Leonie Cooper

The yearly unveiling of the Michelin Guide’s ‘Great Britain and Ireland’ edition is always big news in the UK food-nerd world. For very good reason, too – London is one of the top-ranked cities in the world for fine dining. And it’s got plenty of those coveted stars. Newcomers on the last list include Time Out faves Evelyn’s Table and Trivet, and plenty more places that also appear in our meticulously compiled list of the best restaurants in London. The 2022 list also saw Ikoyi and The Clove Club scoring two sparkling stars, but there were no new full three stars awarded. While Michelin’s expertise on expensive, upmarket restaurants is well known, the Michelin Guide has been criticised for its lack of relevance to ordinary diners. Conspicuous by their absence are London’s more affordable places to eat. Still, if you’re feeling flush, read on to find all London restaurants with a Michelin star (or three). Excited to see what's next? The new Michelin Guide list is announced on March 27 2023. RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in London. 

Pizza: how do we love thee? Let us count the ways – which we will do so by offering up our selection of the very best ’za joints across the capital. The finest of fast foods, this delicious staple has been elevated far beyond its humble roots by Italian restaurants in London and beyond, and we know where to find these world-class wonders. Whether it’s delivered in a cardboard box or served in a swish restaurant, perfect pizza is hard to beat. Browse our list of the most excellent pizza parlours in town and try not to drool on your screen, you delightful dough-lovers. 

There’s honestly nowhere in the world like Soho. The haunt of poets, gangsters, trendsetters and many a louche genius, the seedy, sleazy and impossibly romantic heart of London’s West End is also home to loads of great independent shops, cafés, bars and, most importantly, restaurants. Its culinary diversity has been fuelled by centuries of immigration and cultural cross-pollination. From rustic French fare to Mediterranean small plates and tasty tapas, here is Time Out’s list of our absolute favourite Soho restaurants. Whether you fancy a slap-up meal or are just in the market for a mid-town pitstop, we definitely have you covered with this.  RECOMMENDED: Here are London’s best restaurants.

London is packed full of small plates restaurants, but before the trend infiltrated every kind of cuisine, there was tapas. The Spanish pioneered meals that involve sharing dishes of meat, seafood and veg that are small in size but, when done well, totally enormous in flavour. Whether you’re after reliable staples like tortilla and patatas bravas or you want to get adventurous with octopus, there’s a place on our list of London’s best tapas restaurants for you. Share nicely, now. RECOMMENDED: London’s best Spanish restaurants

Spanish cuisine is a many splendored thing. From the excellence of tapas – why have one dish when you can have five? – to big meaty stews and that most iconic of dishes; the paella, this is food that comes packed with depth and flavour. Try fine alfresco at Parrillan in Coal Drops Yard, or pull up a seat at The Counter at Sabor, Nieves Barragán Mohacho’s Michelin-starred Mayfair hotspot. If all you want is simply a sensational snack – like the almighty bite-size gilda – you'll also find options on this exhaustive list, which features veterans of the Iberian scene; meat-loving Lobos Soho, Basque champion Donostia in Marylebone and Waterloo veteran Mar i Terra. From tapas to more traditional regional dishes, here are the best restaurants in London for authentic Spanish food.  The best restaurants in London right now

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 a serious challenge. But here it is. The very best new restaurants in the capital.  Go forth and eat – featuring everything from Thai food with a pool table, fine dining surrounded by £50mil worth of masterpieces and a Turkish kebab classic reimagined for a new era.  RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in London

Whether you’re after a simple chippy or something a bit more snazzy (or even Michelin-starred), Notting Hill’s jam-packed with great cafés and restaurants. Whatever you desire – from a Carnival time top-up to a refined dinner – pile through our list below of the best eateries in this ace area. Fancy a pint afterwards? Here are Notting Hill's standout pubs. Or head for something a little more refined at the area's best bars.

There's nothing quite as romantic as a dinner date. Flowers, gifts and grand gestures are all well and good, but sharing a meal is the best way to conjure up some love, especially if the food is superb and the setting super special. 'Eating with abandon couldn't be more of a turn-on: it shows that you're comfortable with yourself,' said the late chef Anthony Bourdain, and we're inclined to agree. The places in our list of London’s most romantic restaurants all provide excellent opportunity to shove food in your face but call it flirting.  From chic French spots to elevated Japanese joints, we’ve got somewhere for every amorous encounter, whether a big date, anniversary dinner or ‘Yay! We got a babysitter’ celebration. Really want to push the (love) boat out? Then visit one of London's Michelin-starred restaurants with your beau. To paraphrase Shakespeare: if food be the food of love, munch on. But which are the best restaurants in all of London? These! RECOMMENDED: The most romantic hotels in London

Perfect pancakes are a Shrove Tuesday standard, but what if you can’t be bothered to FIY (flip it yourself)? Eat out, of course! Don't know where to go for your edible disc of joy? Well we do and have rounded up the best places for pancakes in London. There’s also way more to these carb-tastic delights than sugar and lemon. From meaty, cheese-oozing galettes to American-style delights at brunch and decadent crêpes for dessert, these are the finest pancakes in town – for the big day (Feb 21, 2023) and beyond. 

Thronging with museum-bound tourists and suited diplomats it may be, but bustling South Ken has a very fertile – if inevitably spenny – food scene. From superlative Michelin-starred spots to upmarket chain restaurants, timeless Eastern European stalwarts and faux-rustic haunts for the Barbour brigade, there’s something for everyone in this flash part of town (with some of London’s outright best restaurants and best dishes chucked in there, too).

Battersea is more than just a lovely ol’ park. There are loads of banging bars, restaurants and places to picnic in the vicinity, from swish spots at the new Battersea Power Station development to casual places by the river. Here’s a list of our favourite spots to stop by around Battersea and Clapham Junction – keep it close, you’ll need it the next time you’re in the area.

What could be better than a special evening spent up West? We’re talking full glad rags and a trip to one of central London’s world-beating theatres – with interval drinks, of course. Then, instead of heading home straight after, why not make a proper night of it and retire to one of London’s finest restaurants for an excellent meal and a cocktail or three while you chew over the play or musical you’ve just seen? Here are the legendary spots we recommend for a night to remember. RECOMMENDED: These are London’s best restaurants right now.

If you’ve put anything resembling pasta in your mouth in London over the past few years, you’re likely familiar with the folk behind Jacuzzi. The never-knowingly-discreet Big Mamma Group has already bestowed the dramatic – and occasionally verging-on-the-ludicrous – likes of Gloria, Ave Mario and Circolo Popolare on the city’s Italian-cuisine-noshing masses, and now comes its fourth shot at livin’ La Dolce Vita.  High Street Kensington’s ornate Jacuzzi impressively straddles the line between high camp and high class. Like being invited into Sophia Loren’s boudoir, it’s at once seductive, sort of silly and kind of overwhelming; plants – in fact, trees – are everywhere, colourful glassware hangs from the ceiling, lavish majolica-style ceramics adorn the tables and – on the very top floor of this labyrinthine four-storey building – there are massive knickers in frames and toilets tiled with hundreds of tiny, artfully painted dicks (which, for our money is far more of a draw than the much-talked about mirror-ball covered ‘disco loo’ in the basement).  Like being invited into Sophia Loren’s boudoir, it’s at once seductive, sort of silly and kind of overwhelming. But we already know that Big Mamma can do interior design – what of the food, I hear you ask? We steered clear of the staples and showstoppers – the table next to us ordered the mega massive offering of spaghetti served in a pecorino wheel, which filled us up just looking at it – and instead went for something a touch mor

Talk to me for any longer than, say, ten seconds, and I will inevitably steer the conversation towards the fact that I used to live in Los Angeles. As soon as that shameless clanger is dropped, it won’t be long until I start banging on about Night + Market Song. I became wildly obsessed with this small and endlessly enjoyable Thai restaurant in Silverlake thanks to its fabulously sweet and sticky ‘party’ chicken wings, dangerously refreshing minced larb salads, and fondness for blasting out huge bangers while a steady stream of customers cooled their mouths from punchy papaya salads with a lengthy list of natural wines. Though the first Night + Market Song opened in 2014, spawning two other outlets in LA, it’s taken until now for chef Kris Yenbamroong to bring the concept over the Pond. After a successful pop-up at Rondo La Cave in Holborn’s The Hoxton, it’s now found its London forever home at the newly opened Shepherd’s Bush branch of the same hotel chain as Chet’s.  A gloriously gloopy blue-cheese-slathered wedge salad, complete with candied pork jowl and garlic nam jim dipping sauce, was more like a soup The London menu isn’t a carbon copy of what’s on offer at the three LA outlets – which, surprisingly, I am actually fine about. Instead, it dives into Yenbamroong’s deeply Californian take on Thai food. Sure, a few trad dishes are present and correct: there’s authentic larb gai with chicken, lime, mint and coriander chilli, as well as smooth, rich coconut and lemongrass

The cult of St John is a powerful one. Since opening in an airy old smokehouse by Smithfield meat market in 1994, Fergus Henderson’s innately chic white-walled restaurant has become a byword for all that is good and decent about British fine dining. Some off-shoots have sadly floundered – RIP to Chinatown’s St John Hotel, which now only lives on in repeats of St John superfan Anthony Bourdian’s ‘The Layover’ – but the hallowed Spitalfields’ Bread + Wine has been offering an alternate location for hearty nose-to-tail feasting since 2003. A couple of small bakeries aside – one in Covent Garden, one in Bermondsey – St John Marylebone marks its biggest opening in an age. It’s as if they were biding their time in order to find the perfect location. If so, it’s paid off. Eschewing nearby Soho for something a little more low-key, St John’s third London restaurant is opposite the fabulous Golden Eagle boozer and far away enough from the main drag of Oxford Street to make you feel like you’ve stumbled across a secret, but close enough to make getting there easy.  A braised cuttlefish stew came on like a lost folk-horror masterpiece Reminiscent of a bijou version of the Smithfield location, St John Marylebone benefits from its intimacy – upstairs there’s an open kitchen and big windows, but downstairs is a cosy basement, where the lack of natural light might just lead to that brilliant thing – a lunch so lavish that you forget what time it is, only to stumble out at 5pm, pleasantly d

At the frankly iridescent Saltie Girl, everything glistens gorgeously in varying shades of turquoise, cream and gold. Walls sparkle, tables glimmer and tiles twinkle. It’s like we’ve somehow found ourselves inside one of the elegant tins of high-end canned fish that this Bostonian transplant prides itself on offering up alongside its more traditional seafood menu.  Following the original New England location – and with a recent opening in Los Angeles, too – this Audley Street spot is swisher than swish. The menu talks of ‘pristine’ fish, which naturally means a high price tag (remember, we’re in Mayfair) but also equals some seriously top drawer fruits de la mer. Their staggeringly long ‘tin list’ might sound like a gimmick, but it’s done with such dedication it’s hard to not be impressed. They’re mostly from Spain and Portugal, and there are almost 100 different kinds available, from razor clams in brine to spiced squid in ragout. We plumped for a £20 offering of octopus, which came served in the opened tin – so we could eat it much like feral cats might – but also arrived with a sizable array of accoutrements. It was a picnic fit for Poseidon, with three types of salt, a ball of perfectly spreadable crunchy butter, pickled piparra peppers, rich and sweet piquillo pepper jam, and squidgy wedges of french bread.  As concepts go, serving expensive tinned fish is enough to hang an entire restaurant chain on, but Saltie Girl delivers much more. Oysters were exquisite, and the r

Taku is an extremely serious place. So serious that when me and my friend arrive at the plush Albemarle Street address, the front door is unbolted to let us in, and then swiftly locked behind us. Welcome to sushi Alcatraz. With a maximum of 16 covers who perch along a light pine bar, this highly fancy omakase joint is headed up by chef Takuya Watanabe. Watanabe knows good fish – he used to be behind the counter at Jin, Paris’s first omakase to score a Michelin star – and now he’s bringing edomae to one of Mayfair’s grandest thoroughfares. Harking back to the way fish was cured with vinegar to preserve it during the 1800s Edo-period, this is a deeply traditional style of Japanese cuisine. But before we take a little trip to the past, we’re delivered a round of bracingly modern small dishes as part of our 20 – 20! – course set dinner.  Using largely British ingredients, first comes a tiny white pot of mussel soup, steamingly hot, bracingly fishy and as transportive to the seaside as the fast train to Margate. Then it’s time for slithers of catwalk-worthy line-caught sea bass from Cornwall before a hilariously good and creamy French abalone risotto which is graced with shavings of white truffle. Even more attractive is a bowl of steamed lobster held captive in a glistening jelly, then layered with folds of sea urchin and dotted with teeny tiny purple flowers. Each dish is incredible, yet in this rather clinical setting it’s hard to enjoy these chic delights with anything more th

For those who don’t speak Latin, and like me, rely on Google Translate when it comes to interpreting dead classical languages, ‘In Horto’ means ‘In The Garden’. Which makes total sense when you arrive at this determinedly al fresco Southwark spot and walk inside to realise that, wait, hey; you’re still outside! The place is pretty much a big patio, with plants hanging from wooden rafters and a fancy brick oven in the corner where much of the Mediterranean menu is crafted. Fans of fresh air – and who doesn’t love fresh air, honestly? – will be happy with this spacious set-up, as will folk who have bought a nice new jacket and want people to see that they have a nice new jacket, rather than immediately hiding it away in a cloakroom.  But it’s not just the breezy, external nature of the place that makes In Horto proudly align itself with the great outdoors, it’s the food too. Earthy and bountiful, it offers the kind of hearty spread you would expect Monty Don to tuck into after a hard day tending to his dahlias. Monty, of course, would order the bread basket, so we do too, slathering our carbs with creamy burnt onion and ‘Nduja butter using a wooden knife that made me and my friend feel like hungry medieval reenactors. Despite the commitment to butch wood-fired cooking, starters were gentle and light; think burrata, fig with cherry molasses and crab meat in charred baby gem.  It offers the kind of hearty spread you would expect Monty Don to tuck into after a hard day tending to

Do not ask if Soho needs another counter tapas spot with an open kitchen and bar seating, and instead ask why you would refuse another opportunity to knock back oily little boquerones with a side of sherry in London’s joyful heartland. Maresco is the newest resident of 45 Berwick Street’s prime corner site, previously home to tea house Yumchaa. It’s also the latest offering from genial Scotsman Stephen Lironi, 1980s popstar (Lironi and his wife Clare Grogan remain members of cult new wave band Altered Images) and music producer, who heads up a coterie of Spanish-inspired seafood restaurants which pride themselves on using only fish from Lironi’s homeland. Maresco is the third, and his debut central London spot following Crouch End’s Bar Esteban and Stoke Newington’s Escocesa. The latter is much-loved amongst NTS-mainlining jazz-heads not just for crisp fried aubergine drizzled in honey, but a massive neon ‘Dream Baby Dream’ sign, perfect for paying tribute to noise-fuzz legends Suicide’s greatest song while swilling manzanilla.  Maresco has all the hallmarks of a new Soho staple  Maresco boasts a similar aesthetic to its N16 sister site. It’s not particularly fancy, but it’s welcoming. Strings of fairy lights twinkle by the trademark blue neon signage and high stools run along the windows: perfect for watching Soho’s beautiful oddballs go by, as well as next to the kitchen; perfect for watching chefs prepare intricate bocadillo de calamar. Here, the sandwich-like tapas class

No disrespect to my stunning pals, but I never have I ever dined this close to a masterpiece. At Mount St Restaurant however, I found myself eating mere inches from a Matisse, and an arm’s length away from a Lucian Freud. There’s a Warhol here, a Louise Bourgeois there, a Picasso around the corner, and a custom marble floor mural by contemporary conceptual artist Rashid Johnson. All in all, there are 200 world-class pieces of art, worth a combined total of £50 million. Ludicrous. Before you get to exec chef Jamie Shears’s outrageously good menu of elevated trad British dining classics, this five-floor palace is well worth a gawp.  Mount St opened in October, the first London-based project from Artfarm, a hospitality group founded by the same folk behind the hugely respected gallerists Hauser & Wirth, and who already run the acclaimed Roth Bar & Grill at their elegant space in Bruton, Somerset. The location is punchy, right in the heart of Mayfair’s most seasoned dining parade near the swish likes of Scott’s and Jamavar, and includes the revamped Audley Public House on the ground floor – complete with a custom ceiling by Phyllida Barlow. But what could have just been an opportunity to get some of the back catalogue out of storage, has quickly become the capital’s most talked-about new restaurant opening. Even King Charles has been here, choosing to eat with Camilla in the main public room, rather than one of the spectacular private dining rooms. These you access by a psychedel

For all of Speedboat Bar’s flashy, fabulous chaos – the real Thai racing boats strung from the ceiling, the pool table in the first-floor bar, the wobbling three-litre towers of Singha beer that are constantly being carried across the room and the 1am weekend licence – there is some seriously sophisticated cooking going on at what at first glance seems to be a simple Rupert Street party restaurant.  Consider, if you will, the fried whole mackerel in red curry with makrut lime, a dish both dainty and blow-your-socks-off flavourful, where perfectly crispy skin gave way to delicate, soft flesh. Or the salad of chicken matches with green mango kerabu, where the slimmest of wings hid in a deftly spiced heap of crisp fruit. Or heat-seeking prawn ceviche missiles, which came dotted with a bullseye of garlic and chilli as a warning.   Though it might sound hard to believe, the flavours were louder than the decor, and even the luminous blue sports shirts worn by the helpful serving staff. I’m sure you don’t want to be bored by restaurant industry insider chat, suffice to say that Speedboat Bar is the latest spot from JKS, a hospitality group we can also thank for the globe-trotting likes of Hoppers, Bao and Gymkhana – as well as the dearly departed Taiwanese teahouse Xu, which previously occupied Speedboat Bar’s side-street site. They’ve teamed up with Luke Farrell, a Thai-food obsessive who’s already impressed the capital’s hungriest mouths this year with Plaza Khao Gaeng over in Arc

Supa Ya Ramen is fully aware that it’s not ‘the real deal’. In fact, it embraces it. Since starting out as a roving supper club, then opening a bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Dalston back in 2021, it has proudly served ‘inauthentic ramen’. For the uninitiated, this is former Nopi and Berber & Q chef Luke Findlay’s idiosyncratic and playful take on Japanese cuisine. He brings a British twist to proceedings; a pie, mash and eel liquor noodle extravaganza isn’t on the menu yet, but that’s the kind of wacky – but not, like, annoyingly wacky – world of fusion we’re working in.  Even though it offers items that might elicit a raised eyebrow from traditionalists – ham, egg and chips mazemen, anyone? – Supa Ya quickly proved it isn’t simply stunt food. A year after opening its first spot, it’s taken on south London. The second branch sits in the Rye Lane site previously occupied by much-loved Mexican joint Taco Queen. It’s a narrow room with limited covers, but there’s loose, somewhat wayward energy here. If a party started over by the bog – which comes complete with a glittery loo seat – you wouldn’t be surprised. You might even put your chopsticks down and join in. Proceedings began with a dish that remains de rigueur at London’s most desirable dining destinations: a lil’ plate of pickles. We crunched on tangy slabs of fermented fennel and turnip, but the real star of the small plate starters was a blooming onion. Uncoiled and deep-fried before being slathered in miso mustard, Kew

Omakase is the true saviour of the lazy diner. Find menus overwhelming? Can’t be bothered to read, consider and then, after all that hard work, finally choose what you want to eat? No worries! At an omakase counter the chef will treat you like the big adult baby you are and pick all your food for you.  At Sushi Kamon, that chef is the cool, calm and collected Michael Nonato. He’s so laser-focused that he doesn’t even bat an eyelid at the England World Cup game which is blaring away on a massive screen across the room. Instead he mindfully slices salmon and tenderly cups then shapes freshly cooked sushi rice with his bare hands. He is the man you want on your side when shit goes down. If you’re wondering why the football is playing at an omakase counter, that’s because this particular omakase counter is part of the rightfully buzzy Arcade Food Hall. So alongside Sushi Kamon’s cosy corner spot, you’ll also find a carefully curated selection of global street food stands, including Mexa’s zingy tacos and the Southern Thai delights of Plaza Khao Gaeng. If you want to stuff your face it’s the ideal place, but if you’re after something a little more zen then maybe take your quiet romantic date elsewhere. The first showstopper was a chunk of yellowtail scattered with a giddy sundried tomato and parmesan relish That said, it turns out I love a lairy atmosphere with my tasting menu. Michael starts by showing the assembled handful of diners what’s in store for the evening, flashing us

The evolution of the mighty Mangal II has become London food lore. The first restaurant brought charcoal ocakbasi cooking from Istanbul to the UK in the early 1990s and a few years later came the larger, loftier Mangal II. Owner Ali Dirik made it London’s most-loved Turkish grill, famous for juicy lamb chops, bountiful borek and lashings of squeaky hellim cheese. A bastion of value slap-up feasts and home to hungover group gatherings in rapidly gentrifying Dalston, the great and the good and the absolutely ravenous of East London flocked in their droves. Once I sat so close to Diane Abbott I could have helped myself to her hummus.  Though Mangal II’s food remained traditional for over two decades, other things did not. In 2012 Ferhat Dirik – son of Ali – made Mangal II’s Twitter the sassiest social media account you ever scrolled; slagging off Mumford and Sons one minute and brutally baiting local hipsters the next, all while harbouring a vicious vendetta against the neighbouring Nando's.  In 2021 there was yet another change of tack. Despite their reputation as Hackney’s kings of kofte, Mangal II was in trouble due to Covid closures and worrying debts. Ali handed the grill to another son, Sertaç, who had been cheffing in Copenhagen at Noma’s sister spot 108. With no great fuss, Mangal II became a much more bougie proposition. There was also a lowkey refit; a blue and white paint job, the flashy red sign replaced by a sleek sans serif logo and a suitably wry poster by local a

Heartbreaking news reaches us from the fringes of Finsbury Park. The area’s longstanding Sylvanian Families shop – Europe’s only independent store dedicated to selling the small and adorable animal figures – will be shutting down for good this April. Time Out was alerted to this tragic development via Instagrammer and comedian Luke Poulton, who recently posted a video about the shop in which he revealed the news. The store, which has been open for 30 years, will be closing in the spring and alerted its customers to the closure with a sign which reveals that the owners are retiring.  Their online store will also be shutting after the Easter holidays at the end of April. ‘Thank you for being wonderful collectors, enthusiasts, friends and neighbours and for supporting our business over the past 30 years, we couldn’t have done it without you,’ reads a message in the Mountgrove Road shop’s window. Sob.  They confirm that you’ll still be able to buy members of the fuzzy gang from other retailers, ‘but for us, our journey with the brand is at an end’.  The store was voted one of Time Out’s 100 best shops in London and is known far and wide for stocking a vast array of lovable lil’ animals and matching accessories, as well as discontinued and rare items from the magical world of Sylvanian Families – a Japanese children’s toy which was born in the 1980s and became a global success story.  68 Mountgrove Rd, N5 2LT. Hackney plans to turn three-quarters of its road

A brand new street sign for the renamed Black Boy Lane in south Tottenham has been vandalised just two days after it was put up. The road, which is now named ‘La Rose Lane’ after activist and author John La Rose, changed its name after residents shared concerns over the name’s racist connotations. However, after the new sign was erected on Monday January 23, vandals painted over the new name and replaced it with the street’s former name. Many local residents were thought to be against the name change, displaying signs with the street’s original name in their windows to express their opposition.  Peray Ahmet, leader of Haringey Council and councillor for nearby Noel Park in Wood Green shared an image of the graffiti, writing: ‘Really sad and disappointed to have been sent this today. This follows a fantastic launch yesterday where we celebrated the life and legacy of John La Rose. What could this ever achieve beyond mindless vandalism.’ Really sad and disappointed to have been sent this today. This follows a fantastic launch yesterday where we celebrated the life and legacy of John La Rose. What could this ever achieve beyond mindless vandalism. pic.twitter.com/FjctjVH3fX— Peray Ahmet (@perayahmet) January 24, 2023 " />   A statement released by Haringey Council explained why the name change took place: ‘The decision to rename the street as La Rose Lane was made in response to concerns raised by residents that Black Boy Lane had racist connotations and

Like James Bond? Like drinking alcohol? Well, have we got the spot for you. Following a big-money renovation, Park Lane’s historic 1930s Dorchester hotel has opened a brand new cocktail spot, the Vesper Bar.  The newly reopened ground floor of the luxe Mayfair landmark includes the brand new Artist’s Bar – complete with Liberace’s legendary mirrored piano – and a swanked-up Promenade area, but The Vesper Bar is one for the real spy heads.  Formerly home to the acclaimed Bar at The Dorchester, the new space has been whipped into shape by Stockholm-born Martin Brudnizki, the interior designer behind the lavish Annabel’s as well as various Soho House ventures. Head bartender Lucia Montanelli will be on hand to whip up classics and house specialities, including, of course, the Vesper Martini – popularised by James Bond author Ian Fleming in his 1953 novel ‘Casino Royale’.  And what is a Vesper Martini, we hear you ask? We’ll leave that to Bond himself. ‘Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet [a bitters containing quinine]. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?’ We have! The bar itself is inspired by the 1930s, the era when the Dorchester was built and its revamp also includes a new dedicated entrance direct from Park Lane, as well as an outdoor terrace with views over nearby Hyde Park. Dorchester hotel, 53 Park Lane, W1K 1QA. Here's everything we know about the new James Bond film Trader Vic's h

Happy Lunar New Year! London’s best bao joints are celebrating the Year of the Rabbit – which begins this Sunday January 22 – with some very special sweet and savoury baos and steamed buns. Here’s our pick of the fluffle. Bun House, Soho Jess Hand This tasty trio sees Bun House’s very own bunny bun infused with the classic Cantonese sweet; White Rabbit Candy Creams. They’ve also got a ‘Faat Choi’ Bun of Fortune with black-sesame lava and a ‘Dai Gut’ Bun of Luck, which is packed with dark-chocolate and mandarin flavours and looks uncannily like an actual orange. Magic. The winner of the Battle of the Buns is crowned! Bao, King’s Cross and Shoreditch Jess Hand Bao’s rather grumpy-looking bunny head comes stuffed with a red-bean curd and white-chocolate filling. They might be angry, but they’re pretty damn tasty – maybe they’re just miffed at the thought of being shamelessly scoffed? Until February 5, you can also have a celebratory group feast in Bao’s private dining rooms, with house pickles and crispy noodles followed by classic bao with braised pork and fermented greens, cull yaw dumplings, soy-glazed aubergine and Taiwanese fried chicken. It’s £39 per person.  Daddy Bao, Tooting Jess Hand Tooting’s neighbourhood Taiwanese restaurant Daddy Bao has a brand new fragrant fish bao on offer especially for Lunar New Year. It comes as part of an eight-course tasting menu available on the evenings January 23 and 24, alongside the likes of grilled scallop with umami butter and

Brixton Academy will be closed for three months following the deaths of two people after a crowd crush at a gig in December. Afrobeats artist Asake was playing the venue on Thursday December 15 when a fatal crush happened in the venue's foyer. Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, and Gaby Hutchinson, 23, who was working on the security team, both died due to their injuries in the days following the concert. Eight people were taken to hospital and Asake’s show was pulled after three songs.  The venue was already temporarily closed, but following a council hearing on Monday January 16 it was decided that the venue would remain shut for a further three months while the police investigate the incident.  Academy Music Group – who owns the venue – had pre-empted the decision and announced on Saturday that it would be closing the venue for another three months. The Met police have said that the closure would ‘allow time to work with the venue to facilitate a safe reopening and to ensure appropriate safeguards, aimed at improving public safety, are in place’. The Guardian reports that though the fatal crush was initially blamed on people without tickets who were attempting to force their way into the venue, witnesses have suggested that the ‘vast majority’ of people outside the building did have tickets to the show, and that people without tickets were already inside Brixton Academy.  The investigation is reviewing evidence from CCTV and phone footage, as well as accounts submitted online by membe

Ronnie Scott’s is calling upon its regulars – as well as those of a non-jazzy persuasion – to bring any unwanted or unloved instruments to the club so they can give them back to the community. The legendary Soho jazz club is hosting its annual ‘instrument amnesty’ on January 28, and its doors will be open from 10am to 3pm for donations. Got a guitar that you don’t strum no more? Or a flute that hasn’t felt the delicate touch of your fingers in years? You know what to do. Rather than letting them gather dust, take them to Ronnie Scott’s HQ at 47 Frith Street and feel all lovely about the fact that soon they’ll be getting some much-needed love and attention in underfunded schools across London as well as from kids across the UK and overseas. Ronnie Scott’s Charitable Foundation will be working with the charities Music For All and Sistema England to ensure that all the instruments donated find their forever homes. The amnesty is also calling upon its famous fans to donate their musical instruments. Who knows, Lady Gaga might drop off a spare keyboard, or Van Morrison could testily shuffle a spare sax their way. Last year 500+ instruments were donated, and the likes of Sam Smith and Nitin Sawhney have been among the celebrity muso donors.  Ada Ologbosere, head of the Ronnie Scott’s Charitable Foundation, says: ‘The Musical Instrument Amnesty is becoming a staple in our annual calendar and we are grateful to everyone who has donated over the years. Through this initiative, we ha

UPDATE: We come bearing excellent news. I Camisa & Son will live to sell another sandwich! The store has been granted a two year lease extension following negotiations with the landlord. The Soho Society shared the fabulous news at the end of 2022. So go forth and support this Old Compton Street landmark by stocking up on tasty Italian goods.  A legendary Italian deli in Soho is having to close because of the rising cost of living. I Camisa & Son has been around since 1929, selling its famous Italian sandwiches, pasta and other goodies. Originally owned by two Camisa brothers, the shop was sold in 2014 to Italian importer Alivini. But over the past couple of years, the Old Compton Street store has struggled to make money and has announced it will close for ever after Christmas unless someone saves it.  Gianni Segatta, a director at Alivini, told CODE Hospitality that staying open would be ‘impossible’. He said: ‘We cannot run the business now. It’s very sad. It’s a historic brand and we love it, but everything is so difficult. We don’t want to close it down, but in the end it’s pointless to carry on because we’re losing too much.’ He added: ‘We have explained the situation – turnover is too low. We looked into selling the brand but we must also focus on other things.’ The deli’s sandwiches, which still cost a fiver, are revered in London, but the shop doesn’t want to up its prices. ‘Energy prices, rates, VAT, and salaries are all too high now and we cannot raise prices becaus

Romesh Ranganathan isn’t just a funny guy. That was 2022 Romesh. 2023 Romesh has range. The comedian is now also a culinary king and he's kicking off the new year in the form of a very special plant-based collaboration with the faves at Yard Sale Pizza.  Available at all branches of Yard Sale from January 4 until the end of this month (which is apparently known as ‘Veganuary’ in some circles), the ‘Romesh Spesh’ is a totally vegan ’za topped with curried aubergine, coconut sambol, mint raita, curry leaf and chilli oil. It’s based on Romesh’s mum’s Sri Lankan aubergine curry. Interested? We imagine you are.  ‘The team at Yard Sale worked out a way we could get the flavour of an aubergine curry to work on a pizza,’ Romesh told Time Out, ‘and, boy, did they achieve that. I’ve always loved coconut sambol, and with the mint raita it rounds off the pizza perfectly for a decent amount of spice and freshness.’  As well as the collab sounding absolutely delicious, a portion of the proceeds from sales of Romesh Speshes will go to mental health charity CALM. This really is guilt-free gluttony at its finest. ‘My mates have all told me that this is a career highlight for me,’ added a deeply excitable Romesh.  Grab a Romesh Spesh in either 12" or big old 18" sizes and eat in at one of Yard Sale’s nine London locations – from Crystal Palace to Walthamstow – or scoff it in the comfort of your own home via delivery or takeaway. We don’t mind if you don’t want to the leave the house; it’s cold

Veggie Pret, the vegetarian Pret a Manger off-shoot that launched six years ago, will be closing most of its outlets. It turns out that the people weren't as hungry for smoky carrot and falafel sarnies as the mega fast food chain thought, and only the Shoreditch and Soho branches will remain. As spin-offs go, it seems like Veggie Pret was less of a Frasier, and more of a Joey.* Four Veggie Pret stores have already pulled down their big green shutters and the Canary Wharf chain is being turned into a regular red Pret, with meat back on the menu. Welcome home, oh sweet Jambon-Beurre. It's thought the remaining Veggie Prets in Manchester and London will also be turned into normo Prets.  A spokesperson explained the reason behind the Veggie Pret closures is that regular Prets now cater just as well to hungry lunchtime vegetarians. 'Over half of our menu is vegetarian or vegan, with meat-free and vegan options accounting for one in three of our main meals sales.' They continued: 'Our focus now is to keep growing our extensive vegetarian and vegan offer in every Pret shop, so we’ve decided to convert or close some of our current Veggie Prets.' They added that the remaining Shoreditch and Soho branches of Veggie Pret will 'continue to develop new vegan and vegetarian options to be rolled out to our classic Prets'.  You can get bargain pastries galore at London’s first Greggs outlet store The iconic Fenwick’s department store on Bond Street is closing after 130 years *Frasier being t

Pubs. Not just places to have a lovely pint in, but places to go and find a sense of community. Nobody knows this more than Wimbledon’s Alexandra, who are offering a free slap-up Christmas dinner to anyone who’ll be alone this festive season. The Alex has been putting on this special spread since 2014, looking out for people who happen to be on their ones over Christmas and don’t particularly want to be. Think grannies whose kids all live abroad, stranded international students and literally anyone else who doesn't have anywhere else to go to. Last year, the Alex served up Chrimbo dinner to 146 folk who would have been alone otherwise.  Everyone is welcome and you don't even have to live locally to get an invite. All you have to do is go to the pub on Christmas Day between 12pm and 3pm and you'll be presented with a gratis three course meal as well as some wine and the chance to make some new pals, as you'll be sat on tables of four, six or eight. If that's not absolutely lovely and heartwarming and exactly what Xmas is all about then I'll eat my Christmas stocking.  Are we doing our FREE Christmas day dinner & booze thing for anyone who's otherwise on their own this year? Course we are. Don't be on your own on Christmas day, come to us instead. We'll give you FREE dinner & vino, I 100% promise you there's no catch. Just come ❤️ pic.twitter.com/q6SqYDR95e— The Alexandra (@TheAlexSW19) December 6, 2022 So if you, or someone you know, looks set to spend December 25 alone, then

Café de Paris might have closed its extremely elegant doors almost two years ago, but the London landmark now has a reopening date.  It’s a serious case of Under New Management however, with the storied West End nightclub – which will spark back into life in February 2023 – now trading as a high-octane cabaret bar run by Balearic hospitality bigwigs the Pacha Group.  The Grade II venue, which opened in 1924, will now be known as Lío London – joining similar venues in Ibiza, Mykonos, and Las Vegas – and promising a “spectacular, sassy and sexy modern show featuring a troupe of singers, dancers, acrobats and international artists bringing pulsating performances and high-volume energy to our audience.” Gosh. The brand’s glitzy website features an image of a woman eating her own plaited tail. If the mere mention of anything ‘immersive’ brings you out in hives, you might want to skip this one out. Though the elegant space should retain much of its historic charm – and that iconic double staircase – thanks to its listed status, Spanish architectural design studio Lázaro Rosa-Viola will be adding some contemporary disco-friendly touches, such as mirrored ceilings and a moveable DJ booth. Food will come from Adam Rawson – who’s put in time at The Standard, Laylow and Pachamama.  Through tragically bombed during the Blitz, when at least 34 people were killed, including bandleader ‘Snakehips’ Johnson, Café de Paris became a longstanding celebrity hotspot upon its 1948 reopening. Frank

It’s time to pour one out of a mug shaped like coconut, as word reaches us that the iconic Trader Vic’s has been served an eviction notice after almost 60 years of slinging sugary sweet rum-based cocktails.  The first ever international outpost of the classic Polynesian-themed tiki bar – and currently the oldest continually running branch in the world – this particular Trader Vic’s opened in 1963 and can be found in the basement of the London Hilton hotel on Park Lane. Well, until December 31, which is the date the hotel has told the bar it needs to shut up shop by, according to Frommers.  Rhett Rosen, CEO of Trader Vic’s, has said in a statement to fans of the bar that the Hilton has ‘decided to renovate’, adding, ‘I wanted to say from the bottom of my heart how much we appreciate and love all of you.’ A petition to save the bar can be found at Change.org. Though the tiki craze may have passed a few decades ago – and with only a handful of Trader Vic’ses left – the closing of this camp classic of mid-century bar culture marks the end of an era. Founded by Vic Bergeron – who also claimed to have invented the Mai Tai – in the 1930s in Oakland, California, his bar was franchised throughout the 1950s and 1960s to capitalise on the boom for all things tropical.  The first ever hotel-based Trader Vic’s opened in 1955 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, and the bars soon became a byword for relaxed glam and postwar globetrotting, with their rattan roofs, Pacific islands decor an