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: 19th September 2023
1. Chishuru
Adejoké Bakare was a talented home cook who opened her own place after she won the amateur category of 2019’s Brixton Kitchen competition and landed a spot on Market Row. She turned that spot into the critically-acclaimed West African restaurant Chishuru, which despite launching in the first year of the pandemic, quickly won plaudits from diners and critics alike. It became so popular that the tiny restaurant – just 20 covers inside with 14 more outside – was constantly booked out, so she started looking for a new home at the end of last year. Now she’s moved Chishuru to a bigger spot just off Oxford Street, where you can get sinasir rice cake with white & brown crab and squash puree; cod fillet with mbongo tchobi and wilted greens; and moringa soup with black sesame caramel and baobab meringue. That’s complemented with a French wine list and cocktails featuring West African herbs and spices, including a house-pickled okra martini and eau de vie with alligator pepper.
Opened September 2023
3 Great Titchfield St, London W1W 8AX
chishuru.com
2. Ria’s
If you’ve been hanging out in W11 lately, you may have spotted a minimal new shop front on All Saint’s Road. This is the site of brand-new concept Ria’s, a local coffee shop by day and a Detroit-style pizza and natural wine bar by night. This is more evidence that deep-dish pizza is having a moment in London, following the success of Detroit Pizza and Four Corners at La Cave. Ria’s pizzas feature a 72-hour fermented dough base with toppings including pepperoni & soppressata, salsa macha king prawns, whipped ricotta & tomato, and garlic wild mushrooms, with green beans & ajo blanco, haggis pops, green herb salads and affogato on the menu.
Opened September 2023
29 All Saints Road, London W11 1HE
@rias_london
3. Honey & Co. Daily
Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich have added to their restaurant collection with Honey & Co Daily, a deli, bakery and cafe in Bloomsbury, almost bang in the middle of their other spots Honey & Co, Honey & Smoke and Honey & Spice. Baking is at the heart of the Honey & Co Daily operation, in tribute to Sarit, with Itamar saying “Our whole operation is powered by my wife Sarit, not least our pastry section – a fairy of sugar, fruit and flour, she conjures up incredible baked goods seemingly without moving, certainly without measuring too much, performing something not far from pure magic. This place is truly the space she deserves, a brand new kitchen dedicated to her art”. The opening menu includes a range of Middle Eastern pastries, cakes, lachma, breads and sandwiches alongside salads, shakshukas and dips.
Opened September 2023
19-21 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7DB
honeyandco.co.uk
4. Forza Wine
Peckham-based rooftop wine bar Forza Wine has expanded to SE1, becoming the latest addition to the National Theatre’s growing selection of food and drink destinations. Open on the theatre’s northwest terrace, it’s got a food offering centred around a selection of ‘sort of Italian’ snacks, including the likes of cauliflower fritti with aioli; mozzarella with figs & hazelnuts; pancetta potato cakes & pickled cabbage; and their signature soft serve. As for drinks, there are seasonal cocktails such as ‘cherry negronis’, ‘limonata biancas’ and ‘frozen peach margaritas’ and a range of natural wines. If you’re already a fan of Forza Wine but fancy a closer look at the Thames with your Italian cuvée, this is great news.
Opened September 2023
Upper Ground, National Theatre, London SE1 9PX
@forzawine
5. Llama Inn
Cult Brooklyn fave Llama Inn has landed at The Hoxton in Shoreditch. Headed up by restaurateur Juan Correa and chef Erik Ramirez, the contemporary Peruvian restaurant has the same ethos of the Williamsburg original with a menu shaped by Erik’s Peruvian-American upbringing. That includes dishes like pork shoulder bun with sweet potato, salsa criolla and spicy mayo; crispy squid and yuca with rocoto, chocolo, and cancha; arroz con mariscos, with tortillas, huacaina, and chalaca; quinoa, bacon, avocado and cashew; and lucuma tart with miso manjar blanco and matcha. On the London cocktail list, there are some familiar favourites from Llama Inn’s NYC site, including the ‘Chupetini (one shot martini)’, made with Japanese gin, dry vermouth, umami bomb & blue cheese olives, and the ‘Llama Del Rey’, made from pisco quebranta, dark rum, red wine, chicha morada, and pineapple. And as the restaurant is right at the top of The Hoxton, you’ll get all of that with fantastic views of the city skyline.
Opened September 2023
1 Willow St, London EC2A 4BH
@llamainnldn
6. Claridge’s Restaurant
After ‘gently’ opening, running with limited hours and availability, in the summer, Claridge’s Restaurant (taking over what was Daniel Humm’s Davies and Brook) has now properly launched, with chef Coalin Finn (previously of Inverlochy Castle, Davies and Brook and Sketch) heading up the kitchen. The menu features classically inspired, but still contemporary, British dishes such as buckwheat crumpets with soubise cream, truffle puree and slices of truffle; Dorset snails with parsley and parmesan croute; whole wild turbot grenobloise to share; grilled native lobster with crushed Jersey royals and sauce Américaine; and chocolate souffle tart with cocoa nib ice cream. The hotel’s 1920s-era design has been honoured with new elements: mosaic flooring, central leather banquettes and dramatic pendant lamps have been designed in the style of art deco architect Joseph Hoffman, and the restaurant’s artwork has been chosen from Claridge’s private collection – including pieces from Sean Scully, Guggi and Richard Gorman.
Opened September 2023
Claridge’s, Brook Street, London W1K 4HR
claridges.co.uk
7. Taca Tacos Peckham
After running a series of market stalls and pop-ups, Thorne Addyman took Taca Tacos permanent with a spot in Deptford Market Yard last year, and now he’s onto location number two. He’s kept it south, taking over a site on Rye Lane that has 32 covers and a full bar inside and space for 30 more out in the backyard beer garden. Beef birria is Taca’s signature dish – its version features a corn tortilla dipped in beef fat, fried with Monterey Jack cheese, stuffed with six-hour braised brisket, pink onions, coriander and salsa verde, with the spiced bone broth used to braise the beef served on the side for dunking. This is on the Peckham menu as a soft shell taco, a Quesataco (with grilled cheese) and as a four-taco combo with a pot of broth, alongside other dishes like Baja fish taco with jalapeño crema, pico de gallo & lime slaw; green chile pork taco with braised pork collar, avocado, pink onions, jalapeno salsa verde & coriande; Shroom Quesataco with pulled chipotle king oyster mushrooms, pink onions, de arbol salsa, coriander & grilled cheese; and spiced corn ribs with jalapeno crema & lime.
Opened August 2023
200 Rye Ln, London SE15 4RX
tacatacos.co.uk
8. 64 Goodge Street
64 Goodge Street is the latest restaurant from Woodhead Group – who are behind Quality Chop House, Quality Wines, Portland and Clipstone – and is headed up by chef Stuart Andrew who’s overseeing a menu inspired by his time working in Paris. Expect, as Andrew puts it, “French cooking from an outsider’s perspective”. The unpretentious bistro is serving up the likes of lobster vol-au-vent with sauce Americaine; snail, bacon and garlic ‘bon bons’; morteau sausage, walnut and morbier tourte; peach and Beaujolais jelly; and fig leaf bavarois. While the wine list includes bottles of various origins, Burgundy is the focus and the 64 Goodge Street team has got some more affordable wines from the notoriously pricey region.
Opened August 2023
64 Goodge St, London W1T 4NF
64goodgestreet.co.uk
9. Dovetale
Two Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers has opened Dovetale inside the new 1 Hotel Mayfair that overlooks Green Park. The menu focuses on the best seasonal produce, with an a la carte offering of dishes from the grill, as well as the raw bar, and diners are able to finish their meals with knickerbocker glories, served tableside from a trolley (the 70s are back, again). Other highlights include same-day made English burrata with Amardo Manni ‘oil of life’ olive oil; day boat caught sole Veronique; English olive-fed Wagyu carpaccio; and Grand Marnier soufflé with tonka bean crème anglaise. As for drinks, there’s a consciously sourced wine list centred around a ‘back to basics’ approach and inspired by the simplicity of nature. Given the success of the hotel group’s current restaurants across North America and Asia, and Sellers’ creds, Dovetale sounds very likely to be a hit.
Opened July 2023
1 Dover Yard at 1 Hotel Mayfair, London, W1J 8DJ
1hotels.com
10. Mountain
Tomos Parry has been successfully marrying up the food of Spain and Wales for five years with Brat, at both the main restaurant in Shoreditch and the site at Climpson’s Arch in London Fields. And he’s continuing that idea with his new spot Mountain on Beak Street. Though the ethos will be similar, mixing his Welsh heritage and fave Spanish influences; produce coming from trusted suppliers in Wales and Cornwall; Head of Wine Martina Larnach and Holly Willcocks doing the wine list; and cooking over a wood grill, the Soho restaurant isn’t a carbon copy of Brat, so don’t go expecting those famous whole turbots. Instead, the Mountain menu includes Mallorcan sobrasada, whole pink bream, wood-grilled lamb chops, Anglesey lobster caldereta (a Menorcan speciality) wood-fired rice, smoked potatoes, ensaimadas, and almond tart.
Opened July 2023
16-18 Beak St, London W1F 9RD
mountainbeakstreet.com