As we embark on a new year, it's time to look at what 2026 is promising. Here are the new London restaurant openings that we think you need to be keeping an eye on (the ones that have been announced so far, at least).
Tiella
Hackney - 109 Columbia Road, London E2 7RL
It's not often that a London pub residency draws attention from the likes of Vogue, but chef Dara Klein's tenure at The Compton Arms wasn't your average pop-up. Now the chef, who boasts both Italian and New Zealand roots, has a permanent place to call home. She's also brought in partner and friend Ry Jessup, who has particular form in the pop-up to permanent field, having also helped bring The Plimsoll to fruition. Her new place is a former pub on Columbia Road where Dara will be serving up dishes befitting a modern London trattoria, championing both Italian and British produce. Look out for a great wine list courtesy of Dara's wine-importing dad.
Opening: January 2026
Simpson's in the Strand
100 Strand, London WC2R 0EW
Simpson's was top of our restaurant openings to look out for in 2025 guide, which gives you an idea of just how much this project has overrun. But the lengthy undertaking by Jeremy King to bring an iconic London restaurant back to life (much as he did with Le Caprice, aka Arlington) has clearly been a complicated one. The good news is that we're 100% certain it's happening in the early part of 2026 and we now know a lot more about what to expect. The key thing to understand is that when we talk about Simpson's in the Strand we're actually dealing with two restaurants, two bars and a huge private ballroom. Romano's is the all-day Zedel-like brasserie, there's a Simpson's Bar and a late-night dive bar, Nellie's. But the main restaurant that'll be the focus of most reviewers’ attention is The Grand Divan, where the carving trolleys will once more roam the room and British classics like roasts, pies and game will be at the heart of the menu.
Opening: February 2026
Burro
Covent Garden - 2 Floral Court, Floral Street, London WC2E 9FB
When the chef-owner of perennially popular Trullo announces he's finally opening a follow-up, you'd better believe we sat up and paid attention. Conor Gadd is promising to roam Italy for menu inspiration for his new restaurant Burro, while drawing on his Irish roots for a warm hug of hospitality. The restaurant will take over what used to be the Petersham Nurseries in the heart of Covent Garden. Burro’s pasta sounds very much on point, and we'll have to go if only to try the promised tiramisu bomboloni.
Coreus and Café Boulud at Admiralty Arch
The Mall, London SW1A 2WH
London’s hotel restaurant game is getting a huge injection of top-level talent this year and the openings at Admiralty Arch are no exception. First up is Clare Smyth’s Coreus, a fine dining seafood restaurant which is paired together with another Whiskey & Seaweed bar. Alongside this, on the rooftop, will be Café Boulud, which marks a return to the UK by top chef Daniel Boulud. We’ve heard rumblings about other food and drink spaces within the hotel, but there’s been nothing else confirmed so far.
Opening: Summer 2026
More about Admiralty Arch Waldorf Astoria
Cloth Cornhill
City of London - 38 1/2 Cornhill, London EC3V 9DR
You’ve got to hand it to the Cloth team; they really do love a historic building. Their OG restaurant was next to the oldest building in the City of London. Now they’re taking on the former Simpson’s Tavern site, which has been around since the mid-1700s. The surroundings might be ancient, but the menu and wine list will reflect modern London, albeit with the odd roast or chop as a nod to the tavern’s roots.
Opening: Spring/summer 2026
Impala
Soho - 14 Dean St, London W1D 3RS
With a restaurant roster that includes Smoking Goat and Mountain, and the former Kiln chef going out on his own for the first time, Impala was always going to be on any list of hot new openings. Featuring a vibe that channels Friday night Cairo meets Soho and live fire cooking at its heart, this genuinely sounds different to anything else coming our way in 2026. Expect this to be a late-night hangout for many of London’s young chefs.
Opening: March 2026
Major's Grill
Mayfair - 94 Piccadilly, London W1J 7PB
Following hard on the heels of the success of Carbone, the Major Food Group are back in Mayfair for their follow-up. This time, it's the flagship restaurant in one of the most anticipated new hotel openings of the year. Cambridge House is the luxury bolthole emerging from the old In and Out club on Piccadilly, which has been under permanent hoardings for the last quarter of a century. As owners of The Grill in New York, in the old Four Seasons, they have plenty of experience in running a crazily popular restaurant in an iconic building. This will be their London take on The Grill, with a martini menu planned and an impressive wine list too.
Opening: Mid-late 2026
Cometa
Fitzrovia - 19-23 Charlotte Street, London W1T 1RW
It's hard to overstate just how much London's Mexican food scene has changed in the past five years or so, with the scene evolving to encompass everything from Michelin-starred Kol to the fabulous Proper Tacos stall in Holloway. Now we have a new-wave seafood spot to look forward to in the form of Cometa. Chefs José and Alejandra have an impressive resume under their belts (Relae, Estala and Makan to name a few), so their takeover of the old Carousel wine bar on Charlotte Street looks like being a great addition to the area.
Opening: February 2026
MA/NA
Mayfair - 30 Upper Grosvenor Street, London W1K 7PH
If you're looking for a lively new Mayfair place to hang out in 2026, it looks as though MA/NA could be the place for you. This is a huge new Japanese restaurant from the folks behind Los Mochis and it's big enough to be a restaurant, cocktail bar and late-night lounge. We've enjoyed Executive Chef Leo Tanyag's food at both their Juno and Luna omakase restaurants, so it's safe to assume he'll be bringing his A-game to Mayfair. There'll be wagyu grilled on a Himalayan salt stone and King Crab salads to enjoy, while the bar will feature resident DJs and a wine room big enough for private tasting sessions.
Opening: Early 2026
Kiji
Mayfair - 60 Curzon St, London W1J 8PG
This could be one of those restaurants which slips out of 2026 and into 2027, but if Kiji does end up opening in 2026, it’ll certainly be one of the most interesting Mayfair launches this year. The duo behind it are Ellia and Junghyun Park, whose restaurant Atomix is currently sitting atop the North America Best Restaurants list. The only thing we know about it, is that it’ll be a Korean BBQ spot. The other details are waiting to be fleshed out.
Opening: 2026 (date TBC)
And look out for...
Jikoni at V&A (Stratford) - One of two new 2026 restaurants from the team of Ravinder Bhogal and Nadeem Lalani Nanjuwany (see also Karam's), this sees them bringing their Marylebone hit to the new V&A East development.
Raising Canes (Leicester Square) - Angus Steakhouse's reign on Leicester Square is finally coming to an end. It's being replaced by this US chicken import that gets a lot of love from celebs like Post Malone, Snoop Dogg and Cynthia Erivo.
Sale e Pape Mare (Marylebone) - After 50 years, Sale e Pepe (now run by the same group as Los Mochis) is expanding. They're launching a seafood restaurant in The Langham, hoping to do better in a tricky space which has seen a couple of closures.
Hell’s Kitchen (Marylebone) - It's probably one of Gordon Ramsay's most famous brands worldwide, but will Londoners embrace the first UK outpost?
Osteria Vibrato (Soho) - The man behind The Laughing Heart is teaming up with an ex-Burro e Salvia chef for this Italian restaurant, which should have an impressive wine list.
Hoppers (Shoreditch) - The latest Hoppers takes over the space vacated by Lyle's and sees the restaurant group moving beyond Sri Lanka for the first time with new South Indian dishes on the menu.
Berenjak (Mayfair) - The hugely popular Persian restaurant from the JKS group (which now has branches as far afield as LA and Qatar) will be opening its biggest outpost in a very prime Mayfair location. Expect this one to be popular with celebs.
The big Olympia revamp - The huge revamp of Olympia is due to launch in 2026 and features three restaurants from ex D&D founder Des Gunewardena, including an all-day restaurant and a speakeasy-style bar
Padella (Soho) - London's most popular pasta restaurant, and arguably the one that kicked off the ongoing fresh pasta bar craze, is getting a big new restaurant in Soho.
Devonshire MKII (Covent Garden) - There are a lot of question marks about this possible next venue from the Devonshire team, who have yet to confirm what they might do with the space. We know that they have, however, received license approval from the council, so this one is looking likely. Whether it opens in 2026 is very TBC, though.
Tresind (Mayfair) - This Indian restaurant is a big deal in Dubai and Mumbai and has an offshoot with three Michelin stars.
And definitely more that we don't know about yet...
When we launched the 2025 preview, a couple of the year's best new openings - Legado and One Club Row - hadn't even been announced yet. So it goes without saying that some very big openings will be revealed as the year goes on. We have heard rumblings about a new restaurant from Claude Bosi (that's not a Josephine, although another one of those is planned too). And ex-Grill at The Dorchester chef Tom Booton is getting very close to an announcement of his new opening.
Will this year also see the return of chefs Ollie Dabbous, James Lowe or Sertaç Dirik? We'll have to wait and see.
Also see
