Bonheur by Matt Abé
Former Restaurant Gordon Ramsay chef-patron Matt Abé strikes out on his own this month with a fine dining restaurant of high ambition. Located on the former Le Gavroche site in Mayfair and backed by his former mentor, Bonheur by Matt Abé will serve two tasting menus - Journey and Dream - alongside an a la carte offer. Launch dishes on the five-course Journey menu (£195) include ‘quiche Lorraine’; Cornish turbot with celeriac, lobster, hollandaise; and Aynhoe Park fallow deer with beetroot, pine, and blackberry while dishes on the longer seven-course Dream menu (£225) include celeriac royale with Oscietra caviar, allium, and hazelnut; Isle of Skye scallop with carrot, clementine, and yuzu kosho; ‘quail blanquette’ with Jerusalem artichoke, black garlic, and malt; and 125-day aged Cumbrian Blue Grey with potato, parsley and smoked bone marrow. Set within the main dining room will be private dining area Petit Bonheur, where Abé and his team will present each course and share the stories, inspirations, and techniques behind it.
43 Upper Brook Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 7QR / www.bonheurbymattabe.com/
Mezzogiorno
Taking the same name as one of his cookbooks, Mezzogiorno sees Calabrian chef Francesco Mazzei return to the London restaurant scene. Located within the Corinthia London hotel, the restaurant will serve hearty Italian food that harks back to Mazzei’s days at L’Anima restaurant and which include tortelli stuffed with nduja, burrata and ricotta; Sardinian fregola with seafood; and bistecca a la Fiorentina with Sardinian blue sheep’s cheese. Save room for the giant tiramisu for dessert.
Corinthia Hotel, 10 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2BD/ www.corinthia.com/en-gb/london/mezzogiorno/
Ogof
This unusually sounding restaurant in Cardiff is the brainchild of local residents Alex Vines (ex 40 Maltby Street and Rochelle Canteen), wine specialist Siôn Iorwerth, and Zanna Clarke. Located on the site that was Poca restaurant on Kings Road, Ogof will have a focus on seasonal, ingredient-led menus shaped by close relationships with local farmers, growers, and winemakers. Working in collaboration with Wright’s Wines and other independent UK importers, it will offer wines sourced directly from the UK and Europe, with an emphasis on distinctive, natural wines produced with good farming practices.
11 Kings Rd, Pontcanna, Cardiff, CF11 9BZ / www.ogofcardiff.co.uk/
Corenucopia By Clare Smyth
Talking of restaurant names, Core’s Clare Smyth has got the pun book out for her second restaurant in the capital. Luxury bistro Corenucopia By Clare Smyth will open on Chelsea’s Holbein Place. Details are still very much under wraps so watch this space.
18-22 Holbein Place, London, SW1W 8NL / www.corenucopia.com/
The Marlborough
Crisp Pizza founder Carl McCluskey has joined forces with the team behind popular London gastropub The Devonshire for his new pub and pizza place in Mayfair. Opening within a Grade II listed pub that has been loving refurbished on North Audley Street, The Marlborough will see McCluskey relocate his Crisp pizza operation from Hammersmith. The pub and pizza mix that made Crisp such a smash will remain, with the upstairs space a traditional wet-led pub for drinking while downstairs will be dedicated to Crisp Pizza with restaurant-style seating for 52 people.
24 North Audley St, London, W1K 6WD
74 Charlotte Street by Ben Murphy
Technically an October launch, having opened on the final day of last month, chef Ben Murphy has finally realised his dream of having his name above the door. Described as providing ‘refined, everyday dining’, Murphy’s Fitzrovia restaurant - that sits on the site that was formerly Monica Galetti’s Mere - serves an a la carte menu thar includes dishes such as waffle with 30-month aged comte; blue fin tuna with ponzu and coconut; BBQ monkfish with vin juane; as well as a beef wellington to share.
74 Charlotte Street, London, W1T 4QH / 74charlottestreet.com/
Poon’s at Somerset House
Amy Poon will be expecting fireworks when she opens her first permanent restaurant on 5 November. Serving food cooked in Chinese homes that may be unfamiliar in the West, Poon’s will have a menu of dishes that featured at Poon’s parents’ London restaurants on Lisle Street and Covent Garden, including zha jiang noodles and claypot rice. The restaurant will be housed within the New Wing of Somerset House, and will have space for 62 covers.
Somerset House, New Wing, Lancaster Place, London, WC2R 1LA / www.poonslondon.com/restaurant
Tangra
Named after a neighbourhood in Kolkata, Tangra is the new project from former Mildreds and Mallow chef Nikesh Sawant. Inspired by Kolkata’s Hakka Chinese community, it will serve a vegetarian Indo-Chinese menu that will feature dishes such as himawan sadeko Chick’n; a special combination rice; Manchurian kofta and Hakka noodles; chilli cheese quesadilla; and momo dumplings stuffed with sweetcorn and cheddar cheese. There will also be a strong cocktail offer.
17 Frith Street, London, W1D 4RG / www.tangrarestaurant.com/
Wonton Charlie’s
Wonton Charlie’s marks the first foray into Cantonese food from the team behind Taiwanese restaurants Mr Bao, Daddy Bao, and Master Bao. As the name suggests, noodles will be the star of the show with wonton options to include fish skin, said to be unique to Hong Kong dining culture and made using fish in the wrapper dough and filled with seasoned pork; prawn; and pork with the option to add on fish balls. With only 18 seats the restaurant is set to be a lively space for lunch and dinner.
392-393 Mentmore Terrace, London Fields, London, E8 3PH
Tower House
The team behind Gold in Notting Hill are heading to Richmond for their second restaurant. Tower House will occupy a sweet spot by the Thames that was formerly a Pitcher & Piano and will take its inspiration from the Mediterranean and will be ‘rooted in a spirit of warmth and relaxed intimacy’. Menu details are limited, but options will include chargrilled vegetables, hand-rolled pasta and wood-roasted meats. Tower House opens this month for walks-ins and will take bookings from December.
11 Bridge Street, Richmond, TW9 1TQ / thisistowerhouse.com/
Trogolo
Notting Hill gets yet another restaurant this month courtesy of Lara Boglione of Petersham Nurseries and her husband Giovanni Mazzei. The duo will open Italian trattoria Trogolo on Westbourne Grove, which is inspired by the spirit of Florence. Meaning ‘trough’ in Italian, the restaurant takes its name from the stone basins found in farmyards across Tuscany and which symbolised the heart of rural life. It will serve an ingredient-led, seasonally changing menu of hearty Italian dishes accompanied by a Tuscan-focused wine list.
296 Westbourne Grove, London, W11 2PS / trogolo.uk/
Brewski
North American comfort food brand Brewski is making its debut in Liverpool city centre. The 200-cover restaurant, which includes a 78-cover terrace, will serve a rotating menu of dishes that change every six to eight weeks and will include burgers, burritos with a cheesy stuffed crust, fries tossed in nduja or garlic butter, and poutine. The brand, whose strapline is ‘nobody leaves hungry’ already has sites in Chester, Chorlton, and Sheffield.
Liverpool ONE, 5 Wall St, Liverpool, L1 8JQ / brewskirestaurants.com/
Sale e Pepe Mare
Described as being an evolution of the original Sale e Pepe in Knightsbridge, Sale e Pepe Mare is an Italian riviera-inspired restaurant located within The Langham hotel in London. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the restaurant will serve a seafood-focused menu with dishes from Amalfi to Puglia, with a Josper grill for the cooking of dishes such as whole turbot, clams, and prime cuts of steak.
1C Portland Place, London, W1B 1JA / www.saleepepe.co.uk/sale-e-pepe-mare-the-langham-london
Hawksmoor St Pancras
Hawksmoor is taking over the impressive building that was most recently home to the Midland Grand Dining Room within the St Pancras Renaissance hotel for a 95-cover restaurant. Diners can expect more of the same from the steakhouse, which is known for its killer selection of starters, steaks, sides and desserts - not least its sticky toffee pudding - as well as a number of new dishes. Lovers of Hawksmoor’s excellent cocktails will be glad to know that it is also taking on the building’s adjacent bar to open The Martini Bar.
St Pancras london, Euston Road, London, NW1 2AR / thehawksmoor.com/locations/st-pancras/
Vincenzo’s Shoreditch
Tom Vincent is bringing his trademark pizzas to Shoreditch with the opening of a second Vincenzo’s pizzeria. His new site on Bethnal Green Road will take a by-the-slice approach for the first time and channel ‘the nostalgic feel of New York slice bars with an east London edge’. It will serve Vincent’s pizzas that are inspired by New York and Naples, with classics like margherita; tomato; and pepperoni featuring alongside new options such as spanakopita; vodka sauce; and burrata.
122 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 6DG / vincenzospizzas.com/vincenzos-shoreditch
Velvet Taco
Months after it announced that it was touching down on UK soil, US brand Velvet Taco is finally opening its doors in London’s Broadgate Circle. Located on the former Shoryu Ramen site, the restaurant will serve the brand’s global flavour tacos that include spicy tikka chicken with buttered coriander basmati rice, raita crema and Thai basil; and fish ‘n chips - beer battered cod, curry aioli, French fries, malt vinegar and napa slaw. The opening marks the first step of Velvet Taco’s global expansion.
3 Broadgate, London EC2M 2QS / www.velvettaco.com/location/london-broadgate/
Ria’s
Vincenzo’s is not the only pizza player doubling up in the capital this month. Ria’s, which is known for its Detroit-style pies, is adding to it Notting Hill site with a new venture on Soho’s Foubert’s Place. Described as a ‘wiser’ version of the debut restaurant, Ria’s Soho will have 38 covers split across two floors and an open kitchen on the ground floor where diners can see the brand’s signature deep-pan, square-cut Detroit-style pizza being made. The pizza will be available by the ‘pie’ or by the slice and menu options will be similar to that served at the Notting Hill original.
29 All Saints Rd, London, W11 1HE / www.rias.world/
Sartoria Launceston Place
It’s all change at the former Launceston Place site in South Kensington, which is being transformed into the second iteration of Italian restaurant Sartoria (named after its debut location on Savile Row). Sartoria Launceston Place will serve Italian food in a convivial setting with dishes including burrata with anchovies and toasted sourdough; vitello tonnato; tagliatelle ossobuco; and veal Milanese. Owner The Evolv Collection will soon convert Fiume in Battersea - which was positioned as a sister restaurant to Sartoria when it launched in 2017 - into a third Sartoria and open a fourth in Liverpool Street as part of its plans to grow the brand in the capital.
1A Launceston Place, London, W8 5RL / sartoria-launcestonplace.co.uk/
Khao-Sō-i
Chiang Mai’s noodle bar Khao-Sō-i will open its first international outpost in London’s Fitzrovia on 12 November. Founded by husband-and-wife duo Chef Win Srinavakool and Por Haruethai Noicharoen, the restaurant celebrates the bold flavours of northern Thailand, from family recipes to street-food classics. At its heart is the signature khao soi, a coconut curry noodle soup, alongside small plates such as sai oua (northern Thai sausage), larb dib (raw, spicy beef salad) and tum khanun (young jackfruit salad).
9-10 Market Place, London, W1W 8AQ / www.khaosoilondon.com
Chelsea Grill
The group behind London restaurants including Wild, Krododilos and Pinna closed their restaurant Fantomas, launched in partnership with chef Chris Denney, earlier this year. Now it has announced that it is reopening the site as Chelsea Grill, which feels more in step with the other restaurants in its stable. Details are scant but the neighbourhood restaurant will open at the end of the month and be ‘built around fire, smoke, and top-quality ingredients’ - an approach the group takes at its other restaurants to great effect - with dishes designed for sharing.
300 King’s Road, London, SW3 5UH / www.chelseagrill.co.uk/
Bistro Sablé
Noble Inns is transforming the site of its The Smokehouse restaurant into a new French bistro. Bistro Sablé will be a 65-seater restaurant spread across two areas with a bar space to the front and a dining room to the rear. It will serve an affordable and succinct menu that will cover French classics, with a traditional Sunday lunch also offered, and will have an ‘unashamedly Bistro chic’ design. It opens on 3 November.
63-69 Canonbury Rd, London N1 2DG
Plaza Khao Gaeng at Borough Yards
Plaza Khao Gaeng got noses running with its super spicy southern Thai food when it took the upstairs restaurant space at Arcade food hall on Tottenham Court Road. Now the Luke Farrell created concept is heading to the arches of Borough Yards for its second location having taken on the former Vinoteca site. Expect slow-braised soy and spiced pork hocks, rich seafood curries, whole fish with jungle herbs, and fresh salads with lime and green mango.
18 Stoney St, London SE1 9AD, Borough Yards / plazakhaogaeng.com/