Salivate over London’s most anticipated openings

Your Quintessentially restaurant specialists share the 2018 restaurant openings they're most looking forward to ...

The Petersham
Covent Garden

A central London site for the impossibly romantic Richmond original of the same name. This Covent Garden complex already features a florist, deli, and homeware shop selling beautiful knick-knacks from the renowned Nurseries. The Petersham is set to open in the Spring, under the management of Executive Chef, Simon Whitley (Coworth Park, The Devonshire). The elegant 'al fresco' courtyard should be the optimum summer location for those all-important Instagram snaps, and the British/Italian menu will consist of organic produce from Haye Farm.

Bob Bob City
The City

The iconic 'Press for Champagne' button at Bob Bob Ricard is just as fun now as it was ten years ago, when Leonid Shutov opened the doors to his first Soho restaurant. Fast-forward to the present, and a new opening is due this year on the third floor of London's 'Cheesegrater' building. Thankfully, the button will remain, along with the opulent booth seating. But this time, super-chef Eric Chavot will take the helm and he seems just as excited as we are. "From the first time I met Leonid it felt like a marriage made in heaven," says Chavot, "One needs to be in the right place at the right time and it's happened for me. I wake up in the morning with goose bumps and a silly smile on my face.

Cora Pearl
Covent Garden

Cora Pearl is the new site planned from the team behind the hidden Mayfair gem, Kitty Fishers. It joins a string of popular openings along Henrietta Street in Covent Garden, and follows a similar backstory: Cora Pearl as a well-known courtesan, only this time from Paris, who catches the eye of many a French nobleman. Head Chef George Barson will be leading both kitchens, which makes us believe that the cuisine will be similar to its Mayfair sister – so a taste of modern British cuisine that showcases the very best homegrown produce.

Brigadiers
The City

The Sethi siblings continue to surprise and delight London diners with another new opening, this time in the new Bloomberg Arcade. Jyotin, Karam, and Sunaina Sethi, AKA JKS restaurant group, are behind many of our London favourites, including Gymkhana, Hoppers, XU, plus Bao and Lyles. This new site will be just as much of a hit. Serving Indian barbecue, with beer, whisky, pool tables and live sports, the menu and interiors are inspired by "the army mess bars of India, where military regiments go to eat, drink and socialise."

Sabor
Mayfair

Another opening backed by JKS - Sabor is the highly anticipated new restaurant from Barrafina's former chef Nieves Barragan. Promising an innovative tapas menu intended to recreate the Andalucían experience, Nieves will take on regional dishes from across Spain, including the Basque country and Catalonia. Who wouldn't want a Wild Rabbit Empanadilla washed down with a glass of txakolis, overlooking the action unfolding in the open kitchen?

Kricket
White City

As one of the more informal openings of 2017, Kricket Soho took us by storm with its fun and inspiring open kitchen. Guests can watch Chef Will Bowlby rustle up delights, such as Keralan Fried Chicken and Samphire Pakoras. The new site in White City will join a Soho House branch and Bluebird Café to regenerate the old BBC Television Centre, welcoming other independent shops and restaurants to the area.

Red Farm
Covent Garden

Crossing the pond from NY for the first time, Red Farm is another opening in Covent Garden. Anticipation mounts for its inspired twists on classic Chinese dim sum, including the famous 'Pac-Man' dumplings, and inventive twists on Chinese classics. We've been told to expect modern and rustic décor, and can only hope that the Covent Garden site echoes the energetic atmosphere of the Big Apple original.

Ollie Dabbous
Mayfair

While mourning the news that he was closing his Fitzrovia original Dabbous this year, we instantly perked up when rumours of a Mayfair opening for Ollie surfaced. One of Britain's most exciting homegrown chefs, Ollie's new site, a vast, three-storey site near Green Park, promises to be a departure from anything he has done before.

Bagatelle
Mayfair

In the US, Bagatelle is a magnet for celebrities and bright young things, and a branch is reportedly opening on Mayfair hotspot Dover Street, later this year. Serving contemporary French cuisine in the style of a 'neighbourhood bistro', it claims to offer a guest experience akin to 'stepping back in history to a Provençal café, or an old Parisian apartment'.

SushiSamba
Covent Garden

Atop Heron Tower in Bishopsgate, the existing SushiSamba is a high-rise favourite for many of us. The new site is a little closer to the ground but no further from the stars, on Covent Garden's famous Opera Terrace. Showcasing Sushi Samba's unique blend of Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian cuisine, with creative presentations, and handcrafted cocktails, rumour has it that the new site also features a balcony with striking views across the main Piazza.


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