How better to beat the winter blues than sampling one of the exciting new London restaurants? After all, there is much to look forward to this season, from a design-focused Italian newcomer in Hackney, to a glossy sequel in the City, and an unexpected brand revival from the noughties. Here’s our edit of the ten most exciting new openings in the capital this winter.Â
The Glossary Edit
New London Restaurants
for Winter 2023
Dalla
Dalla has barely uncorked its first bottle of Barolo and already it’s one of the most in-demand new London restaurants. This small-scale neighbourhood Italian is the work of three founders: art and design collector Gennaro Leone (of Spazio Leone), his chef brother Gianmarco Leone, and former P. Franco chef Mitchell Damota. Between them, they’ve created a cosy spot that will have fans of 20th-century Italian design and Italian ‘nonna’ cooking weak at the knees. Early dishes include pumpkin-filled tortelli mantovani, chestnut trofie with winter pesto, and crostata di marmellata.Â
120-122 Morning Lane, Hackney, London E9 6LH
dallarestaurant.com
Jamie Oliver Catherine St
Four years after the collapse of his empire, Jamie is back. Jamie Oliver Catherine St in a Grade I-listed building in the heart of Theatreland, sees the cheeky chappie in retrospective mode, drawing on his time at the River Café and Neal Street Restaurant, and the early days of Fifteen. He – and by ‘he’ we mean his team led by head chef Chris Shaill and pastry chef Emma Jackson – will be putting the emphasis on quality British produce in such appealing dishes as Mrs Kirkhams’s Lancashire cheese croquettes, vegan smoked ‘tarama’ with heritage radishes, and Sutton Hoo chicken with Stroganoff sauce and shoestring fries.
6 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5JY
jamieolivercatherinest.com
The Wolseley City
Twenty years since the Wolseley came into our lives – I can still remember my first slice of Sachertorte – the Wolseley City has opened in the Square Mile. The concept is simply made for the City, with its all-day offering of power breakfasts, working lunches, and late-night drinks. You’ll find all the Wolseley classics you know and love – the choucroute, the soufflé Suisse, the Wiener Holstein – alongside new additions of treacle-cured bacon chop and steamed marmalade pudding. Expect the three bars and two private dining rooms to be rammed in the run-up to Christmas.
68 King William Street, City of London, London EC4N 7HR
thewolseleycity.com
Sune
There can’t be too many sommeliers whose names are big enough to ‘open’ a restaurant in the Hollywood sense of the word but Honey Spencer is one of them. Sune, opening on Broadway Market this month, is the debut restaurant of Spencer and her partner, former Noma restaurant manager Charlie Sims. Clearly, the wines will be exceptional (there will be rare wines, fine wines, and plenty of accessible wines), but the food will have to match. By the sounds of za’atar spiced lamb ribs with harissa and salted yoghurt, egg, chips and anchovy, and smoked eel Caesar salad, it will.
129A Pritchard’s Road, Broadway Market, London E2 9AP
sune.restaurant
The Cocochine
 The joy of dining at The Cocochine on Bruton Place in Mayfair will reveal itself in the fullness of time. Details are scant, but what’s clear is that this intimate new restaurant from gallerist Tim Jefferies and chef Larry Jayasekara, former head chef of Pétrus, will seek to bring back the joy of eating. Reservations, for example, will be taken by telephone only; tables will not be turned (book a table and it’s yours for the night); and the menu will be fully à la carte. Much of the restaurant’s produce including flowers and spring water will come from one farm in Northamptonshire, while the wine list will include nearly 1,000 references drawn from a private collection.
27 Bruton Place, Mayfair, London W1J 6NQ
thecocochine.com
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh in Camden was one of the biggest London restaurants of the noughties. It was vast (800 covers) and spectacularly O.T.T (the interiors cost millions). Now it’s back, but this time in the more modest 130-cover site that was Tredwell’s in Covent Garden. All is yet to be revealed about the rebooted concept but expect cocktails, late nights and a menu of sushi, sashimi, and pan-Asian flavours.
4a Upper St Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9NY
gilgameshlondon.co.uk
The Walmer Castle
The 19th-century Walmer Castle on Ledbury Road in Notting Hill has new landlords in Jack and Poppy Greenall of the Surprise in Chelsea. They’ve given the venerable old boozer a smart new look, with antiques from nearby Portobello, and art on the walls by Patrick Caulfield, Cornelia Parker, Yinka Shonibare and more. They’ll even be hosting a calendar of cultural events in the private rooms. The pub grub is a cut above with venison carpaccio and celeriac and truffle pie alongside a classic burger and fish and chips. Candles lit, log fire blazing, it’s the perfect winter’s day retreat.
58 Ledbury Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2AJ
walmercastle-nottinghill.co.uk
The Tamil Crown
If you’ve tried and failed to get into the Tamil Prince, you’ll be delighted to hear about its scion, the Tamil Crown, opening this month in Angel. If you tried and succeeded to get into the Tamil Prince, you’ll be even more delighted to hear about it, as the more places there are to eat channa bhatura, robata lamb chops and crunchy okra fries, the better. Former Roti King chef Prince Durairaj’s Southern Indian and Tamil menu will share much in common with the Tamil Prince, only with the mouth-watering addition of Indian-inspired Sunday roasts, such as masala roast beef with turmeric roast potatoes.
16 Elia Street, Islington, London N1 8DE
thetamilcrown.com
Pearly Queen
For his new restaurant in Shoreditch chef Tom Brown, of Cornerstone in Hackney Wick, has taken inspiration from London’s East End. Pearly Queen is split across two floors, with an ‘East End boozer’ upstairs serving oysters and pints of Guinness and a more glamorous, clandestine space for cocktails and late nights downstairs. Brown’s one of the country’s most creative seafood cooks. His launch menu promises cockle bhajis, grilled lobster in XO lobster sauce, and a 100-layer cuttlefish lasagne which needs to be seen to be believed.
44 Commercial Street, Shoreditch, London E1 6LT
thepearlyqueen.com
Donia
Moving into the auspicious Kingly Court site that previously housed Imad’s Syrian Kitchen and Asma Khan’s Darjeeling Express is Donia, a modern Filipino restaurant from the group behind Mamasons, Panadera Bakery and Ramo Ramen. We’re told to expect food that is both comforting and adventurous, such as street-style prawn and pork dumplings transformed with white crab meat, brown butter lime sauce and chilli oil, and crispy roast pork with liver peppercorn sauce.
Top Floor, Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, Soho, London W1B 5PW
doniarestaurant.com
