Notto Pasta Bar, Broadgate EC2
Michelin-starred chef Phil Howard has long been seen as one of those elite numbers who can count themselves as a ‘chef’s chef’. His Elystan Street restaurant remains where the cognoscenti head for his unfailingly excellent classic modern British menu – but now punters can head to a third outpost of his more affordable pasta joint, Notto. This one opened just before Christmas, with a pared-back menu of just six pasta dishes and four salads (always a reassuring sign of confidence). It adds yet another high-quality fast-food option for city workers and commuters alike (see our review of its neighbour, Bar Kroketa), showing that Liverpool Street station is really upping the ante when it comes to cuisine.
Tortello, Royal Lancaster, Hyde Park
Another opening, another pasta-focused establishment, this time housed within The Royal Lancaster. Under the auspices of Chef Giuseppe, like all the best Italian restaurants, it put the focus heavily on regionality, seasonality and simplicity – as well as, of course, on skill (hand-rolled pasta anyone?) Expect the likes of beef shin and Chianti tortello, and seafood calamarata. Opening 10 January.
DakaDaka, Heddon Street, Mayfair
Georgian food, a stellar team (Giorgi Mindiashvili and Mitz Vora, previously of Ennismore), and a site that has hosted a slew of excellent pop-ups: DakaDaka is the first venture from Berkeley Square Hospitality and looks set to be a good one. If these scenes from the test kitchen are anything to go by, we’re expecting delicious and convivial times ahead. Opening 17 January.
The Azuki Room, Rolls Lane Holborn
Alan Tse, the chef behind much-loved Finsbury Park favourite Dotori, is bringing his Korean-Japanese cooking to the City with The Azuki Room, an intimate new opening just off Chancery Lane. After eight years at Dotori – and training at the Japan Culinary Institute in Tokyo – Tse is turning the former Pineapple Club site on Rolls Passage into a two-floor Japanese restaurant with a terrace, pitched somewhere between refined cooking and the easy conviviality of a Tokyo backstreet izakaya. Expect a set lunch and tasting menus early on, before things loosen up later into a more lounge-like, binchotan-fired izakaya vibe – helped along by a 2am licence that should make it a late-night refuge for the legal district’s night owls. Coming January 2026.
Ruth’s, Putney SW15
A proper neighbourhood restaurant is coming to Putney in the shape of Ruth’s, the first joint project from Ed Baillieu and Callum Ross. The duo met in New Zealand and have since clocked up serious experience across London and beyond – Ross as GM at The Camberwell Arms and Forza Wine at the National Theatre, Baillieu in kitchens including Pitt Cue, Kitty Fisher’s and Sager & Wilde, most recently as executive chef at The Hero. Taking over the former Blades site, Ruth’s is pitched as a relaxed local spot inspired by New Zealand café culture, with space for everything from a quick glass and a snack at the bar to long, celebratory dinners. The food leans bistro-style and British, with oysters and snacks to start, generous mains built around chops and day-boat fish, and a pudding menu that promises to be both indulgent and nostalgic. Add a well-judged, accessible wine list and this feels like a serious upgrade for the Putney dining scene. Coming January.
Simpson’s In The Strand
This is a biggie. Jeremy King continues his winning streak with the reopening of one of London’s true Grande Dames: Simpson’s in the Strand. After a difficult few years and a failed attempt to revive its former glory, the landmark restaurant is getting a full reset under King’s watch – and expectations are understandably high. The plan is a ‘big-theatre brasserie’ and there’ll be two distinct dining rooms: the formal Grand Divan, where classic British roasts will be carved tableside from silver-domed trolleys, and the more relaxed Green Room, offering a pared-back menu at a gentler price point. Add two bars and a private ballroom for large-scale celebrations, and this feels like King leaning hard into the kind of grand, crowd-pleasing hospitality he does best. If anyone can bring Simpson’s back to form, it’s him. January 2026.
Sale e Pepe Mare, The Langham, Marylebone
After a stop-start few years for The Langham’s main dining room, a serious new contender is stepping in. The Thesleff Group – the team behind Los Mochis and Knightsbridge institution Sale e Pepe – are taking over the space with Sale e Pepe Mare, a seafood-led spin on the original restaurant, and its first new outpost in more than 50 years. This will be a big, theatrical all-day restaurant, with lunch and dinner the real draw. Expect classic Italian luxury in the form of lobster linguine and seabass crudo alongside plenty of tableside action: tiramisù from the dessert trolley, cacio e pepe made to order and Champagne and Negronis circulating the room. Add a dramatic seafood display at the heart of the space and this feels like exactly the kind of confident revival The Langham has been waiting for. February 2026.
Burro, Floral Court WC2
One of Covent Garden’s most coveted restaurant spaces has a new tenant, and it’s a good one. Conor Gadd – chef and co-owner of Islington favourite Trullo – is taking over the former Petersham Nurseries site in Floral Court for Burro, his first solo venture and an Italian restaurant with a strong point of view.
The look is set to mix Irish country house warmth with mid-century Italian bistro charm, making the most of that quietly tucked-away terrace. On the menu, expect confident, unfussy Italian cooking: Venetian chicken liver bruschetta, fried artichokes with bottarga, proper pasta and a signature vitello al Burro. Desserts sound equally tempting, not least tiramisu-filled bomboloni. If Gadd brings even half the magic of Trullo to this address, Burro will be an instant hit. Coming in early 2026.
