New opening

The Harts Group (who are the people that run Barrafina) are making some big changes in Borough Yards. Until recently, they've had a trio of openings there: Barrafina, Parrillan and Bar Daskal. However, one of those is no more. Parrillan is gone, and in its place comes new "cerveceria" Los Primos. 

This new bar is inspired by the kind of neighbourhood bars that many of you will have come across in Spain and wished we could have something like them in London. Well that's what they're trying to do here. So, like them, Los Primos will be walk-in only. As part of all this, it also

Updated 30/9/26 with opening date

Another US chain is on its way over to the UK as Jersey Mike's, a sub shop which has over 3000 stores in America, is coming to London. 

Jersey Mike's has been running since 1956 and it's all about sandwiches, made in sub rolls and served to-order, with bread baked throughout the day. Their particular USP is that all the meats are sliced as you order. You'll find subs like Mike's Hot Italian (ham, salami, pepperoni, melted provolone cheese) or the Club Supreme (roast beef, turkey, Swiss, Applewood smoked bacon). There are

29/9/26 - updated with launch month

As longstanding readers of Hot Dinners will know we are absolute Dusty Knuckle stans. We've long held that their potato sourdough is the city's best iteration of that particular loaf and we will not be swayed in that opinion.

In recent years, the social enterprise bakery has been on something of an expansion drive. In 2021 they opened a larger bakery on Green Lanes, and they're also doing a storming business at their van on Highbury Fields (we hear Paul Mescal is a regular).

Now they're doubling down on their North

October is another extremely big month for new openings, and the restaurants on the way also emphasise the breadth that London has to offer. There's a New Haven pizzeria, an Indian pub, a Filipino pizzeria, a very British addition to Smithfield and so much more besides...

They've known each other since the early Nineties, and now chef Gennaro Contaldo's career is mirroring his protegee Jamie Oliver. He's teamed up with the same restaurant company that recently revived Jamie's Italian to open his first restaurant in almost 20 years.

Bolo, in the heart of Soho, is keeping things very simple. There are just 32 seats and the menu will focus around six specific pasta dishes. As the restaurant's name suggests, various takes on Bolognese are at the heart of the offering, and Gennaro's pork and beef version is served here with tagliatelle. Other pastas

Having started in Borough Market only last year, formerly Michelin-starred chef Jordan Bailey is building quite the burger empire as he's getting ready to open his third Heard.

This latest burger bar will be in Covent Garden (it's taking the place of an old Byron), and on the ground floor it will be business as usual. That means it's all about smash burgers served in potato buns, with burgers like the signature Heard - a double smash patty with jalapeño hot honey, Ogleshield cheese, white onion and their secret sauce.

But this time he's also adding something new.

A year on from opening her first bakery on Fulham Road, cake baker Reem Abu Samra is doubling up with a brand new store in Notting Hill. Announcing it on Instagram this week Reem said: "The rumours are true… and we are thrilled to finally announce the opening of our SECOND store this Winter 2026! There was no other choice for our SECOND home - Notting Hill, you asked and we answered! We cannot wait to welcome you with as much love and passion as we have in Chelsea."

And the good news for fans is that she tells us there will be space in the new Ledbury Road site for a little bit of

It's been a year of new pubs with great food and there's still more to come with the relaunch of The Grosvenor Arms in Earlsfield. 

Now run by a completely new team, it's getting a bit of a refresh before opening as an all-day pub. So you will be able to pop in for a coffee from first thing in the morning, but it will also have a chef in residence. And their first residency is absolutely one to check out. 

Leading the kitchen for the first couple of months is Fergus Wilford. He's an ex-head chef of Fallow and he's also recently had a very successful residency at

24/9/26 - Updated with the opening date

One of London's best pizzerias is back as Lenny's is going permanent in Covent Garden. 

Back in 2024, Max Lewis set up shop inside the Bedford Tavern in Finsbury Park as Lenny's Apizza, a pizza residency with one mission - to bring authentic New Haven-style pizzas to London. For this new launch, he's teamed up with MJMK, the people behind Casa do Frango, AngloThai and more besides. 

The New Haven pizzas, also called "apizza", originate in Connecticut at Frank Pepe Pizzeria from all the way back in 1925

They're one of our favourite local wine bars, with shops on Newington Green and Highbury Corner, and now Yield are consolidating their North London holding with a third opening, in Angel.

In a few weeks' time they'll be throwing open the doors to their Essex Road site. As they explained to Hot Dinners. "Our newest site, Yield Essex Road has the same vibe as our St Paul’s Road site, but a very different offering to our flagship in Newington Green, recently voted Coolest Neighbourhood 2026.

"We’ll do both eat-in/drink-in and takeaway, with wines to take away as well as to

We love a busy roster and one chef who has a lot on her plate at the moment is Karla Knowles. The former head chef at Kiln is busy working on not one but two new restaurant openings over the coming months. To do that she's teamed up with Romain and Edouard Bourrillon who are behind the Maison Vivantes restaurant group and also own Cocotte and Casa Felicia.

They're starting with PAM in Farringdon. That's going to be Karla's first standalone restaurant. We don't know what's going to be on the menu there, but Karla's been running a series of collaborative supperclubs over the summer,

For more than 20 years the British restaurant Roast has lorded it over Borough Market, its dining room literally perched above the market floor. But now there's change on the horizon with plans to open a second branch, this time in Shoreditch.

The space they're taking on is the cavernous restaurant at the Virgin Hotels London Shoreditch. That was previously the Mondrian and you might remember either Marcus Samuelsson's Red Rooster or Dani Garcia's Bibo which were in this space before. Now we've moved from American and Spanish back to British, with Sunday roasts and proper Full

Soho is getting a new chicken and steak restaurant that you'll definitely want to check out. It comes from the team behind TA TA Eatery, but it's also something you might have come across before. 

There's been a Solis at one of the Arcade food halls in either Battersea or Tottenham Court Road for a while. But now it's the latest from Arcade (following Manna a few weeks back) to go it alone with a completely standalone restaurant. They're taking over a space on Kingly Street that

A few weeks back, we found out that one of our local Islington restaurants, Prawn on the Lawn, was closing after 13 years in London (and nine years in that particular location). The last time that site was vacated (when chicken restaurant LeCoq closed), it took four months before we knew what would be taking its place. But things have moved much more quickly this time around and a new restaurant has already opened there. 

Originally, we had heard that it was to become

Earlier this year, Patrick Williams and Amy Corbin moved from Peckham and Nunhead to launch their very successful new iteration of Kudu in Marylebone. But they haven't left South London for good, as what used to be Kudu Grill is about to be brought back to life as Braai Bird. 

Not straying too far from the "grill" part of its former life, Braai Bird is going to serve up wood-fired rotisserie chicken. That chicken is going to be slow-roasted "for maximum char" and paired with house-made South African sauces (like their Monkey Gland and Cape Malay sauces) and sides. The focus