When it comes to welcoming restaurant groups from beyond its borders, London has an open door policy that has helped its dining scene become one of the best and most diverse in the world.
Recent activity has included US Italian restaurant Carbone, which opened at The Chancery Rosewood along with New York-based chef Masayoshi Takayama’s Tobi Masa, Dubai-based group Fundamental Hospitality, which opened Asian restaurant brand Shanghai Me on the former Galvin at Windows site, US-taco brand Velvet Taco, and Songhelou, one of China’s oldest restaurants, which put down roots in Chinatown early last year.
This year there are plenty more international brands waiting in the wings to have a crack at the capital, from places including the US, Italy, Dubai and France. Here’s what you can expect from the fresh wave of international newcomers coming our way.
La Nouvelle Garde
French hospitality group La Nouvelle Garde is set to make its international debut in London this year with the opening of Brasserie Olivia in Sloane Square, Chelsea. Founded by Charles Perez and Victor Dubillot, the group launched its first restaurant, Brasserie Bellanger, in Paris’s 10th arrondissement in 2019. It now operates nine restaurants across France, including sites in Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, Marseille, Lyon and Neuilly-sur-Seine. Brasserie Olivia will serve ‘resolutely homemade’ French brasserie classics using local produce. Dishes at the group’s French restaurants include bavette of beef, blanquette de veau, country terrine, truffled saucisson, tarte tatin and profiteroles.
Tresind
The group behind the first-ever Indian restaurant with three stars announced it was coming to London in 2026. Operated by Passion F&B, Tresind was established in 2014 and has become known as ‘an immersive gastronomic experience that celebrates India’s rich heritage through a modern lens’. In 2018 the group opened Trèsind Studio, located in the St Regis Dubai, at The Palm, which became the first Indian restaurant in the world to receive three Michelin stars and currently ranks at number 27 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Langosteria
Three years after it was first discussed, Milanese seafood restaurant Langosteria will finally open at Whitehall venue The OWO later this year. Opening in the spring, the London restaurant will be the first UK location for the global restaurant group, which launched in the Italian city’s Design District in 2007. London will mark Langosteria’s third international outpost following successful openings in Paris and St. Moritz. Langosteria is described as a ‘fine dining restaurant with Italian roots’ with the London restaurant described as representing a significant step in the brand’s international development
Raising Cane’s
Ranked as the third largest fried chicken brand in the US by sales in 2025, the group, which is famous for its crispy chicken fingers that are marinated for 24 hours and hand breaded, as well as its house-made dipping sauce, is also set to make its UK debut. The brand is expected to launch its flagship site later this year, which will take over the former Angus Steakhouse restaurant between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square on Coventry Street. Several additional London restaurants are planned in the months following the flagship launch, with The Strand, Oxford Circus, Paddington and South Bank all cited as target locations.
Major’s Grill
Major Food Group, the US hospitality group behind Carbone London, is set to open a second restaurant in the capital in partnership with Cambridge House, Auberge Collection in Mayfair. The new concept, Major’s Grill, is billed as an ode to glamorous mid-century dining, drawing inspiration from classic London grill rooms while blending “timeless elegance with dramatic flair”. The menu will focus on premium cuts of meat and seafood, described as a “love letter to classic cuisine”. The drinks offering will include 10 variations of the martini, while the wine list is expected to rival London’s finest, featuring first growth Bordeaux, grand cru Burgundy and rare cult vintages. Major Food Group’s portfolio also includes Dirty French, Chateau ZZ’s, Sadelle’s, Contessa and Parm.
Daniel Boulud
Daniel Boulud is set to return to the London dining scene with the opening of Café Boulud at the upcoming Waldorf Astoria Admiralty Arch. The all-day dining restaurant will sit alongside Clare Smyth’s Coreus as part of the hotel’s food and beverage offering. The project marks a homecoming for Boulud, who previously operated Bar Boulud at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park from 2010 until 2020. Café Boulud currently has locations in New York, Palm Beach, Toronto, the Bahamas and Riyadh.
Bonchon
US-based fried chicken brand Bonchon, which claims to serve the industry’s most delicious ‘crunch out loud’ chicken, announced plans to enter the UK market back in September 2023. Further reports in 2025 suggested progress, with Bonchon employing the services of property agent Christie & Co to explore UK expansion, but no site has been confirmed. Founded in South Korea in 2002 by Jinduk Seo and established in New York in 2006, Bonchon operates more than 455 restaurants worldwide. More than 140 are located in the US, with international locations spanning the Philippines, Thailand, France, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and France. Given the popularity of all kind of fried chicken over here, the UK looks to be a no-brainer for Bonchon, so will 2026 be the year it takes flight?
Jersey Mike’s Subs
US-based sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s Subs is planning a major international push with an ambition to open 400 stores in the UK and Ireland. The company has signed a franchise agreement with JM Submarines UK, a newly formed firm led by Jersey Mike’s founder Peter Cancro, to support the move. Having started working at the original Mike’s Sub Shop in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, in 1972 when he was just 14, Cancro purchased the location three years later and subsequently began franchising units in 1987. “I’ve lived and breathed this brand my entire life,” says Cancro. “To now have the opportunity to bring Jersey Mike’s to the UK and Ireland as a franchisee is incredibly exciting.”
BonBird
Another fried chicken brand that has set its stall out for the UK market but is yet to come up with the goods is Dubai-based brand BonBird. Last year City Restaurants Group, which operates the fast-growing casual dining brand Afrikana in the UK, signed a franchise agreement with Yolk Brands to bring BonBird to the British market, announcing plans to open 50 sites over here including five sites within the first 12 months. “Bringing BonBird to the UK is a proud moment for myself and everyone at Yolk Brands,” says Steve Flawith, founder and CEO of Yolk Brands. Its website confirms that ‘BonBird has landed in the UK’ and will be ‘frying soon’, so keep your eyes peeled for more developments.