Suzie Bakos

May 2026: There's a brand new Number 1, with Holy Carrot in Spitalfields taking the top spot thanks to some seriously creative vegetarian cookery. Other fresh additions include Guirong Wei’s The Wei in Fulham, Auguste and Cafe Kowloon in London Fields, the third Forza Wine, super fun Osteria Vibrato and latest branch of YeYe's Noodle & Dumpling (all three in Soho), as well as numbing Chongqing spice at Jiāonest in Hoxton, perfect pasta at Burro in Covent Garden, Mexican seafood at Cometa in Fitzrovia and Logma, a sensational supper club at a Haggerston cafe. 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 May 2026. London's best new restaurants at a glance: 🍝 Central: Osteria Vibrato, Soho 🍠 North: Ling Ling’s, Islington 🇹🇭 South: Kruk, Peckham 🍝 East: Holy Carrot, Spitalfields 🥗 West: The Wei, Fulham Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guid

London is home to a vibrant Caribbean community that spans the islands. From Brixton to Stoke Newington you’ll find everything from incredible Guyanese pepper pot stew and Trinidadian street food such as doubles and aloo pie, to classic Jamaican-style ‘yard shops’ serving oxtail, rice and peas and fried plantain. The Caribbean diaspora have contributed their culture to this city for decades, with each island's cuisine distinct and unique in its own way. We’re all about supporting the community and have focused on independent, Black-owned establishments and as well as restaurants and more casual cafes, we’ve also included a couple of traditional Caribbean bakeries where you can score coco bread, currant slices and spiced bun.  London’s best Caribbean restaurants at a glance: 🇯🇲 Best for Jamaican-inspired classics: Paradise Cove, Battersea 🐓 Best for a Sunday roast: Buster Mantis, Deptford 🇹🇹 Best for Trinidadian cuisine: Roti Joupa, Stratford 🥦 Best for vegan diners: Jam Delish, Angel  🇬🇾 Best for great Guyanese grub: Umana Yana, Herne Hill RECOMMENDED: The best Nigerian and west African restaurants in London.  Keshia Sakarah is a British-born, Montserratian/Barbudan food writer. Her debut book - Caribe: A Caribbean Cookbook is out now. Her work is influenced by her Caribbean and British identity, focusing on her passion for culture and heritage.

Syrian breakfasts, Kurdish brunches, Palestinian dinner parties, late-night Lebanese bites and Israeli feasts: London serves the Middle East with both soul and heart. For our guide to the best Middle Eastern restaurants in London, we’ve sought out the help of Suzie Bakos: a chef and presenter whose supper club ‘The Little Sauce’ celebrates the nostalgic flavours of her Iraqi heritage. ‘The Middle East is a region where food is a love language,’ says Suzie, ‘I learned that early, born in Iraq and raised in London, in a household where food was at the centre of everything. From the smoky, spice-laden grills of Baghdad to the honey-soaked pastries of Beirut, dishes from this region sing with flavour and emotion.’ From Iranian and Turkish to Israeli and Palestinian, and from high-end restaurants to top-value street food, here are our 23 favourite Middle Eastern restaurants – delivering the best of the region for London’s diners. RECOMMENDED: London's 50 Best Restaurants. Suzie Bakos is a Baghdad-born, London-raised writer, chef and presenter whose supper club 'The Little Sauce' celebrates the nostalgic flavours of her Iraqi heritage. Well-versed in Middle Eastern cuisine, she brings people together over generous feasts and great stories.

Meaning ‘perfect bite’ in Persian, Arabic and Turkish, Logma instantly went viral after opening at the end of 2025, thanks to their kofte and aubergine sandwiches, drawing hungry Londoners to queue along Goldsmiths Row for their lunch.  But for those who don’t do queues, the couple who run the joint (Ziad Halub and Farsin Rabiee), have now launched Logma Lates. Every Wednesday night, they open the doors to 18 lucky guests for a menu of true fusion food that beautifully pays homage to both Iranian and Iraqi cultures.  Logma is a celebration of heritage, flavour and culture The bar seats six, and the long table is perfect for bigger groups or pairs who get seated together – offering a true supper club experience. So get cosy and meet like-minded diners because the food, served by the Ziad and Farsin themselves, is truly something special. The sabzi khordan (an Iranian herb platter) centres around a block of feta, with olives, walnuts and perfectly pink radishes offering the dish both crunch and colour. Mint, basil and tarragon give it a beautifully fresh finish. Next up: oysters, dressed in spicy and zingy chilli and gondhoraj lebu citrus. But the true highlight is courgette flower dolma. A modernised iteration of Iraqi dolma, the stuffed flowers are served on top of ricotta with saffron, charred broad beans and barberries. Plates were licked clean. Logma’s Gulf-style fish harks to Iraq’s national dish, masgouf. Here, river carp is reimagined as sea bream, with a sweet-yet-tan

There are few restaurants in the capital with quite such a gripping origin story as 2210.  Owner and head chef Nathaniel Mortley, aka NattyCanCook, began his culinary career aged 16, working in kitchens including Mayfair’s The Arts Club before he found himself making decisions that would lead to a stint in HMP Brixton. Determined to continue cooking, he became sous chef at the prison’s in-house restaurant The Clink, and on his release built up an impressive social media following thanks to his creative spins on Caribbean staples. Cut to late 2025, and the south Londoner has opened the doors to his very first restaurant. You’re coming here for Natty’s inventive plays on Caribbean signatures 2210 is a vibe from the moment you walk in. There’s a slightly rowdy playlist that will have you questioning whether you’re in a club or restaurant. The sound of Jeremih’s ‘Birthday Sex’ blasting was not on my bingo card, but was well received by this self-proclaimed lover girl. The place is packed and buzzing. The open space and booming RnB, hip hop and Afrobeats create an atmosphere where being loud is the norm – great for date nights or big group dinners.  We start with a rum and sorrel sour as well as a hibiscus fizz. Deep red in colour, they capture the essence of vibrant cocktails enjoyed on Caribbean beaches, and the sweet and sour notes hit particularly well.  Really though, you’re coming here for Natty’s inventive plays on Caribbean signatures. The ackee and saltfish spring rolls