The Time Out London blog team

Calling all north Londoners with a penchant for posh nosh: there’ll soon be a new place to purchase your chargrilled artichoke hearts and Italian nduja paste, because Waitrose is opening a new shop in Cricklewood.  Yep, the fancy supermarket is transforming the former Galtymore Ballroom – a dance hall which was a hub for Irish emigrants between the ’50s and early 2000s – into an 18,000 square foot haven of swanky groceries. If that news alone wasn’t enough to have you reaching for your bag for life then listen up, because the new shop will be one of very few full line Waitrose stores to open in almost a decade. That means we can expect full fresh meat, fish and cheese counters where you’ll be able to select specific cuts and weights, plus a dedicated bakery section and lots and lots of wine.  We’re also expecting the Cricklewood Waitrose to stock full selections of the Waitrose No.1 and Essential Waitrose lines. We’re still waiting on the full details to be released, but judging by its other full line supermarkets, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a sushi bar, dine-in counter or even a wine bar (as with the King’s Cross location). If your next thought is ‘cool, but how am I going to make it home with all my goodies?’, have no fear. The shop will have a dedicated basement carpark and sits just a five minute walk from Cricklewood train station.  The new opening is part of a wider growth strategy for the supermarket, which also plans to open a full line shop in Manchester this...

Ah Gail’s, the mecca of bougie baked goods and posh coffee. Whether you’re a fan of its cherry and chocolate scones and chunky sausage rolls or not, the chain is becoming ubiquitous. Gail’s has 185 locations across the UK, throughout London, Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, and Manchester. It’s also been on something of a Big Smoke expansion train of late, opening new sites in Crystal Palace, Hackney and even Gatwick Airport in recent months.  Which means you probably won’t be surprised to hear that yet another new Gail’s is opening in central London this summer.  Yep, a new 3,200 square foot Gail’s is coming to St James’s Park. The new site will form part of The Broadway, a development project which is being built on the site of the former New Scotland Yard. Located just a hop, skip and a jump from Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Horse Guards Parade, Gail’s St James’s Park will offer both takeaway and eat-in options, with space for 74 people to sit indoors. It’ll also have an alfresco space big enough for 25 seats. Photograph: Jack HobhouseBirdseye view of the new Broadway development in St James's Park We don’t have an exact opening date for the new coffee spot yet, although we know it’ll be some time in July. When it does, it’ll sit alongside other food and drinks venues in The Broadway including salad spot atis, American cult food chain Coyo Taco and smoothie bowl seller Açaí Berry. 🥐 The best bakeries in London. Did you see that a posh new French bakery is coming to...

It’s hot, it’s sticky and we’re not going to complain about it, because London in the sunshine is the greatest city in the entire world. Happily, there are some extremely fitting openings set for June, including a lavish ice cream parlour in Soho and a boozer with a massive beer garden in Stoke Newington.  And in what will come as very good news to people in south London who like baked things, there’s a brand new branch of Camberwell’s legendary Toad Bakery set for Deptford.   Here’s the best of June.  RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in London. The 10 best new London restaurants opening in June 2026 Photograph: No Forty NineNo Forty Nine 1. The one with an amazing young chef No. Forty Nine, St John’s Wood We recently named Ella Williams as one of the best young chefs in London and she’s now bagged her first ever head chef role. Coming from the kitchen of Peckham’s hip Hausu, she’s crossed the river to St John’s Wood, where she’ll be leading the team at the newest restaurant from the same group as the excellent Cinder. An all-day bakery and bistro, No. Forty Nine will offer Mediterranean-meets-New-York dining, with dishes like cornbread madeleines with scotch bonnet honey butter, tagliolini with prawns and crab choux buns on offer, alongside a special mini pizza menu. We’re also deeply interested in the Baby Guinness sundae. Opens: June Address: 49 St John’s Wood High Street, NW8 7NJ AppalachiaAppalachia 2. The sweet soul food one  Appalachia, Shoreditch   Open for...