New opening

• Maya's Bakehouse sees local baker serving up sourdough and Basque cheesecake to Tulse Hill

  

  If there's anything positive that could be said to have come from Covid and lockdown it's the number of small businesses that took the challenge presented by those dark months and turned it into something good. Maya's Bakehouse is one such endeavour. Baker Maya Manwaring had trained up at the prestigious Ballymaloe Cookery School and started baking sourdough and buns during the pandemic.

  "I was home all day

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• Ria's hit up Notting Hill with their Detroit-style pizzas and natural wine

  

  Over the weekend the latest addition to the hotter-than-hot Notting Hill dining scene opened its doors. Ria's is a new all-day spot that kicks off with home-baked cookies in the morning, moving to focaccia sandwiches by lunch. In the evenings things go up a notch as the space transforms into a natural wine and pizza bar.

  The pizzas they're serving are deep pan-style Detroit pizza pies made with wildfarmed flour which can

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• Must & Lees head to Warren Street for their second wine bar and shop

  

  Updated 13/9/23 with opening date

  Two years after opening their wine shop and tasting room in Islington, Must & Lees are expanding. Their second place will open this autumn on Warren Street, taking over Miel Bakery's old site.

  Owner Chris and his team are aiming to jump straight into Fitzrovia community life, joining the likes of Miel, Honey & Co and Bang Bang on the street. So while their

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• London restaurant openings - the autumn preview

  

  As the year starts to wind down, the London restaurant scene heats up. Autumn is always the biggest period for new restaurant openings, so here's what you've got to look forward to in the coming months. 

• Hainan House brings Hainanese cuisine to Islington's Upper Street

  

  A Hot Dinners exclusive

  They've been running pop-ups and supperclubs throughout the year (including one at Carousel), but now Hainan House are getting ready to settle down in Islington. They've taken over the space that was once Street Greek on Upper Street.

  Set up by Sunny Wu, Hainan House aims to showcase the Southern Chinese cooking that she grew up eating. The

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• Okonomiheads sees the SushiHeads team open in Haggerston

  

  The folk behind SushiHeads in Tottenham have now got a new venture to pour their energies into. Having closed their Tottenham restaurant just weeks ago they're now open as Okonomiheads in Haggerston.

  The talent behind the business is Naomi Simpson. Her decision to open an okonomiyaki restaurant has its roots in her family history - her parents ran an okonomiyaki bar in Osaka. They retired this year and, as Naomi

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• Northwood will be Angel's huge new sports bar

  

  Just months after chef James Cochran closed his own sports bar Valderrama's in Islington, another hospitality group are clearly hoping for a better outcome for their new sports bar opening at Angel. Maven Leisure (owned by the same people behind Chelsea's The Botanist and Aviary in Moorgate) are behind Northwood which is going to be opening at the Angel Central shopping centre, next to Birdie's.

  It's going to be

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• Calcutta-inspired restaurant Paro is coming to Covent Garden’s Lyceum Theatre

  

  Updated 11/9/23 with opening date and soft launch info

  In excellent news for pre and post-show dining, Covent Garden’s Lyceum Theatre is getting a restaurant that is an ode to all things Calcutta. Called Paro, it will bring a modern spin to the traditional Indian dishes of West Bengal. In a space revamped by Studio G by Giorgia Pellandini, you can choose to dine in

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• Bocconcino Italian restaurant is coming to Soho

  

  Updated 10/9/23 with soft launch info

  It feels like only yesterday we were telling you about Mayfair’s Bocconcino opening a new restaurant on The Strand, but we’ve just heard it has been rescheduled until later in 2024. Hold onto your Bellinis, though, there’s a new

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• Taco Taco to open in Shoreditch with footballer Hakim Ziyech as co-owner

  

  Updated 8/9/23 with opening date

  If the name Hakim Ziyech makes you sit up, then you are probably a football fan (or at least a Chelsea supporter). We’re here to tell you that he’s launching a taco restaurant in Shoreditch. That’s right, joining an extremely niche list of famous footballer restaurant owners, Hakim (along with three other co-founders, including two

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• Kayu Bakehouse is coming to London

  

  8/9/23 - updated with more details about the London launch

  Following a bakery that's come to London via Hong Kong, now here's another which has come via Dubai, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. 

  Kayu Bakehouse dubs itself an "artisan dessert boutique" specialising in French desserts. It comes

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• Mystic Burek gets a permanent home in Sydenham

  

  Springing to life over the lockdown, Spasia Dinkovski's Mystic Burek (once Mystic Börek but now using the Balkan spelling), quickly became a massive hit. Spasia served up North Macedonian-style böreks - flaky dough pies - using recipes from her grandmother's recipe book, cooking from home and selling via Instagram. Hugely popular and constantly selling out, she also appeared at pop-ups as varied

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• BÓHA London mixes Irish and British influences on the King's Road

  

  A very different kind of British/Irish restaurant has just opened its door in Chelsea that's aiming straight for the luxury end of the London dining scene. BÓHA London has taken over the old Chelsea Lodge site on the King's Road with its restaurant and soon-to-open cocktail bar.

  Behind the scenes are a founding team that includes several folk from the drinks business like Jay Bradley CEO of The Craft Irish

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• Bistro Freddie from Crispin is coming to Shoreditch

  

  Updated 4/9/23 with opening date

  The people behind Crispin (Spitalfields) and Bar Crispin (Soho) have their third opening lined up - Bistro Freddie.

  It's taking over the space that used to be Oklava and will have a bistro-style menu using British Isles produce while focusing mainly on independent producers and growers.

  In charge of the kitchen will be Anna Søgaard,

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• The French Market hit up Finsbury Park for their next bakery

  

  23/8/23 - updated with the opening date

  The team behind Tufnell Park's Authentique Epicerie & Bar and Bakery and the French Market in Whetstone are spreading their wings. The next stop on their expansion plans is Finsbury Park where they've taken

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