You may have been busy this summer visiting old London restaurant haunts, making up for lost dining time during lockdown. While it’s been a mixed bag of emotions seeing who’s still standing and who is still sadly boarded up, the inspirational openings keep coming. We’re happy to see that lovers of Italian food can still get their fix at Marylebone’s La Brasseria Milanese, which first opened back in May 2018. Now the owners,

15/09/21 - updated with launch details and the menu

Since leaving the Polpo group, Russell Norman has been busy writing cookbooks, but we've all been wondering when he would make his return to restaurants. Well now we know - he's opening Trattoria Brutto. That comes from the phrase "brutto ma buono" meaning Ugly but good.

It's

There was much consternation earlier this year when the news broke that Soho legendary Italian Vasco and Piero's Pavilion was to shut because of rent issues. But we then learned pretty quickly from an Instagram post that it wasn't a complete goodbye as they were already on the hunt for a new

Gino d'Acampo's new London restaurant Luciano may have been eviscerated in a review by the Evening Standard, but a new video on TikTok could change the restaurant's fortunes.

Kiwi songwriter Natalie Te Paa, who is

A Hot Dinners exclusive

Leytonstoners stuck in London for the summer are being offered a hit of the Italian coast on their high street instead. Local entrepreneur Gianluca Colini, who opened hit coffee shop Unity Café, is the man behind new restaurant Bocca Bocca.

Gianluca's put together a tight and impressive team for this new opening. Jemma Londt-James, former manager of JOY at Portobello, will be in

They may have only recently opened Ave Mario in Covent Garden and before that Circolo Popolare in Fitzrovia - but before now Big Mamma hadn't occupied the space in between, Soho. But now they're planning a month-long pop-ip of Napoli Gang. 

Napoli Gang is their (until now) delivery-only offshoot. This August it will be popping up in the Soho Fiorucci flagship store on Brewer Street. There you'll be able to pick

TV chef Gino D'Acampo has joined forces with his son Luciano, to open this luxe Italian restaurant at the ME London hotel in Aldwych.

Big Mamma have already had huge hits with Gloria and Circolo Popolare. We take a look at Ave Mario in Covent Garden to see how their third London restaurant measures up.

The folk responsible for huge London hits Gloria and Circolo Popolare are behind this new Florence-inspired restaurant and bar in the heart of Covent Garden.

Bardo will be a luxury Italian restaurant in the heart of St James from club owner Luca Maggiora

Bocca di Lupo is still going strong on the home delivery front. We gave their summer BBQ offerings a go. 

Taking the space on Berkeley street once held by Nobu, Il Borro Tuscan Bistro is a high-end Italian restaurant with strong links to a Tuscan estate and farm. And they even have their own wines.

The huge Eataly London has arrived, becoming an instant hit. We popped down to Liverpool Street to try one of their main restaurants, Cucina Del Mercato.

He's had big success in London at Darby's as Head Chef (and at Sorella and The Dairy before that) but now Dean Parker is heading out of London - very out of London, to Glasgow. He and his wife Anna, a Glasgow native, will be launching their first solo restaurant, Celentano’s, in August. 

It'll be in Glasgow's Cathedral House building and will carry on the couple's love of

9/6/21 - updated with a look at the inside

Over in Marylebone, it's all change for what used to be Bernardi's. Relaunching on the same site (but from the same team) is Italian Greyhound. 

Responsible for the new menu will be Head Chef Yohei Furuhashi, who was previously at the River Café, Dinings SW3 and Petersham Nurseries and he'll be pulling together a menu made