Test Drive

• Test Driving Sunda Kitchen - Covent Garden's new Southeast Asian winner

   

  Out of almost nowhere, an interesting new South East Asian restaurant has appeared in Covent Garden. Sunda Kitchen has some very impressive names behind it - and they've managed to create something that easily meets the high expectations we had for the place. 

• Test Driving M Canary Wharf - wagyu steaks meet Provencal cooking

  

  The latest M Restaurant in London has arrived in Canary Wharf. They still have all the steaks - but there are some added Provencal-style dishes. We went to take a look. 

• Test Driving Mambow - a Malaysian wonder in Peckham

  

  Chef Abby Lee brings Malaysian cuisine to Peckham with Mambow. Already an instant hit, we popped into Market Peckham to try it out. 

• Test Driving Pivot Bar & Bistro - a dining room with a stellar London view

  

  Scottish chef Mark Greenaway has found a prime spot for his London restaurant, right on the piazza at Covent Garden. We booked a table with a great view to check it out. 

• Test Driving Cadet - an instant wine and charcuterie hit on Newington Green

  

  Bring two wine importers, a charcuterie genius and a chef trained up at London's hottest restaurants together and you have the team behind this hit wine bar on Newington Green.

• Test Driving Bottle + Rye - a Parisian-style wine bar in the heart of Brixton

  

  Robin and Sarah Gill, who are the people behind Darby's The Dairy and more, have transformed a corner of Brixton into a small Parisian-style wine bar. We went down for a look. 

• Test Driving Roji - an omakase hideaway in Mayfair

  

  Top Japanese restaurant Chisou has opened a tiny (but beautiful) omakase restaurant called Roji next door. We went down to try out the experience.  

• Test Driving Caia - an absolute gem of a neighbourhood wine spot on Golborne Road

  

  Notting Hill has a bouji new wine bar with some serious open-fire cooking going on. We headed west to try it out. 

• Test Driving Miznon - the mad pita place that's landed in Soho

  

  Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani already has branches of Miznon in Tel Aviv, Paris and NYC. We popped along to see what his London outpost is like.

• Test Driving The Baring - Islington's pub dining renaissance continues

  

  Islington gets a new pub called The Baring with an ex-Dabbous and Kerridge's chef in charge of the kitchen. It all sounded very promising, so we went down for a look. 

• Test Driving the Moët & Chandon Champagne Bar at Harrods - fizz and fashion under the same roof

  

  The largest Moët & Chandon Champagne bar in Europe has just opened at Harrods. We pulled up a stool at the bar to check it out. 

• Test Driving Tatale - Akwasi Brenya-Mensa brings Africa to Southwark

  

  Chef Akwasi Brenya-Mensa's Tatale is one of the year's most highly-anticipated openings. We went down to Southwark's new African Centre to check it out.

• Test Driving Valderrama's - James Cochran's modern sports bar in Islington

  

  Chef James Cochran has opened a modern day sports bar down the road from his Islington restaurant. We popped in for a look.

• Test Driving the Angelo Musa patisserie at Harrods - more pastry delights for London

  

  Top pastry chef Angelo Musa has opened his first patisserie outside Paris. We took the lift up to the fourth floor of Harrods to check it out.

• Test Driving Bubala Soho - a second hit for the Middle Eastern vegetarian spot

   

  They quickly became big in Spitalfields and now Bubala have opened a second restaurant in Soho, with the same focus on Middle Eastern vegetarian cuisine. We went for a look.