The only thing we love more than a new restaurant opening is talking about a new restaurant opening. Here’s our guide to getting bluffed up to this month’s finest offerings. Life’s too short to go to the same restaurant twice:

1. For a New Branch: Mamalan

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What: Mamalan will open its doors for the fifth time in the bustling heart of foodie hub, Shoreditch this October, serving authentic Beijing street food. Inspired by recipes served by founder, Ning’s granddad at his market stall in the Chinese capital, you can expect heart warming and hearty Northern Chinese street food. Staying true to their original vibe in terms of intimacy, the 24-seat site with seating indoors and outdoors will inject Chinese soul into the heart of East London.

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Eat and Drink: The menu features new dishes amongst the classic dumplings and noodle dishes that Mamalan fans know and love, including the spicy chicken wings and beef and spring onion dumplings. The traditional Beijing toasted buns come with a variety of fillings such as pork, crispy chicken, prawn and tofu. The restaurant will be the perfect spot for a date, a bite with friends, or a quick lunch. It’s all about sharing plates; grab your chopsticks and get stuck in.

Gimme More: Exclusive to the Shoreditch digs, the team have shaken up the drinks menu. Try the Bull In A China Shop, containing Buffalo Tr-ace, Rose syrup, lemon juice and homemade jasmine iced tea

Where: Unit 9, Ground floor, 6 Richmix Square, London E1 6LD.

2. For Italian Fare: Roma 

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What: Roma will bring the flavours and passions of Ancient Rome to the UK capital this month, much like the Emperor Claudius did when he conquered Britain in AD 43 (bit of a history lesson for you there). And they couldn’t have found a more suitable site for this culinary conquest, as Roma will be found on the very spot a Roman fort once stood in the heart of London.

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Eat and Drink: Expect to eat like an emperor when dining at Roma as dishes will include ingredients from the very best seasonal and locally-sourced fruit and meat, to homemade tapenade. The Roman speciality of cooking with hay has also been revived, a method which makes all kinds of meats mouth-wateringly irresistible. The wine menu pays homage to the Ancient Roman times, with each wine traced back to the very same vineyards throughout Europe that the Romans would have drunk from themselves. The wine menu features authentic wines from former Roman territories including Italy, France, Macedonia and Spain.

Gimme More: As well as a rich menu of Roman inspired dishes, the kitchen will be serving fresh salami and cheeseboards right through to 2am. So long, donner kebabs.

Where: 14 New London Street, London, EC3R 7NA

3. For the Small Plates Life: Fumo

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What: The multi-award winning San Carlo restaurant group has just announced the launch of a brand new restaurant, Fumo in Covent Garden, opening later this month. The new 130 cover restaurant, which will be open seven days a week, will offer all day dining and have the same chic and sleek design as the other restaurants, with Fumo featuring a solid marble feature bar.

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Eat and Drink: The culinary focus will be on small plates or cicchetti using the freshest seasonal ingredients – mostly sourced direct from produce markets in Milan. The cuisine represents local specialities from the varying Italian regions and includes dishes such as tagliolini lobster, cod vicentina (Venetian style cod), and guazzetto di cozze e vongole (mussels and clams with tomato sauce, chilli and white wine) and tuna tartare made at your table with the best Sicilian tuna. In the kitchen will be a brigade of 15 chefs from all over Italy, guided by San Carlo executive chefs Filippo Pagani and Franco Bellamusto, as well as Chef Consigliere Aldo Zilli.

Gimme More: Try the homemade gnocchi truffle with cheese fondue. It’s out of this world, and our pick of the menu.

Where: 37 St Martin’s Lane, London

4. For Sweet Treats and Coffee: Crosstown Doughnuts

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What: Good news, doughnuts lovers! Crosstown launches its second permanent site in the heart of Shoreditch next week (26th), nestled between two of London’s most iconic bagel shops at number 157 Brick Lane. The historic premises (the site was formerly a pub dating back from 1839 to 1987) features a seating area for over 30 customers and will offer Crosstown’s full range of doughnut flavours alongside a selection of hot and cold drinks.

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Eat and Drink: Crosstown Shoreditch will be open early until late, seven days a week, with a daily offer of 16 doughnut flavours including current classic and premium favourites as well as a varying seasonal selection. To coincide with the Shoreditch launch, one of Crosstown’s popular seasonal flavours – the beetroot lemon-thyme doughnut – is being reworked and relaunched across all locations. The vibrant pink beetroot sourdough ring will be hand- dipped in a lemon-thyme glaze and finished with a vanilla crumble and fresh lemon-thyme. Specialty coffee will be served, with Crosstown working closely with Caravan Coffee Roasters. Bottled cold brew coffee will be provided by local producers Sandows, as well as their Nitro cold brew on draught, which Crosstown is including in their offering for the first time.

Gimme More: If you haven’t already tried their banana and sea salted caramel flavour, now there’s no excuse.

Where: 157 Brick Lane, London, E1 6SB.

5. For Grillin’: Kiln 

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What: Smoking Goat founder Ben Chapman is to open a side-of-the-road-type restaurant in Soho this month. Kiln will boast a short grill menu plus a speciality daily noodle dish. The cooking is inspired by the rural simplicity of the Thai borderlands where dishes combining Burmese and Yunanese spicing and flavours are cooked over open fire.

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Eat and Drink: Kiln’s menu is based around simple, quick grill dishes, many of which will be cooked on a wood burning kiln oven and grills designed by Ben. As well as looking to Thailand for inspiration, much of the menu has been created around the best British produce available. On the grill menu will be northern-style cumin heavy offal larbs; Yunnan- cured sausage; roast suckling pig; and curried cockles. Larger dishes will include roast goose with pickled greens and grilled aged sirloin.

Gimme More: Kiln will also serve a daily-changing speciality noodle dish made with Kiln’s own-recipe chewy egg noodles, starting with pressed duck gravy noodles.

Where: 58 Brewer Street, London W1F 9TL

6. For Meat Galore: Macellaio RC Union Street

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What: The team behind Macellaio RC is opening its third restaurant on Union Street. With hugely popular restaurants already open in South Kensington and Exmouth Market, founder Roberto Costa’s new Macellaio RC will be housed in the recent redevelopment of Union Yard Arches and will also introduce two exciting unique new concepts – a theatrical in-house butchery and a Ligurian bakery.

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Eat and Drink: Inspired by the numerous theatres in the local area, the beef will be dry-aged on site, dramatically hung behind glass, a stage will extend into the restaurant between two large banquet tables, upon which the Macellaio RC team will showcase the best cuts of the day. Macellaio RC Union Street will be the first restaurant from Genoa-born Roberto to feature his take on a Ligurian bakery or “Pizzeria secondo me”, where handmade dough will be produced daily using just water, natural yeasts, and the highest quality Italian flour. The menu itself will feature Fassona beef, which due to the hypertrophic muscle growth among the cows is extraordinarily low in fat and cholesterol as well as extremely tender.

Gimme More: The bakery will serve a range of traditional Ligurian breads, vegetable tarts, fresh pasta and pastries, including Torta di Bietole e prescinseau (swiss chard and curd tart) and Focaccia al formaggio di Recco.

Where: Arch 24, 229 Union Street, London, SE1 0LR

7. For Pizza and Prosecco: PANZO 

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What: PANZO is a brand new contemporary Neapolitan inspired pizza restaurant, opening its doors in Exmouth Market this autumn. Introducing a unique concept to London, PANZO pizza will be individually sized, made with double cooked lighter dough and topped with the best quality produce, a concept inspired by the Neapolitan panuozzo sandwich, which will also feature on the menu. Founder Anna Skigin has partnered with Eccellenze Campane, the agricultural centre in Naples dedicated to offering only the finest Italian food and drink, to create PANZO.

Eat and Drink: PANZO’’s chefs double cook their dough using ‘lievito madre’ which rises for 26 hours creating a crispy light base, allowing the flavours from the ingredients to take centre stage. From the open pizza kitchen, the Neapolitan chefs will be using the finest, seasonal ingredients to create delights such as; mushroom, mozzarella, goat cheese, and stilton; pine nuts with a drizzle of honey; pumpkin, courgette, mozzarella and ham, and gorgonzola, raisins and apple will be on the menu. A selection of daily salads and plates of mezzo, serving the best of Italian produce used on the PANZO pizza in its simplest, rawest form – expect buffalo mozzarella from Naples, grilled mixed market vegetables, chopped tomato salad and cured meats. Also on the menu will be the panuozzo, a sandwich using charred whole wheat dough from the oven and stuffed with fillings such as tomato and stracchino cheese.

Gimme More: There’s tiramisu for dessert. We’re sold.

Where: 50 Exmouth Market, London, EC1R 4QE

8. For Homemade Pasta: Savurè

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What: Now, you may have already heard about Savure – it’s an Italian pasta restaurant and shop from Turin, Italy. The guys have been so successful in their motherland, they’ve decided to open their first London restaurant in Shoreditch this summer, with their hand made pasta available to eat in, take away or cook at home.  At the heart of Savurè will be the Il Pastificio, the dynamic Pasta Lab which showcases the chefs kneading, rolling and cutting the pasta, all prepared that day on the premises, offering over 200 different combinations to choose from, using authentic Italian recipes and traditional methods.

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Eat and Drink: Showcasing pasta recipes from across Italy, the extensive menu will offer a selection of different dishes. And you have the added bonus of being able to create your own combination or simply follow with tradition. From the Piedmont region, there’s the Agnolotti Savurè, a ravioli egg pasta filled with three Italian meats, Mediterranean herbs and spices, each province possesses its own variation typically handed down from generation to generation. Directly from Turin itself, the Tajarin will also feature (think a long extra thin flat egg pasta dish). You’re also able to select any sauce with any pasta – choose the chickpea pasta with trionfo di verdure sauce made with tomato, courgettes, potatoes, aubergine and pepper or the ragu di carne chianina, a rich sauce made with chianina beef, tomato and red wine.

Gimme More: If you want to pack up with treats for your own kitchen cupboards, the Savurè shop will sell fresh pastas, sauces, wines and artisanal Italian products.

Where: 20 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4JU

9. For a Gluten-Free Hangout: RAW restaurant x M Victoria

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What: M Victoria’s GRILL restaurant will have a bit of competition, as the venue unveils its new look RAW restaurant under the same roof. This unique concept will be the first 100% gluten-free restaurant in London to serve ‘Michelin quality food’.

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Eat and Drink: M RAW’s menu will offer signature tartars, tempura, hot earth bowls and bento boxes. But the star of the show will undoubtedly be its sashimi collection made using cobia. Hailed ‘the Wagyu of the sea’, M is among the first restaurants in the UK to feature the fish on its menus.

Gimme More: M RAW is the only restaurant in London to offer sashimi from king fish, octopus and sea bass caught with the Ike Jime fishing method, acknowledged as by far the most ethical and sustainable way to fish.

Where: 3 Zig Zag Building, 70 Victoria St, London SW1E 6SQ

10. For Baked Goods: Dominique Ansel Bakery London

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What: He’s conquered America and Asia and now acclaimed pastry chef Dominique Ansel will open his flagship European Bakery in London’s Belgravia, at the end of September. The chef already has bakeries in New York and Japan, as well as the Dominique Ansel Kitchen and U.P. also in NYC.

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Eat and Drink: If you’re in the area for decadent sweet eats, you’ve certainly come to the right place. Apart from the iconic cronut that Dominique Ansel has become so well known for, there’s croissants, chocolate chunk cookies, flourless chocolate pecan cookies and macarons. Like cake? Try the liquid caramel peanut butter mousse cake – liquid caramel cremeux with peanut butter mousse, cinnamon and caramelised puff rice, or the salted honey tart with two types of honey, a sea salt milk cream and almond frangipane.

Gimme More: Stop the press. The cafe will be selling a Welsh rarebit croissant – Guinness Worcestershire cheddar béchamel with whole grain mustard and fontina.

Where: 17-21 Elizabeth Street,  London, SW1W 9RP

11. For All the White Meat: Fancy Funkin Chicken

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What: Opening on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton this September, Fancy Funkin Chicken will be a 50-cover chicken shop and bar, designed to elevate the humble chicken into something a bit fancier. Fancy Funkin Chicken is a new concept from a dynamic trio of young hospitality industry insiders, Nathan Pattie (Co-founder of PIX), Rollo Weeks (formerly Sketch) and Lars Larson (formerly Cuckoo Club).

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Eat and Drink: No stranger themselves to the odd late night pit-stop to one of London’s many chicken joints, these guys know their chicken and what it takes to manage pecking order. Expect an enticing menu of traditional herbed and spiced ethically sourced, free-range chicken crusted with a Southern American recipe. At Fancy Funkin Chicken, it’s all about the humble burger. The burgers are served with a range of toppings including bacon and cheese, chillies and sour cream, and softened red onions.

Gimme More: Knock back tipples from their refreshingly fuss-free, refined cocktail list.

Where: 441 Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8LN

12. For Comfort Food: Jikoni

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What: The award winning food writer and cook Ravinder Bhogal will now open her debut restaurant this week on Marylebone’s Blandford Street. Jikoni, meaning ‘kitchen’ in Swahili, will draw on Ravinder’s mixed heritage and travels, with flavours and culinary traditions from Britain, East Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

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Eat and Drink: Ravinder is passionate about preserving her inheritance of nourishing and soothing recipes, and the restaurant is dedicated to ‘the maternal figures who made my world safe with their food’. Ravinder’s Scotch eggs that have been a signature at her pop-ups, will take pride of place on the menu, with unusual takes on the English classic including a prawn toast quail Scotch egg with banana ketchup and pickled cucumber, and Goan inspired pork Scotch egg served with tomato and ginger chutney and a spiky carrot achaar.  Offerings from the small plates menu will include an Indian take on the American ‘sloppy joe’ made with Herdwick mutton keema, pickled onions and mint chutney, and crisp soft shell crab to be served with Ravinder’s take on a peanut sauce.

Gimme More: There will also be a daily changing Rice Plate celebrating curries from all over the world including Kuku Paka – a favourite chicken curry from Kenya made to a family recipe.

Where: 19-21 Blandford Street, Marylebone, W1U 3DH

13. For a Taste of Venice: Veneta

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What: With its breathtaking architecture, winding canals and endless mysterious passageways, Venice is one of the most enthralling and alluring cities in the world. Taking a slice of Venice life and bringing into the capital, Veneta will be an enchanting space seating 110 covers in areas that combine classic bar-counter seating, banquette booths and intimate tables.

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Eat and Drink: Overseen by Chef Director Ben Tish, and executed by Head Chef Jamie Thickett (formerly of Opera Tavern) the menu will be inspired by classic Venetian dishes, cooking techniques and will showcase the amazing produce from the region. A classic raw bar will offer a selection of seasonal British and Venetian seafood. Carefully sourced artisan charcuterie and cheeses from the Veneto region will be served from a beautiful handmade trolley. Breakfast will be a delight, offering both indulgent and healthy options, all with a Venetian twist.

Gimme More: Check out the wine list – it features exclusive wines from Northern Italy.

Where: St James’ Market, London

14. For Indian Eats: Bombay Palace

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What: Bombay Palace is re-opening this month! Hooray curry queens. The restaurant will now boast a relaxing lounge and bar area to seat 20, with room for 20 more in the patio area. Since 1981 the London branch has become the flagship of an international chain of fine dining Indian restaurants with locations around the globe.

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Eat and Drink: Award winning Harjeet Singh remains the head chef. Trained at the ‘Bukhara’ (voted the of the best Indian restaurants in the world) and having spent eight years working for the Bombay Palace – Kuala Lumpur, he set his sights on conquering London. At Bombay Palace you can expect good, wholesome Indian food with key plates that include classics such as Jhinga Lajawab, Changezi Champein and a delightful selection of Indian street food, alongside original vegetarian options invented by Harjeet and his team of talented cooks.

Gimme More: There’s lassis. Thick, creamy, rich lassis.

Where: 50 Connaught St, London, W2 2AA

15. For Dining, Drinking and Dancing: MNKY HSE

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What: This October will see the launch of MNKY HSE – a new restaurant that will open its doors on the former site of the iconic Dover Street Wine Bar, bringing a vibrant blend of London funk and Latin spirit to Mayfair. MNKY HSE will serve high-quality, contemporary Latin American food and drink, alongside live music and DJ performances. Housed over two floors, with an intimate bar / lounge area upstairs, and a stylish restaurant downstairs that will evolve into a very different, night-time setting.

Eat and Drink: His first UK-based project, Pablo Peñalosa Nájera (Four Seasons – Bogotà/ Morimoto – Mexico City), will head the MNKY HSE kitchen, where he will re-visit his indigenous roots, combining traditional elements of Latin American cuisine with modern British seasonal ingredients. With a heavy emphasis on Latin American spirit and convivial dining, dishes will be designed to share and to excite. The MNKY HSE bar will boast a vast list of premium cocktails and increasingly popular mezcals.

Gimme More: Both floors will house a stage to host international and resident DJs and act as a creative platform for MNKY HSE’s house band and other live musicians and performers.

Where: 10 Dover Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 4LQ