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New opening
- Fink's are taking over the Clissold Park cafe in Stoke Newington
It's been rumoured for months now, but yesterday the folks at North London cafe group Fink's announced that they would be taking over the cafe space at Clissold House in Stoke Newington.
"It’s the Fink’s you know and love, reimagined," they said on Instagram. "We’ll even have sit-in (yes, actual chairs and tables!)."
The cafe went into administration last year so news that it's being replaced by a team who really
... - La Mia Mamma brings its mammas to Battersea
They already have restaurants in Chelsea and Notting Hill (not to mention seafood spin-off Fish & Bubbles) and now La Mia Mamma has just opened its latest restaurant in Battersea.
If you're not familiar, the idea behind the restaurants is that there are "real Italian mothers" in the kitchens, looking after the punters. The "mammas" have never worked in professional kitchens before, but they
... - Looks like Mazi is coming to Mayfair
It's been over a decade since Mazi opened its doors in Notting Hill. The refined Greek food restaurant by Adrien Carre and Christina Mouratoglou has since spawned sibling establishment Suzi Tros, also in Notting Hill, but it's about to head into central London.
It looks like they're planning to open in the old Pizza Express building opposite The Guinea on Bruton Place. The space, you may remember, was briefly taken over
... - Ravneet Gill unveils her chophouse restaurant Gina
Ravneet Gill has been a big name in the London restaurant scene for many years, with three cookbooks under her belt, time spent working at restaurants like St John and Black Axe Mangal, not to mention her TV appearances. Her chef husband Mattie Taiano, meanwhile, has worked in top places like The Camberwell Arms, Som Saa and Franks. Now the couple are teaming up for their first restaurant together, Gina.
In
... - Rudy's takes over the old Dairy spot on Clapham Common
They nabbed second place at this year's UK's Best Pizza Awards and now Rudy's Pizza Napoletana are gearing up to open their first neighbourhood restaurant in London. The Neapolitan pizzeria is taking over the old The Diary space right beside Clapham Common, making this their first foray outside central London (they already have restaurants in Soho, Shoreditch, Tottenham Court Road, Spitalfields, Queensway and
... - The team behind Ibai are opening Harley's butcher and rotisserie in Hampstead
5/6/25 - updated with the opening date
With the weather looking, at least temporarily, fine and sunny, barbecue season is again a possibility. So the upcoming opening of extremely promising new butcher Harley's in Hampstead is one to watch. And that's partly because it's from a team who are also behind the excellent Smithfields restaurant Ibai, known for its great
... - Little Fires will serve up rare mezcals and Oaxacan small plates in Shoreditch
It's all change at East London bar Alfie's, which this summer is being transformed into a little slice of Oaxaca, Little Fires. And rather than just saying it's going to be Mexican-inspired, they've got all the talent to back it up.
The collective in charge, Christian Pecoraro, Florian Schulze, and Horacio Sainz, has brought in the team behind one of the world's best bars, Sabina Sabe in Oaxaca, to help create
... - Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines is opening his first restaurant in London
Chef Michael Caines won a Michelin star for his restaurant at Lympstone Manor, and has previously held two stars at Gidleigh Park. But until now, the chef hasn't opened anything in London.
That's now changing as,
- Mayfair gets a new boutique hotel with The Shepherd Mayfair
There have been a lot of fancy new Mayfair hotels opening of late, from the Mandarin Oriental to the upcoming Chancery Rosewood on Grosvenor Square. And now another is added to the list, with this one planned as more of a boutique affair.
The Shepherd Mayfair has taken over what used to be the Park Lane Mews Hotel, just off Park Lane and not too far from Shepherd Market
... - Lardo is opening Bastardo, its new next-door wine bar
It's been promised for a few weeks and now Lardo's new wine bar is nearly upon us. Bastardo is opening right next door to the popular East London pizzeria, and as their window proclaims, it's focusing on low-intervention wine and "mighty fine snacks".
Starting with those snacks, they're clearly sharing the same DNA as the main Lardo. So, there will be pizza fritti, sharing "trough plates" of
... - Rastro is Leather Lane's hip new sandwich bar
A few years ago we brought you the news about an interesting new Mediterranean sandwich bar Rastro, which had just opened up in East London. Now the same team, which included two Allegra alum moving closer to the centre of town by expanding to Leather Lane. Their new cafe, halfway between Farringdon and
... - HBR brings smashburgers to Victoria via Kuwait
The current smashburger craze shows no sign of slowing down and a brand new addition (at least to this country) has just arrived in Victoria. HBR first started in Kuwait, and this London opening is their first overseas.
It's a mix of smashburgers and chicken burgers, with the menu including:
- The OG – double smashed patties, melted cheese and pickles
- Double Trouble -
- With a bar in the old banking vault, Aki is a swanky new Japanese opening on Cavendish Square
London's old banks have proved to be a rich source of venues for London's restaurant and bar scene in recent years. Now, over on Cavendish Square behind Oxford Circus, a £15 million refurb of a former bank sounds like it'll be quite the looker when it opens as a new restaurant this autumn.
Aki London is the first international opening for a Maltese restaurant group, which opened Aki in Valetta five years ago. It's taking
... - Is Richard Caring's Le Caprice coming back to Mayfair?
3/7/25 update - We've been hearing that Le Caprice might not be opening here after all. We'll have to wait and see. Original story follows.
It had been rumoured for months, but now we have confirmation - Le Caprice is coming back, opening at the new Chancery Rosewood in Mayfair.
But hasn't Le Caprice already returned, you ask? Well, while
- Tom Kerridge's Butcher's Tap is being relaunched as The Chalk Freehouse
Earlier this week, there was news that Tom Kerridge's Chelsea pub, The Butcher's Tap and Grill was closing, with the team behind it saying it gave them "an opportunity to regroup, rethink and rebuild".
It turns out that they didn't need that much thinking time, because there are already plans to reopen it as a new pub, The Chalk Freehouse.
The new pub will be
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