Japanese

Selfridges likes to keep pretty quiet about what's coming to the food hall until they arrive, and that's been the case with the latest addition. Last summer London's first Kakigori shop, Hinaga Kakigori, opened in Fitzrovia and now they've opened a second space, in Selfridges. 

Kakigori is a Japanese shaved ice dessert, with the desserts all created (or at least finished) to order, with the ice shaved from huge, crystal clear ice blocks. Inside the ice, you'll find fruit and other fillings, with options including their Panda, coconut and mango dessert, which is created

We're not quite sure how this happens, but every once in a while you can see a massive trend rolling its way out through the London restaurant scene. Over the last twelve months, the new London openings all seem to have either been Italian or Japanese handroll bars.

Into the latter's mix that's already seen Kumori, Temaki, Maki Nori and Saltwater opening within months of each other, comes Miokuru in Soho. It's tucked away on Warwick Street, just off Regent Street, and it's another tiny space with room for just 20 diners.

So what makes this place different to all the rest?

They only just announced that the original Milk Beach is transforming into a wine bar, and now the same team is opening a new place in Soho. This time, they're joining the handroll craze that seems to be everywhere right now. 

The new place is Saltwater, a new sushi restaurant on Berqick Street and yes, the key element is all about Japanese handrolls being served over the counter. The handrolls on offer are going to include bluefin tuna

The team behind Los Mochis have opened a high-end Japanese restaurant in Mayfair, with a big focus on wagyu and Kobe beef. We went down for a first look. 

We've already had the launch of Pillar Hall at the revamped Olympia, but that was only the start of all that's happening there. With two hotels and a big entertainment venue to come, there will also be a new destination rooftop that has four distinct parts to it. 

This is the latest opening from the Incipio Group, the people behind Pergola (in Canary Wharf and Brixton) and another west London hit, The Prince, and this time it looks

In the heart of Soho, Kumori is a vinyl/sushi bar serving up innovative handrolls. We went down to take a look.

A few weeks ago, we got the news that French brasserie Marceline had closed the doors of its floating restaurant in Canary Wharf. That building was empty for a long time before Marceline took it on, but it's not staying empty this time around as there's already a replacement lined up, Tattu. 

This will be the second Tattu in London, following the first on Tottenham Court Road, and it's a restaurant that originates in Manchester. The same group behind it has only just opened

Sandos - they're just so pleasing to the eye aren't they? London, as you might imagine, has its fair share of these symmetrically-crafted sandwiches on offer. If you hate crusts, then come this way.

Japanese handrolls have become a big deal in London of late. We've seen the recent arrival of Temaki in Mayfair, and next up is Kumori in Soho, an opening that has a particularly strong team behind it. You may have seen them popping up around town before (particularly in their recent Marylebone residency), and they were also at the Monaco Grand Prix. But this will be their first permanent restaurant. 

Kumori founder Marc Flekei has brought in John Randy De

After just over a decade, and originally intending to open as just a pop-up, the end has come for Japanese izakaya restaurant Shackfuyu. But it's not a complete goodbye. The restaurant was originally set up as a spin-off of Bone Daddies by Ross Shonhan (who now runs Lilibet's in Mayfair) and back to Bone Daddies it will go as it becomes their second ramen bar in Soho.

The new Bone Daddies Old Compton Street will serve up all the ramen from the other sites, but

6/3/26 - updated with the opening date

Japanese handroll restaurant Temaki opened in Brixton in 2021 and quickly found a dedicated following. However, all good things come to an end and they closed up in Brixton last August, and went on the hunt for a new central London location. They've now found just that, thanks to help from The Crown Estate. The new Temaki will be launching on Maddox Street in Mayfair, taking over a space right next to Maddox Gallery and a few doors down from Patara. 

Not surprisingly, Temaki focuses on the Japanese handrolls of its title,

Updated 3/3/26 with opening date

Mid last year, the Shoreditch expansion of Nobu quietly drew to a close. And what was the Nobu hotel has now become the London home of Aethos hotels. However, even though the new hotel opened back in October, they were holding back on what was going to replace the space that housed the Nobu restaurant. But now we know what's coming. 

The new restaurant will be called Mitsu, which will be a Japanese restaurant that they say will be "capturing the spirit of East Tokyo's izakayas", albeit with something of an East London approach. So

The team behind Goodman have opened a Tokyo-style izakaya right opposite their other restaurant on Old Jewry. We went down to check out the City's newest high energy sushi offering. 

It seems that everyone is on the rebrand train at the moment, with a lot of big relaunches in London. The latest is in Mayfair and sees omakase restaurant Taku being relaunched as Sushi Amamoto. 

That sees the restaurant being taken over by chef Shogo Amamoto, whose Sushi Amamoto restaurant in Taipei is a big deal with two Michelin stars, a year-long waiting list and an insane $2000 menu. Here in London he's retaining the team that was previously leading Taku, including head chef Jongho Park.

As for what to expect from the new place, it sounds like a similar affair to

Some of London's great lunchtime deals come in the form of bento boxes, or the more ornate hakozen boxes. Here's our pick of the best out there.