About Time You Discovered: London’s Hottest New OpeningsBy Angelica Malin
The only thing we love more than a new restaurant opening, is talking about a new restaurant opening. From British eateries to meaty extravaganzas, here’s some of the top new London restaurants you *need* to try this month. We can’t wait to get down to these sparkling new delights:
New Openings: For Carbs
What: After years of trading in East London in their green Piaggio Ape Van, Pizza Pilgrims will open their first permanent site on Shoreditch High Street in early March. As always – bringing something unique to each location – new elements exclusive to Shoreditch include BYOB, as well as chocolate calzonification.
Eat and Drink: Pizza Pilgrims Shoreditch will be their first BYOB site, giving everyone the freedom to bring along whatever booze they like, from Special Brew to Barolo. Known for pushing culinary boundaries in the world of pizzas with the likes of their famous deep-fried Pizza Fritta, the Shoreditch Pizza Pilgrims menu also promises pizza innovations. New and exclusive to the Shoreditch site, guests will be able to bring in their favourite chocolate bar and have it ‘calzonified’ – encased in dough and baked. A cooked Boost bar? We’re all ears.
Gimme More: Alongside these news calzonified creations (and their well-loved pizzas), new menu items will be available including crust dippers, prosciutto pops and tiramisu served in take-away cardboard espresso cups.
Where: Pizza Pilgrims Shoreditch, 136 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JE
New Openings: For All-Day Dining
What: Brunch fans; listen up. Rail House Café is the new restaurant and bar opening at Nova near Victoria station, from the team behind Fitzrovia’s popular Riding House Café, and Village East in Bermondsey. During soft launch week (Monday 27th February to Friday 3rd March), a unique ‘Honesty Policy’ will invite everyone to pay for what they enjoyed of their breakfast, lunch or dinner (drinks bill not included).
Eat and Drink: Menus will feature playful and innovative twists on contemporary favourites, such as: green tea waffles, and the burgerdict, think of it as an eggs Benedict-burger hybrid. But the main focus is on healthy food for every day, incorporating raw dishes such as sea bass ceviche, and a beautiful chargrilled octopus dish, which is set to cause a stir.
Gimme More: During its soft launch week, Rail House Café is putting its trust into the hands of guests, by asking them to pay for what they enjoyed. Love a dish, pay for it – if you didn’t, don’t.
Where: Nova Building, Victoria, SW1
New Openings: For Sky High Cocktails
What: Canary Wharf’s food offering is getting a whole lot better thanks to the arrival of Bōkan. Set over three floors, Bōkan will feature panoramic views of London’s iconic skyline. Bringing a wealth of experience to the restaurant on the 37th floor, Aurelie Altemaire, formerly Head Chef at Michelin- starred L’Atelier de Jöel Robuchon, has created a modern European menu with a distinctly British slant.
Eat and Drink: Diners can delight in standout small dishes of Pugliese burrata served with Aurelie’s signature homemade focaccia bread; squid with classic ratatouille, spicy oatmeal dust and a luxurious saffron sauce; and sea bass carpaccio with zingy lime. The focus on quality ingredients continues with mains of Scottish salmon with wasabi green bean salad; slow-smoked Blythburgh pork belly; and Rhug Estate grass-fed lamb cutlets from the Josper Grill.
Gimme More: Take the sleek glass-lined lift up to the 38th floor to sip on Docklands-inspired cocktails and enjoy bar bites including sharing tiles of charcuterie and cheese, lobster rolls with triple cooked chips and grass-fed beef burgers with ginger glaze.
Where: 37th, 38th & 39th Floor Novotel London Canary Wharf 40 Marsh Wall, London E14 9TP
New Openings: For Dairy Delights
What: If, like us, you’ve been following the journey of The Cheese Truck, you’ll be pleased to hear that Mathew Carver will open his first permanent restaurant The Cheese Bar in the historic Grade 1 listed Camden Stables Market this March. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, (reaching his funding target of £130,000 in just 5 days), The Cheese Bar will celebrate and promote the best of British cheese by making the most irresistible grilled cheese sandwiches in the capital.
Eat and Drink: The full cheese focused menu will feature ‘Alfie’ (the name of Mathew’s beloved Cheese Truck) classics such as festival favourite the Cropwell Bishop Stilton, bacon and pear chutney sandwich; alongside new dishes, including queso fundido, a Mexican version of fondue; and a breakfast poutine with bacon gravy, candied pancetta, Gringa dairy cheese curds and a fried egg.
Gimme More: For those with a sweet tooth, desserts will include a dark chocolate ice cream sundae made with honey and creamy ewes milk cheese, Beenleigh Blue.
Where: Camden Market, Camden Lock Place, London, NW1 8AF
New Openings: For Thai
What: This February brings the highly anticipated opening of Rosa’s Thai Cafe in Brixton by the husband and wife team, Alex and Saiphin Moore. The new venue will be located on Atlantic Road and sits comfortably with the energetic and foodie community in Brixton, echoing the restaurant’s origins as a street food operation on vibrant Brick Lane back in 2006.
Eat and Drink: Expect to see baked seafood red curry, baked and served in a hollowed out butternut; stir fried mussels in a spicy and zingy mixed herb sauce; plus an heirloom tomato salad with red onion, spring onion and coriander in a spicy salad sauce. Rosa’s Thai Cafe wanted the beating heart of Brixton to be reflected in their drinks menu, and so have introduced Brixton Beers Atlantic APA and Electric IPA, available exclusively at the new site. The drinks menu also offers a truly authentic experience, with ice-cold Thai beer and bottled cocktails such as Kaffir Lime and Mint Toreador and Malt Banana Tree Old Fashioned.
Gimme More: There will be a strong selection of aromatic loose-leaf teas from Comins Tea House that include Houjicha, Sencha karigane and a new addition to the collection, Lishan spring tea.
Where: 36 Atlantic Road, Brixton, London SW9 8JW
New Openings: For Global Fare
What: Chris Denney, formerly of Hambleton Hall, heads up the kitchen at new restaurant, 108 Garage, on Notting Hill’s Golborne Road. Chris’ menu is inspired by having worked around the world and features a unique seasonal mix of textures and tastes, influences and artistry.
Eat and Drink: Combining fresh flavours with a masterful alchemy, Chris produces an authentic, contemporary cuisine at 108. Softening its raw, industrial roots with an eclectic mix of furnishings and artefacts, 108 is still pretty far from your traditional restaurant. By day offering a bright, relaxed atmosphere, by night it transforms into a heady mix of tastes, music and people.
Gimme More: Once up and running, 108 Garage is going to start serving brunch.
Where: 108 Golborne Road, London W10 5PS
New Openings: For Indian
What: The Sethis, the family behind Michelin-starred Gymkhana and Trishna and the award-winning Hoppers, are opening their third site, Motu Indian Kitchen in Canary Wharf on Monday (February 20th). The kitchen will be open for both lunch and dinner orders, accommodating both residents and those working in the neighbouring offices.
Eat and Drink: Motu launched its first site in October 2016 servicing areas of South West London from its RooBox kitchen base in Battersea. This was quickly followed by the opening of the Camberwell kitchen catering to areas of South East London in December last year. Motu delivers refined versions of Indian takeaway classics, and the feast boxes take inspiration from the traditional tiffins used to distribute meals to workers across Indian cities. Think classic Indian dishes such as kashmiri lamb shank rogan josh, and madras prawn masala. The boxes also include sides of naan, pilau rice, pappadums, mango chutney and kachumber raita.
Gimme More: The Canary Wharf kitchen will also offer additional dishes exclusive to the location including lamb seekh kebab naan roll, samosa pao, keema pao, tandoori paneer naan roll, and Indo-Chinese chilli paneer.
Where: Orders can be made here
New Openings: For Italian
What: Traditional homemade Italian cooking meets contemporary London dining with the launch of il Pampero, a new restaurant in the heart of Belgravia opening March 2017. The menu of fine Italian food conveys the chef’s commitment to cooking from scratch – fresh pasta, bread, smoking and curing will all start and finish in the il Pampero kitchen.
Eat and Drink: Traditional dishes will be served in a luxurious setting, which nods to classic Italian glamour. A selection of sharing dishes will be presented, finished and served tableside for a moment of theatre, including the rustic tagliolini cacio pepe (homemade tagliolini with a creamy sheep cheese and black pepper sauce) where the server uses a large wheel of Pecorino cheese to mix in the fresh pasta and create a rich, silky sauce for the dish.
Gimme More: il Pampero will especially appeal to night owls who can enjoy signature dishes such as tagliatelle di castagne con ragù di leper (chestnut tagliatelle with hare ragu) and gnocchi di zucca con taleggio e tartufo nero (pumpkin gnocchi with Taleggio cheese and black truffle).
Where: 20 Chesham Place, London SW1X 8HQ
New Openings: For Cocktails
What: Launching late February, TT Liquor will introduce a new cocktail experience to Kingsland Road in Shoreditch. A multi-faceted venue set across three floors, the project will boast a specialist liquor store and an intimate subterranean cocktail bar, focussing on tasting experiences.
Eat and Drink: The bar will have capacity for 120 guests and showcase important eras through the history of cocktails. The menu comprises of four different ‘journeys’ each including four cocktails embodying a dedicated era. Expert mixologists will explain the history of each cocktail, its relationship to other classic cocktails, and give an analysis of its ingredients and flavours. Historic jail cells housed within the bar (remnants from the building’s use as a police station in the 19th Century) will be atmospheric alcoves hosting tasting experiences including classes on whisky, rum, gin, plus local and worldwide beers.
Gimme More: TT Liquor draws upon a decade’s worth of experience teaching cocktail classes, and can host groups of almost any size. Classes are completely interactive – every guest gets their own area at a bar station and is taught to make their own cocktails by an experienced mixologist.
Where: 17B Kingsland Road, London E2 8AA
New Openings: For Casual Dining
