INSIDERS Restaurant
DORIAN
- Monday: 5:30 – 11:00 PM
- Tuesday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Friday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Sunday: 12:00 – 7:00 PM
Dorian is a lovely new bistro that recently opened in Notting Hill, headed by an A-Team that includes Chris D’Sylva of Notting Hill Fish + Meat Shop and Supermarket of Dreams, Head Chef Max Coen (ex-Kitchen Table and Ikoyi), Bar Manager Ale Villa (ex-Core by Clare Smyth), and Ben Whitfield (ex-Brasserie Zedel). When Dorian was announced, a lot of the headlines (including ours) called out the fact that the owners were describing it as an ‘anti-Notting Hill bistro’. We weren’t quite sure what they meant then and having been there for dinner, we’re even less sure now – it seemed pretty damn Notting Hill to us. It’s a gorgeous space and the open kitchen is dominated by a huge wood grill from which Max and his team prepare many of the dishes – simple bistro fare made with excellent ingredients. Go heavy on the snacks, including the crab and onion rostis and the liver parfait on toast, and after that you’ve got the likes of beef tartare with homemade crips, juicy pork chop, and pear custard tart.
EKSTEDT AT THE YARD
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
- Wednesday: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
- Thursday: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
- Friday: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
- Saturday: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
If autumn was a restaurant, it would probably be Ekstedt at the Yards. Michelin-starred Niklas Ekstedt’s first outpost outside of Sweden, inside the five-star Great Scotland Yard Hotel, the restaurant is filled with dark wood, dried flowers, jars of pickles and ferments lining the shelves above the kitchen, and a huge wood oven and open flames in the kitchen keeping the place nice and toasty. Previously tasting menu only, Ekstedt at the Yards has now introduced an a la carte option, though the focus on Scandinavian techniques and open-fire cooking remains. Whichever menu you go for, you’re in for a treat, from the superb sourdough and ‘snacks from the fire’ to birch flamed chanterelles with flambadou lobster and baked alaska with elderflower ice cream and lingonberries. The total mastery of open fire cooking, of infusing smoke into ingredients without destroying them with the flames, combined with Scandinavian flavours, makes a meal at Ekstedt at the Yards a properly memorable experience.
ELIS
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 6:00 – 9:30 PM
- Wednesday: 6:00 – 9:30 PM
- Thursday: 6:00 – 9:30 PM
- Friday: 6:00 – 9:30 PM
- Saturday: 12:30 – 2:30 PM, 6:00 – 9:30 PM
- Sunday: Closed
Rafael Cagali already runs the two-star Da Terra in the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green (which is one our fave restaurants in town) and he’s just opened a second spot there called Elis. Named as a tribute to his mother, whose first restaurant and jazz bar in São Paulo was named after Brazilian musician Elis Regina, Rafael’s Elis has taken over the spot where the Corner Room used to be. Like Da Terra, Elis is influenced by Rafael’s Brazilian-Italian heritage but it’s more relaxed, so you go a la carte rather than a for blind tasting option. The menu is split into small plates and larger dishes of pasta, fish and meat – we particularly rate the bread basket and its accompaniments, bacalhau fritters, artic char crudo, short rib rigatoni and aubergine parmigiana – and there’s a very well curated drinks list to boot.
BEHIND
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: 7:00 – 11:00 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Friday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
Even if you’ve never been to Behind in London Fields before, you may well have heard of it – the restaurant made headlines back in 2020 when it won a Michelin star after being open for just 20 days, and it’s still going strong. The restaurant is set up around sweeping semi-circular bar surrounding an open kitchen, with 18 spots around the counter, each with a front row seat to watch the chefs prepare and serve the dishes. Behind is all about fish and seafood, sustainability sourced from across the UK via suppliers such as Broadway Market’s Fin & Flounder, with dishes including mackerel and kaki sorrel with prawn consomme; Cornish skate wing with onions, olives and sea lettuce; and gilt-head bream with girolles and a vin jaune sauce. We’d really recommend the wine pairing too for a special occasion treat that doesn’t involve journeying into central.
RESTAURANT ST BARTS
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 1:30 PM, 6:00 – 7:30 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 1:30 PM, 6:00 – 7:30 PM
- Friday: 12:00 – 1:30 PM, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 1:30 PM, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
Restaurant St Barts is the new restaurant from the team behind Nest in Hackney and Fenn in Fulham. From a slightly ramshackle room on a busy main road in Hackney to St Barts, a beautiful modern dining room in a quiet, pretty square opposite St Bartholomew’s church, this latest venture is a huge jump and a marker of how far they’ve come. The food here is excellent and we’ll be surprised if anything comes along that feels more assured and exciting than this. As with their other restaurants, St Barts follows a set, tasting menu format – although the days of the incredible value £28 menu at Nest are long gone. At St Barts, the 15-course menu is £120 at dinner, and boy is it worth it. When you first arrive you’ll be sat in the cosy bar area at the front of the restaurant and from here you can have a cocktail or glass of fizz while the first round of snacks arrives, including offal kebab, cod fritters, and goats cheese & onion tart, and then it’s onto a proper table in the dining room for the second half of the meal. It’s one of the openings of the year for sure.
"MU"
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: 6:00 – 11:30 PM
- Thursday: 6:00 – 11:30 PM
- Friday: 6:00 PM – 12:30 AM
- Saturday: 6:00 PM – 12:30 AM
- Sunday: 6:00 – 11:00 PM
The team behind Brilliant Corners, Giant Steps, and Idle Moments have continued their tradition of venues named after jazz albums with their latest venue, which is called “Mu”, after Don Cherry’s 1969 album. They’ve done a great job on the interiors, keeping some of the dark moody atmosphere of Rotorino (which was the previous occupant), but thoroughly smartening the place up with a wood-panelled curved ceiling, hanging globe lights, and sleek modern furniture. There’s a large bar and a performance space which is the heart of the room and the headline feature of the “Mu” experience. There’s regular live music every night, with a mixture of resident musicians and guests, with two performances each night. Alongside the music, you’ll definitely want to tuck into the Japanese-inspired food and drink. Go heavy on the snacks like the scallop skewers; beef tartare served with crisp toasted seaweed; fried aubergine and white miso; and fresh sliced yellowtail with yuzu and pomegranate.
MAMBOW
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: 6:00 – 10:00 PM
- Thursday: 6:00 – 11:00 PM
- Friday: 6:00 – 11:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 4:00 PM, 6:00 – 11:00 PM
- Sunday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM
Down in Peckham you can find some of the best Malaysian food in London. Mambow, which originally started out in Spitalfields, has made the move south recently, taking over a unit on the ground floor of the Market Peckham. The menu is a short, sharp selection of hits created by founder Abby Lee, who grew up in Singapore. It represents the broad landscape of influence and cuisine found in Singapore and Malaysia, blending Chinese with Indo-Malay ingredients, flavours and spices. Don’t miss the fried chicken, black pepper chicken curry, lor bak prawn & pork roll and yellow jackfruit curry.
TEMPER SHOREDITCH
- Monday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Tuesday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Wednesday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Thursday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Friday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM
- Sunday: 12:00 – 6:00 PM
One of the four branches in London, temper Shoreditch has got the usual trimmings you’d expect from the Soho, Covent Garden and City outposts, but with the first and only temper bar. Located over on Great Eastern Street, they’re still cooking up a menu of tacos, rare breed steaks, bottomless brunches and Sunday roasts in the main dining room, but in a separate room, the dedicated bar stays open later on Thursdays-Saturdays with regular live DJ sets. The drinks list is the same for both areas though, with cocktails made using jams, butters and pickles from the kitchen and a vast selection of mezcal and tequila.
ELINE
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 6:30 – 9:30 PM
- Wednesday: 6:30 – 9:30 PM
- Thursday: 6:30 – 9:30 PM
- Friday: 6:30 – 9:30 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 2:00 PM, 6:30 – 9:30 PM
- Sunday: Closed
Eline is a restaurant and wine shop that showcases French techniques, seasonal produce and natural wines, with two former Pophams team members at the helm. The menu changes each month but always keeps a strong French influence. Expect dishes such as venison tartare, celeriac & smoked hazelnuts, whipped chicken liver parfait, pear & grape chutney and basque cheesecake for dessert. Their wines are sourced from small producers across Europe, with bottles also available to buy and take away from the wine shop (manned by the restaurant’s resident dog, Kimchi).
KOYN
- Monday: 12:00 – 2:30 PM, 5:30 – 10:45 PM
- Tuesday: 12:00 – 2:30 PM, 5:30 – 10:45 PM
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 2:30 PM, 5:30 – 10:45 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 2:30 PM, 5:30 – 10:45 PM
- Friday: 12:00 – 2:30 PM, 5:30 – 10:45 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 2:30 PM, 5:30 – 10:45 PM
- Sunday: 12:00 – 2:30 PM, 5:30 – 10:45 PM
She’s already got Chinese restaurant MiMi Mei Fair and Indian spots Jamavar and Bombay Bustle to her name and now Samyukta Nair has taken Japanese food with her latest opening KOYN. Like Nair’s other restaurants, KOYN has a strong concept. – it’s inspired by the duality of Mount Fuji and the balance of modernity with tradition. The two-storey space is divided into two distinct areas; Midori, a green room on the ground floor representing life on the peak with Magma, representing an active volcano, below. It’s all seriously luxe, with dishes like A5 wagyu served on a hot stone, hay-smoke lobster in umami butter, Chilean seabass with shiso salsa verde, and gochujang pork belly on the menu, so be prepared to blow a hole in your wallet.
SPEEDBOAT BAR
- Monday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:30 PM – 12:00 AM
- Tuesday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:30 PM – 12:00 AM
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:30 PM – 12:00 AM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:30 PM – 12:00 AM
- Friday: 12:00 PM – 1:00 AM
- Saturday: 12:00 PM – 1:00 AM
- Sunday: 1:00 – 11:00 PM
They turned up the heat (literally) with Plaza Khao Gaeng in Arcade Food Hall and now Luke Farrell and JKS Restaurants have returned for round two with Speedboat Bar. The restaurant takes inspo from Bangkok’s Chinatown and the speedboats that race along the canals of Thailand, so it’s fast, furious and full of energy, including an upstairs clubhouse featuring a bar, pool table and speakers blasting Thai pop and turbo folk. Wok cookery and dishes like drunken noodles and stir fries are at the heart of Speedboat Bar, alongside the likes of tom yam mama soup; ash melon & aubergine curry; poussin with ‘chicken rice, soybean sauce’ & red roast pork; cashew nut, pork crackling & dried fish salad; and pineapple pie with purple taro ice cream. Wash it down with drinks like the Snakesblood Negroni, and the Jelly Bia made with frozen Leo Lager, and you’re guaranteed a good time.
FIREBIRD
- Monday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Tuesday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Friday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
Madina Kazhimova and Anna Dolgushina, the St Petersburg-based restaurateurs who run Wong Kar Wine, have opened low-intervention wine bar and open-fire restaurant Firebird in Soho. The menu, created by ex-Caravan Head Chef Nikos Kontongiannatos, includes the likes of oysters with fermented cucumber & dill; charred peached with ricotta & coriander; tiger prawns with tomatoes & white wine; grilled halloumi with Greek honey & truffle; pork belly with plum ketchup & green salad; day boat monkfish with sauce vierge; torched baked Alaska served by the slice; and grilled pineapple with coconut sorbet & pistachios. Anna Dolgushina is a sommelier so she’s taken charge of the wine list, which focuses on natural and biodynamic producers. The cocktails are well worth a go as they’ll be featuring flame-cooked ingredients too, we’re talking Toasted Sesame Sours, Charred Pineapple Daiquiris and Smoked Bellini Highballs.