New opening

French bakery Copains has already been a big hit since opening their first UK bakery in Covent Garden. Now they've just arrived on Islington's Upper Street (opening beside Toast). 

The bakery, which originated in Paris, is known for being fully gluten-free but also for its beautiful-looking pastries. They make the most of using non-wheat alternative flours to create everything from focaccia and baguettes to croissants and doughnuts. 

We had a sneak preview of the new Islington opening, and it looks just as beautiful as the one in Covent Garden (albeit a little

If you've been to El Pastor in Soho, you'll have noticed that their basement bar is closed for a complete overhaul. When it's finished, they'll be unveiling it as their new cocktail bar, El Siete.

The new look of the bar will be going for a brutalist and modernist approach, inspired by the same kind of architecture in Mexico City. It has a new entrance too, no longer tied to the entrance of El Pastor. You'll be able to track the bar down by the "discreet pink door" on Brewer Street and apparently that pink aesthetic will continue on the walls in the bar below.

Down there,

Taqueria in Notting Hill has been one of London's most longstanding Mexican restaurants, having opened on Westbourne Grove some 20 years ago. However, they've decided that after two decades, it's time for a bit of a rethink, and they've found the ideal man to help with that. Last year, Jackson Boxer breathed new life into his Notting Hill restaurant Orasay by relaunching it as Dove, and now he's helping to do the same with Taqueria, which is relaunching as TAQ. 

To do that, Boxer is teaming up with chef Eduardo Yishima, who himself has a good pedigree in London Mexican

All the latest news on every upcoming London restaurant that's going to be opening in the capital. The only Coming Soon list you need.

17/2/25 - Updated with the opening date

They only recently opened in Westbourne Grove but now Alley Cats are opening their next restaurant on Portobello Road, barely a 15-minute walk away. 

Their latest pizza restaurant is adding something that none of the others have, though - a slice hatch. So if you don't fancy waiting for a table, you'll be able to grab an 18-inch slice from said hatch. If that's not enough for you, then the main restaurant is a large two-floor affair, which also has an off-road terrace space, so it should be generally easier to get a

Just under a year ago, the popular Hackney pub The Gun announced it was closing down. Back then, its owners, who also run The Compton Arms in Islington, cited the current economic conditions saying "despite our very best efforts it has become unsustainable to continue trading". Well, where one door closes, another opens and it looks as though the pub is about to get a new lease of life.

It's been bought, according to trade title Propel, by J-Pub Holdings. That in itself doesn't sound particularly exciting until you discover that the man behind that is Kotaro Ogawa, the man behind

Here are all the new restaurants to look forward to in the coming week. This week, the wine bar at Carousel becomes a Mexican restaurant, and there's a new pizza residency for Islington. 

15/2/26 - updated with the opening date

Following up on their rooftop original and the very successful National Theatre follow-up, Forza Wine are gearing up for their next big launch.

This time they're opening in Soho, taking over the Daroco site (which, to be honest, we hadn't realised had closed a few months back). That's a big old space and, importantly, has a pretty extensive terrace, something which has proved to be pretty useful at Forza Wine's other openings. There's also a large area for a bar underneath what was Daroco, so we'll have to see what they'll

Here's a complete guide to all the new London restaurants that have opened...

After heading up the kitchen at The Pem, Sally Abé's next role was taking over the food at The Bull at Charlbury (by the team behind The Pelican), but now she's back in London with her first solo restaurant, Teal by Sally Abé.

The restaurant, according to Abé, is "about celebrating the best of British food, its history, its flavours, and its stories, while championing women, supporting good causes, and building a restaurant that feels rooted in its community".

As to how that appears on the menu, it'll kick off with snacks like devils and angels on horseback, while bigger

Love them or loathe them, Wetherspoons pubs are among the most successful in the country. That said, there are surprisingly few in the centre of town, but that's about to change as they're getting ready to open an enormous 300+ seat pub on Shaftesbury Avenue. 

According to hospitality industry site Propel, Wetherspoons is taking over the Coyote Ugly site, which itself only lasted a year and a half (although apparently a West End musical is being planned/threatened). Looking at the plans online, it's an enormous space (nearly 4000sq ft) and like other Wetherspoons, it plans to

11/2/26 - updated with the soft launch details

Ever since we heard that Petersham Nurseries had shut both their restaurants in central London, we've been wondering what was going to take over those spaces in Floral Court. Well, now we have the answer to one half of that. Conor Gadd is the chef and co-owner of the perennially popular Trullo in Islington. And he's taken on the space that was The Petersham to open Burro, his first solo venture.

Burro is also going to be an Italian restaurant, but one where the design speaks to Conor's Irish roots. The look we're told

Opening quietly a couple of weeks ago, London has a new Indonesian restaurant, one that already has outposts in Paris and Jakarta. 

Le Nusa has opened on The Strand (in what seems to be a new building development) and it's taking its influence from across Indonesia. The menu here is reimagining Indonesian classics, so you'll find:

• Udang Jeruk Bali - prawns with pomelo, lime and chilli
• Bebek Sambal Andaliman - pan-seared duck breast, green chilli and andaliman pepper.
• Soto Betawi - a coconut milk broth with ox tongue, tomato and melinjo

We'll be honest with you, we hadn't even realised that La Bodega Negra had shut down. But it definitely has because there's a new restaurant just about to take over its cavernous site on Old Compton Street.

Maki & Ramen is a mid-tier restaurant group that was first launched in Scotland by Hong Kong-born chef Teddy Lee, and the name is pretty self-explanatory. Sushi and ramen are at the heart of the menu, and they say they're trying to hit that middle point "between high-end dining and grab-and-go".

It serves up an absolutely massive menu with no fewer than 17 ramen

11/2/26 - updated with the opening date

Canary Wharf's dining out scene, particularly around Wood Wharf, has seen a big improvement over the last few years. And now there's another new opening that looks set to continue that trend. Mama Li is all about Cantonese roast meats and, following their Tower Bridge and London Wall openings, they're coming to Canary Wharf next. 

The main event here will be their Siu Mei roasted meats with four to choose from, crispy pork, BBQ pork, soy chicken and roasted duck (or go for a mix of up to three all together)