Ed Templeton of Carousel (left in picture) has linked up with actor and fellow Highbury resident Theo James (right) to launch a Rome-inspired local restaurant called Lupa, after the she wolf who nursed the ancient city’s founders, Romulus and Remus. The kitchen is led by Naz Hassan (centre), the Bangladeshi-born former head chef at Pidgin […]
Top chefs Tom Brown and Brad Carter have teamed up to launch a surf-and-turf restaurant – or as they otherwise put it “a traditional steakhouse with a coastal twist” – in King’s Cross. Island opens next week at Mare Street Market in Lewis Cubitt Square. Tom, who made his name with east London seafood specialists Cornerstone […]
A new seafood bistro and cocktail bar called Noisy Oyster is to launch in Shoreditch next week, from the duo behind Soho grill Firebird. The restaurant promises to match modern seafood dishes with signature mini martinis. The seafood menu ranges from a raw bar and whole grilled fish to share to dry-aged tuna cheeseburger with […]
A smart French bistro promising a chic and slightly nostalgic taste of Paris opens in Notting Hill next week. Chez Lui, in Kensington Park Road, is the first offering from La Bistrot Collection, a new group from the duo behind the global restaurant brand Bagatelle. In its Instagram previews, Chez Lui is pitched as a […]
A new-wave, retro-inspired all day Vietnamese cafe called Lai Rai opens on Rye Lane in Peckham tomorrow, Saturday 14 June. Meaning “little by little”, Lai Rai is said to be inspired by the ‘bia hoi’ tradition of meeting up with friends for a beer and a snack. It will serve sweet Vietnamese coffee and bánh […]
An ambitious Chilean restaurant with a menu overseen by Santiago-based chef Carolina Bazán (pictured) opens tomorrow in Great Portland Street, Fitzrovia. Mareida is the brainchild of first-time restaurateur Prenay Agarwal, a Mumbai-born former financier who acquired a taste for Chilean cuisine while living in Santiago. Hailed as South America’s top female chef by the World’s […]

A former Fortnum & Mason chef opens his debut restaurant in west London next week – Walter’s Bistro near Hammersmith Bridge, a tiny 12-seater where he will serve his personal take on British and Italian food. Born and brought up in Rome, Walter Cannavacciuolo has worked in London for 10 years, including a stint as a […]
A new casual sushi and sake bar called Noren opens in Mayfair this week, introducing the mini hand-roll ‘makezu’ sushi (pictured) to London, alongside a range of sakes, shochus, wines and beers. From the group behind Chisou, Noren has taken over the premises on South Molton Street vacated earlier this year by another Japanese venture, […]
Internet chef Thomas Straker has opened a deli and casual restaurant called Acre, a few doors from his flagship Straker’s on Golborne Road in Notting Hill. Straker’s is temporarily closed following a fire in its ventilation system, but is popping up for three weeks at nearby Brasseria on Westbourne Grove. Thomas is pitching Acre as […]
Chef Stevie Parle will next week open his first new restaurant for eight years – Town, on Drury Lane in Covent Garden, which he describes as “the biggest, most ambitious project I’ve ever done“. The restaurant will serve British ingredients cooked with Italian influences, and aims to change the way things are done in hospitality. […]