A selection of what’s caught our eye lately, including an ever-increasing list of Notting Hill/west London openings, and some (gulp) early seasonal picks… Enjoy!
NEWS
Chelsea Counter
We love Dover Street Counter: counter or booth dining, low lighting, heavyweight silver, and the kind of menu you always want to eat. And now it has a sister restaurant, Chelsea Counter, joining founder Martin Kuczmarski’s other spot, Martino’s, close by.
A.Wong has now re-opened after an extensive refurb that now means fewer tables, a kitchen on display, and a new private dining room.
From the team behind the much-loved French bistro in Borough, Camille, comes the Irish/British B. Penhale, a name that looks great in print but thankfully will just be called Penhale’s when speaking. Bookings now open for their 16 November launch.
Spiritland has opened a new listening bar on Level 2 at the Barbican, and every day, from 5PM, they’ll play an album in its entirety, which sounds perfect. They are also going to have an incredible, bespoke sound system and ongoing events; programme here.
Three Sheets are launching a new martini, wine and oyster bar, Berryman’s, 13 November on Kingsland Road, close to their OG venue. We’ll be there for the dirty martini crisps.
WEST LONDON
NEW
Stefania Westbourne Grove
From a fourth-generation chef, Diego Reali’s new restaurant will bring Rome to London via Kuala Lumpur, with meats cooked in the Josper grill, signature pasta dishes, and no pork anywhere on the menu.
Sit With Us
The team behind Sino, the contemporary Michelin-recommended Ukrainian restaurant, is opening a café Sit With Us, a name that is a positive play on the alternative. They’ll have coffee and pastries, but they’ll be keeping them interesting with unexpected flavours. Sit With Us will open on Chepstow Road; follow Sino for opening date news.
Jones’ Crumpets
Artisan crumpets in flavours like cheese and chive or dark chocolate, with toppings and Allpress coffee or soft drinks, on Golborne Road.
Talli Queen
Following over a decade at the River Café, Avinash Shashidhara has taken over the Queen Adelaide pub in Shepherd’s Bush with a menu inspired by his favourite places in India: toddy shops, neighbourhood pubs, military canteens, chai stalls and kebab spots. Cooking will be centred around a charcoal grill and tandoor, and guests can order freely across the menu instead of by course: snacking, if you will, which sounds great.
WEST LONDON
NEWS
Cece’s, the Public House Group’s glam Italian (ex-Casa Cruz), has a new menu.
A UJ fave, The Barbary Notting Hill, has a new menu, too.
Celeste, from the Estelle Group, has a new private dining room for 12.
The Walmer Castle has been taken over by the Public House Group… interested to see the changes here.
Another UJ fave, John Javier, Executive Chef at Caia, is running a new guest chef series, where each chef will create a six-dish menu, that will run on the event evening and across the remaining Mondays of the month. He’s pulled together an all-star list of chefs, starting off on the 16 November with Valentin Raffali, a semi-finalist on Top Chef France in 2024, and now Executive Chef at Bus Palladium in Paris. On 7th December, Hector Henderson from Rochelle Canteen is in the kitchen with Javier, and next year, guests will include Oslo-based Halaigh Whelan-McManus, formerly of three Michelin-starred Maaemo, Karla Knowles who is behind Pam in Farringdon, and many other great names.
OTHER EVENTS AND POP UPS
Tomatini Day at LPM
LPM is celebrating 16 years of the Tomatini on 12 November. Guests dining at LPM on the day will be offered a Tomatini (with or without alcohol).
Smokestak x Manteca
Ooooh, we love a block party, and this Saturday, celebrating their 10th and 5th birthdays respectively, the two restaurant teams will be having a joint party at Protein Studios, with all proceeds going to charity.
Kamu x Sun and Thirteen Cantons
The Sri Lankan, family-run restaurant Kamu has begun a residency at the Sun & 13 Cantons.
E. Pellicci x The Brass Rail’s 60th Anniversary Celebration Collaboration at Selfridges
We love this one. East London’s ever-popular historic café has moved into Selfridges’ in-house restaurant, Brass Rails, to celebrate its 60th year, with a collaboration that includes E. Pellicci’s signature dishes, a product range in the Foodhall, and ‘East End meets West End’ merch; yes, please.
SEASONAL
They say one in 10 will put their tree up this week – that might not be us, but we can’t deny it: the holidays are coming!
We’re going to keep it to two mentions for now:
Carnaby Street is switching on its lights tomorrow, with their Press Play On Christmas ’90s theme; you can also book The Berkeley’s Rooftop Cabins, available for groups of 2-6 people in two hour slots from 12pm to 9pm (last booking), from 13 November. The cabins have incredible views of the festive Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and the London skyline, and an après-ski menu.
