16 New London Restaurants Opening This Season

A new independent pizzeria is coming to Bermondsey Street, founded by Jay Patel of Legare and Luna, Roland Horne of The WatchHouse and chef-baker Jack Ellingham of Dusty Knuckle and Spring. Five Feet will specialise in pan pizzas with an unusually light, airy dough – described as being like an Aero bar – made using heritage grains milled on site each day. A glassed-off dough room will house a specially sourced mill from Montpellier, the first of its kind in the UK. Ellingham will use the freshly milled flour to create the dough, topping it with British ingredients from independent producers before baking it in seasoned black iron pans. Alongside the pizzas, expect comfort-food favourites including polenta frita with vodka sauce and parmesan, hand-rolled dough balls with confit garlic butter, and wings with buffalo and blue cheese or garlic butter and parmesan.

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Decorated chef Tom Booton is getting set to open his first solo restaurant on Pimlico Road, following six years as executive chef at The Grill by Tom Booton at The Dorchester. The 40-cover neighbourhood restaurant will bring his playful take on British cooking to the area, with a menu featuring crispy cod cheeks scampi with warm tartare sauce, moules marinière and pork and mushroom pie with charcuterie sauce. Save room for the vanilla soft-serve sandwich, which will be served with warm hazelnut and fudge sauce poured tableside. Sundays will be all about generous roasts, including whole stuffed Sutton Hoo chicken with bread sauce and a Yorkshire pudding filled with leg of lamb Shepherd’s Pie. There will also be a small outdoor terrace and The Den, a 14-cover private dining room overlooking the kitchen, stocked with vinyl from Tom’s personal collection.

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Restaurateur Arjun Waney – the name behind Zuma, Coya and La Petite Maison – is opening his first Italian restaurant in his home neighbourhood of Belgravia. Named after a hilltop village in Tuscany’s Chianti region, Osteria Panzano will celebrate the food, wine and generous hospitality of the area. Head chef Paolo Parlanti, who is himself Tuscan, will oversee a menu of regional dishes that changes with the seasons. Expect ribollita, cacio e pepe finished with black truffle, yellowfin tuna tartare and roast turbot, alongside whole fish and aged steaks cooked over open coals. An open rotisserie and grill sit at the heart of the restaurant, with a chef’s table overlooking the fire. There’s also a cheese and charcuterie shop, a terrace and a private dining room, while interiors by Sagrada bring earthy tones, soft lighting and wine-lined walls.

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Taking its cues from the Parisian bistros, neighbourhood wine bars and countryside auberges that define French dining, Cassette is a new modern French restaurant set beneath the soaring ceilings of a restored Victorian workshop. From Mark Gurney and Matt Bushnell – the team behind much-loved Levan and Larry’s in Peckham – the restaurant is an art-filled space that’s well worth booking for a long lunch. Head chef Essa Fakhry, formerly of Planque, has created a menu that combines classical technique with a contemporary approach. Expect snacks such as raw beef croustade with comté and pickled mussels with panisse and aioli, followed by starters including raw scallop with cucumber and basil. Larger plates include a coq au vin jaune pie (only two per service, so book an early table), cep and smoked egg yolk vol-au-vent, and seatrout with fennel and whey sauce.

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Aba-Ra promises to bring a more expansive expression of Georgian hospitality to London, combining contemporary cooking with an extensive collection of Georgian wines. The opening marks the culmination of 25 years of work by founder Lia Walsh, who has spent her career championing the country’s food and wine traditions in the UK. An open kitchen will bring a sense of theatre to the restaurant, with freshly baked khachapuri – Georgia’s celebrated cheese-filled bread – made in a dedicated oven and served in smaller formats with a range of fillings. Handmade khinkali, the country’s signature soup-filled dumplings, will sit alongside richly flavoured soups served in clay pots beneath a crust of freshly baked bread. There’ll also be an open charcoal grill for traditional Georgian meat skewers. Rooted in centuries-old regional traditions but presented with a contemporary sensibility, the restaurant aims to showcase the depth and character of Georgian gastronomy.

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The team behind Borough Market restaurant Camille is opening B. Penhale in Farringdon on 16th November, with chef-patron Elliot Hashtroudi leading the kitchen. Named after his grandmother Betty Penhale, the 66-cover restaurant will celebrate the regional cooking of Britain and Ireland, drawing on the best British produce and a whole-carcass approach. The menu promises a modern take on the recipes and traditions from around the UK, from stout-battered oysters with bone marrow and horseradish to smoked jellied eel, cumberland sausage and pigeon pie. Larger plates include saddleback pork chop with black pudding and trotter, turbot with shrimp sauce and laverbread, and shorthorn steak with Scottish whisky and girolles. There’ll also be a Tea & Biscuits course, served with antique teapots and cups, followed by rotating desserts such as Yorkshire parkin and Ecclefechan tart.

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Set in the crypt of St George’s Church on Hanover Square, Elezar is a new eastern-European chophouse from restaurateur Misha Zelman. The menu draws on the region’s traditions of pickling, fermenting, curing and preserving, with head chef Erik Miotto bringing influences from his Ukrainian family heritage and David Bury drawing on his Polish roots. Start with zakuski – generous open sandwiches on rye topped with butter, herring, pork cheek, anchovy or caviar – before moving on to pierogi, mackerel tartare and larger cuts of meat and whole fish. Highlights include tuna ribeye on the bone and Dingley Dell pork chop with smoked parsnip. Meat fridges display whole carcasses and dry-aged cuts, while counter seating offers a close-up view of the butchery. A fun drinks list includes a pickle martini, Czech Fernet spritz and a vodka-led cocktail list celebrating eastern Europe.

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Carmelina’s is a new Italian all-day dining destination opening at The Webster hotel in Covent Garden, bringing together a restaurant, café, terrace and hidden cocktail bar. Launching on 19th November, the concept takes its cues from the generous, sociable spirit of Italian dining. The 100-cover restaurant features an open kitchen, counter seating and wine bar. Expect handmade pasta, seasonal produce and seafood, alongside signatures such as deep red Sicilian prawns and porchetta with friarielli. Breakfast dishes include eggs royale, focaccia scrambled eggs and diavola shakshuka. Upstairs, Carmelina’s Al Banco is an all-day café-bar inspired by Milan’s neighbourhood spots, extending onto a covered, plant-filled terrace. Completing the line-up is Carla’s, a downstairs cocktail bar serving drinks and hosting live entertainment and events into the evening.

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The team behind South African-inspired restaurant Kudu is returning to south London with Braai Bird, a new wood-fired rotisserie chicken concept taking over the former Kudu Grill site on Nunhead Lane. Led by chef and co-founder Patrick Williams, the restaurant will centre on wood-fired rotisserie chicken, designed to be shared around the table with family and friends. Its inspiration comes from the South African braai tradition, where cooking over an open fire is as much about gathering together as it is about the food. Expect the ingredient-led approach and attention to detail associated with Kudu, but in a more casual neighbourhood setting.

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Avi Shashidhara has opened The Talli Queen, a neighbourhood pub bringing together the spirit of a London local with India’s diverse drinking and dining traditions. Taking over the former Queen Adelaide, a 120-year-old pub on Uxbridge Road, the restaurant serves a menu of Indian-inspired bar snacks, small plates and larger dishes. Start with the Military Canteen fried chicken kebab or award-winning papdi chaat before moving on to the Kerala duck curry. A custom charcoal grill and tandoor sit at the centre of the kitchen, while the bar has 18 draught lines and a selection of Indian spirits. Sundays bring a twist on the traditional pub lunch, with generous sharing dishes including mutton biryani. There’s also the lime pickle bloody mahua, which should prove a welcome addition to the weekend drinks list.

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