New opening

• Moro chefs to open second Morito on Hackney Road

  

  13/4/16 - updated with opening date and dishes from the menu

  The pair behind one of London's best loved restaurants, Moro, are expanding eastwards. Sam and Sam Clark are going to be opening their third restaurant, another Morito, on Hackney Road in May. Here's what we know so far:

  • The new kitchen will be headed up by Samantha Clark and Marianna Love who is currently Head Chef at Moro
  • They'll be open all day serving made-to-order
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• Test Driving Padella - speedy pasta in Borough Market

  The boys from Islington's Trullo bring fast-paced pasta south of the river 

• Farmer J brings healthy fast food to Leadenhall

  

  Updated 8/4/16 with opening date and soft launch offer

  The current spate of interesting City openings shows no signs of stopping. Next up is Farmer J - an all day spot coming to Leadenhall this summer. Their motto? "We give a fork."

  They're promising "wholesome, balanced, but above all tasty, fast food". For breakfast that translates into protein smoothies, pots of paleo granola or bowls of baked shakshuka, along with cold-pressed juices and raw

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• A Wanted Man combines cafe with brow and waxing salon in Chelsea

  

  This sounds to us like a first for London - an espresso canteen with brow bar and waxing salon attached.

  A Wanted Man opened quietly in Chelsea a few weeks ago, and while the idea of a cafe come hair removal space might not be everyone's cup of java, the details warrant some foodie interest.

  First off, the brows and other bits will be seen to upstairs at The Beauty Block Chelsea. It's downstairs you'll want to focus on. There a team of two Michel

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• Burger Shack & Bar to open in Wimbledon

  

  Looks like there's more burgers on the horizon for Wimbledon. Young's Pubs have just announced that they're opening Burger Shack & Bar on Church Road this month. They've taken over the Fire Stables.

  The menu is based on the other Burger Shacks they have at some of their pubs, like The Ship in Wandsworth and what they have coming out of their roaming Airstream trailer. This will be their first standalone shack though.

  Right now they

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• Som Saa lands in Spitalfields for their first permanent restaurant

  

  Updated 8/4/16 with opening date and 50% off food soft launch offer

  The transition of Som Saa from popup to permanent restaurant was on ours (and most other people's) lists of restaurants to watch out for in 2016. And now we've got the full details to share with you.

  The team,

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• Below The Smoke bar opens under Rok in Shoreditch

  

  It's been quite a while in the planning but the downstairs bar at Rok in Shoreditch is now officially ready to go. The a new 24 seat bar space will open this month and here's what you need to know:

  They have an ace mixologist on the job - the seasonal cocktail menu is designed by Matt Whiley.

  The food may have a touch of Ikea about it but it also sounds like perfect bar snacks - such as duck pate with fermented

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• Chriskitch expands from Muswell Hill to Hoxton Market

  

  It's been three years since we first wrote about Christian Honor - a chef who left his job running a brigade of 200 chefs at The Dorchester to open a weeny cafe in Muswell Hill called Chriskitch, serving up some of the most astonishing salads and cakes.

  Now he's ready to expand and is opening a new restaurant in Hoxton. The all-day restaurant, opening in late

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• Farmacy brings all manner of plant based food and drinks to Westbourne Grove

  

  We'd heard a lot about the new "roots to stem" trend at the beginning of the year and here comes the first restaurant to pick up the idea and run with it. An all-day restaurant with healthy food as its main drive, Farmacy is planned as the first of many with more "grab and go" outlets coming later. 

  As for that

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• Test Driving Anglo - a new bistronomy spot for Farringdon

  Laid back fine dining leads to super-inventive dishes in this new restaurant

• Test Driving Santo Remedio - London gets a long awaited authentic Mexican restaurant

  We take a visit to Santo Remedio, a new Mexican restaurant in Shoreditch finally bringing some authentic Mexican cuisine to London.

• Santa Maria pizza to open a new restaurant in Chelsea

  

  Updated 4/4/16 with soft launch details

  One of London's most highly rated pizzerias has just announced its plans to open a new restaurant. Santa Maria has been wowing pizza lovers in Ealing since they first opened four years ago. "Genuinely excellent pizza," said critic Andy Hayler of his meal there.

  Owners are Pasquale Chionchio and Angelo Ambrosio also opened Sacre Cuore over in Kensal Rise in 2012, but their new restaurant in Chelsea will be

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• Enoteca Da Luca modern Italian opens in The Bower development on Old Street

  

  Old Street continues to attract new and interesting restaurants this year. Following on from Hill & Szrok and news of Sardine opening in May, comes Enoteca Da Luca. This is the latest launch from the Enoteca restaurant group which

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• Distance will be London's first globavore restaurant

  

  Updated 12pm 

  A surprising number of you didn't actually twig that this was our April Fool this year. We've had people contacting us about PR, wondering about soft launch dates - you name it. So if anyone's looking for a new business idea, this one's free!

  Here at Hot Dinners we've pretty much lost count of the press releases we've had in where a restaurant's menu promises to

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• Soho House opening Cafe Monico on Shaftesbury Avenue

  

  Making a change from their ongoing expansion of Chicken Shop and Dirty Burger, Soho House have a brand new restaurant coming to town. 

  Cafe Monico sees them reviving the name of a vintage restaurant that was originally set up in the area back in 1877 and which originally overlooked Piccadilly Circus. The new location (which may be where the original moved to - we couldn't dig that up) is a little further away on Shaftesbury Avenue. It's a street not currently

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