French

Five months ago, the French tapas spot Cépages quietly closed its doors in Notting Hill. Its founders decided they were leaving London to return to France to tend to their vineyard there (fair enough, really!). But what might have meant the permanent closure of this popular wine bar took an interesting turn when it was taken over by French chef, and MasterChef The Professionals finalist, Gaston Savina. He's now reopened it with a fresh new look and menu.

It's a neat closing of the circle for Gaston who first worked at the wine bar 12 years ago. "Cépages was one of the first

The team behind The Prince Arthur Belgravia, as well as Arthur's Market in Chelsea, are getting ready to open their next restaurant. This time around, they're going back to Belgravia and are teaming up with boutique hotel The Lowndes Hotel to launch Avi Bistrot. 

This will be a French/American brasserie, with a fair bit of showing from the caviar that was liberally used over at the Prince Arthur. At Avi, you'll find it on dishes like their New York fried chicken & caviar as well as caviar fish and chips. Elsewhere on the menu, you'll find the LA brioche noire lobster roll,

Orrery in Marylebone has relaunched under new chef Pierre Minotti, who intends to win it a new Michelin star. We went down to see just how much has changed and how his Michelin hopes are faring.

Saison by Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at the OWO has been reimagined as a French brasserie and Hot Dinners readers are being given the chance to try it first with a very special first-look set menu.

Offer: An exclusive £50 first-look set menu.

Where: Raffles London at The OWO, 57 Whitehall, London SW1A 2BX

When: 20 April - 15 May 2026,

After nearly four years, Bar Des Pres is on the move. It's staying within Mayfair, though, just moving from Albemarle Street to South Audley Street. 

Taking over the space that was once Socca, this gives Cyril Lignac's restaurant a light-filled corner space. If you went to Socca in the past, you'll see that they've also dramatically changed the room, adding a large counter seating area (which was always one of the highlights of the Albemarle Street location). Meanwhile, the back area of the restaurant, which was always a tricky space to fill given that the main restaurant was

You know it's all such hooey when chefs say they don't care about Michelin stars. So we applaud the new chef taking over Marylebone stalwart Orrery, who is making no apologies for saying that his ambition is to get Michelin recognition.

Pierre Minotti (formerly at Alex Dilling at Hotel Cafe Royal) is so convinced of his offering that he's putting his name on the restaurant and it'll now be known as Orrery by Pierre Minotti. And now we can exclusively reveal his grand plans for the restaurant.

To start with, there will be a promenade element, as we've seen in places like

The current business climate for restaurants in London is brutal. And we're particularly sad to be reporting on the demise of one of the city's longer-standing restaurants, Club Gascon.

In an email sent to regulars last night, the restaurant's owners, Chef Pascal Aussignac and Vincent Labeyrie, said that it was "With both gratitude and a heavy heart, we share that Club Gascon will be closing its doors following dinner service on 28 March.

"From the very beginning, our approach to dining was driven by passion and creativity - offering guests the freedom to explore three to

What was once Smokehouse has been transformed into Islington's newest French restaurant, Bistro Sablé. As locals, we went along to see just how the transformation has changed things. 

Every January brings with it a reason to go out and eat cake. The Galette des Rois is a French creation designed to celebrate Epiphany. If you're searching for one in London this January, here's where to start...

The team behind Basque-inspired successes Lurra and Donostia have turned to Coastal France for their latest, opening on Chiltern Street. We went to one of Marylebone's fanciest streets to check it out. 

French restaurants have been a booming business on London's dining scene in 2025, and the latest to join that trend is Mazarine. 

This comes from the team behind Sparrow Italia and is run by ex-LPM chef Thierry Laborde (who was previously head chef of Le Gavroche). It's taking a southern/coastal approach to French cooking, so expect things here to have

They've long held a reputation as being one of the best places in Paris to enjoy gluten-free breads and pastries. Now Parisian bakery chain Copains has set its sight on London. To kick off their cross-Channel takeover, they're starting with two bakery openings, in Covent Garden and Islington. Both will be the brand's first bakeries outside of Paris.

In Covent Garden, they've taken over the lease of a shop

Islington locals will be well aware of Smokehouse, the pub/restaurant on Canonbury Road that's been open for just over a decade (originally launched by Neil Rankin). And that's particularly because of its lovely terrace, hidden from the busy road by plenty of greenery. 

Well, now Smokehouse's time is up as it's just been replaced by something quite different. It's

It's all happening on Chiltern Street at the moment. The Hart has just opened its doors. Work is underway at reopening Chiltern Firehouse after the fire. And now Melody Adams, the restaurateur behind Spanish restaurants Lurra and Donostia, is getting ready to open her third restaurant in Marylebone.

Her previous ventures have taken their lead from the

While we all might like to be able to gallivant across the Channel to France for food at the drop of a beret, it's just not practical. So there's nothing better for lovers of Gallic cuisine than a promising new French restaurant opening in their part of town. That means the folks in Fulham must be feeling pretty smug right now at the arrival of La Bouffe on their doorsteps.

The duo behind this new bistro, husband and