New openings
in London

The Pachamama team take on Persian cooking at Soraya, their biggest room yet on the new Loxton Walk. Saffron-laced breakfasts give way to charcoal kebabs and warm flatbread as the day rolls on. Save room for the rotating cheesecakes.

Pasta specialist Bancone has taken its first hotel residency inside the reopened Imperial on Russell Square. The silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter that made its name are here, now with a 60-seat terrace to eat them on. Bloomsbury's pasta problem is solved.

Vagabond's self-pour wine walls keep multiplying around London, and now it's Canary Wharf's turn. Pour your own from more than 120 bottles, including the label's own Bermondsey-made English wines, and settle in by the water on Park Drive. Five new openings in twelve months tells you the self-serve model works.

Gabriel Waterhouse swapped Columbia Road for a former pottery studio on Ezra Street, and the room seats just 24. Patricia Wakaimba runs front of house while the kitchen garden supplies whatever the tasting menu needs that week. A wine bar arrives next door in September, but for now it's just the two of them and a very small dining room getting it right.

SushiDog built its name on build-your-own sushi rolls wrapped like burritos, and Boxpark Camden is its sixteenth stop. Choose a base, load it up, and it's rolled and ready before you've found a seat. Free sushi for the first hundred through the door on opening day should settle any doubts.

Big Kid Ice Cream has gone all-in on soft serve with Whippies, a new counter tucked into the top floor of Seven Dials Market. The vanilla base is built from organic milk and real Madagascan vanilla, then piled into towering 99s or turned into brain-freezing slushies. On opening weekend the Flake 99s go for 99p, which feels like the whole point.

Bloomsbury finally has a rooftop bar, perched on top of the reborn Imperial on Russell Square. The near-360 views do the talking, backed by a seasonal cocktail list and small plates. DJs take over after dark and there are sound baths at sunrise, so go for the view and stay for the strangeness.

John and Lucy Long's grocery empire creeps further up the hill with a third Superette, this time facing Highgate's own high street. Expect the usual tinned fish wall and natural wine fridge, plus a small eat-in counter turning out cheese and kimchi toasties. Convenience shopping just got a lot more expensive taste.

The queues that plague its Primrose Hill original have found a new postcode. It's Bagels lands in Hampstead with The Works, stacked with lox and capers, and a bacon-and-egg BEC built for hangovers. NW3 didn't need another bagel shop, but now it has the one everyone already loves.

Ushio ships in Akami wagyu from Japan and grills it right in front of you, omakase-style, at a counter built for watching the fire do the work. The Fukuoka original's head chef has crossed continents to run the pass on Charlotte Street, with menus stacked from £55 to a seven-course £95 blowout. It stays open past midnight at weekends, which tells you exactly who this is for.

Josh Dallaway and Sinead Murdoch are back, ten months after their Bethnal Green stint wrapped early. This time they've taken over Project 44's kitchen, opening with Cornish crab on requeijão and a mussel and chorizo rice that argues for itself. Rivington Street just got a lot more Iberian.

The team behind These Days has brought a slice of Australia to Parsons Green. All-day café by light, wine bar by dark, with a signature sandwich called the Barry stacked with shiso porchetta and smacked cucumber. Order it and thank us later.

Man Hon Luk has gone permanent, taking the old Silo space above Crate Brewery for his Texas-meets-East-Asia barbecue. Everything is smoked on site and sold by the gram until it runs out, from Sichuan-peppercorn short rib to Taiwanese pork belly. Get down to the canal early or miss out.

Inception Group has dropped its biggest Mr Fogg's yet into the old Crusting Pipe in Covent Garden Market. It is the usual Jules Verne fantasy, all Victorian clutter and theatre, with a Guinness Saloon that keeps a running tally of every pint poured. Daft in the best way.

Coppa Club's new London Bridge outpost is its biggest yet, wedged between the Shard and Tower Bridge with a wraparound terrace built for staring at the river instead of your laptop. By day it works as a coworking spot with plugs and coffee; by night the marble bar takes over for cocktails and an all-day Mediterranean menu. Riverside real estate this good doesn't usually come with a mezzanine to hide in.

Saltwater is Milk Beach's answer to the sushi bars of Sydney and LA, built for speed rather than ceremony: handrolls and nigiri made to order in full view of the counter, no reservation required. Former Endo and Hakkoku chef Shaulan Steenson runs the menu with Tom Cajone, who's cooked at Parakeet and Granger & Co, so the pedigree outruns the price tag. Fifty seats, quick turnover. Expect a queue by week two.

Milan's cult seafood house has finally landed at The OWO, three years later than promised. Expect charcoal-grilled Dover sole and spaghetti thick with clams and sea urchin. Prices assume you're already celebrating. Book the terrace and make a night of it.

Soho gets another handroll bar, and this one puts British seafood at the centre. Twenty counter seats, with pressed scallops and Chalkstream trout done the Japanese way, plus a hidden ten-seat cocktail bar called Eki at the back. Sit at the counter and watch it happen.

The old Queen Adelaide is now an Indian pub, reworked by ex-Pahli Hill chef Avi Shashidhara around the spirit of Kerala's toddy shops. Snack at the bar or settle into the dining room for open-kitchen cooking that earns a second round. Shepherd's Bush needed this.

A former Fat Duck sommelier has opened a tiny walk-ins-only wine bar and shop on Rosebery Avenue. Raku Oda knows his bottles, and the list rewards anyone happy to be steered somewhere unexpected. No bookings, so time it right.

Borough Market gets a shot of Istanbul at Kismet, built on the old meyhane tradition of long tables and longer nights. Mangal-grilled kebabs and meze arrive in waves, with raki poured until the band starts up. Come hungry, stay late.

LA chef Julian Denis has turned a former Thai café in Stoke Newington into a love letter to Southern California's immigrant kitchens. Breakfast burritos and patty melts do the heavy lifting, with bottomless filter coffee to keep you there. Come hungry on a Sunday.

Camberwell's Toad Bakery has taken over an old rectory at the gates of Deptford Market Yard. The pastries and loaves that built its reputation are all here, now seven days a week. Get there before the morning batch sells out.

Paris group La Nouvelle Garde has taken its first swing at London, filling the old Côte site on Sloane Square. French classics come off an open wood-fire kitchen, and there is a speakeasy called Venus tucked downstairs. Dress up and make a night of it.

A wine bar from the group behind Brat and Untitled. Natural bottles, bar snacks worth ordering twice. A relaxed Shoreditch room that knows exactly what it is. No surprises, no disappointments.

Nick Bailey has turned the old Ryan's Bar into a proper Stoke Newington local, named after the pioneering feminist who once lived nearby. Independent brewers and real ale fill the taps, and there is a big garden out back for the sunny days. A neighbourhood pub that actually feels like one.

The Chelsea gelato favourite has opened a second parlour just off Carnaby. Small-batch scoops and sorbets made in-house, with flavours that rotate faster than you can pick one. Worth the queue on a warm day.

Olympia has hosted the Ideal Home Show since your grandparents were young. The redevelopment around it is something else entirely. On 15 June, Canopy opens as a 9,000 sq ft food hall. Wolves of Tokyo, the contemporary Japanese restaurant, is the anchor. Book that one first and save the rooftop for the end. An old hall, a new call.

The New York institution lands in Mayfair, inside Claridge's. Negronis and cicchetti in the kind of room you want to linger in long after the bill arrives. Italy by way of Manhattan, dressed to impress.

India's biggest snack and sweets empire has picked Leicester Square for its first UK restaurant, run by third-generation Rhea Agarwal. Expect proper chaat and samosas, then a sweet counter stacked high with barfi and jalebi across 120 seats. Come for the street food and leave sugar-drunk.

Victor Garvey has shrunk his Michelin-starred Sola down to twelve seats and moved it to Notting Hill. It is now a chef's counter, all focus and no filler, with a wine list that leans hard into American bottles. Book early, because twelve seats go fast.

Vagabond's biggest London bar yet pours more than 120 wines by the glass, all self-serve across two floors of Carnaby. Tap a card, help yourself, and drink your way from Loire whites to big Barossa reds. Dangerous fun, priced by the sip.

Spencer Metzger won the Roux Scholarship. Jason Atherton built a restaurant empire. They've put their first joint project on Pollen Street, the same street where Atherton's Pollen Street Social already lives. The food is French. Start with the Comte gougere stuffed with lardo di colonnata and work backwards from there. A street with a name, a kitchen with a claim.

The cult Pavilion Road fishmonger-restaurant grows up and moves across the road. The new space is bigger, the menu broader, but the obsession with the day's best catch remains unchanged. Same ethos, new room.

Vesper is a new cocktail bar in Soho from the team behind Oriole. Classic drinks done seriously, with a wine list that earns its place. Come for a shaker, stay for supper.

A former bank on Notting Hill Gate with a vault full of something better than money. Kinz is all-day Lebanese from breakfast through to dinner. Fattet aubergine, house-made breads, and a converted wine cellar for those who stay late. London has done Lebanese before. Not quite like this. A vault below, a table to go.

Smithfield Market has been selling meat since the 1400s. The cobbles outside have seen a lot. Humble Grape's seventh London site opens nearby in June with an Old World wine list, small plates, and the brand's signature pour-your-own wall. Serious wine in a properly serious part of town. The cobbles stay old, the glass stays cold.

Jake Finn built a reputation at Cinder. This is the next move. A bakery at the front from 8am with burnt leek, cheddar and Marmite swirls and miso butterscotch caneles. A bistro by noon. A wine bar with a piano by night. St John's Wood has waited long enough for somewhere this considered. Mornings for the bread, evenings well-fed.

The Menier Chocolate Factory has been standing on Southwark Street since 1870. Lady of the Grapes takes the upstairs for a proper French bistro. Downstairs sits Forbidden Fruit. Forty-five seats in a basement wine bar with a name worth living up to. Old brick, new pours.

Southern US cooking that doesn't need a gimmick. Chef Charlie Carr brings hot chicken, smash burgers and proper low-and-slow barbecue to Coal Drops Yard. The kind of food that sticks to your ribs and your memory.

London does Japanese, Italian, Korean. It rarely does Appalachian. Alistair Borer, formerly of Smoking Goat, takes a counter in Shoreditch and cooks the food of America's mountain region. Smoked eel and jalapeno devilled eggs. Pork chop with collard greens. Grilled poussin with grits. The heat is low and the flavours run deep. Start with the devilled eggs.

New York's cult all-day gastrotheque has crossed the Atlantic into the old St John Bakery in Neal's Yard. Jody Williams does French comfort food properly, from morning waffles and croques through to evening coq au vin. Grab a spot on the terrace and stay from breakfast to last orders.

Greek cooking that earns its Covent Garden address. Chef Maria Elia draws on Cyprus and the Aegean for dishes that are bold without being loud. The spreads alone are worth the visit.

Arcade is back, this time in a larger home on Tottenham Court Road. A rotating lineup of London's best independent food traders under one roof. More space, more vendors, same reason to skip cooking tonight.

A new Italian restaurant in Mayfair that takes the classics seriously. Handmade pasta and aged proteins, with a wine cellar that rewards curiosity. This one's for the long lunch crowd.

Chef Nikita Pathakji brings Thai cooking to Marylebone with real intention. MAAI explores the regional diversity that rarely makes it onto London menus: fermented, deeply funky, worth the detour. Go in without expectations, come out with plans to return.

Trèsind has three Michelin stars in Dubai. It's bringing that energy to Mayfair. The tasting menu is built around spectacle: a tableside Chaat Trolley with liquid nitrogen, and a dish called Khichdi of India that draws on 20 ingredients from different regions. This is Indian cooking treated as theatre. Hanover Street is the stage.

Uncle Roger built 16 million subscribers on fried rice reviews. Now he has to serve his own. Kawan opens in Chinatown with chef Daren Liew from Hakkasan running the pass. The squid ink fish and chips is the wildcard. Nigel Ng spent years calling out other people's rice. Now he's on the hook to cook.

Nigel Ng, better known as Uncle Roger, has opened his first restaurant and it's exactly what you'd expect: haiyaa-level good. Wok-fried dishes and Malaysian street food staples, with rice cooked the right way. Finally, a celebrity restaurant worth the queue.

The name says it all. Mexican technique meets Italian instinct in this Marylebone newcomer. Think tacos with a Roman soul and pasta with a chilli kick. London's been waiting for this particular mash-up longer than it knows.

Berlin's döner culture hits Hackney. Proper flatbread, slow-roasted meat and sauces that make you eat too fast. Worth the trek.

Theo James and chef Naz Hassan opened Lupa in Highbury two years ago. Now comes Ornella, their Milanese follow-up in Hackney. Hassan grew up in Milan, and the menu reflects it. The risotto alla Milanese is what you come for. The vitello tonnato is what you stay for. There's a terrace too. This one has legs.

Aktar Islam has two Michelin stars at Opheem in Birmingham. He's earned his London debut too. Oudh 1722 is built around dum pukht: meats sealed under pastry lids, slow-cooked for hours until they give. The Wiltshire lamb shoulder baked in a lamb-fat crust is already being talked about. A long time coming, and a very good place to start.

Rossella started in Benevento, Italy, in 1960 when Luca Meola's father opened it. The family moved to London in 1978. Luca launched the Kentish Town site in 2012. Muswell Hill is the next step: a larger space with an aperitivo bar and a deli you can actually shop from. The tiramisu arrives on a trolley that belonged to Luca's grandfather. Worth the trip.

Malika Green and Paschelle Brown have run sold-out supperclubs for three years. On 6 May, they get a building. All Roads in Brixton is 35 covers of Caribbean-influenced comfort food: butterbean whip with soy pecans, and wings marinated in sweet black tea. Three years of sold-out suppers made this crowd. The room was always coming.

Gordon Ramsay's 100th restaurant opens on the 59th floor of 22 Bishopsgate. Bread Street Kitchen here runs 24 hours with a fully licensed bar, putting it in direct competition with Duck & Waffle further along the skyline. Start with lobster benedict. End with a Galician T-bone. Somewhere in between, the views will do the convincing.

Papi grew up. The London Fields team has a new pub in Stoke Newington. Kid goat chop with ezme salad, mussels toast with house lardo. The cooking didn't get softer. Same team, sharper tooth. The food still needs no proof.

The Thesleff Group built Los Mochis. This is their luxury Japanese room in Mayfair. Dark wood panelling and premium wagyu. Not a trend piece. Deep wood, real fish. Worth every grain of the dish.

A 1930s bank on Notting Hill Gate is now an all-day Lebanese restaurant. The bones of the room are proper. Heritage-focused cooking from morning to dinner. Order the things you don't recognise. Old vault, new table. The room earns its fable.

Ravinder Bhogal takes Jikoni to the new V&A East in Stratford. Prawn toast Scotch egg and lamb merguez flatbread. Bombay sandwich with green chutney. Museum dining done right, served bright and light.

Fifth location. Same silk handkerchief carbonara, same short menu. Now with proper booth seating in EC2. The pasta hasn't changed. Same dough, new address. Worth the wait, nothing less.

Theo Clench left Cycene and built his own fire. The menu leans on seafood and tuna cuts most kitchens overlook. Counter seat if you can get one. Good bones, good grill. The name fits the flame.

Jolene opens inside The Aries flagship on Bridle Lane. Seasonal pastries, changing sandwiches. Two floors and a proper kitchen. The bread alone is worth the detour. Flour in Soho. Worth the slow.

The Spiteri family is behind St John and Rochelle Canteen. Lorcan and Fin open their own pub in Ladbroke Grove. Fin cooks oxtail with mash and masala monkfish. Family recipe, old address. The cooking knows the rest.

Koyn Thai is out. Chef Soonthorn Apaipat takes the Curzon Street room and sharpens it. The cooking is robata-led and ingredient-first. The Peking duck Penang curry is already the one to order. Same fire, different name. The cooking earns its claim.

Ten years of BBQ on the South Bank. Jimmy Garcia turns the rotisserie front and centre. Every table faces the river. Chicken-dripping potatoes. One bird, done right. River light, rotisserie night.

Ten years in, Padella picks Soho for their third. The beef shin ragu has its own mythology in this city. Counter seats and a short menu. Silk handkerchief carbonara is the signature. Queue early, or queue and rue.

Yard Sale's most westerly outpost lands in Queen's Park. Thin base, proper toppings, neighbourhood energy. The 17th slice of a London success story.

A former bank split in two. Irish freehouse at the front, jockey-club dining room behind it. The kind of place that looks like it's been there for decades. Opens April.

104 years of members-only ends this Tuesday. The Sloane Club's first public space is an all-day café and bakery from George Scott-Toft, turning into a wine bar when the evening turns grey. Chelsea, a reason to stay.

Named after Abbie's grandmother, from the team behind Amie Wine Studio next door. Thin crust pizza, own-label crémant, and a terrace when London warms. Belgravia has gained some form.

Notting Hill's newest morning ritual. The New York brand that quietly took over London is now on Westbourne Grove. Good coffee, no fuss. The best openings always arrive without warning.

East Dulwich gets a two-in-one. The Daily Tray does scratch brunch until 3pm. Common Pizza takes over from there. Same kitchen, different rhythm. A good street just got better.

Born in Ibiza in 2018. Now inside a former bank in St James's. A 6.5-metre wine wall runs the height of the room. Downstairs, No.11 is a cocktail laboratory that wakes up at 10pm. Sun-grown food. Stone-cold cool.

A proper sandwich shop in the City. No sad desk lunches. Just bread, filling, and the kind of care that makes a Tuesday feel worth it. Fresh by day, gone by noon.