After a quiet couple of months, the London restaurant scene is really heating up again in September with some big new restaurant openings. Here's what you've got to look forward to.
Alex Dilling at The Hotel Cafe Royal
Mayfair - 68 Regent St, Soho, London W1B 4DY
The Hotel Cafe Royal has had a few stabs at creating a destination restaurant, but the latest looks the most promising by far. Chef Alex Dilling comes from The Greenhouse and here he'll be serving dinner - billed as Contemporary French cuisine - to only 34 diners, so expect a different experience from what's come before.
Koyn
Mayfair - 38 Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, London W1K 4AG
Samyukta Nair has rather quickly become one of Mayfair's most predominant restaurateurs - with hits like Jamavar and Mimi Mei Fair behind her and a collaboration with Claude Bosi to come. This latest Japanese restaurant is very much in two halves - both in design and food. Onefloor is "magma" with a dark design and focus on robata grilling. while the other is "Midori" - is designed to look much greener and will be where sushi will take centre stage.
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.
More about Restaurant St Barts
Speedboat Bar
Soho - 30 Rupert Street, London W1D 6DL
The standout hit of the new and improved Arcade Food Hall is definitely chef Luke Farrell's Plaza Khao Gaeng. As a follow-up to that, this is his first London standalone restaurant. Taking over the space that used to be Xu, it's a Thai restaurant which is being described as a love letter to Yaowarat Road, the neon-lit street of Bangkok’s Chinatown.
M Restaurant Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf - Bank St, London E14 4BJ
A long time in the making (it was originally announced in 2018) this Canary Wharf restaurant has quietly opened under the radar but will be having its full launch in September. Expect steaks (with a focus on wagyu), seafood and lots of grilled meats. Set in an undeniably impressive room, this ought to be a big hit with Canary Wharf folk.
More about M Restaurant Canary Wharf
Mayha
Marylebone - 43 Chiltern Street, Marylebone, London W1U 6LS
Japanese omakase restaurants are doing well right now in London. We've had a few big new openings in the past year and Mayha has already been a big deal in Beirut. Expect a curated meal changing with the seasons in the main room, but there's also a hidden courtyard where you'll be able to order food from the restaurant's raw bar.
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.
Milk Beach
Soho - Ilona Rose House, Manette Street, W1D 4AL
The Australian-influenced Milk Beach, currently based in Queen's Park, are doubling up with a Soho restaurant. Here, the food will be a mix of South-East Asian and Mediterranean cuisine but they'll also be adding some new BBQ dishes to the menu. Brunch will be a big thing, with dishes including Vietnamese curried crab and folded eggs.
Also opening in September
- Bantof (Soho) - This Soho restaurant features a menu from the current head chef of Pied a Terre
- Sons + Daughters (Borough) - The top sandwich slingers are opening a second site in Borough
- Temper (Shoreditch) - The newest Temper will be serving up steaks and BBQ to Shoreditch.
- Sam’s Larder (Chiswick) - The sibling restaurant to Sam's Riverside, this is part shop/part cafe
- Palm House (Victoria) - A Cuba and Miami-inspired restaurant taking the old Aster space in Victoria
- Good Things (Stoke Newington) - Good Egg branches out with a new bagel shop
- Market Place (Vauxhall) - A new food hall for Vauxhall
All London's newly opening (and upcoming) restaurants...
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