If, like us, you’re familiar with London’s food scene, you’ll be fully aware that spots are cropping up (and closing down) almost every day. So, if you fall under this category, you’ll be pleased to know that we'll update this list of London's best new restaurants at the beginning of each month. But if you’re after something more specific, we also share recommendations spanning from ever-trendy fusion flavours to traditional afternoon teas.
In this article:
Willett’s, Chelsea
Opening: 2nd April 2026.
Best for: all-day crumpets.
Order: the duck liver parfait and Yorkshire rhubarb crumpets.
In Britain, crumpets are traditionally scoffed at breakfast or brunch – or as a butter-soaked snack to keep hunger at bay between meals. But not in Chelsea. This neighbourhood bistro is serving sourdough ones all day, with toppings from Britain’s natural larder. That means they'll come topped with everything from Penny Bun mushrooms and shavings of Wiltshire truffles to dressed Dorset crab or velvety duck liver parfait and Yorkshire rhubarb. Jolly good.
belmond.com
The Cadogan, A Belmond Hotel, London, 75 Sloane St, SW1X 9SG
Hell’s Kitchen London, Marble Arch
Opening: 2nd April 2026.
Best for: British classics.
Order: the beef Wellington.
Gordon Ramsay is really on a roll right now. After all, the celebrity chef has his 100th opening – Bread Street Kitchen at 22 Bishopsgate – in the oven. More on that next month. In the meantime, he’s unleashing Hell’s Kitchen on London in April. Dishes in the pipeline include lobster risotto, Idiot Sandwich (IYKYK), and his signature beef Wellington for two: medium-rare meat peeking from beneath golden pastry, resting atop a red wine jus.
thecumberland.com
The Cumberland Hotel, London, Great Cumberland Pl, W1H 7DL
Weezie's, Belgravia
Opening: 10th April 2026.
Best for: thin-crust pizza and rosé.
Belgravia’s amie wine studio has been bottling a secret for a while... it’s opening a restaurant right next door. We currently only know a small slice of the details, but what we’ve heard on the grapevine is that there’ll be thin-crust pizzas, pints, spicy margs, and of course, plenty of its own-brand bottles of vino. We’re also getting notes of this new spot rolling out an orange wine for the occasion. Watch this space.
14–15 Eccleston Yd, 21 Eccleston Pl, SW1W 9AZ
Mitsu, Shoreditch
Opening: 9th April 2026.
Best for: a taste of East Tokyo in East London.
Order: the roast pork sando.
Konnichiwa. If you’re yet to be introduced, Mitsu has big boots to fill – it’s taking over what used to be Nobu Shoreditch. You, on the other hand, can fill your boots with dishes from its robata (charcoal grill), like a roast pork belly sando or the prawn and crab kamameshi (rice, seafood, and roe all cuddled together in an iron pot). We'll be monitoring this one to see if it’ll join the ranks of London’s best Japanese restaurants.
mitsurestaurant.com
50 Willow St, EC2A 4BH
Padella, Soho
Opening: mid-April 2026.
Best for: pasta that’s worth the wait.
Order: the pici cacio e pepe.
The super-popular Padella is opening its third site in Soho, which will be easy to spot thanks to its snaking queue spilling out onto the street. And if you want to see what all the hype is about, join the virtual queue and head to a nearby watering hole for an aperitivo while you wait. The oh-so-creamy and curly pici cacio e pepe, plus beef shin ragu pappardelle, are both coming to the Carnaby site.
padella.co | Credit: Elena Heatherwick
2 Kingly St, W1B 5PB
MA/NA, Mayfair
Opening: 27th April 2026.
Best for: gluten-free foodies.
Order: the sea bream sashimi.
Good things come to those that wait – and that’s certainly true for the Thesleff Group’s latest opening, whose launch date has moved more than once. After the all-singing, all-dancing preview party – complete with live drums and freshly cut whole bluefin tuna – this brand-new omakase spot is gearing up for its opening. The ‘good things’ in question include London’s first fully gluten-free Japanese menu, featuring Himalayan salt stone-seared wagyu and sea bream sashimi fanned out along the fish’s stomach.
manarestaurants.com
50 Willow St, EC2A 4BH
MIKO Mei Fair, Mayfair
Opening: 23rd April 2026.
Best for: top-notch Thai food.
Order: the yellow crab curry.
Located in the same Georgian townhouse as MiMi Mei Fair – one of our members’ favourite dim sum spots – is MIKO Mei Fair. This new Thai concept adds to restauranteur Samyukta Nair’s Mayfair monopoly (MiMi, Nipotina, and Jamavar). And you can bank on cracking coconut-infused, southern Thai-inspired cooking at MIKO, like the yellow crab curry or black pepper squid you might remember from the now-closed KOYN.
mikomeifair.com
55 Curzon St, W1J 8PG
Brutes of Mayfair, Mayfair
Opening: April 2026.
Best for: martinis.
Order: the pickled onion Monster Munch martini.
Last month, we revealed where to try the trending ‘New York happy meal’ stateside, but a similar food-and-drink combo is brewing across the Atlantic: martinis with crisps. You'll find it at the 12-seat counter that is Brutes of Mayfair, on a quiet mews lined with places to eat. Get your hands on wacky garnishes like pickled onion Monster Munch or chicken scratchings – served alongside giant crisps and N25 Beluga caviar.
brutesofmayfair.com
34a Bruton Pl, W1J 6NR
Sale e Pepe Mare, Marylebone
Opened: 2nd March 2026.
Best for: Amalfi-inspired flavours.
Order: the gamberi scottati.
The original Sale e Pepe in Knightsbridge is one of London’s best Italian restaurants, so, it’s no surprise its seafood-focused spin-off is already making a splash. To the left of The Langham’s bowler hat-wearing doormen, waves of well-heeled diners are having a whale of a time. In the on-theme, blue-hued dining room, they’re ordering bluefin tuna toast and some of the best red prawns we’ve ever tasted. And so could you, if you manage to bag a booking...
saleepepe.co.uk
1C Portland Pl, W1B 1JA
CeCe’s, Notting Hill
Opened: 4th March 2026.
Best for: classic Italian cuisine.
Order: the aubergine parmigiana.
Good news for foodies: the Public House Group (The Fat Badger, The Pelican, The Hart etc.) has opened an Italian restaurant that’s neither a pub nor named after an animal. Even so, it stealthily took over the former Casa Cruz last month and has been turning out crab risottos and creamy aubergine parmigiana ever since. As for drinks, it serves one of London’s dirtiest martinis, complete with olives that could pass as golf balls.
ceceslondon.com
123 Clarendon Rd, W11 4JG
Burro, Covent Garden
Opening: 11th March 2026.
Best for: a Trullo spin-off closer to the Thames.
Order: the fettuccine with duck and porcini ragu.
Burro isn’t identical to its Islington sister. For example, the ever-popular pappardelle with beef shin ragu from the original has been reincarnated here into fettuccine with duck and porcini ragu – albeit with the same flurry of Parmesan shavings. The same goes for the interiors: Burro is more elegant than its older sibling, but the atmosphere is still relaxed rather than formal. This is one to bookmark for a meal that’s equal parts comforting and indulgent.
trattoriaburro.com
2 Floral Ct, Floral St, WC2E 9FB
Jul’s London, St. James’s
Opened: 18th March 2026.
Best for: drink-led dinners.
Order: the bluefin tartare with blood orange ponzu.
After taking off in Ibiza, this bass-thumping, Mediterranean-inspired spot has touched down in London. Buckle up for dishes like Greek salad sprinkled with carob crumb (a chocolatey native fruit) and wagyu beef with a sea foam-mimicking emulsion swooshing against the meat. Insider tip: the waiter told us its late-night basement bar, No.11, opens on the 7th April. It’ll spin tunes until 2am and feature an open laboratory where a mixologist-slash-scientist whips up new cocktail combinations behind a glass screen.
julslondon.com
11 Waterloo Pl, SW1Y 4AU
Fenix Mayfair, Mayfair
Opened: 20th March 2026.
Best for: photogenic plates.
Order: the beef paccheri.
You're hardly strapped for Greek restaurants in W1, but you should (island) hop over to Fenix Mayfair with giraffe-print floors, cave-esque curves, and beach club-y bamboo lights dangling from the ceiling. Dishes from the Manchester original, like the paccheri pasta (slow-cooked short rib sauce packed into gigantic, rigatoni-style tubes), have made it onto the Mayfair menu. New London-exclusive drinks include a silky olive oil dirty martini, topped with a lily pad-like leaf floating on the top.
fenixrestaurants.com
80 Piccadilly, W1J 8HX
Berenjak Mayfair, Mayfair
Opened: 20th March 2026.
Best for: Persian small plates.
Order: the sangak.
After smash-hit success in Soho and Borough, this wildly popular Persian palace is popping up in Mayfair. Make sure to order small plates like the sangak (pebble-baked flatbread) with dips like a mountain of creamy black chickpea hummus or the coal-cooked aubergine scattered with dried onions. And if it’s anything like its Soho sibling, dinner reservations will be snapped up in a matter of minutes...
berenjak.com
80 Duke St, W1K 6JG
Impala, Soho
Opened: 26th March 2026.
Best for: open-fire cooking.
Order: the dry-aged duck.
It’s getting hot in here – mostly because ex-Kiln chef Meedu Saad has a solo venture in the firing line. It’s only a couple of streets away from his raved-about Thai restaurant. This open-fire cooking concept is inspired by his travels in North Africa and his upbringing in North London. Said charcoal grill will be the central focus of the space, churning out dishes like molasses-roasted, dry-aged duck stuffed with black lime and chillis.
impalasoho.com
14 Dean St, W1D 3RS
Teal by Sally Abé, Hackney
Opened: 26th March 2026.
Best for: bistro bites.
Order: the Dorset crab royale with English peas.
Sally Abé has worked in some of London’s top kitchens (The Savoy, The Ledbury, and Michelin-starred pub The Harwood Arms). But now, for the first time, she’s opening her own restaurant – a bite-sized British bistro in Hackney. On the menu: onion and seaweed broth with barley brioche and Marmite butter (love it or loathe it), alongside dishes like Dorset crab royale with English peas and angels on horseback (oysters wrapped with bacon).
tealbysallyabe.com
52 Wilton Wy, E8 1BS
Simpson’s In The Strand, Strand
Opened: 30th March 2026.
Best for: lovers of London history.
Order: the roast rib of Devonshire beef.
It’s hard to picture how long ago 1828 was. But if you need help, it was before penny-farthing bicycles were invented and when horse-drawn carriages ruled the road. It was also when the original Simpson’s In The Strand opened. Some 200 years later, restauranteur Jeremy King has given this legendary London restaurant a new lease of life. The revival features two dining rooms, both of which will offer traditional British roasts served tableside on the hot trolley.
simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk
100 Strand, WC2R 0EZ
Hoppers Shoreditch, Shoreditch
Opened: 4th February 2026.
Best for: Sri Lankan comfort cooking.
Order: the bone marrow varuval.
If you don’t know, get to know: Hoppers comes from the same group as Gymkhana (one of Mayfair’s best restaurants, if not, one of the world’s best). This Sri Lankan and South India-inspired spot has sites in Soho, Marylebone, and King’s Cross, with a brand-new Shoreditch site swinging open its doors. Ordering the bone marrow varuval and roti is an absolute must – along with an egg hopper or two.
hopperslondon.com
56 Shoreditch High St, E1 6JJ
Sushi Amamoto, Mayfair
Opened: 19th February 2026.
Best for: omakase.
Omakase spots in London are some of the city’s most sought-after seats – and joining the ranks is Sushi Amamoto. Taking over the same site, interiors, and team as Taku, the restaurant has been relaunched with a new name, refreshed menu, and chef Shogo Amamoto – famed for his two-Michelin-starred spot in Taipei – taking the reins. With just 16 seats and three sittings, lunch serves 17 courses, while dinner stretches to a 22-course omakase.
amamotolondon.com
36 Albemarle St, W1S 4JE
DakaDaka, Mayfair
Opened: 17th January 2026.
Best for: traditional Georgian dishes.
Order: the khachapuri.
Georgian restaurants are still sadly something of a rarity in London, which makes DakaDaka a welcome addition to the mix. But just because they’re scarce doesn’t mean they’re any less impressive. The same goes for the khachapuri: a hollow, boat-shaped bread filled with molten cheese and a glossy egg yolk. Come hungry and ready to get stuck in. This dish is best enjoyed the traditional way: tearing off the bread by hand and scooping up the gooey centre.
dakadaka.london
10 Heddon St, W1B 4BX
Tiella, Bethnal Green
Opened: 21st January 2026.
Where: Bethnal Green.
Best for: comforting Italian cooking.
Order: the ricotta di Romagna.
You might remember Tiella from The Compton Arms (Dara Klein’s much-loved pop-up trattoria in Islington). And if you’ve been missing it, you’re in luck: she’s just opened a permanent spot inside a former Victorian pub. Favourites from the original residency have returned, including ricotta di Romagna, Calabrian chilli, and wild Sardinian honey, alongside new arrivals like her mother’s meatball recipe. Deliziosa.
tiella.co.uk
109 Columbia Rd, E2 7RL
Claridge’s Bakery, Mayfair
Opened: 21st January 2026.
Best for: nostalgic British bakes.
Order: the Marmite cheese straws.
Just when you thought there were enough buns in the oven at this time of year, Claridge’s has had a new venture in the pipeline for several months. Now open and headed up by critically acclaimed baker Richard Hart, it’s already proving to be a recipe for success. Those with a sweet tooth should opt for the jammy dodger tarts, and savoury lovers should order the Marmite cheese straw. But be quick: both sell out like hot cakes by midday.
claridges.co.uk | Credit: Lateef Okunnu
