London’s culinary star is on the rise. From eateries that celebrate the UK’s verdant and bountiful countryside and restaurants featuring bright and innovative takes on South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, to world class sushi and a bevy of Michelin-starred fine dining restaurants dotting the map, there has likely never been a more exciting time to dine out in England’s capital city. Each month this list will offer a curated selection of new and exciting restaurants, chef collaborations, pop-ups, and other culinary happenings that are adding extra sparkle to London’s dining scene. Check back often to update your own list of “must try” spots.
Folie
London’s Golden Square welcomed a new Riviera-inspired restaurant helmed by executive chef Christophe Marleix. The Mediterranean-influenced menu will draw coastal inspiration from the south of France and Italy. Sea bream crudo with citrus and avocado will be featured alongside Provencal braised beef with confit potatoes, generous sharing platters of lamb shoulder, or whole sea bass grilled in charcoal and served with ratatouille. For dessert, expect pastries like a tarte tropézienne. The decor will skew elegant and sensual with a retro-glamourous vibe reminiscent of the 1960s and 1970s-era Mediterranean. 37 Golden Square
The Cheese Bar: Collaboration Series
Right at the height of “sweater weather,” Camden’s beloved, cheese-focused restaurant launched a series called “Return of the Mac,” which invites classic London restaurants to put their spin on macaroni and cheese. Participating restaurants can be as creative as they like as long as their dishes highlight British cheese varieties.
Highlights from the series, which will run through November 11th, include Bleecker’s “Angry Mac,” which re-imagines angry fries into mac’n’cheese with Cropwell Bishop Stilton and vinegary hot sauce. There’s also Club Mexicana’s “Club Mex Mac,” a vegan version topped with crumbled tempeh chorizo. Unit 93-94 Camden Stable; 44-20/7428-6441
Baozi Inn London Bridge
London’s popular Cantonese dim sum restaurant recently opened a 3-story flagship store in London Bridge, a few blocks from Borough Market. The restaurant gained a following for its brightly-colored—and Instagram-friendly—“rainbow” dumplings. But it sustained the buzz because the food is genuinely good - a mix of cherry wood smoked duck rice, red braised pork belly, Sichuan prawn spring rolls, mapo beancurd, and other classic Cantonese dishes.
3 Michelin Stars for Sketch
Sketch: The Lecture Room and Library was just awarded 3 Michelin stars, becoming only the third restaurant in London with the prestigious ranking. Sketch sprawls over four unique spaces, each setting its own experience. The Lecture Room and Library, which is a collaboration between Pierre Gagnaire, Mourad Mazouz, and chef Johannes Nuding offers epically inventive tastes from the sea, the field, and the hunt—think: pheasant consomme with cream and champagne and foie gras terrine with amontillado, figs, and passion fruit. 9 Conduit Street; 44-20/7659-4500
Kolamba
First time restaurateurs, Eroshan and Aushi Meewella recently opened their ode to Sri Lankan cuisine. With dishes culled from family, friends, and their own personal recipe boxes, the menu blends Sinhalese, Tamil, Moor, Dutch and Malay influences in the vibrantly decorated dining room.
Guest can enjoy slow cooked short ribs cooked with jaggery and spices, batter-fried cuttlefish with a hint of chili, and vegetarian beet curry with coconut milk, mustard seeds, and fenugreek. A variety of sambals, like a caramelized onion relish with spices, can accompany the meal with coconut and lime sorbet finishing things off on a sweet note. 21 Kingly St; 44-20/3815-4201
