New opening

It opened some time ago - but this one somewhat passed us by, so...

Michiko Sushino, a play on the name of owner and fashion-designer-cum-restaurateur Michiko Koshino, promises a ‘traditional Japanese experience’ with ‘authentic sushi prepared with love, experience and precision. Naturally, only high quality fish will be used to make the sushi and sashimi, while the coffee blend will change from week to

12/10/16 - Updated with soft launch info.

It's always a good news day when we hear about a new Salt Yard Group restaurant opening. Their next place will be Veneta, opening in the St. James’s Market development later this year. Here's what we know about it so far:

It's inspired by Venice - Chef Director Ben Tish, and Head Chef Jamie Thickett (formerly of Opera Tavern) will oversee the menu. Seafood lovers will be happy

Keeping London stocked with quality British baking - that’s the mission of bakery Bread Ahead, who’ll be opening their second shop in Seven Dials this October following the ongoing success of their Borough Market branch. Expect to see lots of their famous sugary doughnuts - great for those who’ve accepted welcomed carbs back into their lives with open arms. We hear their Vanilla Custard; Salted Caramel custard and Honeycomb; and Homemade Jam doughnuts will

Here's an East London opening you can expect to see the critics beating a path to soon. The Laughing Heart is a new late night wine bar, dining room and offy. So far, so very Hackney. But it's the folk behind it you need to take note of.

It's run by Australian Charlie Mellor who has been working on the floor at P Franco, Elliot's, Brawn and Primeur. Head chef is Tom Anglesea who comes here via Chiltern

There's a new pizzeria hitting Hoxton. Radio Alice, named after an Italian pirate radio station, is taking over the spot where Monikers was on Hoxton Square. It's the brainchild of brothers Salvatore and Matteo Aloe, who already have five well-respected restaurants in Italy.

The thing they do differently is, after having made their pizza dough from mother yeast and ancient stoneground flour, they cook the base, slice it and only then add the

Mayfair's Japanese restaurant Chisou has just opened Kiri. They're describing it as the baby of a family which also has restaurants in Knightsbridge and Chiswick. What that means in practice is that it'll serve modern Japanese dishes with some Korean influences. So you'll find Korean fried chicken alongside miso black cod and spiced sweet potato croquettes alongside hirata buns and kimchee fried rice with Japanese mushrooms.

We're quite tempted by the sound of

The move of street food spots to more permanent digs come winter is a recurring theme we've seen over the past few years. The latest to come in from the cold is Duck’N Roll which opens today in Camden. If you don't know about it, it's the streetfood arm of PascalAussignac - the chef behind Club Gascon - and his business partner Vincent Labeyrie.

The duck-centric menu of small plates features on the menu:

• The classic burger topped with Ossau-Iraty

The people behind The Hoxton Pony and Wringer and Mangle, The Calabrese Brothers, have their next restaurant on the way. It's a poultry restaurant (not just chicken!) based around the 1960's music & art scene, called The Holy Birds. This City restaurant is on Petticoat Lane (and alas not actually on Poultry).

Holy Birds is a restaurant bar and lounge, with the restaurant bit being upstairs. That's going to

Updated 4/10/16 with soft launch details

There's a new restaurant from Kurt Zdesar on the way - he's behind Chotto Matte and Black Roe - and this time he's opening an Italian restaurant with Stefano Stecca. Stecca has worked with Locatelli and Novikov and the menu will be based on recipes from his childhood (with a bit of a modern twist). 

That Italian menu will have pasta handmade on-site and stone-baked pizza from a wood-fired oven. They're

Updated 4/10/16 with soft opening dates

If you're into that whole 'get one over on your colleagues' thing - the opening of Counter Kitchen will be just the ticket. Forget your boring sarnies or salads, this Clerkenwell spot, opening in October, will be alll about healthy Asian-inspired breakfast and lunches to city workers. It'll inspire total lunch al desko envy.

Billing itself as a ‘mindfulness eatery’, Counter Kitchen’s menu

South London has - rather quietly - seen the launch of a new waterside brasserie as Nutbourne opens its doors in Battersea.

The all-day brasserie and grill comes from the Gladwin brothers (behind Rabbit and more) and are aiming to serve up the finest countryside fare that England has to offer. They’ll be sourcing the vast majority of the ingredients from their farm, so think hearty local ingredients with a

Hot on the heels of the flurry of South American restaurant openings in London comes Pisqu, a Peruvian restaurant dishing up cuisine native to its capital city, Lima.

Boasting Japanese, Spanish and Chinese influences, Pisqu’s menu is a tribute to natural ingredients indigenous to the Andes and Amazon. There’ll be aji peppers, yuca, Peruvian potatoes and a whole host of South American herbs we’ve barely even heard of - camu and cedron, or maca and achiote

Canary Wharf workers looking to up their burger intake should be pleased to learn that Shake Shack are moving into the area. Thanks to an eagle-eyed Hot Dinners reader who spotted the signage above, it's clear the US burger chain has taken over the spot once occupied by Canteen.

We've no news on exactly when they're planning to open, but we'll keep you posted and update this when we learn more.

Shake Shack is opening at Park

They've been popping up in  Fitzrovia, Tower Bridge and Cannon Street, but now Levantine restaurant Ceru is getting ready to settle down. Co-founded by husband and wife team Barry and Patricia Hilton and inspired by their travels in the region, they're setting down with a permanent restaurant in South Kensington.

Ceru will open all day with a modern take on Levantine cuisine as well as classic mezze alongside grilled

There's a new Italian restaurant coming to Shoreditch called Popolo (yes, you did read that right). It comes from Jonathan Lawson, who has worked with Theo Randall for five years and is now opening his own place, joining up with his business partner, Munur Shah. 

It's a small restaurant at 32 seats and the menu at Popolo is being described as Italian with a touch of Moorish and Spanish - and in practice, that means dishes