Chez Rose
Spencer Metzger has taken over the site that was formerly Little Social to open smart French bistro Chez Rose. Named in honour of Metzger’s grandmother, Chez Rose will be a casual, yet upscale French bistro inspired by French classical cooking and Metzger’s time as head chef at The Ritz using seasonal British ingredients. Menu items will include Orkney scallop with cafe de Paris butter; grilled lobster with sauce chorron; aligot au morbier; and crêpes Suzette.
5 Pollen St, London W1S 1NE / www.chezroselondon.com/
Zylia
Former Kiln head chef and Singburi co-owner Nick Molyviatis and Barry Karacostas open their Greek-Cypriot in Covent Garden this month. Located adjacent to the new Arcade Covent Garden with its own dedicated street entrance, Zylia is described as ‘a celebration of both the shared traditions and distinct flavours of Greek and Cypriot cooking’. The 50-cover restaurant will serve a menu of handmade pitta, hot and cold mezze to start and meats and vegetables cooked on its charcoal grill.
6 Bedford St, London WC2E 9HZ /zyliataverna.com/
Keller
Opening on Harbour Street in Whitstable on the site of a former deli, Keller is the new project from Fordwich Arms’ Dan Smith and sommelier Elliott Ashton-Konig. It will be led in the kitchen by fellow Fordwich Arms alumnus Ollie Clifford-Cox and will be a relaxed restaurant serving a produce-led menu cooked over a charcoal-fired Bertha oven. Dishes will include rarebit croquettes; roasted scallops with vadouvan spices; beef tartare with shoestring fries and gherkin ketchup; red mullet with braised fennel and Noilly Prat sauce; rump of lamb with merguez, tomato and goat’s curd; and a brown sugar custard tart with crème fraîche ice cream.
28 Harbour St, Whitstable CT5 1AH / kellerwhitstable.co.uk/
Gwen
Peter Sanchez-Iglesias is taking the reins at Gareth Ward’s Machynlleth restaurant, which will reopen this month as a much more ambitious venture. Gwen will offer an ‘ultra-intimate, ever-evolving culinary experience’ with the bijou dining spot having space for just eight guests per service. Sanchez-Iglesias will serve a 20-course tasting menu priced at £295, putting Gwen up there as one of the UK’s most expensive dining spots. Expect exceptional ingredients, bold global influences, and a celebratory approach to dining that changes daily.
21 Heol Maengwyn, Machynlleth SY20 8EB / gwenrestaurant.co.uk/
Olympia
A host of new openings are coming to the new Olympia development in London as part of the next phase of the venue’s £1.3bn transformation. Opening this month will be Bar Arriba, a Mexican-inspired hangout serving small bites and cocktails, Wolves of Tokyo, a Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar inspired by Tokyo’s after-dark energy, and Lillie’s, which will pair seasonal British small plates with English sparkling wines and champagne. Also opening is The Canopy, which will house a new food hall called Arbour. Arbour will feature four vendors - Fry Baby, The Rambler, Whammy Burger and Café Modo - serving dishes including gourmet fried chicken, smashed burgers, and artisan coffee.
Hammersmith Rd, London W14 8UX / www.olympia.co.uk/
Freight Island Newcastle
The Manchester-born dining and entertainment destination is taking over the top floor of the former Debenhams store at Newcastle’s Eldon Square as well as additional rooftop space. Described as the largest single-site F&B and entertainment venue in a UK city centre, the £16m, 60,000sq ft space draws inspiration from destinations such as Coney Island in New York and Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and will combine global street food, a communal food hall beneath a retractable roof, family-friendly events, DJ sets and live performances. It will also be home to PYR, a live-fire restaurant from the team behind Michelin-starred Pine, which is set to launch in August.
Newgate Street, Newcastle, NE1 5TG / freightisland.com
Latine
French-Latin restaurant Latine will open this month in the former Mews of Mayfair space just off Bond Street. Led by head chef Francisco Lafee - whose experience includes celebrated restaurants such as El Celler de Can Roca in Spain and Central in Peru - the concept blends classic French technique with bold Latin American flavours, creating a menu that ‘sits between two worlds’. Seafood will take centre stage, with a crudo bar serving ceviches, tiraditos and tartares. Signature dishes include steak tartare with truffle mayonnaise and potato pavé; wild seabass with beurre blanc and ají amarillo; and chargrilled beef fillet finished with Périgord sauce and dark chocolate. First teased via Instagram earlier this year, the restaurant is backed by Amine Mohamed Chadli, Nacer Chadli and Adil Harrab.
10-11 Lancashire Court, London, W1S 1EY / latinemayfair.com/
SO|LA
Victor Garvey’s Michelin-starred restaurant SO|LA is upping sticks to Notting Hill to sit next to the chef’s sister restaurant MATER1A. In its new location SO|LA, which is described as bringing ‘a taste of California to London, via LA’, will offer a more intimate experience, going from 26 seats down to 12 as well as ‘a more ambitious evolution of the concept’. Garvey says the smaller operation will allow for a more playful, refined SO|LA menu that will still include signature dishes such as the langoustine with ginger dashi and salmon roulade, but are set to be amplified. Curated by Cristian Vega, the Notting Hill site will feature a wine list of more than 200 US-only references, nearly double the size of SO|LA Soho’s selection.
115a Westbourne Grove, London W2 4UP / www.solasoho.com/
Humble Grape Smithfield
Wine bar and restaurant group Humble Grape is opening a new site in Smithfield. Located next to Smithfield Market, the venue will seat 40 covers, with a semi-private dining room at the front of the site being considered and plans for an outdoor terrace awaiting approval. Since launching in 2009, the group, which specialises in organic, biodynamic and low-intervention wines from small family-run vineyards, has built a reputation as London’s only wine bar group importing its wines directly with a list of more than 500 bottles sourced from 26 countries.
59 West Smithfield EC1A 9DS / www.humblegrape.co.uk/smithfield
Appalachia
Shoreditch counter restaurant Counter 71 is being reimagined as Appalachia, a new concept inspired by the rich culinary traditions of the US region. Leading the kitchen is Ali Borer, formerly of the Smoking Goat, whose menu will combine his fire-led, Thai-influenced cooking style with a focus on seasonal, heritage-driven produce. The drinks programme will be led by Fraser Stancombe, formerly of Three Sheets Soho, with cocktails designed to complement Appalachia’s regional storytelling, while wine will be overseen by head sommelier Harry Cooper. Ahead of reopening, the restaurant will undergo a redesign to reflect Appalachia’s ‘warm, regional character’. Co-owners Camilla Meshiea and Ryan Sheenan say they are bringing a fresh identity and narrative to the space while retaining its intimate, counter-led format.
71 Nile St, London N1 7RD /appalachia.co.uk/
Dante Mayfair
Following a year-long residency at the hotel, Dante Mayfair is set to become a permanent fixture at Claridge’s. The opening follows the closure of Claridge’s Restaurant, with the space reopening later this month under New York restaurateurs Linden Pride and Natalie Hudson. Originally founded as Caffe Dante in Greenwich Village in 1915, Dante has earned an international reputation for its cocktails and Italian-American neighbourhood dining. Since taking over the venue in 2015, Pride and Hudson have modernised the brand while preserving its heritage.
Brook St, London, Greater London W1K 4HR / www.maybourne.com/en/hotels/claridges/restaurants-bars/dante-mayfair
Haldiram’s
India’s largest sweets and snacks brand heads to the UK restaurant this June for an ambitious site in London’s Leicester Square. The 120-cover venue, with an additional 20 outdoor seats, marks a move away from the brand’s traditional quick-service format towards a more premium casual dining experience. Spanning 3,000sq ft, the restaurant will serve dishes including choley bhature, pao bhaji and raj kachori, alongside an extensive chaat offering and a range of fusion-inspired desserts created exclusively for the London site. The venue will also feature a dedicated retail space with a sweets counter and shelves stocked with Haldiram’s packaged products, with UK-exclusive retail lines expected to follow.
19-20 Irving Street, London, WC2H 7AU / www.haldiramuk.com/
Buvette
New York-based chef Jody Williams will open Buvette’s second London incarnation in Covent Garden early this month, bringing her all-day ‘gastrothèque’ concept to the former St John Bakery site in Neal’s Yard. The 80-cover restaurant will also feature additional terrace seating overlooking the yard. While full menu details remain under wraps, example dishes include steak tartare, salade niçoise, cassoulet and coq au vin with thin frites. Buvette’s signature croques will be served hot from the oven as well as tarte tatin. An exclusively French wine list will sit alongside a traditional-leaning cocktail menu. The interiors aim to reflect Neal’s Yard’s 400-year history, combining exposed brick, vintage tin ceilings, warm wood finishes and a marble bar as well as an eight-seat communal table.
2 Neal’s Yard, London WC2H 9DP / buvette-london.com/
FIR By Matt Sampson
Ynyshir, Casamia and L’Enclume alumnus Matt Sampson opens his Hay-on-Wye restaurant FIR By Matt Sampson this month. The bijou 12-cover restaurant will serve a £98, 14-course tasting menu built around ‘world-class ingredients’, with a focus on fish and shellfish alongside a handful of meat dishes. Sampson says the aim is to create “something truly special and unique for the area”. The opening follows Restaurant Fir in nearby Llangattock, which closed after less than a year due to lease issues beyond Sampson’s control.
Lion Street, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5AA / restaurantfir.co.uk/
Senza Fondeli
Senza Fondeli marks the first regional expansion of the popular London Italian‑American restaurant Senza Fondo, introducing a new all‑day concept to Tunbridge Wells. Situated on The Pantiles, the 90‑cover venue combines restaurant, deli, and bar under one roof, serving speciality coffees, focaccia sandwiches, fresh pastas, charcuterie, and antipasti alongside the brand’s signature bottomless lasagna on Tuesdays. The restaurant is a partnership between Joe Worthington, founder of the original Senza Fondo in Shoreditch, known for its all‑you‑can‑eat lasagna format, and Charlie Sweet, founder of the mobile bar business The Cocktail Social.
50 The Pantiles, Royal Tunbridge Wells TN2 5TN / www.instagram.com/senzafondeli/
Kinz
All-day Lebanese brasserie KINZ finally opens this month in Notting Hill Gate after a protracted delay. Co‑founded by Jad Lahoud, Karim Lahoud and Rasha Khouri Bruzzo, the restaurant is housed within a former Lloyds Bank building dating back to the 1930s. The venue will blend traditional Lebanese flavours and recipes with a contemporary dining approach, serving breakfast through to dinner with mezze, larger plates and house‑made breads. Drinks will feature Lebanese‑focused wines and reworked classic cocktails, and a deli at the entrance will offer ingredients and ready‑to‑take‑home items central to Lebanese cuisine.
50 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JD / kinzrestaurant.com/