New London Restaurants To Bookmark For 2026

From the team behind Sparrow Italia comes Mazarine, a new French restaurant overlooking Hanover Square. Led by chef Thierry Laborde (formerly of Le Gavroche and LPM), the menu celebrates fish and seafood through a refined lens. Expect elegant plates such as smoked eel croquettes, salade niçoise, octopus béarnaise, Cornish crab ravioli with lobster broth, and a showstopping ‘Grand Aïoli Marseillais’ featuring salt cod, langoustines and seasonal vegetables. Smart interiors by Bolt Design strike a warm, contemporary note, while service is polished but relaxed.

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Gilroy’s Loft is a new rooftop seafood restaurant within the freshly opened Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Covent Garden. Led by award-winning chef Pip Lacey (Murano, Great British Menu), the menu takes a modern, coastal-inspired approach to British and Irish seafood, with sustainably sourced, line-caught fish supplied by Wright Brothers. Oysters are shucked at the central 20-seat bar, while playful takes on classics sit alongside standout plates like grilled half native lobster with tomato and pine nut brown butter. True to its setting, pairing seafood with Guinness is central to the experience, with drinks crafted by master brewer Hollie Stephenson, alongside a concise cocktail list (including a Toucan Colada and Espresso Stoutini) and an expansive wine selection. Interiors also nod to its Guinness heritage, featuring original artwork by John Gilroy, the illustrator behind the iconic Guinness toucan.

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Opening later this month, Tiella Trattoria & Bar is chef Dara Klein’s first permanent restaurant, created in collaboration with her childhood friend, the restaurateur Ry Jessup. Set inside a beautifully restored 175-year-old former Victorian pub on Columbia Road, the restaurant brings regional Italian cooking to Bethnal Green. A 15-seat bar leads into a 30-cover dining room anchored by an open kitchen, while a generous front terrace offers space for aperitivo in warmer months. The design blends terracotta, red and yellow tones with original Victorian tiling and reclaimed wood panelling, layered with antique finds and family heirlooms. The menu is rooted in simplicity and quality – we can’t wait to try Dara’s ricotta di Romagna with Calabrian chilli and wild Sardinian honey; orecchiette with cime di rapa; chicken Milanese with green apple and herbs; and bay leaf panna cotta with blood oranges.

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Opening in February, Osteria Vibrato is a new Italian restaurant from Charlie Mellor (The Laughing Heart) and Cameron Dewar (Luca). The menu will follow a classic Italian structure – antipasti, primi, secondi and dolci – with house-made fior di latte, daily-rolled pasta, whole grilled fish and pre-order specials like brodo di Vasto. Amaretti are baked to order and served warm, while a dimly lit cocktail bar at the back nods to the golden age of bartending. Interiors are rich and romantic, with Murano chandeliers, terrazzo floors, cream tablecloths and candlelight. We love that there’ll be a £3 coperto (cover charge), which will include generous servings of premium olive oils, aged parmesan, freshly baked bread and mineral water.

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Opening this month on Heddon Street, DakaDaka is a modern Georgian restaurant and natural wine bar celebrating one of the world’s oldest culinary traditions. Open-fire cooking sits at the heart of the menu, from colourful spreads of pkhali and steaming khinkali to wood-fired khachapuri and charcoal-grilled meats. The wine programme, curated by Honey Spencer, showcases Georgia’s 8,000-year winemaking heritage. Spread across two floors, the space includes an open kitchen with wood-fired hearth, a Persian marble bar, and a downstairs wine and cocktail bar complete with DJ booth. Interiors celebrate Georgian craft through hand-blown chandeliers, carved woodwork and naturally dyed textiles, creating a richly layered backdrop for dishes like duck breast mtsvadi, short rib kharcho and heritage tomato salad with herby, hazelnut dressing.

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Carousel co-founders Ed and Ollie Templeton will open Cometa in February, transforming Carousel’s existing wine bar into a contemporary Mexican seafood restaurant. The menu will pair British fish and seafood with bold Mexican flavours, shaped by years of collaboration with leading Mexican chefs, such as Tomás Bermúdez (La Docena), Thalía Barrios Garcia (Levadura de Olla), Santiago Muñoz (Maizajo) and Gerardo Vázquez Lugo (Nicos). Expect ceviches, aguachiles and generous grilled dishes designed for sharing, including lobster with chintextle and smoked butter sauce, alongside a Mexican-inspired drinks list. Redesigned by the Templeton brothers themselves, the intimate space features earthy tones and soft furnishings for a relaxed feel.

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Bambi, the hit restaurant and record bar in London Fields, is set to enter a new era in 2026 as it gears up for a huge expansion. Led by founder James Dye (One Club Row, The Knave of Clubs) Bambi is knocking through into an empty venue that sits behind its back wall, resulting in a completely transformed space that will be double its current size. Whereas Bambi previously only had DJs on Fridays and Saturdays, Bambi 2.0 will have a DJ playing from Tuesday-Sunday. On weekends, tables will be cleared away and the room opened up into a much bigger dancefloor, turning it into a mini rave space until 1am. Bambi’s new head chef, Jamie Thorneycroft, grew up between Botswana and South Africa and was previously head chef at Lagom. For the refresh, he’s completely rejuvenated Bambi’s menu. Highlights include crab salad with nahm jim and green papaya; and peri peri Atlantic prawns, black garlic aioli and lime.

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Tamila, the restaurant concept from of the team behind Indian pub The Tamil Prince in north London, has announced its third opening in London. Tamila Soho is set to launch on 26th February and will be a modern interpretation of the classic curry house. The all-new Tamila will reimagine these familiar rituals – rotis, curries, beers and late-nights drinks – through the lens of South Indian cooking. The flagship site on Poland Street will run across two floors, with a ground floor area and bar, alongside a separate basement dining area that will be primed for private dining and group celebrations. The new spot will also unveil a more considered look and feel to Tamila, with striking lighting, marble tables, wooden shutters and deeper hues incorporated throughout.

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