Covent Garden

Almost a year after she opened her first matcha cafe Frothee, in King's Cross, Hanife Hursit and her dad Ram are gearing up for expansion. Hanife's TikTok chronicling of the opening of their first business turned Frothee into a viral hit. There were queues around the block when it first opened, and there were high profile collaborations with Palestinian-Jordanian singer Zeyne to keep it in the spotlight.

With all that in mind, it's probably no surprise that the father/daughter duo are readying to open their second cafe. This time they're moving into central London, to Covent

The chef behind Trullo has opened his own solo Italian restaurant in the heart of Covent Garden. We went down to the surprisingly peaceful courtyard to see what Conor Gadd is cooking up at Burro. 

Newly opened in Covent Garden, Cato is a cocktail bar of two halves, with a seasoned bartender behind the drinks. We went in for an early look.  

11/2/26 - updated with the soft launch details

Ever since we heard that Petersham Nurseries had shut both their restaurants in central London, we've been wondering what was going to take over those spaces in Floral Court. Well, now we have the answer to one half of that. Conor Gadd is the chef and co-owner of the perennially popular Trullo in Islington. And he's taken on the space that was The Petersham to open Burro, his first solo venture.

Burro is also going to be an Italian restaurant, but one where the design speaks to Conor's Irish roots. The look we're told

St Martin's Lane Hotel seems to have been working on something to replace Asia de Cuba properly since it closed all the way back in 2019. Now it looks like the team there is fully embracing the residency route, with Spotlight.

The new space is being put together by a creative studio called Whipped Cream, which immediately raises the question as to whether this will always be a food and drink space. Whipped Cream are apparently best known for "brand experiences" for people like Blank Street (a "crochet club" pop-up), ITV and Spotify (some of their previous collabs are pictured

A few weeks ago, we told you about the closure of The Crusting Pipe, a mainstay of Covent Garden for over 45 years. It was sad to see it go but, in fairness, the last time we were in the area, it was almost empty. 

But now, we already know what's taking its place - it's the latest opening from Mr Fogg's. They're a group that have taken over quite a few difficult sites and made a success of them, so perhaps they're the ones who can bring some life back to this part of

There couldn't be a more perfect time of year to open a stall devoted to steaming bowls of wonton soup than January. So hats off to the folks at HOKO who are doing just that. They're one of three new traders launching at Seven Dials Market this month.

Five years after launching, this will be the team's first central London spot. And unlike the milk tea diner in East London this one's going to focus on Hong Kong wonton noodle soup. The launch menu will feature three soups and two tossed noodles with wontons, along with new dishes like a Cantonese braised beef brisket and tendon

Chef Jody Williams is taking another crack at London with New York-originated restaurant Buvette (which also has opened in Paris, Tokyo and Seoul). 

The self-style "gastrotheque" will be opening an 80-seater site, taking over what was the old St John Bakery in Neal's Yard (that recently moved across the way). If you've ever visited that space and are wondering just how they're going to fit 80 seats in there, a recent trip to Neal's Yard showed us that they'll also be taking over the

London's temple to Guinness has finally opened in Covent Garden. We went down to check it out, particularly to see what Pip Lacey's cooking up in the rooftop restaurant, Gilroy's Loft.

Covent Garden is getting a New York-inspired cocktail bar that sounds like it could be very useful for brightening up January.

Called Cato, the bar is inspired by Cato Alexander, a New York bartender from the 18th Century, about whom Wikipedia says: "cocktail historians consider him to be 'America's first celebrity bartender.'" We didn't know there was such a thing as cocktail historians, but there you go. It comes from hospitality group Bart & Taylor, along with bartender Angelos Bafas (aka