Even by London standards, this May is a hugely busy month for new restaurant openings, with lots to look forward to over the coming weeks. From the return of chefs Giorgio Locatelli and Stevie Parle to a Dishoom offshoot in Notting Hill and so much more besides - here's what's coming your way in May.
Duchy
Shoreditch - 18 Phipp Street, London EC2A 4NU
This restaurant takes the place of what was Leroy in Shoreditch and also happens to be run by two people who worked there, Alex Grant and chef Simon Shand. The latter also recently made a splash at Topa by Provisions, and here he'll be running a menu that takes its cues from France and Italy. Dishes include pork shoulder & smoked eel croquettes as well as brown crab arancini, while wines come from the Duchy of Savoy area, hence the name. If you've been missing Leroy, this sounds like a promising replacement.
Opening: 8 May 2025
Locatelli
Trafalgar Square - 12 St Martin's St, London SW1Y 5BS
He may have recently closed Locanda Locatelli, but Giorgio Locatelli is back with a new eponymous restaurant, this time inside the National Gallery. It's coming as part of a refurbishment of the Salisbury Wing and a team-up with Searcy's and described as "Italian with a modern twist". It'll be a much more affordable way of trying the chef's food compared to his Mayfair restaurant, with mains like braised veal tortelloni with gremolata and parmesan sauce coming in at around £20. You also need to look out for the separate Bar Giorgio, serving up filled maritozzi buns
Opening: 10 May 2025
Permit Room
Notting Hill - 186 Portobello Road, London W11 1LA
It's been a while since the launch of the last London Dishoom (that was in Battersea) but for this opening, they're trying something different. Their Permit Room offshoots have been popular outside of town, and the Notting Hill outpost will be the first one in London. Think of it as Dishoom-lite with a shorter menu, but one which still has some of the classics like their bacon naan and house black daal.
Opening: 9 May 2025
Norbert's
East Dulwich - 5-6 Melbourne Terrace, Melbourne Grove, London SE22 8PL
The team behind this opening are John Ogier (ex-The Marksman and Lasdun) and chef Jack Coghlan (ex-Planque and Lyle's) and they're planning a special kind of rotisserie chicken restaurant. The chicken will have a top secret rub, served with rotisserie potatoes and chips and we're particularly excited by the snacks of popcorn sweetbreads. There will also be a roast chicken and confit garlic bun with milk buns that come from excellent nearby bakery Eric's. We also like the sound of their signature cocktail - a Norbert's margarita with a chicken skin salt rim.
Opening: Early May
Hello Jojo
Camberwell - 31 Camberwell Church St, London SE5 8TR
Following the runaway success of Don't Tell Dad in Queen's Park comes another opening that's part bakery/part restaurant. There's an ex-Toad baker and an ex-The Ritz/Naughty Piglets chef, so this should be something pretty special. It's taken over the space that was once Forza Win in Camberwell and will be an all-day affair, with breakfast including a very tempting potato crumpet with brown butter and sticky mushrooms. The bakery, meanwhile, will sell everything from a chocolate rye Swiss roll to honey buns and we like the sound of the marmalade tart that they're baking for dessert.
Opening: 10 May 2025
Marjorie's
Soho - 26 Foubert's Place, Soho, London W1F 7PP
We do like a new wine bar here at Hot Dinners and this new addition to Soho sounds very welcome. Part wine bar, part restaurant, the kitchen is led by head chef Giacomo Peretti, who's ex-Le Gavroche, Temper, Firebird and The Culpeper. His menu will be a modern take on French cuisine, meaning you can expect dishes like a chicken liver rocher, hazelnut & morello (which we have to try) alongside a crab tart with crab bisque. Meanwhile, there will be a French wine list, which La Fromagerie is helping out on.
Opening: May 2025
Town
Covent Garden - 26-29 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RL
It's been in the planning for a few years now, but Stevie Parle's big new central London restaurant is opening this month. The chef's last restaurant was the post-lockdown hit Joy, so there will be high hopes for this one. He's brought in ex-Luca and ex-Kerridge's chefs to lead the kitchen and there's a big focus on seasonality and sustainability here. On the menu, you'll find dishes like potato bread with Wildfarmed beef dripping, while the bar will feature cocktails from Kevin Armstrong of the very highly-rated Satan's Whiskers.
Opening: 12 May 2025
Osteria Angelina
City of London/Shoreditch - 1 Nicholl's Clarke Yard, off Blossom Street, E1 6SH
The original Angelina has been a big success in Dalston and now they're getting ready to open an offshoot in that space that's right on the edge of both Shoreditch and the City. As with their first restaurant, it'll have both Japanese and Italian influences, including their "fresh pasta with a Japanese twist". They'll also be serving up big cuts of grilled meat and seafood.
Opening: 20 May 2025
Romeo San
Marylebone - 38 George Street, London W1U 7DS
Romeo San is a temaki bar with a difference. First off, it's coming from the family who own the London and New York branches of Le Relais de Venise l’Entrecôte, but it's a big shift away from those restaurants. Here, they're focused on serving handrolls "with the finest ingredients", such as caviar from N25, fish from Notting Hill Fish Shop and freshly grated truffles. It's a walk-in-only affair, but this might be one to generate queues with only 25 seats, although they will also be selling DIY handroll kits if you don't like queueing.
Opening: 12 May 2025
Sino
Notting Hill - 7 All Saints Road, London W11 1HA
Sino is the latest Ukrainian restaurant to open in London, this time run by a chef who has experience in Michelin-starred kitchens across Europe. The name translates as "hay", so you'll find that on the menu in their hay-infused wild mushroom broth. Vareniky dumplings will be making an appearance too, here served with oxtail and housemade mushroom garum. The cocktail list sounds promising with Ukrainian mixologist Ana Reznik, ex-A Bar with Shapes for a Name, in charge of that list.
Opening: May 2025
Myrtos
South Kensington - 260-262 Brompton Road, London SW3 2AS
London's Greek and Mediterranean trend shows no sign of slowing down. This new restaurant is from ex-Pied a Terre chef Asimakis Chaniotis, who's opening in the ex-Aubaine site. He'll be creating a menu that takes its inspiration from across Greece, while using local ingredients. So, for example, they'll have snail flatbread using Dorset snails. You'll also find lobster giouvetsi, lamb belly skewers and after dessert, a roaming trolley showcasing Greek cheese.
Opening: 12 May 2025
Also look out for...
- Ikea (Oxford Circus) - Meatballs and more as the huge Ikea on Oxford Street (and its restaurant) is finally here. (Opens 1 May)
- Bad Manners (Shoreditch) - The popular burrito shop is moving to the churchyard at Shoreditch Church
- Eel Sushi Bar (Notting Hill) - The team behind Dorian open a 10-seater sushi bar. (Opens 6 May)
- Brillo (Hackney) - Every Friday, Forno is transforming into this pizza and natural wine bar. (Starts 9 May)
- Artesian (Marylebone) - BiBi's Chet Sharma takes over the food at this great London bar. (Starts 14 May)
- Marvee's Food Shop (Ladbroke Grove) - The Good Front Room's Dom Taylor opens a restaurant based on Caribbean takeaways. (Opens May 9)
- Blinds (Hackney) - A new natural wine bar that's taken over an old blinds shop. (Opens 9 May)
- Jamie Oliver Cafe (Oxford Street) - A cafe inside John Lewis that's opening beside the chef's cookery school
- Fortune Fried Chicken (Spitalfields) - Thai-fried chicken from the man behind Gunpowder and one of the founders of The Begging Bowl. (Opens 1 May)
- Bancone (Kensington) - The fourth outpost of the popular fresh pasta restaurant. (Opens 20 May)
- Fulham Pier (Fulham) - Still to be confirmed, but the big new food hall beside Fulham's football ground should soft launch by the end of the month
All of London's newly opened and upcoming restaurants...
Subscribe to hear the latest from Hot Dinners
