Town
Pastaio founder Stevie Parle will launch his first London restaurant since the pandemic this month, which he’s described as the ‘biggest, most ambitious project’ he’s ever done. Called Town, the restaurant, which was first mooted back in late 2023, will open on Drury Lane on 12 May and is billed as ‘blending the best of sustainable British produce with a design-forward interior’. Parle has brought together a senior kitchen team that includes executive chef Olly Pierrepont, previously of Luca and La Trompette; head chef Andy Bright, who has cooked at Kerridge’s Bar & Grill and Fera; and Zinzan Riess-Hollier, previously of Luca and Padella. Together they have created an ‘ingredient-first menu’ that aims to pioneer a new kind of relationship with growers and suppliers by investing in and growing alongside farmers using progressive and regenerative approaches. The interiors, created by North End Design, will feature warm tones and pops of primary colour with lava stone countertops, a lacquered green kitchen, a solid sapele bar, Jacobsen chairs and an illuminated ceiling ‘coffer’ design.
26-29 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RL // town.restaurant
Locatelli and Bar Giorgio
Giorgio and Plaxy Locatelli are teaming up with contract caterer Searcys to launch a restaurant and a separate bar at London’s National Gallery. Locatelli and Bar Giorgio will both be located within the Sainsbury Wing of the world-famous art gallery. Set on the mezzanine level—reopening on 10 May following a major transformation—Locatelli will seat 80 guests and focus on Italian classics alongside the chef’s signature dishes. Menu items will include pappardelle with broad beans, pecorino and rucola; braised veal ravioli with parsley gremolata and Parmigiano Reggiano sauce; roast chicken alla cacciatora with polenta; and fresh fruit tart with custard. The launch follows the closure of the pair’s Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli restaurant in Marylebone late last year, after 23 years of service.
The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN // locatelliatnationalgallery.co.uk
Myrtos by Asimakis
Former Pied à Terre executive chef Asimakis Chaniotis is striking out on his own with the opening of Myrtos in South Kensington. Named after the island of Kefalonia’s most famous beach, the 80-cover restaurant will champion ingredients and recipes from across Greece, including metsovone, a smoked cheese from the Alpine village of Metsovo in the north of the country. Small plates drawing on traditional mezze, such as taramosalata, finished with trout roe and dill oil; fava, a dip made from split peas, onions, olive oil and lemon; and cured bonito fish will feature alongside larger sharing dishes such as lobster giouvetsi with orzo, tomatoes, mussels, lemon and basil; and pink bream served with a five-herb, lettuce and lemon sauce. Myrtos by Asimakis opens on 12 May.
260-262 Brompton Road, South Kensington, London, SW3 2AS // myrtoslondon.com
Roti King Brighton
London-born Malaysian street food brand Roti King has chosen Brighton for its first regional outpost. Set within a Grade II-listed former retail unit in The Lanes, the restaurant brings the concept—focused on roti canai flatbreads served with dhal, chicken, mutton, or fish kari—to a total of five sites. Founder Sugen Gopal, who opened the first Roti King in Euston in 2014 and is also behind food hall spin-off Gopal’s Corner, describes Brighton as having “a special place in his heart.” He adds: “There’s an energy to the city that makes it one of my favourite places to eat out in the UK. The Lanes, with its independent spirit and incredible food culture, feels like the perfect home for Roti King outside of London.”
57 Ship Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1AF // rotiking.com/brighton
Permit Room Notting Hill
Dishoom is bringing its all-day, bar-café spin-off brand Permit Room to London for the first time, opening on Portobello Road in Notting Hill on 9 May on the site that previously occupied by the Portobello Gin Distillery. As with the Indian restaurant brand’s other Permit Rooms, the London outpost will be positioned as a more drinks-led counterpoint to Dishoom’s core restaurant brand, taking its influence from the ‘permit rooms, beer bars and drinking holes’ of 1960s and 1970s Bombay with a food menu that includes snacks, chaats, salads and sharing plates as well as breakfast naan rolls.
186 Portobello Road, London W11 1LA // dishoom.com/permit-room
Marvee’s
Chef Dom Taylor will launch a new restaurant in Ladbroke Grove early next month, aiming to “playfully reimagine” the Caribbean takeaway experience. Located within music and events space UNDR, Marvee’s Food Shop follows the success of Taylor’s first solo venture, The Good Front Room. Based at central London’s Langham Hotel, the ten-month residency offered an elevated Caribbean dining experience and was launched following his win on Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef, streamed on Channel 4 and Netflix. Named in honour of Taylor’s mother, Marveline—affectionately known as Marvee—the 60-cover restaurant will draw on the sounds, smells, and stories of his childhood, with a nod to the “characterful, often chaotic” Caribbean food shops scattered across London.
UNDR, 3 Thorpe Close, London W10 5XL // marveesfoodshop.com
Norbert’s
London-based restaurateur John Ogier has joined forces with chef Jack Coghlan to launch a new neighbourhood-style restaurant in East Dulwich that will major in rotisserie chicken. Expected to open later this month, Norbert’s will take over the former Il Mirto site on Melbourne Grove. Ogier, who is best known as the co-founder of Shoreditch restaurant Lyle’s, told Hot Dinners the concept for Norbert’s will see ‘super delicious chicken at a price point that works’ served alongside a tight, cocktail-focused drinks menu. The restaurant will hold around 20 covers and feature a playlist of 70s, 80s and 90s music.
5-6 Melbourne Terrace, Melbourne Grove, London SE22 8PL
Sino
Eugene Korolev, one of Ukraine’s best-known chefs, will open Sino in London’s Notting Hill on 21 May with restaurateur Polina Sychova. Pronounced ‘see-no’, the restaurant is named for the Ukrainian word ‘сіно’ meaning hay, a product of huge cultural significance in the country, and will offer refined Ukrainian-inspired food blending elements of the nation’s food culture with contemporary western cooking techniques. It will be the third high-profile Ukraine restaurant to launch in London since Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022, following in the footsteps of Mriya in Chelsea and Tatar Bunar in Shoreditch.
7 All Saints Road, London W11 1HA // sinorestaurant.co.uk
Duchy
Alex Grant and chef Simon Shand have taken on the former Leroy site in Shoreditch that is loosely inspired by the Duchy of Savoy, which occupied a huge area of south-east France and north-west Italy for over 800 years up until 1867. Duchy will serve Shand’s take on the historical region’s dishes with a launch menu that includes pork shoulder and smoked eel croquettes; brown crab arancini; roasted pork neck with bagna cauda and courgette; and fresh spaghetti with bottarga and olive oil. The wine list will be focused on the wine regions that fall within the Duchy of Savoy, which include Savoie, Jura, Rhône, Provence, Valais, Vaud, Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont and Liguria
18 Phipp Street, London, EC2A 4NU // duchyrestaurant.com
Marjorie’s
London’s French restaurant scene gets yet another new player this month, in the form of Parisian-inspired restaurant and wine bar Marjorie’s. Located in Soho, it is the brainchild of hospitality duo Michael Searle and Josh Anderson and head chef and business partner Giacomo Peretti and is described as being ‘the missing slice of Paris in central London’. The 47-cover space will be split over two floors, with 27 covers on the ground floor and a further 20 below. The menu is being overseen by Naples-born Peretti with dishes on the launch menu to include chicken liver rocher, hazelnut and morello; fried courgette, rouille and trout roe; escargot, seaweed and pine nut cream; bavette, egg yolk and girolles; mille-feuille, strawberries and chantilly; and raspberry and tarragon sorbet.
26 Foubert’s Place, Soho, London, W1F 7PP // marjorieslondon.co.uk
Tom Lawson at The Psalter
Tom Lawson opens his eponymous fine dining restaurant at his Sheffield-based hotel The Psalter on the first of this month. Celebrating ‘British produce at its peak’, the tasting menu-only 32-cover restaurant will be open from Thursday to Saturday with dishes on the launch menu to include Isle of Wight tomatoes with watermelon and jalapeno; cauliflower cheese ‘not like Grandma B’s’; Wortley Estate lamb with wild garlic and a lamb fat terrine; and Yorkshire rhubarb with white chocolate and gingerbread.
178-180 Psalter Lane, Sheffield, S11 8US // psaltersheffield.co.uk
Emberwood
Opening within Bath’s The Francis Hotel as part of a multi-million-pound refurbishment of the building, Emberwood is a British brasserie that celebrates locally-grown and locally-sourced produce. The kitchen will be led by executive head chef David Hazell with Sharky Patterson, previously of Soho House and The Beckford Arms, as restaurant general manager. Its menu will be inspired by the history and legacy of Bath, and will focus on ‘thoughtful, ingredient-driven dishes that highlight Somerset’s rich agricultural landscape’ with a commitment to local producers, seasonal cooking, with dishes including coal roasted Cornish scallops, garlic butter, and gremolata; Cornish crab, crab oil mayo, tarragon, and pickled lemon; rolled pork belly, spiced black pudding, and borlotti beans, salsa verde; and beef shin and stout pie, cavolo nero, and celeriac.
5 Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2HH // emberwoodbath.com
Osteria Angelina
The team behind Angelina Dalston will launch a new pasta and grill restaurant in East London’s Norton Folgate development later this month. Osteria Angelina will offer fresh pasta with a Japanese twist, as well as Italian- and Japanese-inspired “big cut” Binchotan grill-cooked dishes and a signature bollito misto served tableside. A 300-strong Italian wine list and a curated selection of sake will complement the food. The 75-cover ground-floor restaurant will centre around a large open kitchen and bar, featuring a mix of chef’s counter and table seating. Guests can watch the chefs at work, and a pastaio (pasta maker) will be visible in a glass-walled section of the dining room.
1 Nicholl’s Clarke Yard, London E1 6SH // angelina.london
Bar Kroketa City
Spanish restaurant operator and ingredients specialist Brindisa will open a third London site under its croqueta-focused Bar Kroketa brand in the City on 15 May. The group has acquired the former José Pizarro site on Broadgate for what will be Bar Kroketa’s biggest site to date. As with its outposts in on Beak Street in Soho and St Christopher’s Place, which opened in 2023 and 2024 respectively, the City restaurant will serve a menu of sweet and savoury kroketas – the brand taking its name from the Basque spelling of the deep fried, béchamel-based snack – alongside seasonally changing small plates.36 Broadgate, City of London, London EC2M 1QS // kroketa.co.uk
Kokin
Stratford is getting a shiny new premium Japanese restaurant this month with the opening of Kokin. Chef Daisuke Shimoyama has taken on the seventh-floor space of The Stratford hotel in the space that was previously home to Patrick Powell’s Allegra for his 140-cover restaurant, which is described as blending traditional Japanese culinary techniques with modern sensibilities. Shimoyama will cook over a wood fire grill using cherry, apple wood, and Binchotan charcoal, with dishes to include a charcoal grilled turbot with Kyoto white miso. The restaurant will have two extensive terraces and dedicated sushi bar.
The Stratford Hotel, 20 International Way, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, E20 1FD // kokin.co.uk