This is our monthly round-up of the restaurants causing the biggest stir in town - the hottest at this very moment from the return of a legendary Thai restaurant (in a more central location) to a wine bar in Soho that's already attracting celebs. (If you're looking for classics, see our all-time London's Best Restaurants guide).
Singburi
Shoreditch - Unit 7 Montacute Yards, Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6HU
In a nutshell: Second coming of a legendary Thai restaurant
Singburi was a crazily popular restaurant in its original Leytonstone location, but this move to Shoreditch has pushed things into the stratosphere. Taking a slightly new approach with chef Sirichai Kularbwong fully taking over the reins from his parents (with a little help from an ex-Kiln/Oma chef) this has been an instant hit with the release of bookings for the restaurant generating huge excitement. Getting a table is challenging, but not impossible (particularly if you avoid weekends), and it's worth it for some of the very best Thai food in the city.
Marjorie's
Soho - 26 Foubert's Place, Soho, London W1F 7PP
In a nutshell: French-style wine bar
Marjorie's comes from a duo that is new to hospitality but who have clearly been doing their homework as the wine bar/restaurant has been packed almost from day one. Celebs have already been spotted at this chic, Parisian-inspired space that's just off Carnaby Street and our recent visit showed just why. It's a great little space with an excellent wine list, backed up by a great modern French menu by chef Giacomo Peretti. The poached chicken with crunchy rice is excellent, but if you have pretty much any of the small plates on offer here, you'll be in for a great meal.
Read the Marjorie's Test Drive
Lupa
Highbury - 73 Highbury Park, London N5 1UA
In a nutshell: Roman-style cuisine with star power
Highbury has come up in leaps and bounds in recent years with some great new bars and restaurants, but if you really want to get noticed, it helps to have a celeb as one of the partners in the business. White Lotus actor Theo James has teamed up with Carousel co-founder Ed Templeton for this venture and they've brought in ex-Pidgin chef Naz Hassan to lead the kitchen. It's clearly a match made in heaven as they've revitalised this tiny restaurant space with an excellent Roman-style menu. The deeply yellow carbonara is the breakout star from the menu, but overall it's a great little neighbourhood restaurant that will do very well. Plus, there's a decent likelihood of seeing some celebs in here, particularly as the curtain out front gives a little bit of privacy from those walking past.
Osteria Angelina
City/Shoreditch - 1 Nicholl's Clarke Yard, off Blossom Street, London E1 6SH
In a nutshell: Japanese/Italian mash-up follow-up
Fusion restaurants can, by their very nature, be divisive, but the Japanese and Italian influences behind Dalston's Angelina have always proved to be a winning combination. Certainly, they have legions of fans who have followed their progress into the City with this opening on the borders between Shoreditch and Spitalfields. For their second restaurant, they've moved away from their tasting menu concept to more of an a la carte offering. Grace Dent loved it, saying "It will also offend purists everywhere, but being upset has never been so delicious." Look out for their in-house pastaio making pasta in a glass-enclosed kitchen beside the dining room.
Read the Osteria Angelina Test Drive
Barbarella
Canary Wharf - YY Building, 30 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HX
In a nutshell: Big Mamma goes east
Given that every opening they have is a big deal, it's no surprise that Big Mamma's latest restaurant, opening by the water in Canary Wharf, is an instant hit. This latest venture takes 70s Rome as its influence (apparently) but otherwise the usual Big Mamma hallmarks are there. The servings are generous and the prices are pretty mid-range, even with some luxe ingredients showing up. But when that's combined with the whole look of the place, that's where Big Mamma restaurants shine. This place looks pretty special downstairs with its giant chandelier but upstairs is eye-popping, with mirrored surfaces all over the ceiling, and even on the table. It's a very impressive site, and this latest outpost of theirs is already packing them in as a result.
The Fat Badger
Notting Hill - 310 Portobello Rd, London W10 5TA
In a nutshell: Notting Hill pub from The Pelican team
Given their success with opening pubs so far - we present The Pelican, The Hero and The Bull (in the Cotswolds) as evidence - it's not all that surprising that the same team have scored another win with The Fat Badger. However, this is a bit of a different beast, as the pub is actually on top of their super popular Notting Hill restaurant Canteen. Grace Dent was an early fan, calling it "immensely likable" and Charlotte Ivers in the Sunday Times agreed, saying " all the ingredients are so cleverly balanced, so frequently surprising." So far, we've only made it as far as the pub floor, rather than the main dining room, but anywhere that serves Twiglets alongside well-made martinis has our vote.
Town
Covent Garden - 26-29 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5RL
In a nutshell: Glamorous Covent Garden restaurant
The arrival of chef Stevie Parle's Town in Covent Garden has met with near-universal approval by the city's restaurant critics. They've praised its looks "a sleek, capacious, ever-so-slightly Austin Powers-esque...pleasure palace" declared Grace Dent in the Guardian, the "showstopping" bread with Town gravy that Giles Coren loved in The Times. Even the crowd are worthy of note to David Ellis in The Standard, " a mix of stylish women and men of the creative agency ilk". It's fair to say it's doing rather well. If you go, expect a menu that puts the producers front and centre. Parle has been building these relationships for a long time, and from the cheese, which is made by members of his own family, to the amazing steak, it's all worth trying.
Eel Sushi Bar
Notting Hill - 118 Talbot Road, London W11 1JR
In a nutshell: In demand sushi bar from the Dorian team
Not content with having created Dorian, a restaurant that's so hard to book that you have to work hard to be on the owner's nice rather than naughty list, owner Chris D'Sylva has now opened an equally hard to get into sushi bar across the road. Eel, which is a no-bookings sushi spot, has been busy packing them in since it opened, so succeeding in getting a seat here secures you top-level foodie bragging rights. The good news is that the sushi quality more than matches the difficulty of securing your seat at the counter. It's an a la carte affair making it stand out from all the recent omakase openings.
Duchy
Shoreditch - 18 Phipp Street, London EC2A 4NU
In a nutshell: Leroy reborn
This Shoreditch restaurant has taken over the space that used to be Leroy and it's partly a continuation in that it's now owned by a pair that worked in its previous incarnation, including chef Simon Shand. The space has had a light refresh, but the biggest change is the menu, which has now shifted to a focus on French and Italian food, with more than a little Alpine influence (particularly in the house bread, fougasse). That menu features some fantastic hits, from exceptional crab arancini to a truly great French take on sausage and mash. Pair that with an excellent wine list and one of the best martinis we've had lately and this is a firm winner. Not everyone agrees though, as Grace Dent was not a fan of the small plates here.
Norbert's
East Dulwich - 5-6 Melbourne Terrace, Melbourne Grove, London SE22 8PL
In a nutshell: Rotisserie chicken with a great pedigree
Rotisserie chicken has been making a bit of a comeback of late, with both Toum and Chuck's making waves. However, this East Dulwich version is notable for the people behind it, John Ogier (ex-Lyle's, The Marksman) and chef Jack Coghlan (ex-Planque and Lyle's). That team is delivering a chicken shop experience like no other, with carefully sourced chicken backed up by lots of added extras like lentils vinaigrette and chicken-fat new season potatoes to go with the main event. Their chicken bun also looks worth crossing town for.
One Club Row
Shoreditch - 1 Club Row, London E1 6JX
In a nutshell: A slice of NYC style in London
Not since The Devonshire has there been a launch of a restaurant that’s had quite as much immediate good press as One Club Row. There are some similarities between them too, as it's above a pub, The Knave of Clubs, and this restaurant, complete with its all-over-Insta graffitied front door, is a wholly separate entity from that pub. Chef Patrick Powell’s menu is full of nods to both Paris and New York (the burger is a must-have) and the martinis and general bonhomie just add to the vibe. The critics have lauded it as an instant hit. The Standard’s David Ellis was an early fan calling it “E1’s answer to The Dover” while in The Sunday Times, Charlotte Ivers said it made her "instantly feel there’s nowhere on earth that could possibly be more fun at this precise moment."
Read the One Club Row Test Drive
Josephine
Marylebone - 6-8 Blandford St, London W1U 4AU
In a nutshell: Paris comes to London
If there was a one complaint people had with Claude Bosi’s Lyonnaise bouchon in Chelsea, it was that it was a pain to get to (unless you lived out west). The chef has redressed that with his latest restaurant, opening just off Marylebone High Street - and there are whisperings of more to come. We popped in for supper after a few days of opening to find the restaurant absolutely wedged with W1 residents jostling for space at the bar and in the dining room. Food-wise this leans more towards a Parisian brasserie with a hitlist of French classics, including a very good soufflé au Camembert and some excellent terrines. Critic reception has been mixed however. Giles Coren in The Times is a fan, noting "great cooking, serious staff, top-class looks and real personality" but in The Standard, David Ellis was less impressed, calling it "Café Rouge with a bit of lippy on."
Tom Brown at The Capital
Knightsbridge - The Capital, 22-24 Basil St, London SW3 1AT
In a nutshell: Tom Brown comes home
The opening of chef Tom Brown’s new Knightsbridge restaurant marks a completion of the circle for the chef who first came to prominence when working here under chef Nathan Outlaw. Now it’s his name above the door, and fans who loved his food at Cornerstone are making the pilgrimage here to enjoy his seafood-focused offering. David Ellis at the Standard felt “Brown is operating at a level rarely witnessed” but thinks there’s still room for improvement. Reform fan William Sitwell, meanwhile, was less of a fan, calling it "dull and misconceived." We think that if you love inventive seafood in a luxurious setting, this should tick all the boxes for you.
More about Tom Brown at the Capital
The Lavery
South Kensington - 4 Cromwell Place, London SW7 2JE
In a nutshell: Mediterranean by the museums
The critics are unanimous: The Lavery is a very beautiful restaurant. “It’s modern minimalist with a glut of leftover grandeur from fine times past,” declared Grace Dent in The Guardian, while Giles Coren in the Times said, “It’s the sort of place I often have dreams about living in.” The good news is that the food by former River Cafe chef Yohei Furuhashi more than lives up to the surroundings. Think ultra seasonal with a modern European sensibility. We were big fans of the gnocchi (which Coren also praises as ‘perfect’) and the lack of interesting new places to eat in this area means it’s bound to do well.
Read our Test Drive of the Lavery
The Kerfield Arms
Camberwell - 16 Grove Lane, London SE5 8SY
In a nutshell: Gastropub reinvented
London’s roster of excellent gastropubs got another addition to its swelling ranks in this Camberwell pub from the team who brought us the critical hit The Baring. Visiting on its first weekend, we found the dining area there already packed for lunch with locals who couldn’t quite believe their luck that this had landed on their doorstep. As with their Islington sibling, there’s a popular skewer dish on the menu. Here it’s Cornish squid & lardo shish with pul biber chilli which should give you an idea of the inventiveness of the offering. Literally everything we tried was a banger, but if you don’t order pizza dough with tarama or the doughnut, then that’s on you.
Read The Kerfield Arms Test Drive
AngloThai
Marylebone - 22-24 Seymour Place, London W1H 7NL
In a nutshell: Thai dishes, British produce
Sometimes great things come to those who wait and that's certainly the case with AngloThai. The restaurant by John and Desiree Chantarasak has been in the planning stages for four years, but that long waiting period has ended up delivering a fantastic restaurant and an immediate Michelin star. Known for blending Thai cuisine with British ingredients, this sees them working at the top of their game, with a review by David Ellis in The Standard agreeing - "This is thoughtful, elegant food". Meanwhile, Grace Dent says "There is an understated elegance to just about everything that AngloThai does." it's had a lot of notice from overseas too, with a place on Conde Nast Traveller's best restaurants in the world and American Saturday morning TV.
Read our Test Drive of AngloThai
Wildflowers
Belgravia - Unit 2, 57 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8NE
In a nutshell: Beautiful Belgravia restaurant and wine bar
If you look at just how many chefs and folk from the London restaurant scene have made it their business to check out Wildflowers in the first few weeks of its opening then you'll get a good indication of how much they rate chef Aaron Potter's Mediterranean-influenced cooking. The Guardian's Grace Dent was another early visitor declaring it "so charming and tasteful that finding fault is a challenge." It doesn't hurt that there's a fantastic wine bar upstairs too. Giles Coren took along Jamie Oliver who was wowed, saying "this is the generation of chefs we have to be hopeful for, right?"
Read our Test Drive of Wildflowers
Miga
Hackney - 1 Mare St, London E8 4RP
In a nutshell: Modern Korean
Miga is another restaurant that has built up an impressive following, relying on word of mouth and social media buzz to get the word out there. A family business (it's run by two brothers, with their father in the kitchen), its modern approach to Korean cooking brings something unique to the Hackney food scene. The restaurant i s continuing to evolve, with a new-look menu promised in September and they're also trialling omakase-style dinners. That buzz has already translated to a five-star review in The Standard from Jimi Famurewa who says they are giving "their father’s remarkable, soulful cooking the platform it deserves."
Warming up...
And there are a few more restaurants creating buzz recently that we think are worth keeping an eye on...
Lai Rai (Peckham) - This Vietnamese cafe in Peckham has already received a great review from The Standard.
Dumbo (Shoreditch) - Yes, it's another Smashburger, but this import from France is sounding like it's one to watch.
Harley’s (Hampstead) - From the team behind Ibai, this butcher/rotisserie is getting stellar notices.
Corner Shop (Temple) - It opened quietly, but this Soho House take on a Corner Shop is already getting a lot of notice
Perma-hot restaurants
These are the London restaurants that have been open for a while but are still hotter than ever.
OMA and Agora (Borough Market) - the Greek-inspired duo from David Carter continues to be one of the biggest draws in the area.
The Devonshire (Soho) - Both the pub downstairs and the grill restaurant remain, one year on, the hottest places in town. It's also still a great place for celeb spotting.
The Dover (Mayfair) - Martin Kuczmarski's restaurant has a real understated Mayfair glamour and is a great place for star spotting. It's also one of the best bars in the area with an excellent cocktail list.
Mountain (Soho) - Tomos Parry's Soho restaurant is still hard to get into, but worth it for that spider crab omelette.
Bouchon Racine (Farringdon) - The return of Henry Harris remains one of London's best restaurants for many. Even if you can't get into the restaurant, the food in the pub downstairs is well worth a look. A recent visit confirmed it's still operating at the highest level.
Arlington (St James) - Jeremy King's revival of the original Le Caprice remains a solid hit. It's one of the best and buzziest restaurants in St James.
Crisp Pizza (Hammersmith) - Alley Cats may get the press, but this pizzeria is still the best for many. There's still a wait for pizzas at the weekend particularly, but it's well worth it.
Where's Hot, mapped.
Here's how the Hot Dinners "Where's Hot" restaurants are spread across town.
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