About Time You Discovered: London’s Hottest July OpeningsBy Alicia Grimshaw
Summer time in London: you simply cannot beat it. The sun is shining, cocktails are flowing and, for once, everyone’s in a good mood. It’s simply the best time to be dining out. If you’re looking for somewhere new to try this month, here’s our selection of the best new restaurants in London this July. Forget your local, it’s time to try one of these awesome new kids on the block:
1. For a Neighbourhood Eatery: Minnow
The Run-Down: This month a new neighbourhood restaurant, Minnow, will throw open its doors to the locals of SW4, offering seasonal, modern European dishes from breakfast through to dinner, with a healthy dose of weekend brunch and cocktails thrown in for good measure.
Eat and Drink: Bringing a wealth of experience to the stoves, Jake Boyce (former Head Chef of Jason Atherton’s Social Wine and Tapas) will be cooking a twist on modern European fare at Minnow, influenced by the British seasons, whilst giving a nod to the flavours of the Indian Ocean, where founder Chris’ family hail from. Dishes will include; squid with lemongrass, lime and ginger; baby octopus with curry leaf paste and charred green mango, whole roast poussin from Minnow’s Robata grill; and caramelised watermelon with a blood orange and Campari sorbet. The breakfast and brunch menu will feature dishes from chilli cornbread with fried egg, avocado, yoghurt and lime to paw paw with cayenne pepper. A Minnow style full English, with a house-cured chop, will be washed down with breakfast cocktails, freshly blended juices and locally roasted coffee.
Gimme More: Cocktails will take inspiration from local heroes and landmarks including, The Clapham Sect and The Temperance Fountain, which the restaurant overlooks. And a concise wine offering, served in ‘pay as you drink’ bottles will be accompanied with local beer on tap.
Where: 21 The Pavement, Clapham Common, London SW4 OHY
Photo Credit: Jade Nina Sarkhel
2. For a New Site: The Ivy Tower Bridge
The Run-Down: They Ivy have been at it again; they’re opening a new branch near the iconic Tower Bridge. Like all The Ivy venues, The Ivy Tower Bridge will offer sophisticated and friendly all-day dining to Londoners and tourists alike.
Eat and Drink: Opening on Wednesday (26th July), The Ivy Tower Bridge will feature an all-encompassing menu, serving modern British classics from dawn until dusk, including breakfast, elevenses, weekend brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, light snacks, dinner and cocktails. The kitchen will be overseen by Executive Chef Sean Burbidge, whilst the restaurant’s menus will incorporate a selection of Ivy classics, including shepherd’s pie, eggs Benedict, brioche crumbled chicken Milanese, and the sensational strawberry ice cream sundae with vanilla ice cream, meringue and shortbread.
Gimme More: With interiors designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, the two-storey restaurant will offer guests the choice of dining in the restaurant while enjoying river views through floor to ceiling glass windows, or outside on the Parisian-style al fresco terrace, which seats 50 and directly overlooks the River Thames.
The Run-Down: The classic late-night London feed dilemma: unless you want something more than a kebab or a pizza, you’re struggling. Well, good news for the city dwellers – there’s now one more addition to the late-night options in the city’s Aldgate area with the launch of VQ at the new Dorsett City Hotel – a 24 hour restaurant and bar on the ground floor.
Eat and Drink: VQ’s menu at Dorsett City Hotel offers comfort food and traditional classics in a relaxed setting with a fresh, seasonal approach. The all-day menu boasts enticing small dishes like halloumi fries with tzatziki, and Merguez sausages with harissa and aioli dips, along with a range of pastas, burgers, salads and classics like beer battered haddock, chicken Kiev and BBQ ribs. There’s a tempting selection of traditional British puddings to finish, including a warm sticky toffee pudding, and a crowd-pleasing apple crumble and custard.
Gimme More: In recognition of the city’s love affair with breakfast, diners will be able to order from a 24 hour breakfast menu, enjoying classics like eggs Benedict and buttermilk pancakes, complete with all the trimmings such as fruit, maple syrup and ice cream.
Where: Ground Floor Dorsett City Hotel, 9-13 Aldgate High Street, London EC3N 1AH
The Run-Down: It seems us Londoners can’t get enough of raw fish. And it also seems, we can’t get enough of Tombo. Following two incredible success stories in South Kensington and Soho, Tombo are bringing their popular Japanese inspired poké and matcha bar to the heart of Fitzrovia this July.
Eat and Drink: Choices include the classic poké, which combines salmon or tuna with sesame soy (gluten- free), spring onion, edamame, sesame seeds and nori. The Soho favourite, kaisen poké, with ponzu citrus soy, salmon and tuna, edamame, avocado and nori. Vegan? Meat eater? Get your chops around the Tombo’s vegan special or teriyaki chicken poké served on a bed of rice or courgette noodles. And if you want to get really creative with your ingredients you can even ‘build your own poké,’ choosing from a selection of bases, mains, toppings and sauces to get the perfect poké bowl for you.
Gimme More: In addition to the matcha lattes and teas, there will also be an array of matcha desserts to indulge in – from soft serve ice cream and sundaes to matcha tarts and cheesecakes.
Where: 4 Windmill Street, London W1T 2JL
5. For Inventive Burgers: ICHIBUNS
The Run-Down: ICHIBUNS is turning the burger game on its head. This exciting new Japanese-inspired dining concept is opening its first restaurant on London’s Wardour Street this month. Expect a mouthwatering menu of classics including the ultimate Wagyu-blend beef burger.
Eat and Drink: Staples to the menu include the signature ICHIBAN burger with a premium Wagyu beef and 28 day aged, grass-fed Angus prime cut patty, flavour-rich ramen, hand rolled maki and melt-in-the-mouth CocoWhip soft serve, alongside a range of moreish shakes and sealed-to-go cocktails.
Gimme More: The restaurant will offer eat in and takeaway options. Hell yes.
Where: 22 Wardour Street, London
6. For a Permanent Site: Rola Wala
The Run-Down: Indian food is about to get epic, with the launch of Rola Wala’s first permanent London site, coming to Brushfield Street in Spitalfields in early July. Bringing his signature Indian flavours to the capital, following the success of triumphant Street Feast residencies and the Leeds Trinity Kitchen site, founder Mark Wright is now set to take the Rola Wala concept to the next level with a menu of healthy ‘everyday Indian’ fast food, including fresh handmade sourdough naan rolls and seasonal grain bowls that are bursting with Indian flavours and spices.
Eat and Drink: Start by choosing either a freshly hand rolled sourdough naan; hot brown rice ‘khicheree’; masala noodle and charred broccoli; or cauliflower rice and kale bowl before adding one of Rola Wala’s “Twisted Indian” fillings and its famous range of fresh chutneys, including its new Bombay sandwich spread. Giving as much importance to vegetarians as carnivores, the menu will always have an equal amount of meat and vegetarian/vegan options; try the vegan red dal made from beetroot, coconut and channa dal with a nine-spice masala, or the Keralan black chickpea, a mix of black ‘kala chana’ chickpeas, coconut, sweet potato, pineapple, and spices such a fenugreek, cumin, mustard seeds, and chilli.
Gimme More: Meat eaters will want to get acquainted with the Nagaland lamb; slow roasted and light, it’s a remix of the original Vindaloo — part Portuguese, part Goan and a spice mix bursting with flavour, powered in part by the Naga chilli.
Where: 36 Brushfield St, London E1 6AT
The Run-Down: The Co-Founders of Pidgin, (the super tasty Michelin-starred restaurant in Hackney), will open their new restaurant, Magpie on 11th July, on Heddon Street off Regent Street. With a modern British menu, diners will be able to select plates straight from a trolley, mirroring traditional dim-sum style service.
Eat and Drink: James, Sam and Pidgin’s Head Chef Dan Graham have designed the menu, with Adolfo de Cecco at the helm of the kitchen, drawing on his experience in some of the world’s best restaurants including Italy’s 2 Michelin-starred Perbellini and world-renowned Tetsuya in Sydney. Winding its way through the restaurant a sleek, modern trolley will be filled with small plates such as mackerel crudo with blueberry kosho and fennel pollen, and Hoi An-style terrine with nukazuke pickles. Trays of hot dishes will come out of the kitchen including udon noodles with paitan broth, calabrese sausage and stracciatella, and grilled celeriac with gjetost and a watermelon barbecue sauce. A small a la carte menu will also be available, including a few Pidgin favourites such as dairy cow with lobster, pommes sarladaises and charred lettuce and hake, lardo, black garlic dashi and daikon. Desserts will include a strawberry panzanella with olive oil ice cream, and chocolate, sorrel gelato and chartreuse cheesecake, as well as a secret, off menu dish.
Gimme More: Upon arrival, guests will be greeted by a drinks trolley, laden with pre-mixed cocktails developed by General Manager Ajax Kentish that include Smoke off the Mountain, a rum-based Manhattan-style drink washed with peated whisky that combines Ron Zacapa 23 and Lagavulin 16, and I’m Jim Morrison I’m Dead, with its rye, oloroso, and cherry liqueur.
Where: 10 Heddon Street, W1B 4BX
The Run-Down: Calling all dough lovers. West Coast pizza specialists Wedge Issue Pizza in Clerkenwell, is set to open its second gaff in Shoreditch this July. If authentic, thin-crust, Pacific West Coast style pizza is your bag, you’re in for a real treat.
Eat and Drink: All pizzas are made from dough that’s been proofed for a full three days and a sauce that’s uncompromisingly crafted the traditional Neapolitan way using nothing but sweet, uncooked San Marzano tomatoes. Wedge Issue Pizza + Beer has become a leader in the vegan dining scene by offering a wide variety of pizzas with the melty gooeyness of vegan cheese and flavourful toppings like spicy vegan chorizo and mock meatballs. Wedge Issue also offers its chocolate pizza in vegan form, and gluten-free pizzas bases are available at no extra charge.
Gimme Free: In consideration of the unique Brick Lane crowd, it will be the first to offer Wedge Issue Pizza + Beer’s trademark pizzas by the slice.
Where: 122 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 6DG
9. For Curry and Cocktails: temper City
The Run-Down: Following the immense success of their first solo venture temper Soho (if you haven’t been, make it your mission), which opened in November 2016, BBQ expert Neil Rankin is dishing up more meaty goods at a second site in the City this summer, specialising in gin, top quality wines from the New World and curry cooked on their signature open fire pit.
Eat and Drink: The menu at temper City will change regularly and focus on curry. The eclectic menu will include a breadth of dishes with no geographical boundaries; with the likes of mutton rolls and laksa lamb belly stovies to start, alongside curries such as the lamb scotch bonnet vindaloo, dry goat (similar to a rich and tender Malaysian rendang), meatball marrow masala, Dashi chip shop chicken (a chicken stock based thick curry with dashi and spices, poured over temper smoked chicken) and crispy egg with katsu.
Gimme More: As well as being open for lunch and dinner service, temper City will also be open for breakfast, which is unique to the City site. Expect the likes of boiled egg and peshwari naan soldiers; banana curry and roti; avocado, poached egg and sambal roti; and bacon congee.
Where: 2 Angel Court, 30 Throgmorton Street, London EC2R 7HJ
10. For a First Bricks and Mortar Site: The Oystermen Seafood Bar & Kitchen
The Run-Down: On Tuesday (4th July), seafood specialists The Oystermen will officially open their first permanent mooring, The Oystermen Seafood Bar & Kitchen, on Henrietta Street in Covent Garden. The cosy 26 cover restaurant will focus on freshly-sourced produce, brought in and cooked up daily – not only oysters, but crabs, clams, cockles, razor clams, mussels, and a seasonal selection of fish as well.
Eat and Drink: Highlights from the menu will include crab beignets with parsley and lemon, crispy cayenne mussels with zesty aioli, scorched mackerel with pickled cucumber and the team’s signature spicy curried clam chowder. Visitors will also be able to choose from a cut-above collection of oysters from all around the UK – from Cornwall to Scotland, via Dorset, Kent, Essex and North Wales – served either raw from the bar or grilled with toppings such as pancetta and fennel or The Oystermen’s famous buffalo barbecue sauce.
Gimme More: Those looking for an early evening treat can take advantage of the team’s renowned ‘Bubbles ’n’ Oysters Happy Hour’, which will run every day from 3pm to 5pm with its exceptional package of six freshly-shucked oysters accompanied by a glass of fine Crémant du Bourgogne fizz for a tenner.
Where: 32 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8NA
11. For a Revamped Pub: The Crown and Greyhound
The Run-Down: This locally loved pub closed down for almost two years much to the disappointment of Dulwichians everywhere. But now it’s back and better than ever – with an expansive beer garden, a summer schedule of events including an outdoor cinema and a dog show and a brand new menu, this is one of the hottest openings in South London.
Eat and Drink: Opened at the beginning of this month, The Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich blends traditional pub hospitality with an upmarket twist. The gastro pub will be serving up classic cask ales, premium spirits and lagers whilst the revamped kitchen will serve delights such as blue cheese, mushroom and truffle arrancini; chicken liver silken pate with toasted hazelnuts on sourdough; and a seared tuna rainbow salad.
Gimme More: The listed building boasts many of the original pub features whilst the back garden is the perfect hidden sun trap to lap up the British rays.
Where: 73 Dulwich Village, London SE21 7BJ
12. For a Modern British Tavern: The Wigmore
The Run-Down: The Wigmore will open on Thursday (20th July). The new modern British Tavern is set to become a new social institution with a touch of London polish, and a place where everyone is welcome.
Eat and Drink: The food menu overseen by Michel Roux Jr defines quintessential British pub fare, using seasonal ingredients from producers that are leaders in their field. Classic pub snacks have been elevated to a new level such as: masala spiced Scotch egg, dahl relish and the stovetop cheese toastie presented to the table with a cast iron bacon press to ensure cheese remains molten until it reaches the lucky recipient. A daily changing menu of more substantial dishes include: Balvenie-whisky smoked salmon and honey pickled onions on Wooster’s bakery sprouted rye; ox-cheek and ale pie with suet crust; and paprika glazed short rib.
Gimme More: Two separate, semi-private areas have been incorporated into the space with a more relaxed ambience, guests will be able to enjoy the intimacy of the traditional ‘Snug’, complete with mohair sofas, silk cushions and loose rugs and will be available for private bookings, ideal for groups and special occasions.
Where: 15 Langham Place, Upper Regent Street, London W1B 1JA
Photo Credit: Paul Judd
The Run-Down: On Monday (17th July), Broadway Market in Hackney will gain a new resident with the opening of Tuyo, a restaurant serving a menu of Mediterranean and Levantine small plates with a Spanish twist. A great spot for people who aren’t anal about sharing food.
Eat and Drink: Chef Ricardo Pimentel (formerly Salt Yard Group) has created a selection of ‘pinchos’ or small bites to share such as harissa lamb rump served with pisto and black olive couscous, pistachio and harissa dressing; duck and figs on a bed of pearl barley, gremolata, pomegranate, carrot puree and smoked almond; and picos blue and date croquetas that are served alongside a selection of charcuterie and cheeses, predominantly sourced from Spain and Italy. Main dishes follow a Mediterranean theme with hints of Turkish influence such as chicken thigh with honey poached apricots, sumac yoghurt and pistachios; halloumi, roast beetroot, orange hazelnuts and 8 year aged balsamic; dill and lime cured salmon and beetroot, served with yoghurt and berries; and burrata, black beans, confit mixed peppers and sourdough croutons.
Gimme More: To one side of the room, a stunning blue bar serves a bespoke list of house cocktails specifically designed to complement the flavours on the menu, including Beso De Lavanda with Hendrick’s, lavender syrup and lime juice), and the Saffron Aphrodisiac with tequila, agave, coriander, lime juice, chilli peppers and saffron.
Where: 129A Pritchard’s Road, London E2 9AP
14. For French and English Cuisine: Tom Simmons Tower Bridge
The Run-Down: With coveted awards and accolades weighing down his mantlepiece, it was only a matter of time before award winning chef Tom Simmons would open his first restaurant. And the wait is finally over – opening this month, Tom Simmons Tower Bridge will showcase his relaxed and elegant cooking style with a focus on thoughtfully sourced ingredients.
Eat and Drink: The restaurant will be the first to open in the brand new One Tower Bridge development, with The Ivy to follow. Open for brunch, lunch and evening service, the menu will feature dishes such as; crab and fennel risotto with dill mascarpone and sorrel; lamb rump with peas, courgette and feta; and monk fish with butter beans, red peppers and lemon oil; and to finish, pineapple tarte tatin with coconut ice cream.
Gimme More: Favourite dishes will be available as small plates to enjoy at the bar, or for the table; pre- dinner nibbles will include one-off originals, such as cockle popcorn with laverbread mayonnaise. Tom uses superb ingredients from chosen suppliers to create a menu that will showcase Welsh lamb from Preseli Blue Stone, Orkney scallops from Keltic Seafare, foraged mushrooms from Fine France, and much more.
Where: 2 Still Walk, London, SE1 2LP
15. For an East London Branch: Suvlaki
The Run-Down: This July, Suvlaki, the Athenian restaurant from Irene Margariti and Yannis Theodorakakos with Executive Chefs Alfred Prasad and Elias Mamalakis will open on Brick Lane in Shoreditch. Taking inspiration from the metropolis of Athens, the restaurant will take on a decidedly urban aesthetic with a menu led by their signature suvlaki, cooked over hot coals and accompanied by small plates.
Eat and Drink: With ingredients sourced from the best British and Greek producers, the traditional grilled meat skewer, Suvlaki leads the menu, with plates to be ordered on the stick or stuffed in a pita, hot off the kitchen’s robata and josper grills. Dishes include Mount Olympus wild boar sausage with smoked aubergine; spicy king prawn with dill and rose aioli; slow cooked aged Scottish Texel lamb with chilli beetroot, vegetable cous cous and green herb sauce; and Gloucester Old Spot pork with grated tomato, tzatziki and red onion. Mezze plates to share include olive and citrus wood smoked eel with parsley breadcrumbs, and sage smoked siglino with vanilla beans and baby spinach.
Gimme More: Suvlaki’s short wine list focuses on Greek producers only, including bottles from Kokotos estate, just north of Athens and smaller regions across the country.
Where: Suvlaki, 161 Brick Lane, London E1 6SB
