The top new London restaurants to look out for in 2025

Gavin Hanly 03 January 2025

As another year gets underway, it's time to take a look forward to the most interesting new restaurants opening in London over the next twelve months. From a huge Jeremy King Project to Gordon Ramsay in the sky, here's what's coming your way in 2025.

Simpson's in the Strand

100 Strand, London WC2R 0EW

Jeremy King staged an incredibly successful comeback last year with the opening of Arlington and The Park and it already looks like 2024 will be just as big a deal for the restaurateur. Few London restaurants really deserve the description "iconic" but Simpson's in the Strand is one of them. Even though it's blessed with spectacular (and huge) dining rooms, its most recent owners haven't managed to bring the restaurant back to its glory days. However, with the similarly huge opening of Brasserie Zedel under his belt, if anyone can make this a winner, it's King. Few details have been revealed about the new version just yet, other than it promises to be "big-theatre brasserie" and the carvery trolleys will thankfully be making a comeback.

Opening: May 2025

Josephine Marylebone

Marylebone - 6-8 Blandford St, London W1U 4AU

Claude and Lucy Bosi's French bistro Josephine in Chelsea has been one of 2024's most successful new openings. But unless you're based in West London, it's not the easiest place to make your way over to, particularly on public transport. However, their next opening promises to be in the middle of Marylebone, within walking distance of Oxford Street. We don't know exactly what they have planned for their second Josephine (it hasn't even been officially announced yet), but expect another very classic French menu which will hopefully feature their French onion soup and amazing rum baba.

Opening: 2025 (date TBC)

Voyage by Adam Simmonds

King's Cross - 1 Belgrove Street, King’s Cross, London WC1H 8AB

Adam Simmonds is still probably best known for his previous Michelin-starred restaurant Danesfield House, but this new restaurant could see him really making his stamp on London. He's opening inside The Megaro hotel opposite St Pancras, taking over their main restaurant. The double-height, light-filled room was already impressive but should look even more so after the complete refurbishment, which will have a Scandinavian aesthetic. The food will also have Scandinavian influences, so this should bring something genuinely fresh to the King's Cross area.

Opening: January 2025

Himi

Soho - 4 Newburgh Street, London W1F 7RF

The team behind the excellent Roji have (temporarily) closed that restaurant while they get ready to launch something very different in Soho. This time around, husband and wife chefs Tamas Naszai and Tomoko Hasegawa are opening a more casual restaurant that's modelled after Tokyo neo-izakayas. The Japanese-led menu with open-flame charcoal cooking alongside sushi and sashimi will change regularly and you can expect certain dishes from Roji to make some kind of an appearance here. The food at Roji is excellent, so we have high hopes for this opening.

Opening: January 2025

Francesco Mazzei at Corinthia London

Whitehall - Whitehall Pl, London SW1A 2BD

Corinthia London already has a big-name chef in the hotel with Kerridge's Bar and Grill, and now they're bringing in a second. Italian chef Francesco Mazzei will be taking over what's currently The Northall. It should be a high-end affair that will be the chef's first big restaurant in central London since opening Sartoria. Little has been revealed about the menu so far, but a recent residency at The Corinthia in Malta should give us an idea, with dishes like tagliolini and lobster sauce or rabbit ravioli on that menu.

Opening: Mid 2025

Dove

Notting Hill - 31 Kensington Park Road, London W11 2EU

Last month brought the news that the end was coming for Jackson Boxer's Orasay, one of the really great restaurants in Notting Hill. Running a local seafood restaurant proved to be cost-prohibitive, hence its closure. But Boxer also revealed that it was to be swiftly replaced by Dove, a restaurant led by a menu filled with dishes that Jackson wants to cook and eat right now. And judging by that menu, it's what we want to eat too, with dishes like deep-fried taleggio & Wiltshire truffle lasagne making an appearance (see above). This should go down very well with the locals.

Opening: 7 January 2025

Gordon Ramsay at 22 Bishopsgate

City of London - 22 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AJ

Other than his chain restaurants, it's been pretty quiet on the Gordon Ramsay restaurant front recently. That's about to change in 2025 with the opening of 22 Bishopsgate which features several restaurants from the chef (and a cookery school) all opening in the City skyscraper. While the main restaurant may be a high-rise version of his Asian-inspired Lucky Cat, the one to watch will be High. That's a sky-high version of his three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and will undoubtedly be a hot ticket when it opens.

Opening: February 2025

Le Caprice and Carbone (and more) at The Chancery Rosewood

Mayfair - Chancery Rosewood, 30 Grosvenor Sq, London W1K

While 2024 saw the return of Le Caprice in all but name with the opening of Arlington, 2025 welcomes the return of the actual Le Caprice, which has been relocated to the new Chancery Rosewood hotel. The hotel has taken over what used to be the US Embassy in Mayfair and we'll have to see if it makes as big a splash as the opening of Arlington. The hotel will also feature another big new opening (coming from the US) in the shape of Italian restaurant Carbone. And that's not all as apparently lots more, still unannounced, restaurants are due to open in the hotel this year, seemingly rivalling The OWO for the amount of food and dining opportunities. Hopefully, it's also learned a few things from that hotel about how to open so many new food and drink places in one space...

Opening: July 2025

Brasserie Constance

Fulham - Level 1, Fulham Pier, Stevenage Road, London SW6 6HH

This restaurant will be the main event in the brand-new Fulham Pier development which is opening beside Fulham's Craven Cottage stadium. It sees Trinity's Adam Byatt taking on a rooftop space that's promising some pretty spectacular views across The Thames. It's billed as a British brasserie and it will also have a separate bar area (called Flo) as well as an extensive wine list sourced by Trinity sommeliers. We're yet to see the menu but as the restaurant is named after the person who created Coronation chicken, we're betting/hoping that we'll see a version of that on there.

Opening: Spring 2025

The Prince Arthur

Belgravia - 11 Pimlico Rd, London SW1W 8NA

This imminent Belgravia opening even took us a little by surprise when we exclusively revealed it last month. It looks like a lot of money has gone into making this a pretty spectacular-looking pub and they even have their own-brand caviar. The upstairs restaurant sounds just as impressive, with chef Adam Iglesias (ex Brat and Barrafina) running a Basque-style (where the chef hails from) affair up there (as well as putting gildas on the pub menu). Expect some excellent Iberico pork and Galician beef to make an appearance and yes, there is a Basque cheesecake.

Opening: 15 January 2025

Bar Valette

Shoreditch - 28 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8AA

2024 saw the original Clove Club team splitting up, with Isaac McHale concentrating on running the main Clove Club restaurant. However, he's quickly adding a second restaurant to his empire with the opening of Bar Valette. This launches in what was the Two Lights space (also opened by the same team) and features a head chef that comes over from the main restaurant, bringing the classic buttermilk chicken and pine dish with them. It sounds like harking back to the days when the bar of The Clove Club was a slightly more affordable way to try out that restaurant, so it'll be interesting to see how that translates to the new place.

Opening: January 2025

Calong

Stoke Newington - 35 Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 0NX

Calong has been popping up as takeovers and superclubs up until now, but this sees ex-Galvin at Windows chef Joo Won opening his own place for the first time. He's previously described his approach as "French and European cooking... harmonised with subtle Korean flavours" and has taken over what used to be Rubedo in Stoke Newington. Previous dishes include his "JFC" which is fried chicken thigh, sweet chilli sauce & coriander.

Opening: January/February 2025

La Mome

Knightsbridge - Wilton Pl, London SW1X 7RL

At the end of last year, Marcus Wareing closed his restaurant at The Berkeley and now, just over a year later, they're getting ready to reveal what's taking its place. La Môme comes from restaurateurs Ugo and Antoine Lecorché who have made the restaurant a huge hit in Cannes and Monaco, catering for a parade of A-Listers. The London version will have the same South of France/Mediterranean approach and should be designed to evoke the Rivera (with photographs of sixties Riviera life all over the room). It's a big step up on the glam front for The Berkeley, but perhaps one that's more in keeping with the rest of the hotel.

Opening: January 2025

Guinness at Old Brewers Yard

Covent Garden - Shelton Street, London, WC2H 9PU

It's been promised since 2022 but we hear that things are getting very close as far as the opening of London's version of a Guinness Storehouse goes. Ready to surf on a wave of minor Guinness hysteria in London (driven largely by The Devonshire) all eyes are on what is actually going to be revealed (as the plans have changed a few times). Whatever happens, we feel pretty certain that this is one place that will never suffer a Guinness shortage.

Opening: 2025 (Date TBC)

Also look out for...

Ikea (Oxford Circus) - If you've been anywhere near Oxford Circus in the past year, you can't have missed the huge Ikea that's going to be opening there. But leaving the furniture aside, we're most interested in the fact that this will have an Ikea cafe. We plan to have as many meatballs as we possibly can in this place.
Osteria Angelina (City of London) - After years of success in Dalston (and a great, if not successful spin-off in Soho), Angelina is bringing its mix of Japanese and Italian cuisine to the new Nolton Folgate development in the City.
The Whiteley (Bayswater) - The revival of what was Whiteley's involves multiple restaurants (and a Six Senses hotel) including Effie from the team behind Pachamama.
Next from Patrick Powell (TBC) - Since he left both Midland Grand and Allegra, we've been wondering what Patrick Powell has planned for his next opening. While we can't reveal details yet, expect something new from the chef in the coming year.
Noisy Oyster (Shoreditch) - The people behind Firebird in Soho are coming to Shoreditch with a restaurant that matches seafood with martinis.
Bloodsports (Covent Garden) - Next up from the MEATLiquor, this is a new sports bar. Expect highballs, MEATliquor classics and specials and late night horror movies.
Ce La Vi - (Paddington) - The Singapore version of this restaurant appeared in Crazy Rich Asians and it brings the rarity of a high-rise rooftop restaurant to West London.
Shanghai Me/Mr Porter (Mayfair) - These restaurants take over from both Trader Vic's and Galvin at Windows at the Hilton Park Lane, completely overhauling the dining scene in the hotel.
Due (TBC) - This comes from Jesús Durón, previously at Mexico City's Pujol. Exactly what he has planned for Dué remains to be seen, but he's been following Santiago Lastra's footsteps with an appearance at Carousel before the main event.
Tatar Bunar (Shoreditch) - A Ukrainian restaurateur duo are taking on the old Brindisa space in Shoreditch.