London is arguably (definitely) the best restaurant city in the world right now, but in between getting locked down and being released, 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: 14th September 2021
1. The Seafood Bar
Dutch restaurant group The Seafood Bar has landed in Soho, taking over a Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse on Dean Street for their first site outside of the Netherlands. It’s a 190-cover two-floor space that includes open kitchen, seafood bar and a basement bar. Run by the de Visscher family, The Seafood Bar is big on sustainability; they only work with ethical suppliers like Nordic Blu who source the world’s most sustainably farmed salmon, they run a zero-waste policy and use wind energy to power their restaurants. And in terms of the menu, freshness and simplicity is key – the generous fruits de mer platter (featuring lobster, North Sea crab, razor clams, langoustines, shrimp and more), sustainably-bred oysters, and a crustacean & fish mixed grill cooked on a plancha all feature the highest quality seafood prepared to perfection. If you wanna sea-food and eat it, whack a bib on, get the lobster crackers ready and dive into The Seafood Bar.
Opened September 2021
77 Dean Street, London, W1D 3SH
theseafoodbar.com
2. Bibi
After being delayed over a year by the pandemic, JKS Restaurants have finally opened their new Indian restaurant Bibi in Mayfair on the site where French spot Truc Vert used to be. Chef Chet Sharma (who’s worked as a development chef for the likes of Mugaritz in San Sebastian and Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume as well as for JKS) heads up Bibi, which serves up modern Indian food, made with high-quality produce, in a relaxed and playful way. The restaurant takes inspo from street carts and roadside shacks across the country as well as the food cooked by Chet’s grandmothers, and there’s be a focus on grilling over wood and charcoal. That means dishes like Chettinad-spiced chicken liver parfait & coconut blackberry chutney; raw beef pepper fry; Orkney scallop nimbu pani; skewered dishes like Sharmaji’s Lahori chicken and malai lobster; sides like roomali roti and yakhni pulao; and preserved mango kulfi with chilli & cashews.
Opened September 2021
42 N Audley St, London W1K 6ZR
bibirestaurants.com
3. Cave Cuvee
Kings of the lockdown pivot (they went from turning their restaurant into a store to running bike deliveries to doing park drops in a matter of weeks) the Shop Cuvée team are at it again as they’ve launched a brand new shop and wine bar. Shop Cuvée Bethnal Green is stocked with all the natty wines they’ve become known for (including THAT Chin Chin) as well as limited edition collab bottles, deli goods, and merch. The new space is also home to underground wine bar Cave Cuvée, where you can drink bottles straight from the shelves upstairs as well as cocktails from Three Sheets. There is also a small kitchen in there where chef friends of founders Brodie Meah and Max Venning are cooking up small plates. We highly recommend the green beans braised in tomato, garlic and chilli. Other highlights from the menu are the sardines, served in the tin with a side of green sauce, and the Rillette De Canard that comes served with pickles, bread and a nice helping of butter.
Opened September 2021
250 Bethnal Green Rd, London, E2 0AA
shopcuvee.com
4. Supa Ya Ramen
After lockdown ruined his place on Hackney Road, Luke Findlay has finally taking his cult ramen supper club Supa Ya Ramen permanent with a 20-cover spot on Kingsland Road. The menu features four bowls of ramen, including his chicken soup, Iberico pork fat, salt beef & pickles ramen and the confit tomato broth with sesame miso, fried cabbage & parmesan ramen, alongside a rotating special. There are also be a selection of small plates, like roast chicken skin with fermented chilli & onion mayo and cold fennel & hot pepper sausage with pickled mayo, plus a pudding of noodle ice cream with miso caramel.
Opened September 2021
499 Kingsland Road, London, E8 4AU
@supa_ya_ramen
5. Kudu Grill
The Kudu empire has expanded with founders Amy Corbin and Patrick Williams opening a fourth site in Peckham. Kudu Grill has taken over an old Truman’s pub on Nunhead Lane and is all about the braai (that’s a South African grill) with chef-patron Patrick blending South African influences with seasonal British ingredients over fire. The menu includes dishes like grilled potato flatbread with lardo & wild garlic, grilled prawns with peri peri butter, duck terrine with biltong scratchings, whole black bream with zhug butter roti, cauliflower with caper raisin & goat’s curd, dry-aged T-bone with beer pickled onions & onion treacle bordelaise, and MelkTert choux bun with candied kumquats & milk ice cream.
Opened September 2021
57 Nunhead Ln, London SE15 3TR
kuducollective.com
6. Cafe Cecilia
We love a good canalside spot and this one is a winner. Cafe Cecilia, the debut solo restaurant from chef Max Rocha (yes that Rocha – fashion designers John and Simone are his dad and sister), has opened in a new-build development on the canal close to Broadway Market. Rocha has worked at the likes of The River Cafe, Spring and St John Bread and Wine, and the menu for his own place keeps that simple style; think dishes like pork & apricot terrine, rabbit pasta, grilled plaice & tomato salad, onglet with chips & peppercorn sauce, and raspberry & almond tart.
Opened August 2021
32 Andrews Rd, London E8 4RL
@cafececilialondon
7. Wadadli
After successful pop-ups in Clapton last year, Andi Oliver has taken her Wadadli concept to Hackney Wick. The multi-functional space, including a large terrace, features the 50-cover Wadadli Kitchen where it’s all about communal dining – there are Seafood Boils, with shrimps, mussels, crabs, corn, smoked sausage, plaintain & sweet potato served on buss up shot (that’s a Caribbean flaky flatbread) and Ital Oil Downs, with breadfruit, squash, corn, plaintain, sweet potato, gungo peas, BBQ mushrooms & carrots on buss up shot, served in the centre of the tables alongside twists on classic cocktails. Downstairs is Wadadli Roadside, a walk-in and takeaway diner and bar serving up chocolate curry goat and mushroom curry loaded fries, spiced spit roast chicken and spit roast roots.
Opened August 2021
Unit 1 Hamlet Industrial Estate, 96 White Post Lane, London, E9 5EN
wadadlikitchen.com
8. BIBO
Three-Michelin-starred Spanish chef Dani Garcia has taken charge of the restaurant at the Mondrian Shoreditch. He’s opened a branch of BIBO, his brasserie-meets-tapas bar concept, which already has outposts in Marbella, Madrid, Tarifa, Doha and Malaga, inside the completely revamped hotel. The menu features BIBO faves like oxtail brioche, jamon croquetas with tomato powder and Russian salad with quail’s eggs & tuna belly, and there’s be a Spanish slant to the cocktail list with their versions of red and white sangria, rebujito (sherry & lemon-lime soda) and agua de Sevilla (pineapple juice, cava and whiskey) alongside various vermouth-based bevvies. OLÉ.
Opened August 2021
Mondrian Shoreditch, 45 Curtain Road, London, EC2A 3PT
sbe.com
