With the arrival of autumn, the London restaurant scene is kicking off with some pretty big openings. Here's our pick of the key new restaurants you'll need to know about.
St John
Marylebone - 98 Marylebone Lane London W1U 2QA
If you've been thinking that London needs more boozy breakfast options, then the arrival of the new St John in Marylebone will be the place for you, with mid morning doughnuts and Champagne planned. Pretty much anything Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver do seems set for success and given that it's been so long since they opened somewhere new, all eyes are on this.
Photo by Sam Harris
Elis
Bethnal Green- Town Hall Hotel, Patriot Square, London E2 9NF
A new restaurant by a chef who already runs one of London's two Michelin-starred places is always going to be something to make foodies sit up and take note. Rafael Cagali is behind Da Terra at the Town Hall Hotel and this autumn is branching out with a new more casual affair in the old Corner Room space. The menu will be informed by Rafael's Brazilian/Italian heritage and Noble Rot are doing the wine which is always good news.
Sichuan Fry/ Dumpling Shack
Hackney - 2 Westgate St, London E8 3RN
The very best kind of 2-4-1, this upcoming opening sees the Dumpling Shack crew lead with a new menu of Sichuan chicken burgers. It'll be upstairs for the burgers and wings and head downstairs for the dumplings (mainly for takeaway here). We're also looking forward to trying new drinks like their Hong Kong Milk Tea flavoured milkshake.
Mr Ji
Camden - 63-65 Parkway, London NW1 7WP
Soho's Mr Ji is expanding, heading north for their second restaurant. The good news is they're bringing their 100% must-have prawn-in-toast dish with them. The Camden spot (it's taken over where Hook used to be) will also have some new dishes planned and we predict their upcoming Sunday roasts (crispy roast pork belly, anyone?) are going to be a big hit with locals.
Cycene
Shoreditch - 9 Chance St, London E2 7JB
One menu. 10 courses. That's the premise of the new restaurant at Blue Mountain School in Shoreditch. Taking over the space vacated by Maos, this sees chef Theo Clench (ex-Akoko and Portland) offering up a seafood-focused menu inspired by Eastern Asia and Australasia influences. It sounds like quite the experience too, beginning with aperitifs in the bar before proceeding to the upstairs restaurant.
Sam's Larder
Chiswick - 59-61 Turnham Green Terrace, London W4 1RP
This is something of a homecoming for restaurateur Sam Harrison who ran a restaurant in these here parts for a decade before closing it back in 2015. Now he's back with a second branch of his upmarket deli, this time with a cafe attached. They'll be serving breakfast and lunch to eat in or take away and are promising "the best salads and sandwiches you have ever tasted".
The Audley Public House and Mount St. Restaurant
Mayfair - 41-43 Mount St, London W1K 2RX
Artfarm have pretty good form with the restaurants they've already opened - both The Fife Arms in Braemar and Somerset’s Roth Bar & Grill have been critical hits. So it's fair to say there are high expectations for their first London place. It's a two-part operation with The Audley Public House at ground level and Mount St Restaurant on the first floor. Heading up both is chef Jamie Shears whose previous bosses include everyone from Gordon Ramsay to Jason Atherton.
More about The Audley and Mount St
Belvedere
Holland Park - Off Abbotsbury Road, Holland Park, London W8 6LU
It's fair to say that local residents are pretty excited about the prospect of this much-loved local restaurant finally reopening its doors. The duo behind its revival are George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev; they know their stuff having opened Goodman, Burger & Lobster and, most recently, Wild Tavern in Chelsea. Food-wise, the info is thin on the ground, but think Italian-Med and you'll be in the vicinity.
Restaurant St Barts
City of London - 63 Bartholomew Cl, London EC1A 7BG
This new City restaurant comes from the team behind both Nest in Hackney and, one of the first post-pandemic hits, Fenn in Fulham. This will have a very different approach to those, with the focus being on a 15-course tasting menu which is a hyper-seasonal British affair. You can expect to take a foodie tour around the British Isles. It also sounds like it'll be a great date spot with lots of candlelight and views in the evening of the illuminated cloisters of St Bartholomew-the-Great next door.
More about Restaurant St Barts
Din Tai Fung
Centre Point - 11 St Giles Passage, London WC2H 8AP
Wherever Din Tai Fung goes, it's a big hit. There are still queues outside the Covent Garden restaurant and the Selfridges outpost is very successful too. This Centre Point branch has been promised for a long time (so long, that it's opening in a different space than was originally proposed) and you'll be able to order all your favourite soup dumplings and more here. There's also a bigger bar area than before and, yes, the robot waiters will be making an appearance.
Straker's
Notting Hill - 91 Golborne Rd, London W10 5PR
As one of London's chefs who was an early (and massive) hit on TikTok, the opening of Thomas Straker's eponymous first solo venture is pretty much guaranteed to get a lot of coverage on social. Given how much of his feed is obsessed by potatoes and butter, one promised dish of potato gnocchi with burnt butter is going to be the one to try.
Also opening in October
- King’s House (Chelsea) - MasterChef winner Dhruv Baker serves up British/Basque food on the King's Road.
- Dorian (Notting Hill) - Notting Hill's dining scene gets another boost with an ex-Kitchen Table chef in charge.
- Libertine (City of London) - the vaults of the Royal Exchange are being unveiled.
- Sparrow Italia (Mayfair) - West Coast hit heads to London with a Mediterranean menu.
- Fairgame (Canary Wharf) - a playground for grown-ups in the City.
All London's newly opening (and upcoming) restaurants...
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