New opening

• Block Soho has steak, seafood and a Croquettes & Cocktails happy hour

  

  A Hot Dinners exclusive

  Having recently opened Maddox Tavern in Mayfair, the same team is opening Block Soho (it's in the space where Zelman Meats used to be). 

  The big focus of the restaurant will be meat cooked over coals, alongside seafood and shellfish. The meat comes from Huntsham Court Farm and will be hung and aged in the restaurant’s own

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• Bantof in Soho sees Pied a Terre's chef branch out

  

  There's a new restaurant coming to Soho that, looking at the folk involved, certainly sounds worth a visit. Bantof describes itself as a restaurant, cocktail bar and art space. But it's the team that they've brought on board to consult on the food and drink that elevates it from the usual restaurant equivalent of Actress, Model, Whatever.

  In charge of the menu is chef Asimakis Chaniotis, whose day job is heading up

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• Shoryu Ramen and Sticks'n'Sushi pick West London for their next openings

  

  West Londoners who love Japanese food have something to cheer about this autumn. Two Japanese restaurant groups, Shoryu Ramen and Sticks'n'Sushi, are opening new branches in Kensington and Westfield London respectively.

  Shoryu's new Kensington High Street branch will have room for 70 ramen slurpers in a room that mixes counter dining and mini dining pods. There'll be a separate bar are for sake cocktails and

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• Cottons in Shoreditch gets bigger, moving to Hoxton Square

  

  When we are hearing about more restaurants closing than ever before, it's a nice change to hear of one that's moving and growing - and that's what's happening to Cottons. 

  The Caribbean restaurant is leaving its home on Curtain Road, but moving only just up the road to Hoxton Square (taking over the space that used to be Adam Handling's The Frog).

  It'll be split into two areas - an upstairs restaurant and a

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• Milk Beach brings its Aussie restaurant to Soho

  

  17/8/22 - updated with the opening date

  They've become big in Queen's Park and now Australian restaurant Milk Beach is heading into town for a second restaurant in Soho. 

  They'll be opening in the new Ilona Rose House building on Greek Street (where The Little Scarlet

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• Le Bab hit up Spitalfields for their next opening

  

  While they wait to open their next restaurant at Battersea Power Station, Le Bab are joining the traders at Old Spitalfields market in the meantime. The latest opening from the kebab slinger sees them take over the old Bvrger stall inside the market where they'll be serving up a short menu of three of their kebabs - the chicken shish (pictured) along with a pork ribeye kebab and roast aubergine kebab.

  In addition, you'll

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• Salt Yard have brought Mediterranean tapas to Borough

  

  Salt Yard are growing again. They only recently expanded to Westfield and now the latest Salt Yard has opened in Borough. 

  As with their previous openings, it's a combo of Spanish and Italian tapas in a venue that's decked out with lots of exposed brickwork. The

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• Cafe Royal scoops ex-Greenhouse chef Alex Dilling for brand new restaurant

  

  15/8/22 - updated with more details on the opening

  After the shock closure of the Greenhouse, along with its stablemates The Square, back in 2020, all eyes were on the restaurant's chef Alex Dilling to see what he did next. Fast forward two years and the answer to that is he's opening a brand new restaurant at the Hotel Cafe Royal.

  Called Alex Dilling at

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• Arome have opened a new bakery just off Oxford Street

  

  They're big in Covent Garden, but now Arome bakery have unveiled a brand new space, just off Oxford Street. 

  Mere steps from Selfridges is where you'll find the new Arome and, as before their breads, cakes and pastries are inspired by French patisserie techniques, but using flavours from Singapore, Japan and France. So, alongside loaves of their shokupan Japanese milk bread,

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• Shawarma restaurant Hala Wala has arrived in Camden

  

  Recently opened in Camden, there's a brand new Shawarma shop called Hala Wala that sounds like a promising place to pop in and try. 

  Their shawarma is marinated for 24 hours in their own blend of spices and comes in chicken, chicken sojok (spicy chicken), lamb and mixed, of course. Once it's

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• Karen's Diner is coming to London - get ready to be roasted

  

  Never heard of Karen's Diner? That's about to change. Put simply, it's a restaurant where all the staff are deliberately rude to you and it's coming to London. 

  It started in Australia only last year but has become pretty big over here, opening in Manchester and Sheffield and now, ...

• Ex-Noma chef John Javier is opening his members-only London restaurant to the public

  

  He's worked at Noma and Momofuko Seiobo and ran a London supperclub that once saw the legend Harrison Ford turn up. Now chef John Javier is opening the doors of his London restaurant to members of the public.

  The Tent (at the end of the universe) first opened back in February as part of members' club 17 Little Portland Street. But what was an invite-only spot will now be a regular restaurant

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• Kinoya are bringing their ramen from Dubai to Harrods in London

  

  A Dubai ramen restaurant feted by both Michelin and the World's 50 Best Restaurants list is coming to London. Kinoya Ramen was this year marked as the One To Watch on the Middle Eastern and North Africa iteration of the 50 Best List. They said "the effect it has had on the Dubai dining scene in its fledgling stage has been profound".

  The izakaya-style restaurant will open at Harrods next spring, so we did a

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• Australia's Meat & Wine Co is opening in Mayfair

  

  A South African steakhouse from Australia is the latest international restaurant group to set its sights on London - and Mayfair in particular. The Meat & Wine Co is the brainchild of founder Bradley Michael, who took inspiration from his home in South Africa to bring braai-cooked steaks and amazing wines to the folks of Australia. They have opened previously in London - in Westfield to be specific - but

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• Xi’an Biang Biang Noodles is coming to Covent Garden

  

  It looks like a new outpost for Whitechapel's Xi’an Biang Biang Noodles is on the horizon. As reported by industry newsletter Propel, they're looking to open in Covent Garden next, taking over from what used to be an On the Bab restaurant. 

  The original restaurant came from the people behind Highbury's Xi’an Impression and focused on their most-loved dish. Assuming it's the same

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