Our list of new restaurants in London | February 2020
Ampéli op Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia
Dominique Ansel Treehouse exterior - photo credit Ed Schofield
Flat Iron Liverpool Street
Hoppers king's cross at Pancras Square
La Colazione by Lina Store at King's Cross
Larry's in Peckham
Mambow in the heart of Shoreditch
Peckham Cellars
Are you a foodie and planning a trip to London soon? If you love to eat out and experience the latest trendy additions to the restaurant scene in this vibrant city, we’ve listed 12 new restaurants for you to try. Whether you fancy a healthy breakfast, Burgundian dinner, or want to give a different cuisine a chance, or combine sightseeing with a tiny pub, there is something on the list for all tastes.
The list does include the recently opened and high on our personal list, Dominique Ansel Treehouse, although an Italian breakfast sounds delicious as well! We also understand the excitement about the soon to open restaurant Kol from Santiago Lastra, the former project manager for Noma Mexico.
Only this March | A tiny pub at the London Eye
The London Eye turns twenty years old in March! To celebrate this event, they transformed one of their pods in a tiny pub! The pod pub has its own nickname: The King Vic and is just one of twenty pods which will be transformed in honour of the big celebration. Others include Air to the Throne, which will host the Madame Tussauds waxwork figure of Queen Elizabeth, a plant-filled pod which is meant to celebrate London’s Royal Parks, and a showbusiness pod that’ll feature songs from West End musicals and even a Royal pod. Check out more details in the link to Secret London in the title.
Hoppers King’s Cross
On Tuesday the 11th of February, Hoppers, the restaurant inspired by the home cooking and roadside stalls of Sri Lanka and southern India, opened its new restaurant in Pancras Square, King’s Cross. The inspiration for Hoppers King’s Cross follows the much-travelled coastal journey from Colombo, the island’s capital, down to the historical Dutch town of Galle. The menu will feature exclusive bar bites and short eats such as Chilli and Curry Leaf Peanuts, Jaffna Isso Vade with Curd Chilli, and Mussel Hodi and String Hoppers. Furthermore, Hoppers King’s Cross will feature an extended bar, where guests can stop by for drinks, bar snacks and short eats.
Mambow
On the 10th of February, chef Abby Lee opened the doors to Mambow, a home-style ‘mama’s kitchen’ in the heart of Shoreditch. Mambow, standing for ‘Mama’s Bowls’, does serve Abby’s signature bowls with seasonal vegetables as the star of the show. Mambow does cater to early birds with a line-up of seasonal frittatas, a coconut yoghurt bowl with house turmeric granola, rhubarb & ginger compote, and a spiced vegan porridge bowl with dried cranberries and mixed seeds. Diners can take their pick of pastries and buns from the counter, while coffee beans come from The Roasting Shed in Hackney Wick and fresh juices are pressed to order.
Larry’s in Peckham
This March, following the success of Salon and Levan, Nicholas Balfe, Mark Gurney and Matt Bushnell will open the doors to Larry’s in Peckham. Taking cues from the corner bars, diners and cafes of New York, Larry’s will be open all day. In the morning hot coffee and fresh pastries will be served, and as thoughts turn to lunch, the team will be layering up sandwiches on focaccia such as a meatball melt with pickles and aged Gouda. Into the evening, guests can begin with snacks such as potato latkes with smoked cod’s roe, and salted beef beignets. Afterwards, guests can choose from a variety of shared platters.
Flat Iron
On the 23rd January, following a successful pop-up with The Winemakers Club, Flat Iron permanently opened the doors to its Liverpool Street restaurant. Located on a stone’s throw from the Gherkin, in the heart of the city. Flat Iron’s beef dripping chips will be available alongside cult-favourite creamed spinach and Sophie’s salad with blue cheese, candied pecans and lemon dressing. For dessert, there will be bowls filled with a Flat Iron classic, a rich Cru Virunga chocolate mousse, made with ethically-sourced chocolate from the Congo, topped with dark Amarena cherries.
Ampéli
Ampéli, the new Eastern Mediterranean restaurant from founder Jenny Pagoni, opened its doors on Charlotte Street in the heart of Fitzrovia. Taking cues from the modern wine-focused restaurants of Athens, Ampéli serves dishes inspired by both Jenny’s native Greece and its neighbouring cultures. Guests can begin with hot or cold social plates such as barrel-aged feta saganaki or brown shrimp and harissa mayo. For something heartier, there’s pan-fried Welsh lamb sweetbreads with Jerusalem mixed spice served or a comforting short rib stew with quince and date molasses. The desserts include poppy seed loukoumades, doughnuts with Greek mountain tea syrup.
Lina Stores
This month, newly-opened Lina Stores on Stable Street will bring their take on ‘la colazione’ to King’s Cross, dishing up breakfast for the very first time. Head Chef Masha Rener, inspired by both her Umbrian upbringing and her travels around her homeland, has created a breakfast menu of morning staples and adapted Italian classics that offers the perfect start to the day. Guests can wake themselves up with an Italian espresso, before taking their pick from a selection of breakfast pastries. Elsewhere on the menu, Masha has devised a panino con porchetta, crispy roasted pork belly served in a ciabatta sandwich, or salsicca e fagioli, Tuscan fennel sausage with cannellini beans stewed in tomato and served on freshly baked pane Pugliese.
Peckham Cellars
Peckham Cellars, a new wine bar and kitchen from longtime friends and industry veterans Helen Hall, Luke West-Whylie and Ben McVeigh, opened its doors. Consisting of a wine bar, restaurant and wine shop, Peckham Cellars is a low-key, intimate spot featuring a seasonal and regularly changing menu and wine list. The bar menu includes rosemary and garlic salami; potato dauphines with Cornish gouda and their ‘dirty onion’ tortilla. Every Sunday the team will lovingly prepare their spin on a Sunday lunch, a set menu with sides to share family style and optional ‘afters’ such as sticky toffee pudding or babka with crème fraiche.
Little Kudu
Upcoming March Little Kudu will open its doors. The first Kudu opened in January 2018 and really came into its stride last year, earning rave reviews for its signature bread, steak and enoki mushrooms, and genuine hospitality. Now owners Amy Corbin and Patrick Williams are carving out their own Peckham group — this tapas-style wine bar next door, and a cocktail bar at Queen’s Road station. Commendably affordable and using South African cooking traditions as a bass line from which to improvise, their approach is set to bring something fresh to London’s wine bar scene.
Chuku’s
On February 19th the sibling duo Ifeyinwa and Emeka Frederick, behind one of 2019’s most popular roving residencies, finally have a restaurant to call their own, positioning their approach to Nigerian cuisine and culture between the rooted West African diaspora’s community restaurants and the city’s dining landscape at large. “Tapas” in spirit, not in cultural crosshatching, the scope of the duo’s ambition and playful respect for the spectrum of Nigerian food in London makes this one of the most compelling openings out there.
KOL
Names in the restaurant world don’t get much bigger than Noma – so naturally there’s substantial excitement around the (soon to open) restaurant from Santiago Lastra, the former project manager for Noma Mexico. Hailing from the Latin American offshoot of the Copenhagen heavyweight, Lastra will open Kol in Fitzrovia, a restaurant showcasing the history and diversity of Mexico’s culinary culture while using largely British ingredients. Expect the likes of langoustine tacos with sea buckthorn and lamb tostada cured in gooseberries with walnut oil, and tortillas handmade in-house on a traditional comal grill.
Dominique Ansel Treehouse |A new all-day café in London
Chef Dominique Ansel, named World’s Best Pastry Chef by the World’s 50 Best Awards, has recently opened Dominique Ansel Treehouse, a new all-day café in London’s Covent Garden. Located on quaint Floral Street, the new concept offers a menu that celebrates and showcases the pastry foundations and artisanal techniques that pastry chefs do best, from flaky puff pastry to delicate handmade pasta, short crusts for pies and tarts, fresh-baked breads, and more.
