London is arguably (definitely) the best restaurant city in the world right now, but keeping up with the best new restaurants in London is a full time job. Which is why we’re here of course. Make sure you’re always in the know with our guide to the best new restaurants opening in London and you’ll be leading your mates and dates around the coolest new places around town in no time. Our guide is constantly updated with our curated selection of only the best new restaurant openings you need to know about, so you can always be sure that this little lot will be well worth checking out.
Updated: 23rd August 2022
1. The Tent (at the end of the universe)
John Javier, who made a name for himself with his take on Chinese food at MASTER in Sydney and Happy Paradise in Hong Kong, opened Middle Eastern restaurant The Tent (at the end of the universe) at members’ club 17 Little Portland Street earlier this year. Now the public is able to try his food as he’s opened the restaurant to non-members. The dining room takes inspo from a tent – hence the name – with dim light, canvas ceiling awnings, star-lit installations, and space for 34 covers. Music is a big thing here too, with a seated DJ spinning on a Martion Audiosysteme during each dinner service and live music, ranging from Brazilian jazz to experimental, on Wednesdays. In terms of the food, you can expect dishes like suckling lamb shish; dairy cow rib with ras el hanout; carabineros prawns with baharat spices; grilled onions with sumac & pomegranate molasses; hummus with chilli oil & burnt lime; tzatziki with wakame oil; beetroot & labneh borani; and taramasalata with onion ash. That’s accompanied by an eclectic drinks list that includes everything from European wines and Japanese whiskies to coconut bourbon cocktails and herbal infusions.
Opens August 2022
17 Little Portland St, London W1W 8BP
@thetentattheendoftheuniverse
2. Feels Like June
The West Coast has come to East London as Cali-inspired spot Feels Like June has opened in Canary Wharf. Taking up a spot in the Wood Wharf area of the neighbourhood, Feels Like June is bringing the sunshine all day long, starting with coffees and home-made nut milks, pistachio & almond danishes, pastrami & mustard buns, granola & coconut yoghurt bowls, acai bowls, banana buttermilk pancakes, avo on toast and breakfast burritos. From lunchtime it’s onto the all-day menu, which includes cacio e pepe tater tots with pecorino aioli, crudites with green goddess dressing, caeser schnitzel with anchovies & tossed salad, a double smash burger with fries, and shrimp tacos with salted crisps. There’s also a large terrace and cocktails like rhubarb cosmopolitans and PB&Bs (plus more on tap) on the drinks list for you to kick back and relax with.
Opened August 2022
15 Water Street, London, E14 9SB
@feels_like_june
3. Peggy Jean
They’ve already got the Darcie & May Green barges moored up on the canal in Paddington and now Aussie restaurant group Daisy Green has taken to the water once again with their latest opening Peggy Jean in Richmond. During the day Peggy Jean dishes up bottomless brunches, including the likes of the very fancy bacon roll, award-winning banana bread sandwich, and Golden Gaytime Buttermilk Pancakes. In the evenings, there’s BBQ meats from HG Walter, sustainably sourced seafood cooked over open fire, and Neapolitan-style pizzas (like Vegemite & cheese, hot sausage & jalapeno hot sauce, and ham, BBQ tomatoes, egg & pink pickled onion) coming from two bespoke Gozney ovens nicknames Peggy and Jean, alongside New World wines and local craft beers. AHOY!
Opened July 2022
Richmond Riverside, London, TW9 1TH
daisygreenfood.com
4. Roji
Husband-and-wife chef team Tamas Naszai and Tomoko Hasegawa, who’ve worked at Tokimeite and Sake No Hana between them, have opened ten-seat Japanese restaurant Roji in partnership with the group behind Chisou and Sushi Atelier. Roji, which can translate to ‘journey’, ‘path’ or ‘hidden alley’, is tucked away on South Molton Street in Mayfair and serves up a seasonal menu of sushi, pickled and preserved dishes, and charcoal-grilled dishes, with a focus on British produce like Cornish seafood and veggies from Nama Yasai farm in East Sussex. The pair are also showcasing crockery made by small family producers in both the UK and Japan.
Opened July 2022
56b South Molton Street, London W1K 5SH
ro-ji.co.uk
5. Taca Tacos
After dishing up tacos at Brockley Market for the past three years and popping up across London (including a debut pop-up at The Greenhouse Cafe in Deptford in 2019) Taca Tacos has returned to SE8 with a permanent spot in Deptford Market Yard. Founded in 2019 by Thorne Addyman, who wanted to replicate the soft shell tacos he ate on trips to California, Taca Tacos specialises in beef birria – six-hour braised brisket cooked in a rich spiced bone broth, which the tortillas get dipped in before being griddled with the chopped beef and Monterey Jack cheese, topped with pink onions and salsa, and served with more broth for dunking. There’s also Baja fish and pimientos tacos on the menu alongside a pulled shroom quesataco, nachos, quesadillas, and Cali-style burritos, plus brunch tacos and burritos (with eggs and hash browns) available at the weekends.
Opened July 2022
Arch 12, Deptford Market Yard, London, SE8 4BX
tacatacos.co.uk
6. Miznon
Founded by Eyal Shani in Tel Aviv in 2011, pita restaurant Miznon has gone worldwide with locations in Melbourne, Singapore, New York City, Paris and Vienna. Now London has been added to the list, with a Miznon now open in Soho. Pitas filled with fresh seasonal ingredients are the name of the game at Miznon, with signatures including the Ratatouille (with tomato perfumed eggplant, tahini, spicy & hardboiled egg) and the Falafel Burger (with tomato, pickles, sour cream & green chilli peppers). The likes of the original whole cauliflower, lamb kebab and minute steak plate with tahini & salsa are also on the menu and each location also offers a slightly different selection as part of the Miznon vision “to take the flavor of each city and translate it into pita”.
Opened July 2022
8-12 Broadwick St, London W1F 8HN
@miznonlondon
7. Tatale
It’s been a long time coming but British-Ghanaian restaurateur Akwasi Brenya-Mensa has finally opened his debut restaurant Tatale. Inspired by the chop bars that are popular in West Africa and named after the plantain pancake tatale, Tatale is open inside The Africa Centre, which has recently relocated to Southwark, and is a place where Akwasi can tell stories through food, art, and culture. And you can expect the likes of Omo Tuo Nkatekwan Sesame (mashed rice with groundnut soup); Chichinga Buttermilk Fried Chicken Wings with Dill Emulsion; Ackee Croquettes with Curry Emulsion; Berbere King Oyster Mushroom with Jollof Couscous, Plantain, Red Stew and Palm Wine Pickled Shallot; and Red Snapper Moqueca on the menu.
Opened July 2022
66 Great Suffolk Street, London, SE1 0BL
tataleandco.com
8. Bubala Soho
Onn the site where Vasco & Piero used to be, the new 50-cover Bubala follows the same formula of serving up excellent veggie Middle Eastern food, and this one also has an eight-seater counter bar so you can watch all the action from the open kitchen. In said kitchen Executive Chef Helen Graham is cooking old faves like that halloumi with black seed honey and confit potato latkes with toum & Aleppo chilli, alongside new creations that make use of the restaurant’s yakitori grill, including leeks & amba skewers, Chinese cabbage with preserved lime & maple skewers, and cauliflower with bkeila, velvet tomato & yoghurt. Those of you with a sweet tooth are looked after too with the likes of baklava semifreddo and malabi with sour cherry and peanut & black sesame brittle on the pud menu. Alongside all that food there’s wine on tap, natty wine in bottles, beers from across the UK, and gazoz sodas (homemade seltzer mixed with fruits, flowers, herbs & syrups).
Opened July 2022
15 Poland Street, London, W1F 8PR
bubala.co.uk
9. Maria G’s
He already runs Italian joint Sorella in Clapham but Robin Gill has just opened another one, this time in Kensington. Maria G’s is inspired by Robin’s time working in the south of Italy and the fishing village of Marina Del Cantone. Like his other restaurants Darby’s and Bermondsey Larder, Maria G’s focuses on sustainability and make use of the best seasonal British ingredients across a menu that’ll evolve from southern Italian dishes in the summer to northern specialities in the winter. The opening menu is full of fresh, light flavours for the summer, dishes like Ivy House ricotta agnolotti with wild rocket & baby purple artichoke; Penzance red mullet with Amalfi lemon and wild fennel; fresh borlotti bean stew with summer vegetables; and pistachio cannoli for dessert. Drinks-wise, there’s classic Italian cocktails (highlights including the Amalfi spritz and grapefruit negroni) and a selection of Italian wines to choose from.
Opened June 2022
Coe House, 1-4 Warwick Lane, London W14 8FN
mariags.co.uk
10. Pascor
Tomer Amedi, former Head Chef and Co-Founder at The Palomar, has gone out on his own with brand new Levantine restaurant Pascor. Open in Kensington, the restaurant celebrates open fire cooking, seasonal British produce and Levantine flavours with a modern spin. The menu, split into sea, land and garden sections, includes the likes of samneh butter scallops with charred leek cream & merguez gremolata, kombu-wrapped halibut with pickled kohlrabi, Egyptian duck breast salad with pickled carrot & dukkah, charcoaled wagyu skirt with bone marrow and coriander & watercress chimichurri, burrata with dried apricot tapenade & pistachio, and burnt aubergine with black tahini & pickled tomatoes, which you can have alongside wines from Lebanon and Israel.
Opened June 2022
221 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6SG
pascor.co.uk
11. Ochre
The Muriel’s Kitchen team, Charlotte and Sam Miller, have gone to the National Gallery, taken over the National Cafe space and turned it into Ochre. The restaurant, headed up by Exec Chef Alex Drayton, showcases the best British produce, with fruit & veg coming from EA Williams at New Covent Garden Market, free-range meat from The Butchers Block, and natty wines from Tillingham Winery. The menu includes dishes like Scottish scallops with baby turnip & chorizo; sweet potato & English pea samosa with mango & heritage cherry tomato, pan fried monkfish with charred hispi cabbage & romesco sauce; and lamb rack with grilled baby gem & herb bread crumb, and there are cheese trollies wheeling around too, stacked with the best British cheeses. There’s even a cocktail bar and a DJ booth inside the space – defo more than somewhere you stop for a sarnie after checking out the paintings.
Opened June 2022
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
ochre.london
12. Honey & Co
We were sad to hear that after a decade on Warren Street, Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer would be closing Honey & Co but thankfully the sadness didn’t last for long because Honey & Co Bloomsbury is now open. Keeling Andrew & Co (from the team behind Noble Rot) is doing the wine and classic dishes like falafel, slow-cooked lamb, BBQ tahini aubergine, and feta & honey cheesecake have all made the move over to the new neighbourhood. There’s also a breakfast offering in the Bloomsbury spot, with a menu that features the likes of shakshuka with milk bun, boureka (a burnt potato and feta pastry parcel) and a sharing mezze including ashura cereal, hummus, labaneh & za’atar and homemade jams. The daily cake counter also takes inspo from the new neighbourhood with the Bloomsbury Bun (think almond and orange blossom flavours) up for grabs alongside other sweet treats.
Opened June 2022
54 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London, WC1N 3LW
honeyandco.co.uk