Leonie Cooper

September 2026: There's a brand new Number 1, with the frankly exceptional Impala in Soho taking the top spot as our favourite new restaurant in London. Other fresh additions include Kid in Soho, Kismet in Borough Market, Cloudstreet in Stoke Newington, Cafe Clement by the Thames in Temple, Hon's BBQ in Hackney Wick, Cue Point in Notting Hill, Vesper in Clerkenwell and Kinz in Notting Hill. Hungry yet? Every week, a frankly silly amount of brilliant new restaurants, cafés and street food joints arrive in London. Which makes whittling down a shortlist of the best newbies a serious challenge. But here it is. The 20 very best new restaurants in the capital, ranked in order of greatness and deliciousness. All of them have opened over the past 12 months and been visited by our hungry critics. So go forth and take inspo from this list, which is updated regularly. Check in often to find out what we really rate on the London restaurant scene. And look here for all the info about the best new openings in September 2026. London's best new restaurants at a glance: 🥩 Central: Impala, Soho 🍷 North: Cloudstreet, Stoke Newington 🦐 South: The Victory, East Dulwich 🍝 East: Hon's BBQ, Hackney Wick 🥗 West: Maai by Nikita, Fulham Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best restaurants in London. The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest reviews: we’re serving it all on our L

Eating out in north-east London neighbourhood Stokey is always a good time. A perfect day in N16 would involve an all-out Indian veggie feast at Rasa or maybe Scottish-Spanish tapas at Escocesa. The best Stoke Newington restaurants at a glance: 🍟 Best for American diner food: Johnny Boys 🍛 Best for vegetarian Indian cuisine: Rasa 🍷 Best for gastropub greatness: The Clarence 🇪🇸 Best for Spanish tapas: Escocesa 🥞 Best for breakfast in the park: Fink's at Clissold House  But we'll leave it up to you to make your own edible agenda; to help, here are the very best restaurants in Stoke Newington. And if you want to carry on the party, then why not check out the best pubs and bars in the area for a great after dinner pint or two. RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in Hackney.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Fancy a big night out? Head to Shoreditch. Want Danish craft beer co-owned by Rick Astley or independently produced Italian wine? Shoreditch. In the mood to drink in a jazz-era speakeasy or quirky cocktail bar? You guessed it: Shoreditch is the place for you. The east London neighbourhood pretty much has it all when it comes to large evenings on the town, and we’ve handpicked the bars you should visit next time you’re in the area pining for more than a pint. You can also check out the best pubs in Shoreditch if cocktails aren’t quite your thing.  RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in Shoreditch. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

September 2026: Sunday roast season has finally returned to London. A boozey, end-of-the-weekend lunch is what we're all about in this city, and as well as more unique takes on the roast from the likes of the Macbeth in Hoxton, Buster Mantis in Deptford and Rice Paddy in Peckham, we're all about celebrating the classic meat-spuds-and-gravy variety of Sunday lunch. Enjoy masterful takes on the roast at The Golden Tooth on Green Lanes, The Duke Organic in Islington, and The Camberwell Arms in south London. And watch out for later in the month, when two of our favourite roasts return to London; the all-vegan slap-up roast at LD's Kitchen at the Imperial Palace of Big Red in Camden and Ling Ling's Chinese-inspired roast at Godet in Islington.  London’s best Sunday roasts at a glance: 🥩 Central: Quality Chop House, Clerkenwell 😇 North: The Golden Tooth, Newington Green ⛪ South: Old Nun’s Head, Nunhead 🌈 East: The Nelson’s, Hackney 🍻 West: The Mall Tavern, Notting Hill Sunday lunch. There’s nothing quite like it. An elemental meal, one that Londoners take incredibly seriously. Debates about what constitutes the ‘perfect’ Sunday roast have been known to last for hours. There is no shortage of top roasts and Sunday lunch options in London. We’ve rounded up the city’s best Sunday meals from a host of pubs, restaurants and breweries all around town. What makes a good roast? For us, it’s simple; a welcoming room is a good start, maybe in a pub with an open fire during the winter

Looking for the best restaurants in Mayfair? You’re spoilt for choice in this swanky central London neighbourhood. There are enough Michelin stars to feed a village here and prices are fittingly fierce. But if you’re after some indulgence or looking for the perfect celebration spot, then this is where you could be taking your hard-earned cash, with hotel joints such as The Ritz and Claridge’s in-house eateries some of the area’s finest. The best Mayfair restaurants at a glance: 🍛 Best for Indian food: Bibi 🍔 Best for posh burgers: Dover Street Counter 🎨 Best for gazing at art: Mount St Restaurant 🇪🇸 Best for Spanish cuisine: Sabor A tip: look out for set lunch menus, which many Mayfair fine-dining restaurants such Pavyllon, Murano and Ambassadors Clubhouse offer, and make the whole experience that much more affordable. Go forth and feast: these are Mayfair’s most impressive food spots. RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Trawling London for excellent seafood restaurants is a joy – it turns out that there are plenty of fish in the sea when it comes to where eat a fine coastal supper in the capital. To help you make your choice we've done the decent thing and spread the net wide across the city to bring you the very best in bivales, crustaceans, molluscs and more. From fish and chips and Michelin-starred must-visits to sushi and marvellous Mexican food – with this list, London is your oyster.  London's best seafood and fish restaurants at a glance:  🍴 Best for Michelin starred fine dining: Behind, London Fields 💂‍♂️ Best for an old school lunch: Sweetings, City of London 🦪 Best for oysters: Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, Mayfair 🐟 Best for Basque small plates: Tollington’s, Finsbury Park  🥧 Best for fish pie: J Sheekey, Covent Garden RECOMMENDED: The best bargain oysters in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

For centuries, French cuisine has been considered the world’s very best. Although that golden crown might have slipped somewhat, French-accented cuisine is having a real resurgance in popularity. London’s best french restaurants at a glance: 🐽 Best for experimental offal: Camille, Borough 🍷 Best for cosy vibes: Casse-Croûte, Bermondsey 💕 Best for romance: Bouchon Racine, Farringdon  🇫🇷 Best for Lyonnaise cuisine: Josephine, Chelsea 🥐 Best for cool Parisian energy: Bistro Freddie, Shoreditch Its emphasis on technique and ingredients-first approach make it hard to beat when you fancy feasting on something rich, complex, and unimpeachably lavish. So whether you want an old-school onion soup or an elaborate, immaculately conceived dish served with undeniable je ne sais quoi, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our pick of the best bistros, brasseries and fine-dining spots in London spanning every budget, with everything from Michelin-star restaurants to petit back-alley bistros and chic cafes. RECOMMENDED: Here are London’s 50 Best Restaurants. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

July 2026: We've highlighted some of the more appropriate seasonal spots for brunch. Try Johnny Boy's in Stoke Newington for LA-style breakfast burritos or Lolo in Bermondsey for a lively Spanish take on brunch or indulge in prawn toast scotch eggs at Jikoni in village-like Marylebone. We've also included a few places that prove brunch isn't just a weekend treat, with some places that serve brunch every single day, such as Permit Room Portobello - Dishoom's all-day cafe in Notting Hill - and excellent Syrian cafe Aram, which you can find in the glamorous Somerset House.  The humble brunch is perhaps one of the greatest inventions of the modern age, especially if it incorporates pancakes, bacon and eggs. London is particularly well stocked with places to indulge in the famous breakfast/lunch hybrid. Let us guide you to the best restaurants for a fabulous brunch, from a traditional full English to innovative twists on the majestic meal, such as a bacon bao brunch or fried eggs on chilli-cheese crumpets. Booze optional.  Best brunches in London at a glance: 🍖 Best for Spanish-style brunch: Lolo, Bermondsey 🏰 Best for a spectacular setting: Aram, Somerset House 🌳 Best for an al fresco brunch: Pavilion Cafe, Victoria Park  🌮 Best for a Mexican feast: Corrochio’s, Stoke Newington  RECOMMENDED: Like unlimited fizz with your fry-up? Here are the best bottomless brunches in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our e

September 2026: We've recently given this list a reshuffle to make sure we're recommending you the finest burgers in town. Smash burgers still take up quite a lot of real estate and with good reason; they're a little bit more managable then the hefty burgers that were in style a few years ago. But one particularly big boy makes the grade; the burger at Dove in Notting Hill, of which there are only 10 made a day. Smaller, smashier offerings can be found at French import Dumbo in Shoreditch and Soho, Jupiter Burger in Hackney, and Chuck's in Fitzrovia. Want a bit of both in one burger? Try the offering at the Empire Tavern in Hackney. Our current No 1, Hanbaagaasuuteeki in Victoria, offers burgers with an Asian-twist. Fancy a burger? Of course you do. The simple meat-between-buns combo is always a winner, whether for a quick fast-food fix or a decadent, gourmet feast. We’ve selflessly toiled away, trying and tasting a vast range of patties to compile this list of London’s best burgers, including the inescapable smash burger. London’s finest are utter meaty marvels: juice-seeping, oozing with flavour and far more complex in creation than they’re ever given credit for. Roll up your sleeves and tuck in to the best burgers in London right now. RECOMMENDED: These are London's best pizza restaurants. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Find the right London Irish pub and you’ll be forgiven for thinking you’re in the heart of Dublin – perfectly poured pints of Guinness included. These London pubs will whisk you away to the Emerald Isle, and are perfect places to spend St Patrick’s Day on March 17. They’re also pretty brilliant the rest of the year, too, and we’ve picked the best of the bunch, largely old-school boozers honouring Gaelic traditions. At some, you’ll find the country’s music, food and even dancing; at others, you’ll be served tasty Thai food. So get stuck into the craic: here’s a round-up of the best Irish pubs and bars in London. RECOMMENDED: London's best gastropubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Somerset truly has it all. Historic towns, gourmet restaurants and plenty of countryside paths to get lost on. The best thing about this region is it’s great to visit year-round. So what are you waiting for? Whether you are searching for a romantic hut with a private hot tub, a dog-friendly cottage with a garden in the Mendip Hills or a family lodge near Wells, here are the best Airbnbs in Somerset right now. Updated September 2026: There are endless amounts of beautiful Airbnbs in Somerset, and while we can’t include them all, there are some that we just have to add. New additions include a cottage with access to shared spa facilities and a romantic shepherd’s hut for two with a hot tub under the stars.  Best Airbnbs in Somerset at a glance 💧 Best with a hot tub: Seaside cottage in Weston-super-Mare 🫶 Best for couples: Shepherd's hut with a hot tub 🐶 Best pet friendly Airbnb: Cottage with enclosed garden in Thorney 💎 Most luxurious: Barn with pool near Wells Who makes the cut? While we might not stay in every Airbnb featured, we've based our list on top reviews, hosts, and amenities to find you the best stays. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines.

Dalston is synonymous with the late-night lash in London. Head to the mighty Kingsland Road and its surrounding backstreets and you’re be sure to stumble upon a great place to get into some (totally legal) trouble. Here you'll find chic cocktail spots, hip jazz bars, iconic queer venues, craft ale taprooms, trendy natural wine joints and banging DJ bars. There’s something for everyone in this legendary Hackney neighbourhood. The best bars in Dalston at a glance: 😘 Best for a classy date: Three Sheets 💃 Best for dancing: Ridley Road Market Bar 🌈 Best for unhinged chaos: Dalston Superstore 🍸 Best for creative cocktails: Bar Lotus 💅 Best for celebrity spotting: Ellie’s RECOMMENDED: Find more fun in the neighbourhood in our Dalston area guide. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.  

Well, isn’t Cloudstreet a cutie pie. We’ve always had a soft spot for this tatty Victorian courtyard; a Steptoe and Son-worthy stables in Stoke Newington that’s ditched the ponies for excellent one-man micropub Macintosh Ales, mullet specialists Cut & Run salon and a gaggle of artists’ studios. Cloudstreet quietly opened at the tailend of summer, headed up by chefs Georgia Lahiff and Frank Guest. The pair met while working at acclaimed Sydney restaurant 10 William Street, with Georgia then cooking in Rome and Frank doing stints at the now shuttered Lyle’s as well as Sune in London Fields. They also recently hosted pop-ups at Giacco’s in Finsbury Park and Ancestral Wines in Forest Hill, where they replicated a casual Italian tavola calda cafeteria.  Brilliantly, Cloudstreet doesn't feel like anything they’ve ever done before. Despite being surrounded by the shady palimpsest of historical British livery and the whimsical moniker (a tribute to the much-loved Australian novel of the same name) Cloudstreet seems as if you’ve stumbled across a small bistro in a medieval village in the south of France. Like some kind of hospitality Brigadoon, which only makes itself known once every 100 years, Cloudstreet leaves you wondering if you ever really ate that monumental onion tart or merely hallucinated its presence.  On a sunny day, it could be mistaken for Aix-en-Provence  The restaurant (and kitchen) is sequestered into a brick-lined tiny stable with flaking paint on the walls and has

You’ll find Astrid - a demure double-sited Euro bakehouse with impeccable curb appeal - in the leafy residential fringes of Alexandra Palace. Former journalist Charlotte O'Kelly began baking during lockdown and hasn’t stopped since. After delivering curated breakfast boxes to local residents, she opened the Wes Anderson-inspired mint green hatch in 2024. The bigger, sit-in bakery a few doors down followed not long after. The smaller spot offers all manner of sweet treats, from juicy almond croissants through to fruity pastries which incorporate more obscure fruits (greengages!) as well as fluffy brioche cardamon buns and a seriously good croissant. The larger venue sells deli bits (eggs etc) as well as Astrid’s award-winning granola, savoury offerings (ham and cheese croissant, focaccia and sausage rolls), and bread. Their sourdough is triumph; a world away from tougher, teeth-snapping versions we have known, this bouncy, light loaf is made with wholemeal spelt and heritage einkorn.  Time Out tip Come Christmas, swing by for a festive panettone: there’s Astrid’s classic version, triple chocolate or clementine and milk chocolate varieties on offer.  Find Astrid at 118a and 114 Alexandra Park Road, N10 2AH

Convenience is rarely this stylish. Not only is Okupa situated firmly within Athens’ coolest neighbourhood Psyrri, it’s got a solid restaurant, a welcoming co-working space, and rooftop pool that comes with a view of Greece’s most legendary ruin, the Acropolis. A relative newcomer, Okupa opened in 2024, but its bones are ancient – as you enter, look down via a glass walkway to see the 2,500-year-old tomb of Lady Melenissis. Inside, there’s a simple but stylish midcentury design aesthetic and a variety of rooms for different budgets, as well as regular events for guests and locals, such as sound bath sessions, yoga classes and (fun) seminars. The onsite listening bar is packed with the founders’ impressive vinyl collection and hosts sets from acclaimed global DJs.  What are the rooms like at Okupa? There are 32 rooms across the hotel, with 1960s-inspired terrazzo floors, clean lines and our room has all your basic amenities (coffee, teas, a kettle and a hairdryer, shampoo and conditioner). Ours also has a decent-sized terrace with a table and – if you stand up – a decent view of the Acropolis. If you’ve a little less to spend, you can go dorm-style, with four and six bunk hotel style rooms. A friend had the honour of staying in one and said it was a little warm and claustrophobic, but the price (which starts at around £26 a night) is pretty hard to beat considering you get access to the rest of the hotel, pool included. Heck, you might even make some new friends. You can also

One of the prettiest islands in the known universe deserves one of the prettiest palazzos. Il Capri was originally built as a lavish private villa, but has been running as a hotel since 1899 up in the hills of Capri Town. In 2022 it received a well-earned and ultra-glam revamp, encompassing a pastel pink paint job on the grand gothic facade which overlooks the whole of the busy Marina Grande down below, with immaculate views of Mount Vesuvius from the rooftop restaurant and many of the rooms and suites. Despite its grandeur, it’s an intimate place with just 20 rooms, so if you’re looking for a little privacy, then this bougie boutique is the one - it’s also adults only, so your rooftop pool-time won’t be disturbed by kids running about the place.  What are the rooms like at Il Capri? There are 20 rooms and suites, most of them with private balconies or terraces overlooking the stunning Gulf of Naples, found via Kubrick-esque corridors. There are no TVs, but with views like this, why would you need one? The 1950s-coded peppermint pink palate is a theme throughout the hotel’s public spaces and rooms, with spacious bathrooms clad in putty-shaded titles and walls painted a soothing blush. Beds are cosy, floors are sisal, while furniture strikes the perfect balance between vintage tiki-chic and modern elegance. Vintage posters from the current owners’ personal collections adorn the walls. Free mini-bars come stocked with mini Campari mixers, local Limonata, house-made pastries, fi

Rarely has an opening been as thirsted for as the long-awaited new restaurant from Sertaç Dirik. For those who haven’t been paying close attention to nitty gritty of the London dining scene, Sertaç is the twinkling boy wonder who resuscitated his dad’s Dalston kebab joint with ultra-cheffy, Copenhagen-honed technique, all done while sporting a commendable range of 1990s metal and punk t-shirts. It’s now been almost three years since Sertaç left Mangal 2, presumably taking his sweet time to ensure his solo debut was just-so. Named after the menu’s headline act of slow-cooked goat, Kid could easily refer to Sertaç himself; still only 30, but generally accepted as one of the UK’s greatest young chefs. Wisely, he hasn’t gone it alone, joining forces with hospo big gun David Carter, founder of fire-fed heavy hitters Manteca, Oma and Agora. Much like Carter’s acclaimed roll-call, Kid is all about smokey, flame-licked food. In fact, entering the brooding restaurant, with its dark brick walls and back-lit collection of urns, feels a lot like we’ve stepped inside an actual kiln.  Where Mangal 2 was a workaday canteen, Kid offers a more sensual backdrop, with a charcoal grill as its mission control. There's an earthy main dining area, an intimate, clubbier room facing Frith Street and a handful of counter seats for a direct view of the action. But you don’t need to see the grill to taste its power; deeply juicy and rudely thick slices of sucuk sausage come with grilled peach, which tur

Don’t be fooled by the Holy Tavern’s 18th century affectations. This side street boozer might look the part, what with its scuffed wooden floor, peeling paint and tatty Delftware-style tiles, but it’s actually only been a pub since 1996. But none of that stops it from being utterly charming. First known as the Jerusalem Tavern, it’s been the Holy Tavern since 2022 and the building does actually date back to 1720, so it’s far from ersatz, feeling like a historic coffee house from the era.  Outside might look a little gothic, but inside is cosy as anything, complete with a roaming cat and assorted nooks and crannies. During the summer you’ll find local office workers supping pints by al fresco beer barrels, but as soon as the clocks go back the pub truly comes into its own; lit by candles and with the strange feeling that William Hogarth might tumble through the doors at any moment. Beer comes from St Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk, adding to the olde worlde feel. Time Out tip Some of the best restaurants in London can be found in Clerkenwell. Why not follow your pint up with dinner at St John, Bouchon Racine or Quality Chop House.

There aren’t many London boozers like the incomprable Seven Stars, known not just for a resident cat who wears an Elizabethan ruff (currently The General, though regulars will remember its feline predessor, Clement Attlee), but their near-lethal martinis. Tucked away behind the Royal Courts of Justice, the tiny, charismatic pub - and long-standing Time Out favourite, named our Best Pub of 2003 - is where barristers bring their clients for celebratory champagne or commiseratory scotch after a big case. More importantly, it’s where in-the-know Londoners sequester themselves away for an all-night session under the watchful eye of legendary Aussie landlady and London hospitality hero Roxy Beaujolais. Known for its resident cat who wears an Elizabethan ruff  Dating back to 1602, a good 64 years before the Great Fire of London, the Seven Stars creaks with history, thanks to ancient, rickety floorboards, and terrifyingly steep steps to the loos, though the interiors are largely Victorian thanks to decades of refits. Walls are covered with vintage crime movie posters, as well as black and white photos of Roxy with the great and the good of Soho across the years, giving the place the feel of a rough and ready French wine bar.   Seats at the tables covered with green and white checked oilcloths are hard to come by, but considerate bar staff do their best to alert customers to vacancies, and if you’re peckish the blackboard bistro menu always delivers. 

Ynyshir isn’t simply a restaurant, it’s something to be conquered. As the final boss of British dining, much myth and fable has been built around this Welsh wonderland - a place where an epic all-nighter meets a 30 course tasting menu in a setting that does little to dispel the Viking lore, what with the numerous animal pelts, heavy hide curtains and the presence of an onsite blacksmith.  Located on the west coast of Wales (closest neighbour: an RSPB nature reserve), Ynyshir is remote, but getting there isn’t the hardest part. That would be saving up £450 plus VAT for the pleasure of eating there. With Gareth Ward at the helm, the restaurant won its first Michelin star in 2014, and its second in 2022. He’s a mountain of a man, presiding over the operation like Thor by way of Heston, his hammer replaced by a purpose-built underground Himalayan salt chamber. This is where we first encounter Ward, with each Ynyshir guest whisked into the chilly bunker to gaze upon dangling flesh and meet the maniac who’ll be cooking for them for the next five hours. Back inside the Camden-goth dining room, your test of stamina begins. Ward’s food is every bit as wild and whimsical as the building, arriving in handmade goblincore crockery via well-drilled staff in thick leather aprons. All 20 diners face the kitchen, with seats placed side-by-side for the best view of the action, which (as well as live fire cookery and knifework so skilled as to put Uma Thurman in Kill Bill to shame,) includes a

It’s rare that an 18-course dinner leaves you wanting more, but that’s what happened at Gwen. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but behind an ordinary wine-bar exterior on the high street of tiny Machynlleth, Wales (population 2,100), is the baby sister of culinary Valhalla, Ynyshir.  But if you thought Gwen would be any less intense than its mountain of a sibling, you’d be wrong. Sure, Gwen’s Mexican-Japanese tasting menu is a full 12 courses fewer than the one served by Gareth Ward down the road, but it’s still 18 dishes, though at £180 plus vat, less than half the price.  Former Ynyshir head chef Corrin Harrison launched the bijoux eight-seater in 2023, and when he left for Mor in Cornwall earlier this year, it was assumed Gwen would close. That was until Ward parachuted in his buddy Peter Iglesias Sanchez, who’d just left Decimo, the in-house Mexican restaurant at The Standard hotel in London. ‘I feel like I’ve signed Cristiano Ronaldo,’ Gareth reportedly commented. Sanchez’s cooking is beautifully non-denominational Sanchez’s first move was to get rid of Gwen’s counter seating. Before, meals in the miniature space were reminiscent of a group therapy session, with diners breaking sourdough bread over one shared table. Now the set up is more agile - guests sit side saddle on two-tops in a black-brick front room for a host of fish dishes, before heading through a dungeon-eqsue leather curtain into the fire-powered back kitchen for a bunch of barbecue, then finall

Serving stately home realness in the middle of Stoke Newington, Clissold House is one of the few London cafes where you might accidentally run into a wedding party while you’re ordering your oat milk flat white. Built in 1793, the Grade II-listed grand building has been home to various public cafes over the years (as well as being a popular wedding venue), but none have spruced the place up like the playful Fink’s. On the move? Swing by the lower level hatch in Clissold Park’s rose garden for coffee and soft serve, or settle down in the spacious boldly-painted rooms in the main house, or take a table on the outdoor terrace. Fink’s - who run a host of other cafes in the local area - serve an all-day breakfast from 8am, which includes a California-style breakfast burrito fully-loaded with crispy bacon, fries, eggs and avocado as well as cute and spongy house-made crumpets and sausage baps. On the lighter end of the spectrum you’ll find yogurt with granola and poached fruit. The lunch-adjacent likes of frittata, salads, sandwiches and stuffed pitas arrive at 11am, and the counter serves up deli bits and bold bakes such as blackcurrant, almond and polenta cakes, banana bread, cinnamon brioche buns and jalapeno cheese scones.  Time Out tip Fink’s don’t mind you using the cafe as a workspace, but there’s a no laptops after 11am rule.

There are many wonderful Turkish restaurants in London. There’s FM Mangal holding down the juicy meat-bread scene in Camberwell, Gokyuzu doing serious mixed grill business on Green Lanes and Durak Tantuni shifting heroic beef wraps on West Green Road. And that’s just the tip of the pide. Tarama is whipped into a fluffy frenzy Styled as a ‘meyhane’ - the raki-soaked Turkish equivalent of a provincial British gastropub with good food, good drinks, and the strong likelihood of banter - Kismet is the latest in a long line of impressive residencies upstairs at Borough Market’s Globe pub. Deftly, it bridges the gap between London’s old school Turkish institutions and the chichi Euro small-plates scene. Which makes sense, as it’s run by Dom Hamdy of the Bistro Freddie and Crispin coterie of restaurants alongside former Bibi and Harwood Arms chef Keiran Mustafa, who was recently cooking at nearby Oma, the UK's first Michelin-starred Greek restaurant. If you want, you can gaze directly into Oma through the first floor balconies of Kismet, extremely handy if you’re plotting a tarama-slathered remake of Rear Window. So what does Kismet do differently from the rest of the London Turkish cohort? Well, not much, but that’s a good thing. If anything, the menu leans more Cypriot than most mangals (Mustafa’s family moved here from Cyprus in 1964 and the year is imprinted on neat branded plates) with fresh and herby, Levantine flavours and a little less bready stuff (the brimming basket of fl

For a long time the Shaston Arms was a leftfield Soho pub choice. Not one of the big hitters, (Coach & Horses, French House, Blue Posts etc), but certainly not one of the abject shitholes (of which we’ll refrain from naming to protect their modesty). A decent choice nonetheless, the Shaston wasn’t as historic as the rest. It’d actually been a regular shopfront until Dorset brewery Hall & Woodhouse took it over in 1999, named it after a Thomas Hardy town and turned it into an ersatz Victorian boozer.  Lamb chops couldn’t be cooked better  In 2025, the space was picked up by the same team behind Barnes’ bucolic Waterman Arms gastropub, of which we have previously sung the praises. They gussied up the tatty wooden booths, gave it a moody red ceiling and one of those vintage-styled fairground signs that looks like it was hand-painted by a biker who doesn't actually own a bike. Situated in the pedestrianised Carnaby quarter, it quickly became home to Soho’s biggest vertical drinking squad.   But as well as jubilant street boozing, a very small space has been carved out for dinner. It’s a bit of a squeeze, what with the dining area made up of five tables sunk into a mahogany-lined moat against the back wall of the pub. But somehow it works, with plush velvet curtains tied open and separating it from the main bar, making diners feel like they’re watching a 19th century music hall performance. Champagne Charlie has, however, been replaced by IPA Ian.   It’s quite a mad little menu,

One of Time Out’s favourite burger restaurants in London is opening its biggest location yet.  Heard Burgers will be launching its third – and largest – London site this November in Covent Garden.  Joining restaurants in Soho and Borough, Heard Burgers Covent Garden will take over a space once used by Byron on Wellington Street and will offer two floors of perfect patties. As well as Heard’s regular menu and collabs, this branch will be home to what the brand is calling ‘a dessert and cocktail speakeasy’. Which basically means a basement where you can get pudding and drinks, including hot apple pie, brûlée cheesecake and milk soft serve, as well as ice cream sandwiches and sundaes. Chef Jordan Bailey came up with the Heard concept after stints at the three-Michelin-starred Maaemo in Oslo and his own two-Michelin-starred Aimsir in Ireland. Ingredients at Heard are all super high-end, with aged British beef, quality British cheese and roast potato buns toasted in butter. The house special, The Heard, is a double smash patty burger with jalapeño hot honey, Ogleshield cheese, white onion and burger sauce. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Heard. (@heard.burger) Heard is also known for its regular collaborations with some of the UK’s best restaurants. Currently on offer at the Borough and Soho locations is Pataka Burger, which was devised with Michelin-starred chef Aktar Islam of Birmingham’s Opheem and Borough’s Oudh 1722, which is available until O

The coffee shop recently named World’s Best Coffee Shop for 2026 will be staging a London takeover this weekend. The USA’s Onyx Coffee Lab will be coming to Rosslyn London Wall over Saturday September 26 and Sunday September 27 to serve its own coffee as well as a retail range including an Onyx x Rosslyn diner mug. There will be two signature beverages: the Onyx Delight honey-cinnamon latte and the exclusive Malted FOMO, an americano with a foam topper and English beer syrup. Onyx, which is based in Rogers, Arkansas, launched in 2012 and this year became the first ever American cafe to top the list of the World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops. It’s apt that Onyx will be coming to Rosslyn, which was itself named the number one coffee shop in England in the European list of 100 Best Coffee Shops earlier this year. Rosslyn, which has nine outlets in the City of London, was named 12th overall in the European top 100 – the highest ranking English coffee shop.  ‘Onyx are one of the leading specialty coffee roasters on the planet, and listed as the best coffee shop in the world right now,’ said James Hennebry, Co-Founder of Rosslyn. ‘Getting their full team behind our bar… serving alongside our own baristas, is a huge moment, not just for Rosslyn but for anyone in London who enjoys coffee.’ There’ll also be some special snacks on offer; a ham and cheese croissant from Hackney’s Forno and an apple pie soft serve ice cream made by Happy Endings.  Onyx Coffee Lab comes to 118 London Wall, EC2Y

Two London bars have been given the nod in a new list announcing the 100 best bars in the world. In slightly confusing news, the bars have made the just-announced 51-100 spots in the er, The World’s 50 Best Bars: a global ranking of the 50 best bars in the world, which is actually made up of 100 bars. Time Out’s Top 50 Bars in London London bars in the 50 Best Bars 2026 51-100 longlist The actual 50 Best Bars 2026 will be revealed on October 7, but until then we have the 51-100 spots to keep us entertained. The two London bars to make the grade are the Soho branch of Three Sheets at no.73 and Scarfes Bar in Holborn in 77th. The only other UK bar revealed was Edinburgh’s Panda & Sons, which is higher than both the London spots, coming in at 72. Three Sheets| Three Sheets There may very well be more London bars in the top 50, but we won’t know until the ceremony takes place in Milan next month. It’ll be the 18th edition of the World’s 50 Best Bars awards. The ranking is compiled by 800 bartenders, writers, drinks educators and industry specialists.  Three Sheets Soho Time Out’s four-star review of the 73rd-best bar in the ranking said: ‘The Three Sheets Soho team have devised a menu which takes drinks you know well to sexier, more modern places. As such, the selection is never alienating, but pretty much always surprising.’ Scarfes Bar Seventy-seventh-place Scarfes received a five-star review from Time Out: ‘Picture your classic hotel bar. It’s probably got dark wood panell

Television chef Gennaro Contaldo is set to open a trattoria in Soho. The Italian cook, known for his association with Jamie Oliver as well as with Antonio Carluccio, will launch the brand-new Bolo on September 25.  Opening at 17 Air Street, previously home to another Italian restaurant called Il Conte, Bolo will seat 32 guests and is apparently inspired by 1970s Italy. The menu will include Contaldo’s signature pork and beef bolognese (Bolo is named in tribute to the dish) as part of six fresh pasta dishes available daily. One will be named ‘Antonio’ in tribute to Carluccio, a pappardelle with porcini and mascarpone bolo, while another is called ‘The Limone’, which celebrates the chef’s childhood on the Amalfi Coast via the medium of lemons, butter and mint with tagliolini.  James NorthBolo by Gennaro Speaking about Bolo, Contaldo says: ‘After more than 60 years in the kitchen, I’m still a romantic at heart. Love the food, love the people you’re cooking for, and everything else will work out beautifully in the end. Italy has given me so much throughout my life, and I’ve always wanted to celebrate that generosity through the food I cook. I want people to come to BOLO, eat well, feel at home and experience a little piece of the Italy that I know and love.’ The menu also includes starters of tomato bruschetta, ’nduja meatballs and bolo arancino, as well as ricotta doughnuts, gelato and sorbetto for dessert.  Looking for excellent pasta in London? Check out our list of the bes

Fancy a big night out in a beautiful room with excellent food? Then look no further than our brand new ranking of the most glamorous restaurants in London.  And if you’re thinking fancy means super expensive, you’d be wrong, as the number one spot has been secured by one of central London’s swankiest but best-value restaurants (especially if you order the £16.95 set menu): Brasserie Zédel.  ZedelBrasserie Zedel We’re big fans of this French fancy by Piccadilly Circus, which has operated under the Brasserie Zédel name since 2012 but was once the bowels of The Regent Palace Hotel – built in 1915 and rejigged in the early 1930s to give it some extra Jazz Age oomph. The grand, underground West End dining room was known as the Atlantic Bar and Grill in the 1990s and a solid celebrity haunt, attracting the likes of Madonna, Kate Moss and Robert de Niro and Harvey Keitel.  Now you’ll find live jazz and French classics in the sparkly and massive main room, which seats up to 240 diners. The sub-£20 set menu is still one of the best in town; oeufs mayonnaise and steak haché is our go-to order.   Helen CathcarttSimpsons in the Strand Other glammy spots to make our razzle-dazzle top 20 include the newly reopened Simpson’s in the Strand and its glorious main dining room the Grand Divan, which dates back to 1828, as well as Sessions Arts Club in Farringdon, which you’ll find in a Grade II-listed former courthouse, and The Wolseley on Piccadilly, which is in a 1920s car showroom. The mo

Dumpling Xi is set to open its first ever UK restaurant. Dumpling Xi is one of the biggest dumping chains in the world, with over 900 locations globally and restaurants in 40 Chinese cities. It will take over a Shaftesbury Avenue space previously occupied by The Theatre Café Diner. No official launch date has been announced, but the shop fit is underway with, rather excitingly, a sign outside the restaurant advertising front of house and kitchen jobs that states ‘training in China may be required’.  The first Dumpling Xi opened in Hegang in 2002, with 2024 seeing the brand travel to the US, Korea and Spain. Dumplings are prepared fresh every day, and are made in northern Chinese style.  The news follows the announcement that Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese dumpling chain, will be opening its fifth London location in King’s Cross. Currently, you can visit Din Tai Fung restaurants in Canary Wharf, Covent Garden, Selfridges and Centre Point by Tottenham Court Road station. The opening date for Din Tai Fung King’s Cross hasn’t been revealed yet, and exact details of the restaurant are also still under wraps.  Dumpling Xi will open at 154 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8HL. The best Chinese restaurants in London. Did you see that this London pizza restaurant is one of the 50 best in the world? Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London n

The team behind Sune – a Broadway Market bistro we once branded ‘practically perfect’ – is opening a pub and restaurant in Smithfield Market. The historic meat market, which is currently in the middle of a huge redevelopment programme, will see The Poet opening this November.   The Poet will be in the Victorian-era curved corner space once partially occupied by Bubb’s Le Restaurant Français, which closed in the early 2000s. The team, made up of Charlie Sims, Honey Spencer and Spencer Large, will launch The Poet with exec chef Charlie Tayler, who was most recently cooking at the Michelin-starred Aulis in Soho, reports the Standard.  There will be separate pub and restaurant areas, with food available in both. Expect elevated pub grub like prawn Scotch eggs coated with scampi fries, smoked eel caesar salad and a fallow deer and juniper suet pudding.  Photograph: ©giuliasavorelliThe Poet team The large space will see more rooms opening up next year, with an onsite cocktail bar called Shambles and a chef’s table dining area on a mezzanine.  The Poet will open around the same time as the new London Museum, which launches in Smithfield Market on November 28, after closing down its Museum of London site at the nearby Barbican. The £437m revamp project, a partnership between the City of London Corporation and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, marks the culmination of a decade-long transformation of Smithfield’s historic General Market, which is returning to public use for the first time in

The future of Covent Garden’s Café Pacifico – which opened in 1982, making it one of the UK’s oldest Mexican restaurants – is in doubt. Restaurant Online reports that liquidators have been appointed to Laverlathe Limited, which was Café Pacifico’s last known operating company, and remains named on the Langley Street restaurant’s website. Laverlathe was ‘compulsorily wound up in March following a petition filed last November’, writes Restaurant Online. The publication adds: ‘It is not currently clear whether the business has been sold to a new operator or is continuing to trade under the control of the liquidators.’  Café Pacifico calls itself ‘a fixture of the London Mexican restaurant scene. Being the first of its kind, it first introduced Mexican food, tequila and culture to the UK.’ The ‘homemade’ menu includes nachos, quesadillas, crispy empanadas, burritos, tacos and fajitas, as well as sweet adobo pork ribs with pineapple honey glaze.  Café Pacifico, which remains open, used to have a sister restaurant La Perla on nearby Maiden Lane. According to Restaurant Online, it continues to be linked to Primos Mexican Cantina on Blackstock Road in Finsbury Park. However, this is operated via a different holding company to Laverlathe, so we reckon they’ll be safe. Now got a craving for chimichangas? Check out our expert-curated list of the top 20 Mexican restaurants in London. Did you see that Newington Green is the coolest neighbourhood in London in 2026, according to Time Out?

If you enjoy a spot of creamy cassoulet, then we have the east London pub pop-up for you.  Islington’s Bistro Sablé is one of the newest additions to Time Out’s list of 20 best French restaurants in London. It opened last year in Canonbury and the team behind it are now about to launch Bistro Sablé 2:0, with a three-month takeover of gastropub The Princess of Shoreditch. From October 1, Bistro Sablé will be in residence at the pub’s first floor dining room until the end of the year. The 32-cover pop-up will see a full makeover of the space, with the room splashed with vintage posters from French flea markets and a full menu of Parisian bistro classics, from rotisserie chicken to pâté en croûte. The ground floor of the pub will also see Sablé in residence, but with a shorter blackboard menu of small plates on offer.  Photograph: Bistro SabléBistro Sablé Our recent review of the original Bistro Sablé praised the restaurant, calling it ‘concerned solely with presenting a menu of Gallic classics, served in an unpretentious yet perfectly charming environment.’  Time Out London editor Joe Mackertich added: ‘This isn’t one of those new-fangled ‘spots’ you’ve been hearing about, with monoverbal dish descriptions, disaffected stick-and-poked servers and NTS-approved soundbeds. It’s a French restaurant, of the kind you’d be delighted to encounter while holidaying in provincial Occitania.’  Find the Princess of Shoreditch at 76-78 Paul Street, EC2A 4NE and the OG Bistro Sablé at 63-69

How do you like to choose an Italian restaurant for dinner? Quality of the pasta? Strength of the negronis? Or simply… the size of the dining room? If you’re on Team Huge Room, then you’re in luck, because a place purporting to be Britain’s largest Italian restaurant is set to open later this year. Juno, named in honour of the Roman queen of the gods, is the next dining space to open over at the revamped Olympia exhibition centre. The iconic structure’s lavish £1.3 billion relaunch has come complete with a 3,800 capacity live music venue and rooftop space full of drinking and dining options.  These are the 20 best Italian restaurants in London. With space for 265 diners (as well as 500 overall, presumably with the rest loitering at the bar?), it’ll launch on October 16, so we’ll be able to see then just what Juno has in store. There’ll be live music at the weekends and when it comes to food, the menu includes crab linguine, osso buco alla milanese and tiramisu. There will also be a special pizza counter where you can watch the chefs in action, with space for 10 diners. They promise: ‘this is a house of celebration. Big tables. Flowing wine. Food made for sharing’. Image: JunoJuno neapolitan pizza counter As well as Juno, Olympia has recently launched Mexican-styled Bar Arriba, Japanese cocktail bar Wolves of Tokyo and an English small plates restaurant called Lillie’s. Their rooftop is also home to a food court called Arbour, with Fry Baby, which will serve gourmet fried ch

The return of roast season brings with it the reappearance of two of Time Out’s favourite Sunday lunches.  On Sunday September 27 – evidently the first official day of Roastmas 2026 – not only will LD’s Kitchen vegan roast be served once more, but so will Ling Ling’s Chinese-inspired Sunday lunch, which was previously our number one roast in London.  LD’s Kitchen (which was previously available at The Black Heart in Camden) will now be served around the corner at the Imperial Palace of Big Red on Chalk Farm Road. Their ‘new improved roast menu that’s gonna blow your mind’ is fully plant-based. The previous menu included ‘pork’ tofu belly, beef-style steak and a chicken-ish main served either classic or Southern corn fried alongside roasted sweet potato, swede and basil puree, creamy mustard leeks and spinach, maple and fennel glazed carrots and collard greens with garlic, a crispy yorkshire pud and garlic and rosemary roasties. Black HeartLD's Kitchen Sunday Roast After residencies at The Gun in Hackney and the Bluecoats in Tottenham, Ling Ling’s has been based at ‘wine pub’ Godet in Islington since last October, but have only just announced the return of their roast. Chef duo Jenny Phung and James Shepherd’s Chinese-inspired take on Sunday lunch features beef short rib and five spiced pork belly as well as five spiced seabass, glass skin chicken with ginger and spring onions, and miso aubergine for the vegetarians. All of these come festooned with roast potatoes, seasona

Around this time every year we give our list of the 20 best restaurants in the UK a proper update and we’re happy to announce there’s a brand new number one on the list. The latest list topped is a bijoux eight-seat spot in Machynlleth, Wales (population 2,100), and is the baby sister of double Michelin starred culinary Valhalla, Ynyshir.  Gwen, which opened in 2023, has recently been overhauled by chef Peter Iglesias Sanchez, who left Decimo, the in-house Mexican restaurant at The Standard hotel in London earlier this year. ‘I feel like I’ve signed Cristiano Ronaldo,’ Gareth Ward, who runs Ynyshir reportedly commented. Mike SimGwen, Machynlleth Like Ynyshir, Gwen offers a no-choice tasting menu, with 20 small courses inspired by Mexican and Japanese technique. Read our full review of Gwen here. ‘Skilful, scrumptious and a little bit naughty, this is how tasting menus should be done,’ states the glowing five star assessment.  The tasting menu at Gwen costs £180 a head plus VAT, which isn’t cheap, but dinner runs for three and half hours, and it’s seriously some of the best cooking Time Out’s had the pleasure of shoving in our mouths. The small restaurant is hidden behind an ordinary high street wine bar exterior and is made up of two rooms; the first seven courses are eaten in the front, then diners move to the kitchen for the next courses, before returning to the front room for dessert. The rest of the top 20 spans England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a stro