New opening

• Test Driving Jollibee - the Filipino fried chicken chain arrives in London's Earl's Court

  It's insanely popular with expat Filipinos the world over - now fried chicken chain Jollibee has opened in London's Earl's Court - we went to try it out.

• Redemption Bar brings their health-conscious food and drinks to Covent Garden

  This is the third Redemption Bar to hit London, which focuses on healthy eating, including lots of vegan and gluten-free options. And there's an alcohol-free cocktail bar on top of that. 

• Happy Face and SUPERMAX promise pizza and late night cocktails for King's Cross

  The team behind Spiritland are opening their second King's Cross venue over on Handyside Street, featuring a ground level pizza restaurant and basement late night licence cocktail bar.

• Mikkeller Bar and Rick Astley are opening their Shoreditch bar tomorrow

  They're an unlikely pair but gypsy beermaker Mikkel Borg Bjergsø has teamed up with 80s pop icon Rick Astley to open a super hip beer bar in Shoreditch. I know!! 

• The Connaught has a new townhouse which the martini trolley will visit

  

  We're sure there are plenty of high net work travellers who'll be most impressed by the baby grand piano or the Mark Newson pedestal for Taschen books in The Connaught's new townhouse. Us? It's all about the martini trolley.

  The Mayfair hotel has just unveiled a new three-storey mews house for VIP guests. The Mews gives guests their own home in Mayfair - just with all the attendant services of the hotel next door.

  So if you fancy a

  ...
• La Barra is serving up tacos and cocktails on Brixton's Market Row

  This Market Row spot is the first bricks and mortar space for Joshua Whiting - one half of popular quesadilla team Killa Dilla - and he's planning slow roast meat tacos and pre-batched cocktails for the Brixton crowd.

• Ex-Babbo Head Chef to open Xier in Marylebone

  Carlo Scotto's first solo venture, on Thayer Street, will be a two tiered affair with a casual ground floor space XR and then a first floor fine dining experience Xier with a tasting menu.

• Roe opens in Pop Brixton - with seafood and an Irish influence

  Simon Whiteside originally opened Hook in Camden and now he's bringing his seafood expertise to Pop Brixton with his own restaurant, Roe. Expect sustainable seafood on an ever-changing menu that showcases his Irish influences.

• The five-storey Onima is coming to Mayfair and hoping to bring a little of Mykonos with it

  This Mykonos-inspired restaurant is a five-storey affair in Mayfair, mixing restaurant, bar and private club. And it has what sounds like a pretty great roof terrace too. 

• Two new Chinatown restaurants JinLi and Shanghai Modern announced for the Central Cross development

  A modern Sichuan and a Shanghai noodle and dumpling offering will be the first two restaurants to open in Chinatown's new Central Cross development.

• LINO sees the former head chef of The Dairy take on an all day restaurant and cocktail bar by Smithfield

  With the former head chef of The Dairy heading up the kitchen team, this new all day restaurant and cocktail bar in the City looks worth checking out.

• Motley in Whitechapel has an eco-conscious menu and a cracking cocktail list

  An eco-conscious menu with a ‘Waste Not’ section that uses leftovers

• Wild Food Cafe is bringing its vegan delights to Islington's Upper Street

  Plant-based menus and vegan pizzas will feature at this new Islington outpost

• Daylesford are opening a huge new farmshop and all day cafe in Brompton Cross

   If you sometimes like to pretend that you live in bucolic Oxfordshire rather than a studio in Peckham or semi in Southgate, then the opening of this huge new Daylesford farmshop with an all day restaurant is going to be your new go-to place to hang out.

• Gridiron grill room is taking over the old Met Bar on Park Lane with a restaurant A-Team

  (Updated 11/10/18 with more images and interviews) There's a wealth of talent behind this modern grill room opening up on Park Lane - with Hawksmoor's Richard Turner and wine writer Fiona Beckett on the dream team.