Osteria Panzano
Arjun Waney, the restaurateur behind London restaurants Zuma, COYA, La Petite Maison and The Arts Club, will open Osteria Panzano in Knightsbridge, marking his first Italian restaurant venture. The 100-cover restaurant on William Street will draw on the food, produce and hospitality of Tuscany, inspired by Waney’s longstanding connection to the region, where he owns a home and produces his own olive oil and Sangiovese wine. Named after the Chianti village of Panzano, the concept is described by Waney as his ‘last legacy’ project.
10-12 William Street, London SW1X 9HL / https://www.osteria-panzano.com/
99 Sushi Bar & Restaurant
Internationally acclaimed Japanese restaurant group 99 Sushi Bar & Restaurant will make its UK debut, opening a flagship site at 22 Park Lane in London’s Mayfair. The restaurant will join the group’s existing locations across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, serving a contemporary interpretation of traditional Japanese cuisine. The 60-cover dining room will include an exclusive four-seat sushi counter, where guests can watch chefs prepare dishes, alongside a 19-cover cabaret bar. The brand’s name reflects its philosophy of striving for near-perfect execution, while recognising that absolute perfection remains unattainable.
22 Park Lane, Mayfair, London, W1K 1BE / https://www.99sushibar.com/en/
Heard
Heard, the burger concept from two-Michelin-starred chef Jordan Bailey, will open its largest site to date in Covent Garden, with a two-storey flagship combining its existing burger offering with a new dessert and cocktail speakeasy. The menu will centre on British beef burgers made using aged beef sourced from a co-operative of regenerative British farms, with house-made pickles and sauces and the brand’s signature roast potato buns. The downstairs space will focus on desserts and cocktails, with dishes including hot apple pie, brûlée cheesecake and milk soft serve.
33–35 Wellington Street, WC2E 7BN / https://heardburger.co.uk/
Sit With Us
Founders of Notting Hill restaurant SINO, Polina Sychova and chef Eugene Korolev, will open Sit With Us, a new coffee house and bakery this month. The concept will combine speciality coffee, an experimental drinks programme and an in-house bakery, alongside community events. Coffee will be central to the offering, with espresso-based and filter options using rotating single-origin beans, while a dedicated off-site laboratory will develop an evolving menu of coffee and tea drinks using techniques including cold extraction, clarification, fermentation and carbonation.
2a Chepstow Road, Notting Hill, London, W2 5VJ / https://sitwithuslondon.com/
Jersey Mike’s
Jersey Mike’s is signalling serious intent with its debut London site. Occupying a prime site near Oxford Circus on Argyll Street, the store will offer made-to-order hot and cold subs, with meats and cheeses sliced in-store, vegetables prepared daily and bread baked throughout the day. Jersey Mike’s is famed for its signature ‘juice’ – a combination of red wine vinegar and oil – which forms part of its ‘Mike’s Way’ preparation, with subs also topped with onions, lettuce, tomatoes, oregano and salt. The expansion is being led by Jersey Mike’s chairman Peter Cancro, whose connection to the brand stretches back to its original Jersey Shore sandwich shop. Three more London sites are set to launch over the next few months, but the brand could eventually open up to 400 restaurants across the UK and Ireland.
1–4 Argyll Street, London W1F 7TA / https://www.jerseymikes.co.uk/
Han & Han
Former Hakkasan chef Jeff Tan will open Han & Han, his first flagship restaurant, in Belgravia, London. The 40-cover venue will serve modern Chinese cuisine rooted in traditional techniques, with seasonal tasting menus at the heart of the offering. Spanning two levels, the restaurant will feature a ground-floor dining room alongside a lower-ground-floor tea room and private dining space, with a menu featuring dishes such as 36-hour dry-aged Peking duck with homemade black truffle pancakes; Teochew-style wild seabream; 1986 wild king prawns; Shanghaistyle braised wheat gluten; and braised pumpkin with dried shrimp roe.
16 St Barnabas Street, London SW1W 8PE / https://www.instagram.com/hannhanrestaurant_london
Berryman’s
Max and Noel Venning, founders of Three Sheets, will open Berryman’s, a martini, wine and oyster bar near their original Dalston site. Taking a more traditional approach than their existing cocktail bars, the venue will draw inspiration from coastal drinking spots across Europe, including Emilia-Romagna, Barcelona and the English Channel, with a focus on simple drinks and snackable food. The drinks list will feature a rotating selection of martinis and seasonal cocktails, while the food menu, developed by group head chef Ethan Pack, will centre on Spanish and Italian bar snacks, including oysters, olives, salted almonds and baguette with salted butter.
508 Kingsland Road, Dalston, London, E8 4AE / https://www.instagram.com/berrymansbar/
The Poet
The team behind Hackney restaurant Sune will open The Poet, a new British pub and dining room in Smithfield. Founded by Spencer Large, Honey Spencer and Charlie Sims, the venue will occupy one of six ‘Houses’ surrounding London Museum’s new home in the General Market, with a ground-floor pub and first-floor dining room. Executive chef Charlie Tayler, formerly of Aulis and The Ledbury, will oversee a menu of contemporary British pub classics focused on seasonal produce. The wider development will also include Envoi, a 10-seat chef’s table restaurant, and Shambles, a standalone cocktail bar, both due to open in 2027.
House 5, London Museum, General Market, Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AZ / https://www.thepoetsmithfield.com/
Aba-Ra
Georgian-inspired restaurant Aba-Ra, founded by Lia Walsh, will open a second London site in Soho. The venue will span three spaces, comprising a 40-cover ground-floor restaurant with an open kitchen counter, an 18-cover lower-ground-floor lounge and an 18-cover wine cellar with private dining facilities. The menu will showcase traditional Georgian dishes and cooking techniques, with the cellar hosting a dedicated tasting menu. Wine will also play a central role, with a selection highlighting Georgian producers, indigenous grape varieties and vintages.
134-136 Wardour Street, London W1F 8ZP / https://abara.co.uk/
Al Molo
A new family-run Italian restaurant and low-intervention wine bar, Al Molo, will open in Harbord Square, Canary Wharf. Founded by Giuseppe Pollifrone, the 30-cover venue will focus on traditional Italian cooking, with fresh produce from local suppliers, regional cheeses and charcuterie. The menu reflects Pollifrone’s emphasis on provenance, informed by his family’s traditional olive oil mill, while the wine list will showcase Italian low-intervention, biodynamic and organic wines from small producers.
https://www.instagram.com/almolo.london/ / 15 Harbord Sq, Canary Wharf Estate, London, E14 9QH
Zula Burger
Istanbul-born burger brand Zula Burger will open a second London site near Spitalfields Market this month, introducing a fast-service format. The restaurant will serve the brand’s signature burgers alongside a new Spitalfields Wagyu Burger, with the menu centred on beef patties, house-baked brioche buns and a range of sauces and toppings. The opening will also debut a refreshed visual identity developed with designer Annabel Colterjohn, with an interior combining metallic accents, warm wood tones and the brand’s signature vermillion orange, alongside an ordering counter.
2E Lamb St, London E1 6EA / https://zulaburgeruk.com/
Elezar
Burger & Lobster co-founder Misha Zelman is switching things up with a new, relatively affordable Eastern European chophouse concept. Located in Mayfair in the space previously home to Aldo Zilli’s short-lived Undercroft, Elezar will draw on the region’s flavours and techniques, including pickling, fermenting, curing and preserving, as well as the heritage of Zelman, head chef Erik Miotto and consulting chef David Bury. Its name is adapted from the Hebrew Eleazar, meaning “God has helped”. The menu will open with zakuski: rye open sandwiches topped with thick slices of butter and a choice of herring, pork cheek, anchovy or caviar. Hot and cold starters will include pierogi and mackerel tartare. Meat and fish mains will be priced at £28, with dishes including tuna ribeye on the bone and a Dingley Dell pork chop with smoked parsnip, alongside Denver and picanha cuts. More premium cuts, including ribeye and T-bone, will feature as daily specials. Sides will include sauerkraut, hasselback potatoes with garlic and dill, tomato salad and bitter leaves.
The Vestry, 2A Mill Street, London W1S 1FX / https://elezar.co.uk/
The Castle Inn
The Castle Inn in Hickstead, West Sussex, will reopen following an extensive refurbishment under new owners Chloe and Shane Breen, with former Rathfinny and The Black Rat chef Chris Bailey appointed head chef. Bailey, who has more than 25 years’ experience across the UK and Europe, will lead the food offering at the revamped venue, which will comprise a 60-cover restaurant with a terrace, a private dining room for up to 20 guests, a café, a traditional pub, a farm shop and nine bedrooms. The restaurant will focus on seafood, seasonal produce and charcoal cooking using a Mibrasa grill, while the pub will serve a selection of classic snacks.
London Road, Hickstead, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 5LZ / https://www.instagram.com/thecastleinnhickstead/
Cervecería Los Primos
Barrafina and El Pastor operator Harts Group is closing Parrillan in Borough Yards to make way for a new concept. Cervecería Los Primos looks set to be the group’s most accessible restaurant to date, offering a menu of classic tapas dishes, the most expensive of which costs £10. Gildas cost £2.50 and a bocadillo de tortilla will set you back just £4.50. The menu has been developed with Barrafina global culinary director Patricia Roig and UK group executive chef Antonio González Milla. As the name suggests, the new venture is inspired by Spain’s neighbourhood cervecerías. True to the spirit of these often rough and ready establishments that are ubiquitous in Spain, the restaurant is walk-in only. Los Primos means ‘the cousins’ in Spanish and refers to the grandchildren of the late Mallorca-based artist Vladimir Daskaloff. Four of them are Harts Group directors: brothers Sam, James and Eddie Hart, and their cousin Anna Watkins.
4 Dirty Lane, Borough Yards, London SE1 9PA / https://www.cervecerialosprimos.co.uk/
Braai Bird
The team behind South African-inspired restaurant Kudu will return to their South East London roots this month with Braai Bird, a wood-fired rotisserie chicken concept on the former Kudu Grill site on Nunhead Lane. Led by chef and co-founder Patrick Williams, the restaurant will centre on wood-fired rotisserie chicken served with South African sauces and sharing sides. Creative director and co-founder Amy Corbin has collaborated with Lithuanian designer Liga Piraga on the interiors, which will retain elements of the former site and feature bespoke artwork by South African artists. An open kitchen at the rear will place the wood-fired rotisserie at the heart of the operation.
57 Nunhead Lane, London SE15 3TR / https://www.braaibird.com/
Edmondo
French-founded Italian restaurant group Big Mamma will open Edmondo, a new 200-cover restaurant in Bank, in the City of London. Despite sharing its name with the group’s Hamburg-based pizza brand, the London concept will take a different direction, drawing inspiration from the city’s surroundings. Pizza will be absent from the menu, which will feature Italian dishes including handmade pasta, XL focaccia and the group’s largest selection of Italian grilled steaks, supplied by Phillip Warren. Head chef Alfonso will oversee the food offering, while pastry chef Angelina will lead the dessert menu.
6 Lombard Street, London, EC3V 9LJ / https://www.bigmammagroup.com/
Inverlonan
Inverlonan on Scotland’s west coast will launch a permanent restaurant and nine-bedroom hotel later this month. The 24-cover restaurant will be led by chef Tim Kensett, who has attracted acclaim for his tasting menu cooked over an open fire in a ‘secret’ location on the estate. Dinner will remain a single sitting at 7pm, with an eight-course menu cooked largely over open flame and described simply as “of the hill”. More than 90% of what appears on the plate will come either from Inverlonan itself – its farm, hill, market garden and forage – or from Scotland’s west coast waters. Ingredients will include Inverlonan’s grass-fed Luing cattle and native-breed sheep, as well as vegetables, fruit, herbs and honey from the farm. Kensett’s CV includes five years at The River Cafe as well as roles at Storico in New York, GoldenEye in Jamaica, The Star at Alfriston and The Fife Arms in Braemar. Both the restaurant and hotel will occupy restored farm buildings on the estate, with the accommodation spread across the original farmhouse, former byre and a restored 16th-century stone bothy known as the Blackhouse.
Glenlonan, Oban PA34 4QE / https://www.inverlonan.com/food/
Theo’s Peckham
South London pizza group Theo’s will open its third restaurant in the capital in Peckham this month, expanding beyond its existing sites in Camberwell and Elephant & Castle. Founded by former Pizza East head chef Theo Lewis, the group specialises in wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, with prices starting at £11 for a marinara and rising to £14.50 for options that include scotch bonnet nduja; sausage and fennel; and classic calzone. Other menu items include a short selection of antipasti and desserts.
285-287 Rye Lane, London SE15 4UA / https://www.theospizzeria.com/peckham/
Acme Taco
Chef Andrew Clarke’s Acme Taco has expanded to 40 ft Brewery in Dalston, following its launch earlier this year at the brewery’s Blackhorse Road site. The kitchen is led by head chef Veracruz-born chef Ernesto Puga, formerly of From The Ashes and Cavita. Inspired by Clarke’s trips to Mexico City, the menu focuses on regional Mexican cuisine, with tacos served in signature double-layer soft tortillas alongside tostadas, grilled dishes and sharing platters. The offering will cater for both casual snacking and more substantial dining, with a selection of meat, seafood and vegetable fillings accompanied by customisable salsas.
40FT Brewery, 10 Lockwood Way, London E17 5RB / https://www.acmefirecult.com/acme-taco
Imad’s Syrian Kitchen
Syrian chef Imad Alarnab will open a second site of his Imad’s Syrian Kitchen in Shoreditch later this year, at British Land’s Norton Folgate development on Blossom Street. The restaurant will become the chef’s third London venue, joining his existing Soho restaurant and café at Somerset House. Alarnab first arrived in the UK as a refugee after fleeing Syria, going on to run a series of pop-ups in East London before opening his first permanent restaurant in Soho’s Kingly Court in 2021, which he relocated to a larger site two years later.
14 Blossom St, London, Greater London E1 6PL / https://www.imadssyriankitchen.co.uk/
Bar Douro
Portuguese mini-group Bar Douro, founded in 2016 by Max Graham, will open its third London site on Greek Street in Soho, taking over the former 10 Greek Street premises. Executive chef Neuza Leal will oversee a menu combining Bar Douro favourites with new dishes exclusive to Soho, with a greater focus on Portugal’s lesser-known regions, seasonal produce and producer partnerships. The offering will include Maronesa vaca velha beef, imported directly from Portugal for the first time in the UK.
10 Greek Street. London, W1D 4DH / https://bardouro.co.uk/restaurants/soho