Impala
The former head chef and co-owner of restaurant Kiln, in Soho, Meedu Saad opens his debut restaurant at the end of this month. Named after the cherry red 1964 Chevrolet Impala Saad drove around during his summers in Egypt, the Dean Street restaurant will serev a menu built around an open fire grill with menu items to include a range of skewers and beef ribs; sardines cooked in grape leaves; and wild greens braised in olive oil. Guests will be greeted by a bar flanked by a bespoke speaker system made from repurposed cinema horns that leads to the dining room at the rear of the building.
14 Dean Street, London, W1D 3RS / mpalasoho.com
Teal by Sally Abé
Sally Abé’s dream of opening her own restaurant will come true on 26 March when the doors to her Hackney venue are thrown open. The restaurant, which honours Abé’s favourite game bird, is described by the former The Pem chef as a ‘little British bistro’ and is being opened in partnership with Abe Drewry. The menu will start with snacks of angels and devils on horseback and feature Abé’s signature dishes of Dorset crab royale with English peas and lovage; and marmalade ice cream sandwich alongside a regularly changing menu. Look out for the £1 Penny Lick, a throwback to the nineteenth century ice cream, the proceeds of which will be donated to Hackney Food Bank.
52 Wilton Way, Hackney, London, E8 1BS / www.tealbysallyabe.com
Simpson’s in the Strand
Another restaurant making a return this month is Simpson’s in the Strand, which is now under the auspices of restaurateur Jeremy King. Located within the Grade II-listed building at 100 Strand, the venue will comprise two restaurants - Grand Divan, described as ‘the apogee of traditional dining in an iconic Edwardian salon’; and Romano’s, a more casual dining room that offers a lighter side to English dining - as well as two bars and a ballroom for private events. A grand setting with food to match awaits.
100 Strand, London, WC2R 0EZ / www.simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk
Pillar Hall
Des Gunewardena‘s ambitious project at London Olympia, which includes 300-cover all-day restaurant and bar Idalia and speakeasy-style bar Pepperbird comes to life at the end of the month. Set within a Grade II listed hall - once home to one of Britain’s earliest film screenings and the venue for Vivienne Westwood’s first catwalk show - Idalia opens on 30 March with Pepperbird following on 2 April. In June, a 500+ capacity event and live music space will also open at the venue.
5 Olympia Way, London, W14 0EY / www.pillarhall.co.uk
CeCe’s
Public House Group adds to its growing portfolio this week with the opening of Italian restaurant CeCe’s in Notting Hill. CeCe’ will serve a menu rooted in classic Italian dishes, ‘with a hint of Hollywood’, with dishes such as aubergine parmigiana; bream carpaccio with caviar; fonduta agnlotti; chicken vignole; and bistecca alla Forentina. The restaurant will be set across two floors, with the use of low lighting with table lamps designed to create a touch of ‘old school elegance’.
123 Clarendon Road, London, W11 4JG / ceceslondon.com/
TAQ
Chefs Eduardo Yishima and Jackson Boxer are joining forces to relaunch the Mexican Notting Hill restaurant Taqueria. Reopening as TAQ, the Westbourne Grove restaurant closed on the 23 February. The venue’s new identity and menu will reflect how ‘London’s taco culture has vastly improved in recent years, while Taqueria’s offering has stayed largely the same’. The team reached out to Boxer last year, having seen the success he’d had relaunching his Notting Hill restaurant Orasay as the more casual Dove. Yishima, who graduated from the Instituto Mexicano de Gastronomía, will join TAQ as culinary director, leading the development of the new menu with Boxer and the Dove team providing mentorship and support.
141 Westbourne Grove, London, W11 2RS / taq.london
Jamie’s Italian
Opening on 11 March, the return of Jamie’s Italian to these shores will see the TV chef open a three-floor, 140-cover restaurant in partnership with Brava Hospitality. Designed to blend nostalgia with modernity, capturing the original essence of Jamie’s Italian with a contemporary twist for today’s diners’, the Leicester Square venue will have an open kitchen with the first floor and basement given over to dining space, with the lower level will be home to a bar.
17-18 Irving Stree, London, WC2H 7AU / jamiesitalian.co.uk
The Black Horse, Amberley
The Black Horse in the West Sussex village of Amberley will be the Gladwin brothers’ first site outside of the capital when it reopens on 25 following a small refurbishment. The pub with rooms will continues the ethos of the brothers, who also own The Shed, Rabbit, Sussex British Bistro, The Black Lamb, and The Pig’s Ear in London using locally-sourced meat and vegetables and wines from the family-run Nutbourne Vineyard.
High Street, Amberley, Arundel, BN18 9NL / www.gladwinbrothers.com/
BAUJI
Following on from his Michelin Guide-listed restaurant Heritage in Dulwich, chef Dayashankar Sharma will open his second restaurant, BAUJI, in Worthing, just a short stroll from the seafront. The modern Indian restaurant will offer comfort food in a more relaxed and informal setting with dishes set to include tandoori avocado and venison; dahi ke kebab; and Konkani fish tikka alongside some Heritage favourites such as shatkora jhinga and gunpowder broccoli. The venue will accommodate 45 covers with an additional 10 guests seated in a private dining room.
67 Rowlands Road, Worthing, BN11 3N / bauji.co.uk
Burro
Trullo’s Conor Gadd opens the doors to his first solo venture on 11 March in Covent Garden’s Floral Court. Burro, named after the Italian word for butter, will serve traditional Italian dishes, such as lobster ‘aqua pazza’ and vitello al burro with a focus on regional Italian cooking. Its pasta game is also expected to be strong, with the likes of duck ragù and dried porcini tagliatelle; mortadella and prosciutto tortellini; and fettuccine Alfredo.
2 Floral Court, Floral Street, London, WC2E 9FB / trattoriaburro.com
Orrery by Pierre Minotti
Opening on 26 March, Orrery by Pierre Minotti is a new chapter for the Marylebone restaurant. The kitchen is led by executive chef Pierre Minotti, formerly of two-Michelin-starred Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, who has created a dining experience that begins in an intimate Salon du Vin wine room and which moves between the dining room and 10-seater marble bar counter. It promises to be ambitious stuff, ‘presenting a dialogue between Escoffier’s principles and British terroir’ through five-course or seven-course tasting menus.
55 Marylebone High Street, London, W1U 5HS / www.orrery-restaurant.co.uk
The Wild Duck Inn
Another pub with rooms opening this month is Country Creatures founders Sam and Georgie Pearman’s The Wild Duck Inn. Located in Ewen in the Cotswolds, the 110-seat restaurant will offer a seasonal menu centred on British produce with the food offer led by group executive chef James Adams. Bar snacks will include half-pint langoustine scampi and tartar and Gruyere; and Cheddar and tomato toastie; with larger plates such as wood-roasted brown trout with beetroot and horseradish Pink Fir potatoes, and whole roast duck, served with turnip gratin. The property will also have 19 bedrooms.
Drakes Island, Cirencester, GL7 6BY / www.countrycreatures.com/wild-duck-ewen
MRBL
MRBL, a modern British steakhouse, is set to open in London’s Leadenhall Market on 4 March, spanning two floors, including a private dining room and an outdoor terrace overlooking the market. The new venue will be the second venture from restaurateurs Anthony Gaughan and Stephen Bagatti following the launch of Boom Bap Burgers in 2015. Meat will be supplied by HG Walter and responsibly sourced from native breeds, slow-reared and grass-fed. Beyond steak, dishes include grilled monkfish tail and roast chicken, both cooked over charcoal. The kitchen will be led by executive chef Matt Colk, whose experience includes Aviary Rooftop & Restaurant and The Gun.
23-25 Leadenhall Market, London, EC3V 1LR / www.mrbl.co.uk
Clio
Located in the former Wulf & Lamb site at the intersection of Paddington and Chiltern Street, modern Greek restaurant Clio is set to offer food inspired by the wider Mediterranean, focusing on ingredient-led cooking. With chef Glen Ballis leading the kitchen, the restrained menu will include grilled fish, carefully sourced meats and seasonal vegetables.
Picante
The Mexican-inspired pop‑up Picante returns to Liverpool’s Cains Brewery Village for a seven-month residency from 13 March. This time round an expanded menu is being offered, with new dishes to include a coconut shrimp taco, vegan birria taco, crispy chicharrone, jalapeño poppers, and a dessert Mc‑apple pie quesadilla, but the same high-tempo vibe will remain.
Brewery Village, Cains, Stanhope Street, Liverpool, L8 5XJ
Cooper’s Cut
Opening at the Four Seasons Hotel London at Tower Bridge in the former site of La Dame de Pic, steakhouse Cooper’s Cut will be led by the hotel’s recently appointed executive chef Luke Armstrong. The menu will champion ‘exceptional’ meat sourced from world-class producers, including grass-fed British cuts and Japanese wagyu. Other dishes will include steak tartare; smoked scallop topped with Maison Kaviari caviar; and grilled Scottish langoustines XXL with Mary Rose sauce. The cocktail offer, devised by head of bars Michele Lombardi, centres on the martini, while wine, which will also play a central role, is overseen by head sommelier Gonzalo Rodriguez Diaz.
10 Trinity Square, London, EC3N 4AJ / www.fourseasons.com/towerbridge/dining/restaurants/coopers-cut/
Forza Wine Soho
The largest Forza Wine is also founders Bash Redford and Michael Lavery’s most ambitious, with a 100-cover restaurant and a 72-cover outdoor terrace. At Forza Wine Soho, diners can choose from a tight menu of just 10 regularly changing dishes (it will serve 12 in the winter months when the pair say they can cook food that they are too busy to do in the summer) that are designed to be shared.
Unit 1, Ilona Rose House, Manette Street, London, W1D 4AL / forzawine.com/
Sale e Pepe Mare
Now open at The Langham, Sale e Pepe Mare is an Italian riviera-inspired restaurant that is an evolution of the original Sale e Pepe in Knightsbridge. The menu has a seafood focus serving dishes from Amalfi to Puglia with signature creations such as baked scallop with chilli, lemon and parsley; crab, avocado and Datterino tomato salad; and baked rice with squid, clams, prawns and sea bass. There’s also a dessert trolley from where its tiramisu is served tableside.
1C Portland Place, London, W1B 1JA / www.saleepepe.co.uk/sale-e-pepe-mare-the-langham-london
Maza
Husband-and-wife team Christina Mouratoglou and Adrien Carré are moving beyond west London with Maza, their new modern Greek restaurant opening in Bruton Place. The 90-cover venue will open on 12 March and will channel the spirit of a 1980s taverna and include an open-fire kitchen as well as a vinyl listening bar upstairs comprising 70s and 80s Greek records. The menu will reflect Mouratoglou’s vision of classic Athenian cuisine, shaped by family recipes and the team’s travels to Greece. Signature dishes will include homemade breads baked in the wood-fired oven and handmade pasta with sea urchin.
21-23 Bruton Place, Mayfair, London, W1J 6NB / https://mazamayfair.com/
Holy Carrot Spitalfields
Expanding from Notting Hill into East London, the new Holy Carrot opens in Spitalfields Market this month. Led by executive head Chef Daniel Watkins, alongside Holy Carrot’s established plant-based offering the menu will introduce vegetable dishes for the first time shaped by seasonality, live-fire cooking and a near-zero-waste approach. Expect fire-grilled koji flatbreads, a changing pie du jour and new pizzettas, including a miso-marmite version finished with pecorino.
61-63 Brushfield Street, London, E1 6AA / www.holycarrot.co.uk/
Sticks’n’Sushi Manchester
Sticks’n’Sushi’s upcoming Manchester restaurant will bring its total number of UK sites up to 17. On Spinning Fields Square, the two-storey restaurant will accommodate 246 guests across a ground-floor dining area, a mezzanine level and a large L-shaped outdoor terrace. Designed by Berlin architect Diener & Diener, the interiors will blend Japanese architectural influences with Scandinavian aesthetics, delivering a warm, textural and elegantly understated space. “Manchester is an important milestone in our UK growth strategy,” says Sticks’n’Sushi Group CEO Andreas Karlsson. “The city’s strong dining culture and reputation as a northern powerhouse made it a natural next step.
14-15 The Avenue, Hardman Street, Manchester M3 3HF / www.sticksnsushi.com