused. What you will get are plates of humble Greek food made with the finest ingredients
Roti King Waterloo
Waterloo
Opens in December
By now this brand probably needs no introduction, but we love Roti King so we’ll give it a little page space in our guide.
The legendary Malaysian curry spot is opening another venue in Waterloo, their third in London after the original at Euston and the other at Battersea Power Station. We’re hoping this will do something to alleviate the round-the-block queues.
If you’ve not been before, this could be a good reason to go. The food is great across the board. They serve up a simple menu of Malaysian classics that never fail to hit the spot – the lamb curries in particular.
Trejo’s Tacos
Notting Hill
Expected in December but might be delayed
You might have heard the news that movie-star tough guy Danny Trejo is bringing his famed taco brand to London. The chain is super popular in the states and will be getting its first UK store in Notting Hill.
Originally it was planned for December but there’s been a bit of radio silence around the opening which means it might be getting pushed back a touch.
Trejo’s healthy take on the Mexican classics were highly praised by a slew of critics and Anthony Bourdain when it first opened in L.A. We’re curious to try it out for ourselves.
Row on 5
Mayfair
Opens sometime in 2023
London restaurant bigshot Jason Atherton has announced he will open a new restaurant on Savile Row. Row on 5 is said to become his flagship restaurant once it opens, but when it opens is still a mystery.
Things are in the early stages at best but we expect to see the place open for business before the year is out.
