New opening

• Napoli Gang are opening their first pizza shop, in Ladbroke Grove

  

  4/5/22 - Updated with the opening date

  While we wait for more details of what the Big Mamma Group (the people behind Ave Mario and Circolo Popolare) have planned for their next big restaurant in Kensington, they're already moving ahead with bricks and mortar plans for their Napoli Gang brand which is now opening a pizza shop in Ladbroke Grove.

  If you haven't encountered Napoli Gang on Deliveroo

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• Mr Fogg's Apothecary comes to Mayfair

   

  Mr Fogg's have opened bars across town, and now they're ready for their eighth - this time right in the heart of Mayfair, just down the road from Claridge's.

  Mr Fogg's Apothecary takes the familiar look of the other bars - it's based on Phileas Fogg, has a Victorian feel and it's designed with references to Around the World in 80 Days. It's taking over what used to be the Balls Brothers, but

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• Chop Chop by Four Seasons is opening underneath The Hippodrome at Leicester Square

  

  They already have three restaurants in Chinatown but Four Seasons are adding a fourth, just around the corner, when they open a new contemporary Chinese restaurant underneath The Hippodrome casino.

  The new concept, Chop Chop by Four Seasons, is part of a slew of new openings at the casino in the coming months, including an unnamed cocktail bar. Chop Chop will be in the lower ground floor of the building

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• Upstairs at 23 launches at The Guinea in Mayfair

  

  A Hot Dinners exclusive

  Back during the days of social distancing, The Guinea in Mayfair made the clever decision to take over an old Pizza Express site across the road from the pub, to expand their dining space.

  Now, as the time they have with the site draws to a close, they've decided to have a little fun with the space. To that end, this week they're soft-launching Upstairs at 23 in the building's

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• Black Bear Burger are coming to Exmouth Market

  

  They started as street food before opening up their own restaurant in Brixton, have a space in Boxpark Shoreditch and now Black Bear Burger are growing again. This time they're opening a restaurant in Exmouth Market.

  Taking over what actually used to be a Dirty Burger (albeit launching with a complete redesign of what was there before), this is going to be bigger than their Brixton place so we

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• Mayfair's Lucky Club is coming to Camden with a roof terrace cocktail and taco bar

  

  3/5/22 - updated with photos and opening date

  Having made a name for themselves in the West End serving up cocktails and bao, the team behind The Lucky Club Mayfair are heading north. They've taken on a roof terrace space across the Chalk Farm entrance to Camden Market, on the former FEST site. 

  The Lucky Club Camden will specialise in Margaritas and Mezcal cocktails with treats like the Frozen

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• Bubblewrap bring their waffles to Spitalfields Market

   

  They're hugely popular in Chinatown and Covent Garden and now a third Bubblewrap has landed in Spitalfields Market. 

  If you're somehow yet to encounter these dessert guys (they do pop up rather a lot on Instagram and TikTok), they're all about their signature Hong Kong-style egg waffles which, yes, have huge bubbles all over them. These are wrapped into cones and then filled

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• New London restaurants opening in May 2022

  

  Fully into spring, things are really starting to warm up on the London restaurant scene. This month, we have the arrival of a much-anticipated Mexican restaurant, the next opening from Big Mamma and more...

• Boundary takes over from Albion as Boundary Shoreditch's new restaurant

  

  There's change afoot in Shoreditch. Boundary London, which includes the hotel, restaurant and rooftop was bought by Harcourt Inns late last year (they're the people behind The Coach in Clerkenwell, The Hero of Maida in Maida Vale and more). Now we're seeing one of the main big changes as part of that - the unveiling of the ground-floor Boundary bar and

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• Parrillan opens a new grill terrace at Borough Yards, and adds an indoor restaurant too

  

  They already have a mini-empire at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross with Casa Pastor, Barrafina, Parrillan and The Drop and now The Harts Group are doing something similar at Borough. El Pastor is well established, but with the new Borough Yards development, the group are adding a Barrafina, a new-style Parrillan and Bar Daskal too. 

  First up is

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• Bar Daskal is a Spanish wine bar in Borough Yards from the Barrafina team

  

  The openings at Borough Yards, the new development close to Borough Market are continuing apace - and that includes three new openings from the same people, the Harts Group. They're planning to open both a Barrafina and a Parrillan - but also a new Spanish wine bar, Bar Daskal.

  We see it as something of a sibling to their The Drop wine bar at King's Cross. It has a list that's

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• Xier's Carlo Scotto is opening Amethyst in Mayfair

  

  26/4/22 - updated with new address

  Until fairly recently Carlo Scotto was chef-patron of Xier, a restaurant that closed during the pandemic. But Scotto isn't standing still - he's getting ready to open his next restaurant, this time in Mayfair. After originally looking at a site in Stratton Street he's now secured a spot on Sackville Street. 

  Amethyst will carry on the

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• Palazzo in Crystal Palace is an Italian bar and diner from the Made of Dough boys

  

  A Hot Dinners exclusive

  If you're a Crystal Palace resident wondering what's happening at the old Church Grill site on Church Road, well we have news for you. The space has been taken over by the team behind pizzeria Made of Dough and will reopen as Palazzo - an all-day Italian bar and diner.

  Music is going to be at the heart of this new SE19 place. They'll have a record library and a regularly changing DJ

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• Audrey's comes to Bankside from the people behind Flat Iron Square

  

  Updated 22/4/22 with opening date

  The people behind Good's Way and Flat Iron Square (a company that happens to be headed up by Ben Lovett from Mumford & Sons) are getting ready to launch something new at their own Flat Iron Square, called Audrey's. 

  We're told the all-day cafe and bar will be inspired by modern bistros and have a menu that's going to

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• Le Pont de la Tour Bistrot to open on the Thames, with "relaxed fine dining" in mind

  

  A Hot Dinners exclusive. 

  It's had pride of place on the banks of the Thames, looking out onto Tower Bridge for over 30 years - and now Le Pont de la Tour is getting ready to launch something new. 

  Taking over the space that was once the restaurant's bar will be the brand new Le Pont de la Tour Bistrot. Designed by their

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