New opening

• Test Driving The Barbary - Barbary Coast hospitality in Neal's Yard

  Enjoy the hustle and bustle of this sister restaurant to The Palomar

• Sleek new bar Acqua7 is opening on Balls Pond Road

  

  There's a rather beautiful new wine bar opening in Dalston next week by the name of Acqua7. The brainchild of Dalston native Cyrus Cookson, it's all white walls and oak counter and will be open all day serving up coffee in the morning and larger dishes and wine by night.

  In the morning you'll get pastries with coffee served in traditional Moka pots. There'll also be smoothies like MoonRock - Cantaloupe, rose water and ice and smashed avo on toast with bacon

  ...
• Test driving Albion Clerkenwell - a place with something for everyone

  We head to the site of Turnmills for the latest of Terence Conran's Albions - much more than just a simple restaurant. 

• Muriel's Kitchen launches MK, their grab and go outlet in Putney

  

  Muriel's Kitchen is already doing pretty well with its restaurants in Soho, Richmond and South Ken - and now they're about to try something else, the takeaway market. 

  They're launching MK by Muriel's Kitchen in Putney, so if you're in the area you'll be able to grab something to go. Planned for the shop are

  • Tartlets made with Clarence Court eggs and a selection of fresh pastries
  • Breakfast
  ...
• Flat Iron returns to Shoreditch and they're bringing a huge spit roast too

  

  Hot Dinners Exclusive.

  Since originally popping up as a Shoreditch residency, Flat Iron have gone on to become very big indeed. Best known for their affordable steaks, they've been a big hit all over town. And now they're about to return to Shoreditch, but

  ...
• Calcutta Street, Bengali restaurant by Shrimoyee Chakraborty is heading to Fiztrovia

  

  Best known for setting up successful pop-up events cooking Bengali cuisine at home, Shrimoyee Chakraborty is now getting ready to open her first permanent spot, Calcutta Street, in Fitzrovia. 

  There are two sides to Calcutta Street. First, there's the ground floor no-reservations restaurant which is more of a casual affair with a central bar. But downstair is the (bookable) dining

  ...
• Basque specialist Sagardi comes to London with restaurant in Shoreditch

  

  It's that time of the year when you either have to have some sort of great foodie trip planned or avoid Instagram for the next few months. Happily there's something to make any homebody happy as a major player on the Basque region's restaurant scene is heading this way.

  Grupo Sagardi was founded 18 years ago in Barcelona by Iñaki Viñaspre. The goal was to champion Basque gastronomy. In the intervening years he founded more restaurants in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia,

  ...
• Test Driving Legs in Hackney

   Legs is the new Hackney restaurant from Magnus Reid - a small plates restaurant with a big focus on wine. We take it for a Test Drive. 

• Pitt Cue's Tom Adams and April Bloomfield are opening a farm and guesthouse in Cornwall

  A Hot Dinners exclusive - updated 8/6/16 with opening date

  Thanks to an eagle-eyed Hot Dinners reader, our attention was brought to one of the biggest restaurant news stories of recent times. Turns out that Pitt Cue's Tom Adams and top NYC chef April Bloomfield have gone into the farming and guest house business together.

  This dynamic duo are appearing together at

  ...
• Farley Macallan brings wine, food and soon coffee to Hackney

  

  It's all happening over on Hackney's Morning Lane. First came the new wine-focused restaurant Legs, then the new Nike store opened and now there's Farley Macallan. It's a new wine bar and restaurant run by Luke Ramsden whose CV includes time spent at the Arts Club and Home House and it's setting out to reinvent the local.

  The 100 seat spot on the

  ...
• Upstairs at John the Unicorn in Peckham lands ex Opera Tavern chef

  

  Every once in a while a new opening of note slips by us. Upstairs at John the Unicorn on Peckham's Rye Lane is one such place.

  The pub opened an upstairs restaurant around eight weeks ago and it's of note, mainly, because of the chap in charge of the kitchen. Many of you will know Ben Mulock from his previous role as senior sous at The Opera Tavern.

  A quick look at one of Ben's sample menus made us want to eat there very badly. Dishes are priced between £4

  ...
• Bone Daddies brings ramen to The Bower in Old Street

  

  27/5/16 - Updated with opening details.

  The Old Street space The Bower is finally getting going. We've recently had Draft House opening there and now Bone Daddies are nearly ready. 

  This will be the third Bone Daddies in London, and will be a combo of bar counter and 60 seats. As with the others, it will be a no

  ...
• Test Driving Jidori yakitori restaurant in Dalston

  We head over to Kingsland High Street to check out this fast and fun Japanese spot 

• Andaz London Liverpool Street launches its 1901 wine lounge

  

  What better time than during London Wine Week to launch a hot new wine bar? You've got to hand it to the Andaz London Liverpool Street - their timing is impeccable.

  This week the City hotel launches its 1901 Wine Lounge which focuses on a more adventurous selection of wine, with much available by the glass. The list will feature over 160 wines in total

  ...
• Coppa Club opens first London outpost at Tower Bridge

  

  Resisting EVERY urge to write a headline along the lines of Coppa Loada That View! we're gobsmacked by the outlook of a new all day eating/drinking/workplace that's about to open on the river. Coppa Club is the first London outpost of a rapidly growing business that started up river in Sonning-on-Thames.

  They're billing themselves as an all day space that you can use to work in, or meet people or just hang out. As MD Tiffany Renwick explains; "There are great

  ...