May is another busy month in the London restaurant calendar with a lot of very promising new openings throughout the month. There's a new restaurant from Uncle Roger, a Great British Menu Finalist, a two-Michelin-starred chef, the latest from Jackson Boxer and a whole lot more. Here are the ones we think you need to focus on so you can start planning your May now...
Kawan
Chinatown - 12 Macclesfield Street, London W1D 5BP
With more than 10m followers on YouTube there was always going to be a ready-made market for comedian Nigel Ng's first London restaurant. But Ng is no hospitality newbie; he already owns restaurants in Malaysia and he's teaming up with chef Daren Liew (Duddell's and the Hakkasan Group) for this Chinatown opening. The one thing you can be sure about here is that the fried rice should be excellent.
Opening: 9 May 2026 (soft launch 9-11 May, full launch 12 May)
Arcade Covent Garden and Zylia
Covent Garden - 6 Bedford St, London WC2E 9HZ
This is the third Arcade food hall to open in London (taking over the old TGI Friday space). Inside, you'll find Arcade favourites like Manna burgers, chicken and steak from Solis, pizzas from Gracey's and more. Plus there's another Plaza Khao Gaeng Thai restaurant. But possibly the real one to watch is Zylia, the standalone Greek/Cypriot taverna from ex-Kiln Head Chef and the co-owner of Singburi, Nick Molyviatis. That sounds extremely promising, with a big focus on charcoal grill cooking.
Opening: 15 May 2026 (Arcade) and 22 May 2026 (Zylia)
More about TBC & More about Zylia
The Victory
East Dulwich - 157 Lordship Lane, London SE22 8HX
East Dulwich institution Franklin's recently closed after 26 years, but locals won't have too long to wait before its replacement arrives. The Victory sees the location returning to its pub roots, led by Jamie Younger, the man behind The Begging Bowl. He also had The Palmerston on the same road before they were forced out, so it's a welcome return to the area for him. Executive Chef Seán Breen (ex-Noble Rot) leads the menu here, with the food described as "British ingredient-led cooking with a modern French bistro influence."
Opening: 26 May 2026
MAAI
Clapham - 33–35 Abbeville Road, London SW4 9LA
Barely weeks after being crowned Champion of Champions on the Great British Menu, chef Nikita Pathakji is getting ready to open her own restaurant in Clapham, with her family playing a big part. She says the food here will be "layered with influences from her heritage", whilst also using great British produce. That means dishes like the seared halibut with Malaysian fish head curry that helped her win GBM.
Opening: 20 May 2026
Oudh 1772
Southwark - 66 Union St, London SE1 1TD
Atkar Islam is another chef who you might have seen on Great British Menu, albeit as a judge rather than contestant. He's best known for Opheem in Birmingham, a highly-respected two-Michelin-starred restaurant. This is his first London opening, for which he's taken over a three-storey Victorian house in Southwark. With a focus on cuisine from the Awadhi region, you can expect dishes that range from kebabs and sharing curries to dishes made with slow cooking methods like dum pukht, including a showstopping Wiltshire lamb shoulder baked in a lamb-fat crust.
Opening: 1 May 2026
Bread Street Kitchen at 22 Bishopsgate
City of London - 59th Floor, 22 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4BQ
Since his hit Netflix show, Gordon Ramsay's restaurants at 22 Bishopsgate have been doing storming business. And finally, the last piece of the puzzle is coming into place as he gets ready to reveal the high-rise version of his Bread Street Kitchen brand. There will be one key difference between this outpost and the rest (other than the view, of course), the bar here will have a 24-hour licence, making it a direct competitor to the nearby Duck & Waffle.
Opening: 6 May 2026
More about Bread Street Kitchen
Vesper
Clerkenwell - 8-10 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QA
Recently, Jackson Boxer helped Taqueria in Notting Hill relaunch as TAQ, and it was a very successful revamp too. There was originally another Taqueria in Exmouth Market, but Boxer has taken that one on himself to launch as a brand new restaurant. Vesper doesn't sound a million miles from the kind of cooking he's doing at Dove, with a bistro-style menu at the heart of it. We're certainly looking forward to the croquette Arnold Bennett with bigger dishes including glazed lamb shoulder with merguez, devilled kidney and burnt aubergine.
Opening: May 2026 (date TBC)
All Roads
Brixton - 44 Atlantic Road, London SW9 8JN
All Roads, run by Malika Green and Paschelle Brown, has been running as a hugely successful supperclub for three years, and now they're taking the plunge and making it a permanent restaurant in Brixton. They describe their menu as featuring comfort food that's inspired by their shared Caribbean heritage, as well as British, European and Southern American influences. That includes dishes like butterbean whip with soy pecans, cherry peppers and cassava chips or fried wings marinated in sweet black tea and herbs.
Opening: 6 May 2026
Lady of the Grapes
London Bridge - Menier Chocolate Factory, 4 O'Meara St, London SE1 1TE
The original Lady of the Grapes, a wine bar which focuses on female-led wineries, has been one of London's best wine bars for seven years. Now they're expanding with a second (much bigger) opening, taking a corner of the Menier Chocolate Factory building near Borough Market. This version will have a restaurant upstairs (in a French bistro style), while downstairs you'll find a 45-seater wine bar, called Forbidden Fruit.
Opening: 26 May 2026 (soft launch)
Trèsind
Mayfair - 13 Hanover St, London W1S 1NE
Tresind is an Indian restaurant that originated from Dubai and describes itself as a "modernist Indian dining experience". The London version promises to be tasting menu-led and the big draw will be their Chaat Trolley for a little bit of tableside theatre (with added liquid nitrogen special effects). Also look out for their Khichdi of India, a dish with 20 different ingredients that represent different states in India. Downstairs they'll have a separate basement bar.
Opening: 8 May 2026
Bar Etna
Newington Green - 47 Newington Green, London N16 9PX
The Four Legs team are looking to continue their hot streak, following Tollington's and The Plimsoll with this new opening on Newington Green. This time, they're teaming up with Philadelphia chef and restaurateur Joe Beddia, whose pizza has previously been crowned "best in America". He'll be combining his pizza know-how with Four Legs founder Ed McIlroy's ingredient-led approach, with toppings changing on a seasonal basis. You can also expect aubergine parmigiana, meatballs, sides and soft serves along with house spritzes, negronis on tap and low-intervention wines. It has all the hallmarks of an instant hit.
Opening: W/c 4 May 2026 (originally due to open in April)
Ornella
Hackney - 51 Wilton Way, London E8 1BG
The team of actor Theo James, restaurateur Ed Templeton and chef Naz Hassan had a big hit in Highbury with their first opening, Lupa. Now they're looking to repeat that success with Milan-inspired restaurant Ornella. Chef Naz grew up in Milan, so he's perfectly placed to make this new approach work. On the menu, you can expect risotto alla Milanese, with vitello tonnato and tagliatelle al burro e Parmigiano and we can assume a take on veal Milanese will be making an appearance. A larger restaurant than their Highbury opening (it's taking over what was Fran's), they'll also have a terrace here just in time for warmer weather (we hope).
Opening: 1 May 2026 (originally due to open in April)
Kinz
Notting Hill - 50 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JD
Banks may be closing all the time in the UK of late, but at least those spaces are being put to some good use. The latest takes over a Notting Hill bank that was built in the 1930s by a prominent architect and from the designs, it'll be a real looker. A two-floored affair, it's an all-day Lebanese restaurant down the back, with a deli up front. Things start in the morning with a Full Lebanese breakfast, while dishes later on include fattet aubergine - baked aubergine layered with pine nuts, tomato, yoghurt and crisp pita. And as it's a bank, the vault is being turned into a wine room, which will have "snug dining spaces" and tasting tables.
Opening: 11 May 2026 (originally due to open in April)
MA/NA
Mayfair - 30 Upper Grosvenor Street, London W1K 7PH
This is the latest restaurant from The Thesleff Group, best known for Los Mochis, but who also did a great job recently launching Sale e Pepe Mare over at The Langham. For this opening, they're taking on the sizeable space that used to be Ruya and are opening a contemporary Japanese restaurant. So you can expect grilled dishes like M5 Wagyu seared on a Himalayan salt stone as well as a strong sushi selection. In charge of the menu here is Chef Leo Tanyag who most recently opened Luna omakase for them. There will be a bar space, and as the evening develops, the whole room will become a late-night cocktail bar.
Opening: 6 May 2026 (originally due to open in April)
Also opening this month...
Banquet 88 (St Katharine Docks) - A new Cantonese restaurant from the people behind the Good Fortune Club
The Sea the Sea (Chelsea) - They're moving across the road to a bigger space and are adding a brand new restaurant upstairs.
Brutes (Mayfair) - A new Mayfair bar that will give you a martini card to let you customise your drink (including Monster Munch toppings).
Nammos (Mayfair) - It's popular in Mykonos, and now this Mediterranean restaurant is opening an "urban expression" of their beach clubs.
Kiez Kebab (Notting Hill) - Upmarket German-style kebabs in a stainless steel environment
Temaki (Mayfair) - Long delayed due to building work, this popular Japanese handroll bar should finally arrive in Mayfair this month.
Bar Des Pres (Mayfair) - Cyril Lignac's London restaurant, with a mix of French and East-Asian cuisine, is moving to a completely new space.
Lokal (Fitzrovia) - A modern Turkish restaurant on Market Place from the same team as Fred Bakery.
Tigermilk (Spitalfields) - The Latin American restaurant that originated in France is getting a much bigger second London restaurant.
130 Primrose (Primrose Hill) Monica Galetti is back on the London restaurant scene at this social enterprise spot in North London.
All of London's newly opened and upcoming restaurants...
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