New opening

• The original Mayfair Chisou is moving to a bigger spot just down the road

  

  After 16 years of business, Japanese restaurant Chisou is on the move - but they're not moving far. They're leaving their former base on Princes Street and opening up a bigger place on Woodstock Street (the same street that Neo Bistro is on). 

  The new restaurant adds a chef's table at the sushi bar, and they'll be serving "by the piece" sushi omakase there as a new addition. And they're also adding two new basement private rooms for up to 20

  ...
• Viet Lounge is a 'hidden' Chinatown Bar you need on your radar

  The longer summing it up text

• Jackson Boxer and Andrew Clarke are opening St Leonards in Shoreditch - updated

  The Brunswick House restaurateur and his chef and partner Andrew Clarke have a fire and ice focus for their new Shoreditch restaurant with an ice bar for raw fish and shellfish and open hearth cooking for meat and vegetables.

• Pleasant Lady are bringing their jian bing trading stall to Spitalfields

  

  They've been doing a storming trade out of their street hatch in Soho, but now Pleasant Lady Jian Bing Trading Stall are bringing their Chinese snackage to Spitalfields. They'll be opening a stall in The Kitchens at Old Spitalfields Market.

  If you haven't made it down yet to the original Soho hatch in the wall, what you've been missing out on are crispy skin crepes, stuffed with savoury fillings - including aromatic Iberico Char

  ...
• Farzi Cafe is bringing its experimental Indian food to London

  Fancy a deconstructed shepherd's pie or a masala scotch egg? Then the London outpost of Farzi Cafe is for you. They're already big in India and now the restaurant with its experimental Indian cooking is coming to London. 

• Dan Doherty is opening his first NYC restaurant with Rhubarb at Hudson Yards

  

  Exciting times for Dan Doherty. Fresh from announcing last month that he was leaving Duck & Waffle to set up his own restaurant comes news that the next project he's involved with is in New York. Doherty has joined Rhubarb food group as a Chef Partner and he'll be running the show at their restaurant opening at Hudson Yards.

  Doherty will be in good company at Hudson Yards, which is opening on Manhattan's West Side. Other chefs already signed up to open

  ...
• Fresh pasta restaurant Bancone comes to Covent Garden with ex Locanda Locatelli talent

  The latest promising pasta spot heads to Covent Garden. Bancone features a chef who trained in Locanda Locatelli and plenty of 10-hour cooked ragus.

• Borealis is bringing Nordic food to Fora workspace in Borough

  Workspace pioneers Fora who've worked with Stevie Parle at Palatino in Clerkenwell, are teaming up with restaurateur Soren Jessen for their opening or Borealis in Borough.

• Test Driving The Jones Family Kitchen - East London dining hits Belgravia

  Belgravia gets a cracking new neighbourhood restaurant with a lovely terrace to boot

• Little Kolkata goes permanent in Covent Garden

  Little Kolkata has been a successful supperclub specialising in Bengali cuisine. Now they're settling down with a permanent restaurant in Covent Garden with a bigger menu, new dishes and more.

• Bagatelle London opens for business on Mayfair's Dover Street

  With restaurants in all the key globetrotting hotspots - NYC, Miami, Dubai etc - a London branch was way overdue for this upscale international chain.

• Hansom Lambert on winning on the Million Pound Menu and their upcoming restaurant Epoch

  Episode one of the BBC's new business series Million Pound Menu - think Dragons' Den meets First Dates - saw two 20-somethings picking up a whopping £750k-£1m from backer Atul Kochhar for their English restaurant venture. Hot Dinners caught up with Ruth Hansom and Emily Lambert of to find out what happened next.

• Test Driving The Petersham - the Richmond nurseries bring their A game to Covent Garden

  One of two new restaurants opened up by the Boglione family in the heart of Covent Garden - this mixes British seasonal produce with an Italian aesthetic.

• St John at Hackney Brewery brings beer and Cypriot food to Hackney Central Arches

  Hackney Central's railway arches are getting a bit of a revamp, adding a new space for food and drink in the area. And first on the scene will be St John at Hackney Brewery, who will be serving up their own beer and starting with a menu of Cypriot kebabs.

• Dubai’s Ruya comes to London with modern Anatolian cuisine

  Fresh from Dubai comes Ruya and chef Colin Clague, bringing some of the region’s finest traditional food given a contemporary, sophisticated twist that's well suited to the restaurant’s ritzy location.