As the year starts to wind down, the London restaurant scene heats up. Autumn is always the biggest period for new restaurant openings, so here's what you've got to look forward to in the coming months.
The Devonshire
Soho - 17 Denman Street, London W1D 7HW
The most highly anticipated pub to open in central London in years, this sees Oisin Rogers (last seen running The Guinea) and Flat Iron founder Charlie Carroll teaming up for a pub in Soho. The pub itself will obviously be an immediate hit (as well as being a big draw for people from the food world) but the wood ember grill restaurant sounds like it'll be worth a visit in its own right. They'll have an in-house butcher with beef dry-aged on-site as well as day-boat fish, hand-dived scallops and more. Oh, and expect the pub to be gunning for the title of serving one of the best pints of Guinness in London.
Kolae
Borough Market - 6 Park Street, London SE1 9AB
This restaurant in Borough Market is from the team behind Som Saa, and is their first new opening since that success story. It's named after a style of cooking from the southern provinces of Thailand, and will feature plenty of marinated meats cooked over fire. That will be backed up by a cocktail list that also makes use of Thai ingredients. They also have their own little courtyard, so expect this to be something of an oasis in the Borough Market area.
Photo by Harriet Langford
Endo Kazutoshi at the OWO
Whitehall - The OWO, Whitehall, London SW1A 2EU
The OWO is quite the venture. The Old War Office will, as part of a Raffles hotel, have nine new restaurants and bars, with the Michelin-starred Mauro Colagreco making up three of those. However, later in the autumn comes this new restaurant from Endo Kazutoshi which will be opening up on the rooftop. Kazutoshi's previous restaurants, Endo at The Rotunda (also a rooftop experience) and Sumi are both excellent sushi restaurants, so this has a lot to live up to.
Jamie Oliver Catherine Street
Covent Garden - 6 Catherine Street, London WC2B 5JY
After the fall of Jamie's Italian (along with Fifteen), it's taken a while for Jamie Oliver to get back into the London restaurant scene. But now he's back, with what will be arguably the most heavily scrutinised restaurant to open this autumn. Teaming up with one of his own chefs, Chris Shail, we're told the restaurant will be "reflective of Jamie’s love of Britain’s rich and diverse food culture". Oliver's got a lot to prove with this restaurant, so it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with.
More about Jamie Oliver Catherine Street
Brooklands
Belgravia - 1 Grosvenor Pl, London SW1X 7HJ
This will be the second restaurant to open in 2023 from chef Claude Bosi, after he launched Socca in Mayfair with Samyukta Nair earlier this year. Here he's taking the prime position on the rooftop of the new Peninsula London hotel with a restaurant that is apparently "inspired by the classic eras of British aviation and motorsport". How that will translate to the menu is still to be revealed but it'll be something of a departure for Bosi as the food is promised to be British cuisine-inspired rather than his traditional French offering.
Saltine
Highbury - 11 Highbury Park, London N5 1QJ
They're already a Highbury favourite with their three Fink's outposts but next up for Mat Appleton and Jess Blackstone is Saltine restaurant in Highbury Barn. They're bringing in chef Phil Wood (previously at Spring and St John Marylebone) to run a menu that features dishes that include a fried stracciatella and anchovy sandwich. On top of that, expect a strong low-intervention wine list and the opportunity to stay for a drink in their bar area too. Sounds like a very promising new addition for Highbury.
Chishuru
Fitzrovia - 3 Great Titchfield St., London W1W 8AX
Adejoké Bakare's Chishuru has achieved an awful lot since originally opening in Brixton in a post (first) lockdown 2020. Originally a pop-up as part of winning the Brixton Kitchen competition, it quickly gained a reputation for being one of the best restaurants in the area. Outgrowing its original space, Chishuru has now found a home in Fitzrovia where, as before, the menu will feature West African dishes, while combining the best of British and African produce. Expect this to be as big a hit as the original.
Harrod's Dining Hall revamp
Knightsbridge - 87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1X 7XL
The Harrod's Dining Hall periodically goes through revisions and this is a big one, adding some very big names in the process. While Tom Kerridge's Fish & Chips remains, new to the hall will be Sushi by Masa from Chef Masayoshi (‘Masa’) Takayama. He's a big name in America and called "the father of omakase dining" there. He's joined by Kinoya Ramen, which was a huge hit in Dubai and Assembly Mezze & Skewers by Athanasios Kargatzidis, known for Beirut restaurant Baron Beirut. The final element is Giancarlo Perbellini, the Michelin two-starred chef behind Casa Perbellini in Verona, who has teamed up with Pasta Evangelist for a pasta restaurant here.
More about Harrod's Dining Hall
The Wolseley City
City of London - 68 King William Street, London EC4N 7HR
Following the opening of Manzi's earlier this summer, The Wolseley Group is back with one of their more recognised brands for their next opening. This City restaurant is the first of a new Wolseley expansion (another is planned for Notting Hill), taking over the old House of Fraser building on King William Street. It'll be bigger than the original (featuring two private dining rooms and three bars) but you can expect a similar European grand café style to the menu. Expect this to quickly become the place for breakfast meetings in the City.
Jason Atherton's Mayfair restaurant
Mayfair - 5 Savile Row, London W1S 3PB
It's pretty much an open secret that Jason Atherton is opening two new restaurants in Mayfair (the other is on Bruton Place) but the chef himself is still staying quiet on the subject. The nearest to opening appears to be the one on Savile Row. We'd heard that the name was Row on 5, which would make it extremely similar in concept to a tasting menu-led restaurant that Atherton has just opened in Dubai, Row on 45. We also hear, on the QT, that a certain chef who has recently left a big London hotel will be taking up the Head Chef job here, but that's also still to be announced. Regardless, this will be one to watch - as soon as someone actually says something about it...
More about Jason Atherton's next
Bébé Bob
Soho - 37 Golden Square, London W1F 9LB
This is the smaller sibling to the two current Bob Bob Ricard restaurants and as such, it's taking a slightly different approach. The menu will be led by two different types of rotisserie chicken as well as something that seems a little more Bob Bob-like: caviar with blinis made tableside. There are no "press for Champagne" buttons, alas, but expect a similar opulent decor to the original restaurants and a similar low markup on wines, which we're all for.
The Cocochine
Mayfair - 27 Bruton Place, London W1J 6NQ
Another restaurant that we've known about for a long time, but for which we're only now getting the first details on is Larry Jayasekara's The Cocochine. Jayasekara was the head chef at Gordon Ramsay's Petrus before taking on this venture together with gallery owner Tim Jefferies. Similar to 20 Berkeley, it's taking over all the floors of a Mayfair townhouse. Provenance will be a big focus with Jayasekara using many of his own contacts to build up a strong repertoire of UK suppliers. Expect it to look pretty good too, with impressive touches like a specially commissioned mosaic by their chef's counter.
The Butcher's Tap and Grill
Chelsea - 27 Tryon St, London SW3 3LG
It's been a while since Tom Kerridge opened up a new place in London - five years, in fact, since Kerridge's Bar and Grill flung open its doors at Corinthia London. But now the chef is back with a very different proposition - a pub in Chelsea. He's promising to keep the pub a drinking den first and foremost, backed up by food from Kerridge which includes grilled cuts of meat alongside burgers and hotdogs. There will, of course, be a Sunday roast too.
More about The Butcher's Tap and Grill
Akira Back at the Mandarin Oriental
Mayfair - 22 Hanover Square, London W1S 1JP
By this point in the guide, you will have noticed an emerging theme of fancy new hotels getting big names to run the restaurants and this is very much in that wheelhouse. Akira Back has been a big name in America and also has a Michelin star at his restaurant Dosa in Seoul. His first London restaurant will take inspiration from his Korean background mixed with his "modern interpretation of Japanese cuisine" and he'll also be running the ABar Lounge here at the hotel.
Also look out for
Ladbroke Hall - The Notting Hill space that mixes up art and food seems to be getting ready to open the food part of that equation, so look for more news on that soon.
Quince Bakery - Opening in Islington, this will be the next big bakery that people queue up around the block for.
And see all the upcoming openings...
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