New opening

• Smoke & Salt sets down roots on Tooting High Street

  Their food has been surprising and delighting Londoners for the past four years, but now roaming residency Smoke & Salt are ready to set down permanent roots taking on their first restaurant on Tooting High Street.

• Pantechnicon is a five storey Nordic and Japanese dining and shopping spot opening in Belgravia

  London's first huge new opening since lockdown will be in the heart of Belgravia. Pantechnicon offers five floors of dining and shopping on Motcomb Street, devoted to all things Nordic and Japanese. 

• The Black Book in Soho sees former members' bar TRADE become a wine bar for all

  

  It used to be known as TRADE, the members' bar for people in the hospitality business, but now it's being replaced by The Black Book, a new wine bar that's open to all of Soho.

  The team running things is still the same - Gearoid Devaney and Xavier Rousset (Blandford Comptoir), and will focus "rare and interesting" wines alongside a brasserie-style menu. So wines by the glass will

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• Kol is the London restaurant from Noma Mexico's Santiago Lastra

  He was the man behind the launch of Noma Mexico and now Santiago Lastra is opening his own restaurant in London called Kol. It'll feature Mexican cuisine with UK ingredients. 

• Hampton Court gets two new restaurants with Coppernose and 1665 at The Mitre

   

  A brand new 5-star hotel, The Mitre, is opening right next to Hampton Court very soon. The building has been there for a few hundred years now but it's just had a boutique hotel overhaul. Ahead of the hotel rooms opening, they've opened the two riverside restaurants there.

  In charge of the food is Ronnie Kimbugwe who, after working with Gordon Ramsay in Claridges for six years,

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• Pophams Home is the interiors shop that you'll want to blow your paycheck in

  

  They've already caused an Insta storm with their beautiful pastries and perfect pastas, now London bakery Pophams has designs on your interiors.

  A week ago they launched Pophams Home - an online store just packed (in a beautiful, Marie Kondo style way of course) with beautiful items for the home. As they explain it, the shop's "a chance to share the artists and creatives, whose styles and stories have inspired us... a mixture of items you will have

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• Gordo's pizzeria arrives in Dalston

  

  Dalston has itself a new pizza parlour and it looks like this might be a bit special. Gordo's comes from Jesse Elias, who has previously been the senior GM at Yard Sale in Clapton before going it alone, so he should have a fair bit of pizza know-how under his belt.

  We caught up with him to find out a little bit more. "At Gordo's, we wanted to be a more traditional pizzeria on the menu but more vibey late-night space, so with the help of

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• Bosporus by Leicester Square is a taste of Turkey (via Dubai)

  London gets the first UK outpost of this popular Dubai chain which promises an authentic Turkish experience. 

• Bubblewrap waffles are coming to Covent Garden, all ready for Instagram

  

  Instagram fave Bubblewrap are unveiling a new store, this time in the heart of Covent Garden. Expect all the popular flavours and some special exclusives for the new store too. 

• Taka Mk II comes to Marylebone, with new dishes - including a wagyu sando

  

  They already had a small, popular restaurant in Mayfair and now Japanese restaurant Taka are heading to Marylebone, where The Providores used to be. A much larger space, they'll have lots of new dishes (including a wagyu sando) and some great-sounding cocktails. 

• West African restaurant Akoko to launch in Fitzrovia with a MasterChef - The Professionals finalist in charge

  Akoko is the first project from last year’s Masterchef: The Professionals finalist William JM Chilila. He'll be opening this West-African influenced restaurant in Fitztovia

• Beam cafe is coming to Notting Hill

  

  They've already opened successful cafes in Crouch End and Highbury and next up for Beam is a move west to Notting Hill.

• The Breakfast Club go late night with Saint Elmo's Sandwich Bar

  

  There are two places you can always guarantee queues outside in London - Dishoom and The Breakfast Club. Now the latter, having tied up the breakfast scene, are getting into the late-night market by opening Saint Elmo's (fans of John Hughes movies will get the reference).

  Saint Elmo’s Late-Night Sandwich Bar will take over their Berwick Street Cafe every day from 5pm. As the name suggests it'll serve up a range of sandwiches which they

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• Birch, Zebra Riding Club and Valeries - a review of the new-style hotel and restaurant to de-stress city folk

  

  Barely 30 minutes away from central London, this new Hertfordshire getaway is aiming to shake up the UK hotel scene, pitching itself as a hotel meets festival experience. And it comes with a restaurant from Robin Gill to boot. 

• Shop Cuvee wine shop and deli is opening on Blackstock Road

  

  There's no getting away from the fact that lockdown was hard on London. But, equally, it's fair to say that some businesses coped better than others. Highbury restaurant Top Cuvee didn't let any grass grow under its feet when the city shut down. It pivoted quickly to become a natural wine distributor Shop Cuvee - actually growing its business over lockdown.

  Now that owner Brodie and his team have been able to reopen the restaurant,

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