August can occasionally be slow for new openings, but this year it's notably busier. This month, Jose's Bermondsey takeover continues, there's a new floating French restaurant in Canary Wharf, Jason Atherton revamps Pollen Street Social and more besides.
Marceline
Canary Wharf - Wood Wharf, 10 Water St, London, E14 5GX
If you've ever been to Hawksmoor on Wood Wharf, you'll be familiar with the layout of Marceline as it's the second identical floating restaurant next door (although it'll look a lot different inside). Taking over the top floor (a new Hovarda is opening downstairs later on), it's inspired by Parisian and New York brasseries and in charge of the menu is Robert Aikens, who is actually chef Tom Aikens' twin. Expect a very French menu and the dish that everyone will be ordering is the ravioles du dauphine, a sheet of uncut ravioli that you're almost certainly going to see on a few reels/TikToks.
Opening: 5 August 2024
Lolo
Bermondsey - 102 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UB
Jose Pizarro continues his slow takeover of Bermondsey Street with his third restaurant on the same stretch. This time it's more of an all-day affair, so the breakfasts will be particularly worth taking note of. Sandwiches will also be a big thing, particularly at lunchtime with the Bikini (cheese, Jamón 5J and truffle) being the one to get, we'd say. Everything Jose touches turns to gold, so this should be a sure-fire winner and at this point we wonder if he's even got another place lined up on the same street.
Opening: 12 August 2024
Ambassador's Clubhouse
Mayfair - 25 Heddon Street, London W1B 4BQ
Taking over what was Momo on Heddon Street is one of JKS' largest projects. Coming from the team behind Gymkhana and Brigadiers, this sees them taking on "the cuisine of undivided Punjab" in a menu that includes kebabs (like the nalli chapli kebab), curries, biryanis, tandoor-roasted breads among many others. It's a very big space too, across two floors, including a "maximalist central bar" and several private rooms. Momo had difficulty making this space work, but if anyone can make a success of it, it's JKS.
Opening: 20 August 2024
More about Ambassador's Clubhouse
Mary's
Mayfair - 8-10 Pollen St, London W1S 1NQ
When Jason Atherton announced the closure of Pollen Street Social, we did know that he had plans to replace it with another restaurant. We just didn't know that it would happen so quickly. Just over two weeks after Pollen Street Social closes, Mary's will appear in its place. Somewhat bizarrely, we're still waiting on an official announcement of the imminent restaurant but we do know that it will be grill-focused while the former chef's counter will now become a burger bar (with just one burger on offer). Meanwhile, The Blind Pig (previously at Social Eating House) will be the main bar here. This is almost like a residency, with the restaurant closing for a big refurb and proper relaunch in the new year.
Opening: 16 August 2024
Oriole
Covent Garden - 7-9 Slingsby Pl, London WC2E 9AB
After popping up as a "Prelude", Oriole bar is moving across the courtyard in Covent Garden's The Yards to finally open in its new permanent home. As with the pop-up, this place is now just as much about food as it is about cocktails, with a Latin American influence throughout the menu (we like the sound of a coconut tres leches with fig leaf sauce). The cocktails, however, will still be a huge draw and apparently they've brought in lots more fancy gadgets to make them even more special. It's also a place of two halves, with the main bar downstairs (including live jazz) and the new Bamboo Bar upstairs which will have cocktails on draught for those of us with less patience.
Opening: 28 August 2024
Eat Momo
Borough Yards - 1 Bank End, London SE1 9BU
Eat Momo comes from sisters Trishna and Dipa Chamling and is all about Nepalese steamed dumplings. The sisters have been inspired by regional recipes across Nepal and will be serving up chicken and pork momo, flavoured with coriander and spices. It's planned to be a casual space, perfect for popping into if you happen to be in Borough Market, with all the momos created in-house. There will even be a hatch if you're passing by and fancy one to-go.
Opening: 5 August 2024
Lussmanns
Highgate - 2 Highgate High St, London N6 5JL
London diners these days may be less familiar with Lussmanns, but the group originally started as a restaurant in North Kensington 22 years ago. Since then, they've opened several restaurants across Hertfordshire, and we've been to the one in St Albans ourselves. This sees them returning to London, taking over what used to be a Cote in Highgate. Expect a strong focus on local sourcing, seasonality and sustainability, one of the first high street restaurants to make this the driving force behind their menus.
Opening: Late August
Alley Cats Pizza
Chelsea - 342 King's Rd, London SW3 5UR
The original Alley Cats pizza seemed to come out of nowhere to become a huge phenomenon when it opened (until a bit of digging by us revealed that it was owned by the same group as Angus Steakhouse). There's no denying that whoever was behind their marketing campaign deserved a massive raise because even now, the queues at the original NY-style pizza restaurant in Marylebone are still in evidence. This Chelsea opening should be just as popular and even with the hype in action, by many accounts the huge pizzas really are very good.
Opening: 9 August 2024
It's Bagels
Notting Hill - 120 Kensington Park Rd, London W11 2PW
Another huge success was the original Primrose Hill opening of It's Bagels last year. It turned out that London just loves NY-style bagel shops and there were almost immediate queues around the block when the shop opened. It's Bagels seems almost perfect for the Notting Hill food scene and we can confidently predict that you'll still have to contend with a queue to get your hands on The Works (cream cheese with lox, onion, capers, lemon and tomato) at this latest opening. Bagels will be baked on-site and expect the few terrace tables here to be like gold dust.
Opening: Late August 2024
Also look out for...
- Kricket (Canary Wharf, 6 August) - The latest opening for the Indian-inspired Kricket, which also sees them opening a second Soma cocktail bar.
- Kod (Soho) - The Danish steakhouse opens a second restaurant, this time in Soho.
- Birdmilk (Notting Hill) - A Ukrainian bakery and apparently they're already getting ready to open a second one.
All of London's newly opened and upcoming restaurants...
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