New opening

Next up from Japan centre is a new ramen restaurant, inspired by the Yokocho alleys of Japan and based in Heddon Street. They'll have a range of ramen from across Japan, in a restaurant with a 70s feel. 

Casey's in Clapton used to describe itself as "a microcafe & deli". But now that they've moved into grander premises, maybe that 'micro' tag isn't needed anymore.

As owner Caitlin Dempsey said of their new shop which opened last week on Lower Clapton Road, named after her family shop back in Ireland, "it's an actual bakery/shop/cafe you can walk around and buy things, if you want."

The popular deli

The duo behind neighbourhood favourite Fink's Salt & Sweet are expanding - but they're not going far. Their second place will be a coffee shop on nearby Gillespie Road.

Updated 22/9/20 with a first look

We'd known for a while that the folk behind Jolene (and Primeur and Westerns Laundry) were planning to open a bakery - and now it's finally here. Big Jolene Bakery - to be known as Big Jo - has now opened and if you're in the Holloway/Hornsey Road area, this is going to be your go-to place for bread and more.

The space on Hornsey Road was an old refrigeration

With views over Trafalgar Square and two massive roof terraces, expect this new Japanese restaurant to be quite a draw.

You may be wondering does Hackney really need another pizza place? Certainly, the team behind Nebula, which opened at the weekend, are very much hoping it does.

This new pizza, beer and cocktail joint has taken over a space just off Hackney Road near to ABQ Bar and Mama Shelter. It's a large site - with room for 200 pizza lovers. And the fact that it also has a large courtyard won't hurt it at all in the current times.

The team behind it are

Truffle have appeared on the South Bank, at Seven Dials and as a burger kit. Now they're taking their very truffley burgers to Soho for their first permanent spot. 

Murger Han, the Xi’an restaurant with restaurants in Mayfair and Euston is expanding. This time they're heading east to the City for their third restaurant. 

As in its other incarnations, they'll have a menu of Xi’an dishes made to family recipes with the Biang Biang noodles and the murgers themselves (slow-cooked meat in flatbread) being the biggest draw.

Also on the menu will

Finsbury Park folk who are working from home have a new spot to plug in their laptops. Fine and Grosso Coffee Station is a coffee spot that welcomes folk who want to get work done. It's not a coworking space, but what they're describing instead as 'laptop-friendly'.

The man behind it is Arik Waiss who also has a micro-chain of coffee shops called the Doppio Coffee Warehouse. Finsbury Park looks like being

Taking over the site that once held classic Indian restaurant Gaylord is a pair of new openings. There's Pali Hill, serving up Indian seasonal dishes and Bandra Bhai, a basement cocktail bar that's inspired by a smuggling den. 

New Orleans chef Slade Rushing has moved to London to open Louie in the old L'atelier de Joel Robuchon site in Covent Garden, joining forces with Parisian powerhouse restaurant group Paris Society.

A truly iconic Soho restaurant is revived by the team behind Noble Rot who are promising to be custodians of its history but bring the menu fully into the 21st century.

Will Giannino Dal 1899 be the restaurant to succeed at this spot in Mayfair? They're hoping that the long lineage of the Milanese original will entice Londoners to try it.

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.

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.