It’s shaping up to be a busy year for London restaurants
There are so many new restaurant openings in London that it can be a hard task keeping track of what’s opening where and when. That’s why we keep a handy list of the best new restaurants regularly updated for you. We’re also fans of planning ahead – especially when it comes to those hard-to-score reservations – so we’re also rounding up the best new restaurants slated for 2026. Start compiling your hit lists, which we think are going to be rather long….
MA/NA
Thesleff Group (which already operates Los Mochis, LUNA Omakase, Juno Omakase, and Sale e Pepe) is opening a new Japanese restaurant in Mayfair in 2026. Inspired by the idea that every ingredient carries an invisible power, the 156-cover MA/NA will celebrate the craft of Japanese food. Executive Chef Leo Tayang’s menu including dishes like tiger shrimp tempura with wasabi; robata-seared avocado with asparagus, mushrooms and spicy mayo baked in a flaming shell; spicy tuna crispy rice; California maki with spicy scallop, tanuki and sweet soy, and M5 Wagyu seared on a Himalayan salt stone with garlic-soy, ponzu and mixed Asian leaves. MA/NA will also have a cocktail bar, with resident DJs, that references rare spirits and 1970s Tokyo soul.
Opens early 2026
30 Upper Grosvenor Street, London W1K 7PH
manarestaurants.com
Trèsind
Trèsind opened in Dubai in 2014 and has become a popular spot thanks to its “modernist Indian dining experience”, aka dishes like scarlet prawn crudo with Kashmiri chilli XO and beluga caviar; grilled lobster tail with coconut moilee dressing; hunter’s lamb leg raan; A5 wagyu steak with five curries; and daulat ki chaat with soan papdi crumble and 24-carat gold dust. Now Trèsind is making the move over to London, following in the footsteps of other UAE imports like Shanghai Me and Gaia, and opening in Mayfair early next year. We’re expecting it to all be very luxe, with plenty of Dubai touches like tableside preparations and opulent interiors, but the food should also be quality – the parent restaurant group also owns Trèsind Studio in Dubai, which currently holds three Michelin stars.
Opens early 2026
13 Hanover St, London W1S 1NE
tresind.uk
Jul’s
Ibiza restaurant Jul’s is coming to London in early 2026, bringing its take on Greek-Mediterranean food to St James’s. Taking over a former bank, the restaurant will look the part, with lots of marble, scorched wood, mosaic floors, and a 6.5-metre-tall glass wine wall. Chef Christos Fotos will be showcasing his take on Mediterranean food, made with local and seasonal ingredients, with dishes like giouvetsi, flatbread with slow-cooked lamb, and grilled fish over open fire. Flavours from the kitchen will also be referenced in the drinks at the open bar lab No. 11 underneath the restaurant.
Opens early 2026
11 Waterloo Place, London, SW1Y 4AU
julslondon.com
Simpson’s in the Strand
Not content with opening The Park and reviving Le Caprice, Jeremy King is also bringing back Simpson’s in the Strand. The restaurant has had a tough time since it closed during the pandemic – it never found a way to open during the ever-changing lockdown restrictions and in the summer of 2023 it auctioned off a load of its assets, including light fixtures, crockery and its famous silver carving trolley. Thankfully that didn’t spell the end of the restaurant for good, merely a wiping of the slate, with King breathing new life into the old dog. The revamped ‘Grande Dame’ restaurant will have two dining rooms, the more traditional Grand Divan and the more relaxed, lower priced Romano’s; two bars, Simpson’s Bar and Nellie’s; and a private ballroom with room for 100. Much of the period features will be retained – the restaurant is almost 200 years old so there’s plenty of history to showcase there – and silver-domed trolleys will return to the dining room too for some tableside carving action.
Opens March 2026
100 Strand, London WC2R 0EZ
jeremykingrestaurants.com
Burro
Conor Gadd, chef co-owner of beloved Highbury spot Trullo, is opening his first solo restaurant in Covent Garden in early 2026. Burro will be taking over the site vacated by The Petersham and it’ll look “part Irish country house kitchen, part Italian fifties bistro”. Gadd will be sticking to what he knows in the kitchen, cooking classic Italian dishes like Venetian chicken liver bruschetta, fried artichokes with bottarga and chilli, tagliatelle with duck and porcini ragu, Roman fettuccine ‘Alfredo’, Dover sole with caviar, lobster ‘aqua pazza’, vitello al Burro, and tiramisu bomboloni doughnuts.
Opens Weds 11th March 2026
2 Floral Court, London, WC2E 9FB
trattoriaburro.com
Temaki
A.M. Dupee opened Temaki, the city’s first handroll bar inspired by those in California, in Brixton in 2021, and the restaurant quickly earned a loyal following (including us) for its fresh handrolls and great value menu sets. Now he’s relocating the restaurant from Market Row to a bigger two-level space on Mayfair’s Maddox Street, which’ll have 16 seats around a counter and a 28-cover downstairs space, inspired by Japanese listening bars. The signature handrolls will still feature on the menu (we loved the BBQ eel and the otoro tuna ones on the Brixton menu) but more space will allow the team to expand the offering. That means Japanese small plates like crispy rice topped with premium cuts of fish, A4 wagyu sliders, and a changing selection of sandos alongside wines, sake and a tight cocktail list.
Opens early March 2026
11 Maddox Street, London, W1S 2QF
temaki.co.uk
Alley Cats Portobello Road
NYC-style pizzeria Alley Cats only opened its third site in Westbourne Grove earlier this year but it’s already onto site number four, opening on Portobello Road in early 2026. The two-floor space will have a walk-up ‘slice hatch’ for grab-and-go pizza on the ground floor and a dining room with table service upstairs. As well as the Alley Cats pizzas you’ve come to know and love from the other sites, the Portobello Road restaurant will also serve Fat Cat Squares, their take on Sicilian square pizza; sub sandwiches like Philly cheesesteak; deep-fried carbonara bites; and aubergine parmigiana. Given that Alley Cats is operated by the same restaurant group behind Angus Steakhouse, the rapid expansion is fitting.
Opens March 2026
233 Portobello Road, London, W11 1LT
alleycatspizza.co.uk
Kung Fu Mama Canary Wharf
Noam Bar-Chang (who also co-founded Ottolenghi) and Chris Hsu (founder of Kung Fu Mama Retail) only opened Kung Fu Mama in Covent Garden in the spring of 2025 but the Taiwanese noodle bar has been such a hit that the pair are already onto site number two, with the next one opening in Canary Wharf. Like at the original spot, Kung Fu Mama’s signature sun-dried noodles, made using a traditional hand-folding technique, will be at the heart of the Canary Wharf offering, alongside nutrient-dense menu items. You can expect the likes of chicken, ginger and sesame noodle bowl; 12-hour Szechuan pepper beef noodle bowl; grandma’s beef and tomato noodles; soft shell crab bao; wood-ear mushroom salad; mango shaved ice cream; and pineapple pie.
Opens early 2026
64 Jubilee Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5NY
kungfumama.co.uk
Empire Tavern
If you’ve been down Mare Street lately, you’ll have noticed that the Empire Bar, the live music venue, bar and kitchen next to the Hackney Empire, is no more. The space is being refurbished and will be reopening as the Empire Tavern, a joint venture by two fellow East London booze businesses. Advertised as “All day dining, pub at heart”, the Empire Tavern is coming from Leyton-based East London Brewing Co., whose beers include East End Lager, Foundation Bitter and Twist Hazy Pale Ale, and boozer the Leytonstone Tavern, home to some of the city’s best burgers. We don’t have any menu details yet but we’re being promised burgers, roasts, taco Tuesdays, coffee from Flying Horse, independent beers and premium agave spirits. As well as offering all day food, it’ll be a place to hang out pre- or post-theatre, with late-night listening parties running on the weekends too.
Opens 2026
289 Mare Street, London E8 1EJ
empiretavern.co.uk
Maza
Mazi and Suzi Tros, both in Notting Hill, are two of the best Greek restaurants in London, and this spring, they’re about to be joined by a third spot, only a little further east than W8. Owners Christina Mouratoglou and Adrien Carré have chosen Mayfair for their latest project Maza, which’ll channel the spirit of a 1980s Athenian taverna. The 90-cover restaurant will feature an open fire kitchen with a counter, with a vinyl listening bar upstairs playing 70s and 80s Greek records. Like any good taverna, generous portions and sharing dishes will be on offer, with the menu including handmade pasta with sea urchin; honey-roasted tomatoes with goat cheese and thyme oil; grilled beef livers wrapped in lamb offal; crispy pork belly gyros with pitta and tzatziki; grilled lobster with lobster head bisque rice; steak tartare with sundried tomatoes, basil and graviera cheese ice cream; Grandmama’s disco fries topped with shredded veal kokkinisto; and pistachio baklava ice-cream sandwich. Maza will also offer the world’s largest exclusively Greek wine list, running to over 150 wines.
Opens Thurs 12th March 2026
21-23 Bruton Place, London, W1J 6NB
mazamayfair.com
Bánh Bánh Brixton
Following the opening of Little Bánh Bánh on Fleet Street last autumn, its big sis Bánh Bánh in Brixton is getting revamped with a new menu and a new look courtesy of design duo House of Baby, aka Joseph Losper and Tomio Shota. The pair, who also worked on Peckham spot Lai Rai, have created a space full of juxtaposition; after entering past a pink-tiled illuminated Vietnamese shrine, the main room features curved glass block walls, concrete, wood tones, painted frescoes, wool tapestries and ceramic hòn non bộ sculptures made by artist and Head of Operations AP Nguyen. AP has also designed the new food offering, which centres around cơm nhà (‘home rice’) and family-style dining. The menu includes Vietnamese platters like steamed rice cakes, tapioca dumplings and crispy fried rice with nước chấm and fish sauce with garlic, chilli and lime dipping sauces; grilled turmeric monkfish with dill and vermicelli; lemongrass pork sausage and sugarcane wraps; and beef in betel leaf with vermicelli. These will be joined by black sesame crackers, spring rolls, summer rolls, steamed beef cabbage rolls, caramelised catfish, sweet & sour clam broth, and braised pork belly.
Opens March 2026
326 Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8QH
banhbanh.com
DanDan Nine Elms
Sichuan restaurant DanDan, which already has branches in Aldgate, London Bridge and Wimbledon, is opening a fourth location in Nine Elms this spring. We’re expecting the offering to be the same as the other restaurants, where the menus include dishes like dan dan noodles, Chongqing spicy noodles, mapo tofu, stir fried lamb with cumin, smacked cucumbers, and red-braised beef noodle soup.
Opens March 2026
Unit 4, 57 Nine Elms Lane, London, SW11 7DE
dandan-restaurant.co.uk
Holy Carrot Spitalfields
Originally started as a pop-up, Irina Linovich finally took vegetable-forward, root-to-tip restaurant Holy Carrot permanent in the summer of 2024 when she teamed up with chef Daniel Watkins (co-founder of Acme Fire Cult) and opened on Portobello Road. Since then, the restaurant has won a legion of fans (and a listing in the Michelin Guide) for its inventive approach to plant-based cooking and low-waste ethos. Now it’s opening a restaurant in Spitalfields, which’ll feature a pizza oven, a dedicated fermentation room, and vegetarian dishes on the menu – a move that reflects the declining interest in veganism. Head Chef Maria Criscuolo’s all-day bistro-style menu will include the likes of fire-grilled filled koji flatbreads; a changing pie du jour; miso Marmite pizzetta with grated pecorino; fire-grilled leeks with smoked Holy Carrot hot sauce and hazelnuts; and masala borlotti beans with grilled Iberico tomato and mustard greens.
Opens Fri 13th March 2026
61-63 Brushfield Street, London, E1 6AA
holycarrot.co.uk
Teal by Sally Abé
Sally Abé has led restaurants in London before, including Michelin-starred pub The Harwood Arms and The Pem, but now she’s opening her first place on her own. She’s back in the capital after an interlude in the Cotswolds as Head of Food at The Bull in Charlbury to open British bistro Teal by Sally Abé on Wilton Way. The site was last home to Sesta, which was open for just over year, and before that, tasting menu spot Pidgin, which lasted for nine years.
Opens Thurs 26th March 2026
52 Wilton Way, London E8 1BG
@tealbysallyabe
Impala
After leading the kitchen at beloved Thai restaurant Kiln, Meedu Saad is getting ready to open his own Soho spot Impala, named after the cherry red 1964 Chevrolet Impala he drove during summers in Egypt. The restaurant will be influenced by his Egyptian heritage and grill restaurants in both north Africa and north London. Real attention is being paid to the sourcing of ingredients, with Saad collecting spices from around the world; getting fish and meat from across the UK (the restaurant will have an in-house butchery); and making garum (from sardines), soft cheese, and preserves (like green figs in honey and peppers and aubergines fermented with walnuts and chillies in Cretan olive oil) in house. An open fire grill will be at the heart of Impala, where dishes will include baked river fish, molasses roasted dry-aged duck stuffed with black lime and chillies, sardines cooked in grape leaves, and braised wild greens in olive oil.
Opens Thurs 26th March 2026
Dean Street, London
@meedu_saad
Oudh 1722
Aktar Islam is one of the biggest chefs in Britain – as well as being a regular on the telly, he holds two Michelin stars for his Birmingham restaurant Opheem, one of only two Indian restaurants in the UK (the other being Gymkhana) and four worldwide to hold the accolade. Now he’s coming to the capital to open Oudh 1722 this spring. Opening across three floors in a listed Victorian building in Borough, Oudh 1722 will showcase Islam’s interpretation of Awadhi cuisine. Originating in Lucknow, which has been listed a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, Awadhi cooking was shaped in the royal courts of northern India and is known for its kebabs, biryanis and curries made using the dum pukht method of slow-cooking over a low flame.
Opens spring 2026
Borough, London
oudh1722.com
Buvette
James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Jody Williams is brining her cult spot Buvette to town, taking over the former St. John Bakery site in Neal’s Yard. Jody, who also co-owns Via Carota, I Sodi, The Commerce Inn and Bar Pisellino with her wife Rita Sodi, first opened Buvette in the West Village in 2011 and has since taken the restaurant to Paris, Tokyo and Seoul. The 80-cover London outpost will be open all day, meaning you can pop in for a coffee, a leisurely lunch on the terrace or post-theatre cocktails. We don’t have a menu yet but we’d expect the menu to be similar to that on offer in NYC, which includes French dishes like artichokes barigoule, escargots, steak tartare, coq au vin, and tarte tatin.
Opens spring 2026
2 Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9DP
@buvettelondon
Bancone
Fresh pasta restaurant Bancone is growing again – the Kensington site, the latest addition to the group, opened earlier this year – with a new 170-cover location in Bank. The menu will include many Bancone classics, including the silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter and confit egg yolk, cacio e pepe, and pork & ndjua tagliatelle, plus some new dishes for the City restaurant.
Opens spring 2026
Bank, London
bancone.co.uk
Karam’s
Not content with opening a restaurant at the new V&A East in 2026, Jikoni founders Ravinder Bhogal and Nadeem Lalani Nanjuwany are opening Karam’s at The Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury. Unlike Jikoni, which highlights cooking across borders, Karam’s will be more specific in its remit, featuring South Asian vegetarian dishes that are reflective of the pair’s Indian ancestry and the region’s heritage of nourishing maternal cooking. Though a more casual setting that Jikoni, Karam’s, which is named after Ravinder’s grandfather Sardar Karam Singh Bhogal (who had a spiritual relationship to the land and believed in feeding others as a way to help them) will still showcase Ravinder and Nadeem’s brand of restorative hospitality. As well as communal all-day dining, inspired by the langar halls of Gurdwaras, at Karam’s you can expect craft breads, veggie dishes made using heritage grains and organic farm-sourced ingredients, and nourishing thalis.
Opens spring 2026
Bernard St, London WC1N 1BS
@karams.restaurant
Arôme Chinatown
Hot on the heels of ONSU opening, another Asian-inspired bakery is on the way. Arôme already has two locations in London – one in Covent Garden, the other in Mayfair – and a third site will be opening in Chinatown this spring, proving that you can never have too much of a good thing. Known for blending French techniques and Asian flavours, Arôme has built a loyal following for its pistachio chocolate escargots, honey butter toasts, almond croissants, gula melaka coconut twists and miso bacon escargots. We don’t have a menu for the Chinatown bakery yet but we’d expect all the bestsellers to be there, as well having something that the other branches don’t – soft serve, with flavours that’ll change seasonally.
Opens spring 2026
92 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5EA
@aromebakerylondon
Padella Soho
Ten years after opening the first Padella in Borough Market, Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda will be opening their third location in Soho. The 80-cover Kingly Street site will be spread across two floors, with wood, formica and chrome on the ground floor, and more plush upholstery, polished teak, pink mirrors and a hidden private dining room downstairs. Padella faves like pici cacio e pepe and pappardelle with beef shin ragu will be on the menu, alongside new dishes created with the best British produce.
Opens spring 2026
2 Kingly Street, London W1B 5PB
padella.co
Ravinder Bhogal at V&A East
The V&A East Museum may not be opening until spring 2026, but we’ve been given a little taster of what to expect from its food and drink offering, as it’s been announced that Jikoni founders Ravinder Bhogal and Nadeem Lalani Nanjuwany will be involved. The Marylebone restaurant that the two have been operating since 2016 bills itself as a ‘mixed heritage’ restaurant South Asian, Middle Eastern, East African and British influences, but we don’t know yet whether the V&A East Museum restaurant will follow the same path.Speaking about the opening, the pair have said, “We’re excited to be in the heart of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on East Bank, with a project that will speak to the depth and breadth of the culturally rich and diverse communities in East London. Beyond serving nourishing and delicious food, our intention is inclusivity, collaboration and connectivity.”
Opens spring 2026
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, E20
vam.ac.uk
Kinz
Kinz is being opened by Jad Lahoud, Karim Lahoud, and Rasha Khouri Bruzzo. The trio is bringing a fresh take on Lebanese food to London with Kinz and they’re going big, taking over the former Lloyds Bank building on Notting Hill Gate. Designed by architect Sir Edward Maufe, it’s an impressive venue and it’s being put to good use. The main space will have room for 130, with a triple-height ground floor, a mezzanine level and a canopied bar underneath. There’ll be a private dining room holding 16 on the third floor, filled with pomegranate tapestries, there’ll be a dedicated wine room in the bank’s old vault, and a there’ll be a deli space up front. The all-day menu will mix recipes passed down through generations with modern creations. In the mornings you’ll be able to get egg dishes, sandwiches and a full Lebanese breakfast, with mezze and sharing plates on offer for lunch and dinner. Expect the likes of baba ganoush; tabbouleh; lamb kafta; warak enab with koussa and lamb cutlet – spiced lamb and rice in vine leaves and baby courgettes; and fattet aubergine – baked aubergine layered with pine nuts, tomato, yoghurt and pita
Opens Weds 15th April 2026
50 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JD
kinzrestaurant.com
Kawan
Uncle Roger, aka Nigel NG, has built a 5-million-strong following for roasting people’s (including Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay) fried rice dishes, and now he’s showing us how it should be done by opening his own restaurant this spring. Nigel already has experience in the restaurant biz – he has six branches of FUIYOH! It’s Uncle Roger in Malaysia – but Kawan will be his first UK opening, and he’s teaming up with Keng Yew (co-founder of YiQi, San Hao, Dozo and The Eight) and Executive Chef Daren Liew (Nanyang Blossom, San Hao, Duddels and Hakkasan Group) to bring it to life. The 60-cover spot in Chinatown will be relaxed and informal, and the pan-Asian menu will follow a similar vibe. Rather than focusing on regional authenticity, the food will showcase Asian techniques and flavours adapted for British produce and tastes, with dishes like Sarawak Pepper Belly Delight; Chinatown Fried Rice; Hainanese Chicken Chop; Crispy Puff Chicken Wellington; and Wasabi Boom Boom Sausage.
Opens April 2026
12 Macclesfield Street, London W1D 5BP
kawanlondon.co.uk
Cloth Cornhill
The team behind much-loved Farringdon restaurant Cloth, are gearing up for another smash hit with their next restaurant, having taking on the legendary Simpson’s Tavern in the City. Open since 1757, Simpson’s is known as London’s oldest chop house, and was a favourite of William Thackeray and Charles Dickens back in the day. Although it’s been shuttered for the past couple of years, the Cloth team – Joe Haynes, Ben Butterworth, and Tom Hurst – are hard at work transforming the site for a mid-2026 opening as Cloth Cornhill (the Simpson’s name can no longer be used for legal reasons). As you’d expect from such an old Grade II-listed building, many of the original features, such as the wood panelled walls, bow windows, brass rails, fireplaces, and high-backed wooden seating booths, will be kept, while giving the place a much needed makeover to bring it up to date. Given how nice the original Cloth looks, the combination of the Cloth style with this historic building should be an absolute winner.
Opens mid-2026
38 1/2 Cornhill, London EC3V 9DR
clothrestaurants.com
Darjeeling Express
Asma Khan is relocating her Indian restaurant Darjeeling Express for the fourth time. Khan started Darjeeling Express as a pop-up at Soho pub The Sun & 13 Cantons in 2014 before taking on a permanent site in Kingly Court. She decided not to reopen there post-lockdown and chose instead to move the restaurant to a bigger site in Covent Garden, where she stayed until the summer of 2022. Following another pop-up stint, this time in west London, Khan moved Darjeeling Express back to Kingly Court at the beginning of 2023. Now she’s leaving the Carnaby venue once more and taking over the old Horvada site on Rupert Street in Chinatown. Darjeeling Express 4.0 will be much bigger and set over two floors, with a bigger dining area and more room for Khan’s all-female team in the kitchen. As she has said on Instagram, that means more food like “kathi rolls, keema, samosa, vada pav, falooda, all the things that are your favourites. Maybe bring back a midweek biryani”.
Opens spring / summer 2026
36-40 Rupert St, London W1D 6DW
darjeeling-express.com
Major’s Grill
Not content with bringing Carbone to London, American food and beverage operators Major Food Group have announced they will also be opening Major’s Grill this side of the pond in 2026. Set in Cambridge House, Auberge Collection, we’re hoping it is heavily influenced by The Grill – one of our favourite spots in New York. One of the few restaurants that still has big dick Manhattan energy, ‘boom boom’ interiors, expense account dining and three martini lunches. The space, located in Mayfair inside a grand Georgian ballroom transformed by designer Jean-Louis Deniot, will bring a mid-century spin to the classic London grill – think plush interiors, white-jacketed service captains, and old-school table-side theatrics (something MFG are very well known for). On the menu, it’s prime cuts, seafood, and classic dishes, whilst the drinks list features ten different takes on the martini and a cellar stacked with First Growth Bordeaux, Grand Cru Burgundy, and rare vintages.
Opens 2026
94 Piccadilly, London W1J 7PB
auberge.com
Noodle Inn Battersea
Ever since Noodle Inn on Old Compton Street went viral, it’s had people queuing around the block for its hand-pulled biang biang noodles slapped down on the counter, and knife-cut noodles, cut off from blocks of dough straight into the pot. It became so popular that at the back end of 2025, a second site opened in the City, close to Liverpool Street station. And the team isn’t losing any momentum as a third location is now on the way. All you south Londoners will be pleased to hear that the new branch is opening on your side of the river, taking up a spot in Turbine Hall B at Battersea Power Station. We don’t have a menu for the Battersea location yet but we’d expect a similar line-up of dishes, including beef rib noodles covered in chilli oil, knife-cut noodles with scrambled egg and tomato, chilli oil spill tofu, pan-fried dumplings, and wontons with chilli oil.
Opens 2026
Battersea Power Station, Circus Rd W, London SW11 8DD
@noodleinnuk_
Coreus and Café Boulud
The 100-bedroom Admiralty Arch Waldorf Astoria, which is being developed by Hilton in partnership with the Reuben Brothers, opens its doors in 2026. As well as a ballroom and spa, the Admiralty Arch Waldrof Astoria hotel will have one all-day restaurant and terrace, a more formal 50-cover restaurant with a chef’s table, and an underground bar that nods to some of the building’s historic residents like Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming. Clare Smyth, who runs the three-star Core in Notting Hill, will be operating one of the restaurants called Coreus. NYC-based Daniel Boulud, most famous for having run Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental for a decade and whose collection of restaurants includes four Michelin stars, will be running the other, called Café Boulud.
Opens 2026
The Mall, London SW1A 2WH
hilton.com
Caprice Restaurant
The Chancery Rosewood in Mayfair, open on the site of the former US Embassy on Grosvenor Square to the tune of £1 billion, was one of the biggest launches of last year. As well as boasting 144 suites, the hotel is home to a number of high-profile restaurants, and back in 2024, Richard Caring confirmed that he’d also be relaunching Le Caprice at The Chancery Rosewood – though Jeremy King took over the original Le Caprice site in Mayfair with Arlington in 2024, Caring has owned the Le Caprice name since 2005. However Caring’s reinterpretation of Le Caprice wasn’t mentioned in the hotel’s announcement of its food and beverage partners last summer, and it was widely believed that the project was cancelled. Now it appears that it’s very much back on. Caprice Holdings has posted a job listing for a general manager to lead a flagship opening at the hotel, which is “set to be one of the most anticipated openings of 2026”. The new venue will be called Caprice Restaurant, rather than Le Caprice, and it’s a new concept, not a relaunch.
Opens 2026
1 Grosvenor Square, London W1K 4BN
rosewoodhotels.com
Kebapci Iskender
Kebapci Iskender is a Turkish institution – founded in Bursa in 1867, it’s remained a family-run business for several generations, with Oğuzhan İskenderoğlu now in charge. Iskender has two locations in Bursa and a smart restaurant in Istanbul (which we’re big fans of), and now it’s coming to London. The restaurant is opening on Beauchamp Place, close to Harrods, and though we don’t exactly when yet, the hoardings are up outside the space. We also haven’t seen a menu but given Iskender has been doing its signature iskender kebab – pide piled with tomato sauce and lamb döner, served with roasted aubergine and yoghurt, and finished with plenty of melted butter – for well over a century, this will be the star of the show.
Opens 2026
30 Beauchamp Place, London SW3 1NJ
@iskenderofficial
Berenjak Mayfair
The JKS-backed Iranian restaurant group Berenjak, led by Kian Samyani and which already has sites in Soho and Borough, is opening location number three in Mayfair, taking over a spot on the corner of Duke Street and Brown Hart Gardens. That’s all we know so far – the latest posts on the restaurant’s Instagram account show that the site has been completely gutted ahead of a refurbishment – but we’re expecting plenty of charcoal-grilled kababs and signature mazeh small plates.
Opens 2026
Brown Hart Gardens, London, W1
berenjaklondon.com
Kricket Covent Garden
Rik Campbell and Will Bowlby are men on a mission; the pair opened a Kricket restaurant and a second branch of cocktail bar SOMA in Canary Wharf towards the end of 2024, before establishing a fourth restaurant in Shoreditch in the spring of 2025, which was also the first Kricket site to operate all-day with a breakfast offering. Now a fifth Kricket is on the way, opening in Neal’s Yard this year. Joining neighbours like The Barbary and Story Cellar, this Kricket take up residence in a 4000 sq ft space and have room for 130 covers. Like the Shoreditch site, the Covent Garden restaurant will also run all day and serve breakfast (dishes on the Shoreditch menu include eggs bhurji, bacon pao and kedgeree), alongside an a la carte selection of modern Indian plates.
Opens 2026
Neal’s Yard, London, WC2H 9DP
kricket.co.uk
Kiji
Ellia and two-Michelin-star chef Junghyun Park are the pair behind Atomix in NYC, which is ranked at number six on the World’s 50 Best list and has also been named the best restaurant in North America. And they’re coming to London to open Kiji, an elevated Korean BBQ experience. The restaurant will be taking up residence in a suitably storied location; 60 Curzon in Mayfair, which has just been redeveloped. The 8000 sq ft site, comprising a dining area, bar, lounge and private chef room, was the previous home of Mirabelle, an institution that hosted guests such as Orson Welles, Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Taylor.
Opens 2026
60 Curzon St, London W1J 8PG
60curzon.com
Olympia London
Olympia is being transformed into a culture and entertainment hub and will include 30+ new restaurants and bars. Des Gunewardena, formerly of restaurant group D&D London but now heading up new hospo company D3 Collective, is opening 300-cover all-day dining restaurant Idalia with a modern British menu; speakeasy-style bar Pepperbird; and 500-capacity events space Upstairs at Pillar Hall, which will be taking up residence inside the 30,000 sq ft Pillar Hall, a Grade II-listed space originally built in 1885 by architect Henry Edward Coe. The Incipio Group (which runs The Prince, Pergola on the Wharf, The Palm House and Pergola Brixton amongst others), is opening four new venues at Olympia. There’s the two-level, 15,000 sq ft bar Arbour, which itself will be home to four food concepts, including gourmet fried chicken and smashburgers; rooftop spot Lillie’s, which will serve British small plates and English sparkling wines; the 300-cover Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar Wolves of Tokyo; and Juno, set to be the largest Italian restaurant in the UK, taking over 11,000 sq ft of space inside the Olympia National Hall building.
Opens 2026
Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UX
olympia.co.uk
16 Charles Street
The Loulou Groupe, which operates venues in Paris, Courchevel, Pampelonne, and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (with destinations in Greece and Marbella still to come), is opening its first UK location in Mayfair. 16 Charles Street, a townhouse once owned by society hostess Dame Margaret Greville, will act as a pied-à-terre for Les Amis members, with five floors of salons, bars and restaurants. Executive Chef Benoît Dargère is leading the culinary offerings, which include a ground floor French brasserie that’ll be open to the public.
Opens autumn 2026
16 Charles Street, London, W1J 5BH
@loulourestaurants
