London is arguably (definitely) the best restaurant city in the world right now, but with so many new openings each week, keeping up to date 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 restaurant openings 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: 4th October 2019
1. Fafa’s
Finnish street food isn’t a subject we know a whole lot about but with the arrival of Fafa’s in London, we’re about to get well acquainted. The trader, which is big in Scandinavia, has brought its signature stuffed pitas to Covent Garden. The pitas come with tabbouleh, matbucha, fresh tomatoes, cucumber, chopped chilli and parsley, and you can add in things like falafel, halloumi, lamb patties, rosated veg and more. There’s also exclusive London-only pitas including grilled prawns with harissa and tzatziki, hot smoked salmon with aubergine, and slow-cooked short rib with beetroot tahini. Fafa’s is also serving up mezze boxes, salads and sides like halloumi fries, and you can even swing by for brekkie, with green herb omelette and avo and fried egg pitas on offer.
Opened September 2019
1 Monmouth Street, London WC2H 9DA
fafas.co.uk
2. Vardo
Caravan has gone west for the first time, opening brand new concept Vardo, named after the Romani wagon of the 1800s. Vardo has taken over a three-storey stone and glass pavilion in the square that boasts a fully retractable glass wall, meaning almost everyone can get an al fresco spot. Like Caravan, the menu at Vardo draws influences from across the globe with a focus on low and slow cooking techniques. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can expect dishes like slow braised carrots with brined mustard greens and aji blanco; charred aubergine with saffron buttermilk dressing and grilled Turkish chilli; baharat lamb cutlets with green harissa and tahini; and green baked eggs with lentil, pine nut and kale ragu.
Opened September 2019
9 Duke of York Square, London SW3 4LY
caravanrestaurants.co.uk
3. Arabica King’s Cross
Borough Market’s Levantine restaurant Arabica has got a sister site in King’s Cross. Arabica KX has almost an entirely new menu (although a handful of classics will make the move over) with inspiration coming from Lebanon, Istanbul and Tel Aviv. Dishes include Istanbul-style mussels with walnut tarator; beef cheek borekas; beef and bone marrow arayees (stuffed pitas with tahini and tomatoes); lamb kofta Kebab el Arabica; house salad made with seasonal raw veg, barley rusks and feta; Hummus KX with sweet peppers and chilli; and iceberg wedge salad with galotyri and buttermilk dressing. There’s also a specials board featuring large prime cuts of British Heritage beef and day-boat fish cooked over coals.
Opened September 2019
7 Lewis Cubitt Walk, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4DT
arabicabarandkitchen.com
4. Yard Sale Hackney Road
It’s been five years since Yard Sale Pizza flung open its doors in Clapton and now a fifth pizzeria has joined the fam. All the old faves, including the Holy Pepperoni, TSB and cheese & marmite garlic bread, are present and correct at the new shop, and the regular Love-In collab specials will also make an appearance. It’s also the first to open from midday meaning it’s available for lunch. And to make our lunchtimes even better, Yard Sale Pizza has a new, midweek, lunchtime-only calzone menu. You defo want a pizz’a that.
Opened September 2019
184 Hackney Road, London, E2 7QL
yardsalepizza.com
5. Sweet Chick
Celebrity backed restaurants have been flooding into London recently and now we have another one to add to the A-List. US rapper Nas who is a backer in chicken and waffle restaurant Sweet Chick, has brought the brand to London, opening up in the old Carluccio’s site on Market Place, just off Oxford Street. Sweet Chick, which already has sites in Brooklyn, Queens, and LA is known for its southern comfort food particularly the signature fried chicken and waffles. The London menu features all the fried chicken, shrimp & grits, biscuits & gravy and mac ‘n’ cheese with ritz cracker crust.
Opened September 2019
8 Market Place, London, W1W 8AG
sweetchick.com
6. Seabird at The Hoxton, Southwark
Hot on the heels of the hotel and ground floor restaurant, Albie’s, opening last week, the real jewel in the crown of The Hoxton, Southwark is officially open today. The 14th floor rooftop restaurant, Seabird, has an incredible outdoor terrace with epic London views plus a beautiful indoor dining room and bar, which is being headed up by none other than New York’s Maison Premiere. One of our favourite NYC spots (and on the World’s 50 Best Bars list), founders Joshua Boissy and Krystof Zizka have created London’s largest oyster menu alongside Maison Premiere-inspired towers of shellfish, a massive crudo selection, and much more. Cocktails are of course on point too, with both classics and brand new London creations from one of the best bar teams around. Add this one right at the top of your hit list. Bookings are now live via Sevenrooms.com
Opened September
32-40 Blackfriars Rd, South Bank, London SE1 8PB
thehoxton.com
7. Norma
This week also sees the launch of The Stafford hotel’s first independent restaurant, Norma, created by the hotel’s Culinary Director Ben Tish. Now open on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, Norma is inspired by Sicily, drawing influence from the island’s cafe culture, old-school Italian hospitality and Moorish flavours in the cuisine. Taking over a converted townhouse Norma is split across three floors; the ground and first floors will be home to the restaurant and cocktail bar with a private dining space up top. The crudo bar will be serving up seasonal raw seafood like Sicilian red prawns, West Mersea oysters and monkfish with crispy capers. The main menu will include antipasti, pasta and grilled fish and meat, with dishes like taglioni with sardines and fennel, Norma aubergine parmigiana, rose veal chop with charred hispi and marsala sauce, and slow-cooked cherry and almond milk panna cotta.
Opened September 2019
8 Charlotte Street, London, W1T 2LS
normalondon.com
8. Bubala
Bubala, led by Marc Summers (ex-General Manager of Berber & Q) and head chef Helen Graham (ex-The Palomar, The Barbary and The Good Egg), has been selling out pop-ups across London over the past year and now the Middle Eastern restaurant has found a permanent home in Spitalfields. Bubala is inspired by the modern cafes of Tel Aviv and it also happens to be fully vegetarian. And with dishes like fried aubergine with zhoug and date syrup; cabbage braised in pomegranate with zaatar chimichurri; and confit potato latkes with garlicky toum, you won’t be missing the meat at all.
Opened September
65 Commerical Street, London, E1 6BD
bubala.co.uk
