New opening

• The big new London restaurants opening in December 2024

  

  December is when things finally start to slow down on the new opening front, but there are still some places to look forward to. From the latest opening by James Cochran to a great-looking rotisserie in Mayfair, here's what's opening in the run-up to Christmas. 

• Pinna will serve up Sardinian specials beside Mayfair's Shepherd Market

  

  If there were an annual prize for the most industrious restaurateurs in London, then 2024's trophy would probably be a dead heat between Jason Atherton and the dynamic duo of George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev. The latter, having only recently unveiled their latest restaurant Fantomas on the King's Road, are about to open two new London restaurants in just one week.

  The first one you need to know

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• The Yellow Bittern has the last laugh against its detractors

  

  Proof indeed that there is no such thing as bad publicity, the deluge of negative reactions to the arrival of the Yellow Bittern appears to have had only a positive effect on the restaurant's bookings.

  You can hardly have escaped the media attention given to the tiny Caledonian Road restaurant (which we were ...

• Flat Iron is opening opposite Victoria Station

  

  Flat Iron continues to be a huge success across town (as you'll know if you ever tried to book one at even close to a peak time). Earlier this year, they opened in Hammersmith, but their latest is much more central, opening right across the road from Victoria Station in the revamped Terminus Place.  

  They've taken over a space that originally held shops (which, having worked in the area,

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• Pick Your Own are all about sustainable salads in the City

  

  If you're in the City and permanently thinking about what to have for lunch, the arrival of brand new salad spot Pick Your Own (aka PYO) should be of interest.

  As the name somewhat gives away, it's a choose-your-own salad place. You'll be creating a salad of four key parts. The base could be seasonal shredded veg, chopped lettuce or some fava beans. Then another layer gets added for "texture" like

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• Cod & Brew is a modern fish and chip shop in Stokey

  

  Eagle-eyed Stokey residents will have spotted the imminent arrival of a new fish and chip shop on their doorsteps. Cod & Brew has taken over the corner site on Stoke Newington Church Street, where Truffle Burger was before, and is already on soft launch.

  Having grown up in Stokey owners Inan and Kas have won best regional takeaway food in the past for their previous chippy, but this will be their first opening

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• Homeslice have brought their pizzas to Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor

  

  It's been a while since we've seen a new Homeslice opening (the last was in 2018) and for their latest, Mark and Alan Wogan have gone right up to the Fifth Floor at Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge. 

  There, you'll find their signature huge 20" pizzas made with 36-hour aged dough, with pizzas on the menu including the traditional margherita as well as alternative takes like

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• Lebanese rotisserie restaurant Toum and its basement listening bar are coming to Mayfair

  

  A Hot Dinners exclusive

  Lebanese restaurant Aline was originally opened by Tarek Farah and his wife Monika back in 2016 and over eight years, it built a loyal clientele for its traditional Lebanese dishes. Now, three doors down from Aline, the pair are about to kick things up a notch with a more contemporary offering - the new Lebanese rotisserie Toum.

  Toum, they told Hot Dinners, "is more of a modern

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• Top Milanese sandwich shop De Santis hits London

  

  The Milanese don't mess around when it comes to food, so when you hear that the best sandwich shop in Milan is coming to London it's time to get excited. De Santis has been serving up its legendary toasted paninis to the folks of Milan since the Sixties - the original restaurant is lined with the photos of famous Italians who've dined there.

  In London, their flagship base is going to be in the church crypt of

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• Boulangerie Pierre Alix is opening a second bakery, this time on Holloway Road

  

  If you've been up to Muswell Hill recently you might have spotted the queues outside artisan bakery Boulangerie Pierre Alix. We joined the patisserie-loving hordes one weekend and were blown away by how good their cakes (and bread) were. So it's good news all round for North London carb addicts as the baker is about to open his second place. 

  The doors to the next bakery are about to be flung open on

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• Mahali bakery sees two top bakers opening in Battersea

  

  Mahali and Co have been winning a lot of fans over the past few years as both a bakery delivery and catering company, but now they've landed their own place in Battersea.

  The duo behind it are Ru-Yan Foong and Miguel Jocson, both pastry chefs who trained in Sydney, who set up Mahali and Co back in 2019. Ru-Yan's CV includes working for Ottolenghi and The Fat Duck while Miguel was head pastry chef at The

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• Dynamic Vines picks East Dulwich for its wine shop and bar

  

  If you've enjoyed a great biodynamic or organic bottle of wine in a London restaurant recently, there's a decent chance that it was imported by Dynamic Vines. They supply restaurants across the capital from Mountain and Lita to The Plimsoll and Peckham Bazaar. Now the wine buyer team there are getting ready to open their first wine shop and bar, dealing directly with the public. They've picked a good spot too, a

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• BAO Night Market comes to Market Halls Victoria

  

  They've only recently opened in the City, but BAO already have their next venture lined up and it's a little different from their recent openings. 

  They're coming to Market Halls Victoria with BAO Night Market, which they say is inspired by "the grab-and-go spirit of Taiwan’s bustling night markets".  They'll be concentrating on their bao buns, but those will be a little different here, firstly

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• Pretty Decent Beer Co open a taproom by Victoria Park (with Mexican food coming soon)

  

  If you're looking for a quick beer after walking around Victoria Park, this upcoming taproom sounds like it'll be well worth a look.

  It comes from Pretty Decent Beer Co who already have taprooms in Walthamstow and Forest Gate. Their latest is taking over a canal-side building near the park (it used to be a distillery for East London Liquor Co). They'll have

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• Osteria del Mare from Bocconcino is opening on the Strand

  

  Glitzy Italian restaurant Bocconcino has long been a part of the Mayfair set of dining spots most beloved by footballers and folk who aren't worrying too much about the bill at the end of the meal. They then opened a more affordable version in Soho and next, just as the original restaurant celebrates its tenth anniversary, they're about to try their luck in another area of London, the

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