The best new restaurants in London
Where's hot? Where’s great? Err, this lot: London’s best new restaurants and cafés to have opened up in the last 12 months
Every week, a frankly stupid amount of brilliant new restaurants, cafés and street food joints arrive in London. Which makes whittling a shortlist of best newbies down to manageable size one helluva challenge. But here it is. The very best London restaurants of the last 12 months. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: eating out in London kicks ass.
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The best new restaurants in London
Angelina
What is it: A chic fusion restaurant serving Japanese-Italian cooking.
Why go: For five courses of fabulousness for just £39.
Bingham Riverhouse
What is it: A smart-casual riverside restaurant at a boutique Richmond hotel.
Why go: The food. The freebies. The flattering light. Oh, and did we mention the views?
Bob Bob Cité
What is it: A City sibling to Soho’s Bob Bob Ricard, styled like an Edwardian train.
Why go: Don’t worry – the champagne button’s still here.
Casa Fofò
What is it: A tasting-menu neighbourhood restaurant from an ex-Pidgin chef.
Why go: For a home-from-home vibe, but without the washing up.
Darby's
What is it: An all-day Manhattan-style brasserie with a menu from The Dairy's Robin Gill.
Why go: Pastries by day. Cocktails by night. And truffled Baron Bigod in between.
Da Terra
What is it: The fine-dining restaurant at Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel.
Why go: For Lego people you can spread on your bread.
Endo at the Rotunda
What is it: An eighth-floor omakase (tasting menu) restaurant in White City.
Why go: It's the best omakase experience in London.
Fatt Pundit
What is it: An Indo-Chinese restaurant in Soho.
Why go: Chilli cheese. Lettuce cup. Just do it.
Gloria
What is it: A Shoreditch pizza and pasta restaurant with OTT interiors.
Why go: To say you’ve been. Oh, and for pasta carbonara served out of a parmesan wheel.
Gold
What is it: A fashionable restaurant on Portobello Road.
Why go: To see and be seen.
Hello Darling
What is it: A boho restaurant, close to The Old Vic, serving small and sharing plates.
Why go: For the swede tartare. Yes, really.
Kebab Queen
What is it: A hidden restaurant serving a kebab-based tasting menu.
Why go: The cabbage 'kebab'. With monkfish bone marrow and crisp chicken skin. Sigh.
Kerb Seven Dials Market
What is it: A two-floor food hall and produce market in Covent Garden.
Why go: For the food. All of it. And, the lovably laidback vibe.
Lucknow 49
What is it: A homely Indian restaurant in Mayfair, from the chef behind Dum Biryani in Soho.
Why go: The goat biryani. Royally good rice.
Mao Chow
What is it: A vegan, cash-only, Sichuan street food joint in Hackney.
Why go: The smacked cucumber. The dry-fried beans. The dan dan noodles.
Master Wei
What is it: A Bloomsbury restaurant serving food from China's Shaanxi province.
Why go: For the traditional liangpi noodles. Chilly but brilli(ant).
Moio
What is it: A modern European neighbourhood restaurant with Portuguese leanings.
Why go: For things that make you go 'ooh'.
No. Fifty Cheyne
What is it: A stylish brasserie on Chelsea's posh Cheyne Walk.
Why go: For chargrilled, melt-in-the-mouth rib-eye steak.
Numnum
What is it: A trendy Southwark joint serving southern Chinese cooking.
Why go: The kung pao chicken: as tender as tender gets.
Orasay
What is it: A smart-casual neighbourhood restaurant from chef Jackson Boxer.
Why go: The brown bread ice cream with popcorn: a £5 holy grail of puds.
Parrillan
What is it: An outdoor terrace restaurant from Barrafina, offering tabletop grilling.
(NOTE: this restaurant is only open during summer months.)
Why go: The pork collar. The milk-fed lambs’ kidneys. That £5 baby gem salad.
Peg
What is it: A neighbourhood restaurant in Hackney serving modern izakaya-style food.
Why go: Records in the corner. Service with a smile. Drinking food to die for.
Sichuan Grand
What is it: A smart Sichuan restaurant in Stratford.
Why go: The jellyfish. Black vinegar, garlic and just enough crunch.
Soutine
What is it: A neighbourhood bistro from the duo behind The Wolseley.
Why go: It's like a Parisian bistro, only, well, better.
Venue says Taking inspiration from the great boulevard cafés of Paris, Soutine is an informal neighbourhood rendezvous in St John’s Wood.
Spice Box
What is it: A permanent restaurant for the Indian vegan street food stall.
Why go: For crowd-pleasing, filling grub that’s flavour-packed and plant-based.
Terra Rossa
What is it: A low-key Puglian trattoria in Islington.
Why go: For a fava bean purée you'll want to bathe in.
Venue says Authentic Italian charm, Terra Rossa takes diners on a journey through the sun-baked region of Puglia renowned for its rich local cuisine.
Thunderbird Fried Chicken
What is it: A street-foody fried chicken joint in Brixton Market.
Why go: For the Meltdown: a phenomenal burger with melty, miso-laced cheese.
Xier
What is it: An innovative tasting-menu restaurant in Marylebone.
Why go: Because, admit it, you love food more than the person sitting next to you.
Yeni
What is it: The Soho outpost of famed Istanbul restaurant Yeni Lokanta.
Why go: Snazzy salad. Bread pudding fritters. And everything in between.
Yopo at The Mandrake
What is it: An all-day Fitzrovia dining room with South American influences.
Why go: For DIY tacos you won’t want to share.
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