All the best new London restaurant openings in June

It's summer! Kinda!

As we breeze into June, all manner of very good things are happening across the UK, from Glasto to numerous Pride events. Here in London, there's a litany of marvellous new restaurants to sink your teeth into, including the latest outpost of a classic Italian pasta joint and deli, a mega massive food festival in one of our royal parks, and a Soho fast food joint with a difference.

Hungry to find out what and where they all are? Then let us begin.  

1. The fancy but eco-friendly residency 
Outcrop, Covent Garden

Luca just won its first Michelin star, so it’s no surprise that founders Johnny Smith and Daniel Willis are up for a new challenge. Alongside some of the team behind Secret Cinema and with a little menu help from AngloThai (whose first permanent restaurant is also set to open this summer), Outcrop is that project, a restaurant and arts space in an outdoor courtyard in the swish 180 Strand building. Around for a three month limited run from June 23, there’ll be a green-edged arts and music programme and AngloThai’s exceptional, charcoal-cooked food using seasonal British veg, native breed animals and line-caught fish, including coconut smoked turbot bone broth and skate wing jungle curry.

180 Strand, WC2R 1EA

2. The latest pastel-hued pasta paradise
Lina Stores, Clapham

A London foodie shade to rival only Fortnum’s dashing shade of eau de nil, Lina Stores will be taking their instantly recognisable duck egg hue south of the river for the first when they open up their Clapham outpost on June 30. Expect the same deal as in Soho, but with views of Clapham Common rather than Greek Street’s spicy pavement, and more handmade pasta than you can shake a gnocchi paddle at, including ricotta gnudi with aubergine, san marzano tomato and ‘nduja as well as spaghetti alla chitarra with grilled squid. They’ll be open in the mornings too, where you can dine on truffle scrambled eggs on toasted sourdough. Molto bene! 

22 The Pavement, SW4 0HY

3. The f-off food festival
Taste of London, Regent’s Park

A who’s who of London dining, Taste of London has once again knocked it out of the park (and then knocked it back into its home of Regent’s Park) with the line-up for the 2023 edition of the annual gorge-athon. Taking place June 14-18, there’ll be over 120 dishes on offer at London’s biggest food festival, with the likes of Jam Delish, Big Mamma Group, Roti King, Norma, Flesh & Buns and Dumpling’s Legend, while Big Zuu will be heading up the BBQ over at The Fire Pit. 

Regent's Park, NW1 4QW 

4. The great big gallery launch
The Portrait Restaurant and Audrey Green, National Portrait Gallery 

The National Portrait Gallery has been shut for almost three years, and its grand reopening on June 22 will see the long awaited relaunch of Richard Corrigan’s Portrait Restaurant with its lush panoramic views, as well as the brand new arrival of Audrey Green in the ground floor vaults of the Weston Wing. Expect crispy oyster croque monsieur at the former, and more affordable tea and cake at the latter, which is the latest launch from Aussie-style brunch specialists Daisy Green. 

St Martin's Pl, WC2H 0HE

5. The shiny, vegan-ish fast food joint

Wonderland, Soho

Offering both plant based and deeply meaty menus, Wonderland is bringing expertly done fast food to Old Compton Street on June 13. Using sustainably sourced ingredients, this ain’t your typical burger shack, with high quality meat for conscious diners and an epic-ly Instagrammable holographic chrome counter for the social media savvy.  Make like you’re in Pulp Fiction and order a Royale with Cheese, containing grass-fed smashed 100% Aberdeen Angus topped with cheddar and the mysterious-sounding house Wonder Sauce, or grab the vegan version, a Wonder Burger with a plant-based patty. 

49 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HL

6. The small but perfectly formed South African tapas joint 
Little Kudu, Peckham 

With Amy Corbin and Patrick Williams’s bar Smokey Kudu upping sticks to serve cocktails inside fancy dress store Rixo on Chelsea’s King’s Road for some reason, the path was clear for Kudu to open up their third south London restaurant. Joining flagship Kudu and the open fire Kudu Grill, from June 21 you’ll find Little Kudu in the shell of ol’ Smokey, where chef patron Williams will serve up a serious smattering of small plates. Think Little Kudu loaf with cape malay butter, smoked peri-peri mussels and an indulgent Braaibroodjie (that’s a South African grilled cheese sarnie) with smoked tomato chutney.

119 Queen's Rd, SE15 2EZ

7. The one night return of a south London legend
Taco Queen, Peckham

Supa Ya Ramen sits in the space once occupied by the much-loved Taco Queen, and those who remember their magisterial Mexican delights will be overjoyed to hear that on June 4 the queens return to their old home to launch Supa Ya Ramen’s Summer Guest Series, with a bespoke menu comprising two snacks and a main. It’s wisecracking party duo Mam Sham’s turn on June 11, and The Flygerians – local sisters who specialise in Nigerian cuisine – on June 18. 

191 Rye Ln, SE15 4TP

8. A new vegan spot from the Mildreds team
Mallow, Canary Wharf

First came vegetarian titans Mildreds and their five, ever-popular restos across the capital, then, in 2021, came their new plant-based project Mallow over in Borough Market. It did so well that a second spot is coming to Canary Wharf on June 26. Boasting a globally-inspired menu, here you’ll find the likes of spinach dahi puri with lime coconut sambol and blackcurrant tamarind chutney, cosying up to a whipped feta garden plate with cacao quinoa soil and a burnt aubergine muhammara borek, with green tabbouleh and baba ganoush cream. 

12 Park Drive, E14 9ZW

9. The central London arrival of the Sandwich King 
Max Halley at The Hippodrome, Leicester Square

From Finsbury Park to Leicester Square, Max Halley of Max’s Sandwich Shop is bringing his mega sarnies to the Hippodrome. Yep, that Hippodrome. From June 1 you can fritter away your pennies in this central London casino before crying over your losses into the soft, yielding bread surrounding a bacon chop BLT, meatball bonanza or fried coronation chicken sandwich. The best part? They’re on until 5am.

Cranbourn St, WC2H 7JH

10. The 1970s Indian disco-inspired dining room 

Empire Empire, Notting Hill 

Harneet Baweja of the great mini-chain Gunpowder wants to make you dance with your dinner. Inspired by the 1970s Indian disco era, Empire Empire’s majestic aesthetics involve paintings from eminent artists Jogen Chowdhury and Rabin Mondal alongside vintage LP covers with a Bollywood via Studio 54 kick. The food is set to be just as fabulous, paying tribute to the old Punjab Empire, with the likes of coal-cooked kebabs, creamy chicken malai curry, and a super flashy lobster biryani, complete with lobster’s head coyly poking out of the dish. Naans and roti will also be on offer, unlike the bread-avoidant Gunpowder. It opens June 15.

16 All Saints Rd, W11 1HH  

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