Test Drive

• Test Driving Cadet - an instant wine and charcuterie hit on Newington Green

  

  Bring two wine importers, a charcuterie genius and a chef trained up at London's hottest restaurants together and you have the team behind this hit wine bar on Newington Green.

• Test Driving Bottle + Rye - a Parisian-style wine bar in the heart of Brixton

  

  Robin and Sarah Gill, who are the people behind Darby's The Dairy and more, have transformed a corner of Brixton into a small Parisian-style wine bar. We went down for a look. 

• Test Driving Roji - an omakase hideaway in Mayfair

  

  Top Japanese restaurant Chisou has opened a tiny (but beautiful) omakase restaurant called Roji next door. We went down to try out the experience.  

• Test Driving Caia - an absolute gem of a neighbourhood wine spot on Golborne Road

  

  Notting Hill has a bouji new wine bar with some serious open-fire cooking going on. We headed west to try it out. 

• Test Driving Miznon - the mad pita place that's landed in Soho

  

  Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani already has branches of Miznon in Tel Aviv, Paris and NYC. We popped along to see what his London outpost is like.

• Test Driving The Baring - Islington's pub dining renaissance continues

  

  Islington gets a new pub called The Baring with an ex-Dabbous and Kerridge's chef in charge of the kitchen. It all sounded very promising, so we went down for a look. 

• Test Driving the Moët & Chandon Champagne Bar at Harrods - fizz and fashion under the same roof

  

  The largest Moët & Chandon Champagne bar in Europe has just opened at Harrods. We pulled up a stool at the bar to check it out. 

• Test Driving Tatale - Akwasi Brenya-Mensa brings Africa to Southwark

  

  Chef Akwasi Brenya-Mensa's Tatale is one of the year's most highly-anticipated openings. We went down to Southwark's new African Centre to check it out.

• Test Driving Valderrama's - James Cochran's modern sports bar in Islington

  

  Chef James Cochran has opened a modern day sports bar down the road from his Islington restaurant. We popped in for a look.

• Test Driving the Angelo Musa patisserie at Harrods - more pastry delights for London

  

  Top pastry chef Angelo Musa has opened his first patisserie outside Paris. We took the lift up to the fourth floor of Harrods to check it out.

• Test Driving Bubala Soho - a second hit for the Middle Eastern vegetarian spot

   

  They quickly became big in Spitalfields and now Bubala have opened a second restaurant in Soho, with the same focus on Middle Eastern vegetarian cuisine. We went for a look. 

• Test Driving Maria G's - seasonal Italian excellence in Kensington

  

  Maria G's is the latest restaurant from Robin Gill which sees the chef creating an Italian restaurant in Kensington. We went in to check it out. 

• Test Driving Black Bear Burger - next level burgers on Exmouth Market

  

  It's hard to make a dent in London's saturated burger market, but the creativity and craft on show at Black Bear Burger manages to do just that.

• Terrace Tested: La Veranda by Patrón at Rosewood London

  

  The Rosewood London in Holborn has gone for a hit of Mexican heat for its terrace offering this summer.

• Test Driving The Tamil Prince - a South Indian pub in the heart of Islington

  

  The Tamil Prince brings South Indian cooking to a new pub in a leafy part of Islington. We popped over to check it out.