London's Most-Anticipated Restaurant Openings
A quintet of the most hotly-anticipated eateries in the Big Smoke.
London’s dynamic and culturally diverse dining scene – already considered among the best places to dine out in the world – is showing signs of a resurgence even despite the double whammy of Brexit and coronavirus. These are Urbanologie’s selection of some of the recently announced openings to keep an eye on.
Ekstedt at The Yard by Niklas Ekstedt
Multi award-winning Michelin starred chef Niklas Ekstedt is set to open his first restaurant outside of Stockholm, at the Great Scotland Yard hotel in Westminster. Ekstedt at The Yard will focus on Scandinavian cooking techniques using the very best seasonal British ingredients, featuring a menu of signature dishes, alongside an inventive cocktail menu and pioneering natural wine list. Expect Scandinavian style dishes using open-fire cooking - from an open kitchen that sprawls into the restaurant - highlighting the best of Ekstedt’s signature “old Nordic” cooking, themed around ancient cooking methods. Dishes include reindeer with black pudding, smoked celeriac and salt-baked root vegetables, oysters cooked using in flaming butter and a cep soufflé served with birch ice cream. Opening September 2021.
A reimagining of his Buenos Aires institution known for its spin on contemporary Latin American cuisine. Trocca champions a cooking style that combines traditional Latin American open fire techniques with international influences. Sucre is housed in a 310-year-old building on Soho's Great Marlborough Street - formerly home of the London College of Music. Downstairs is a cocktail bar Abajo overseen by Tato Giovannoni, a stalwart at the top of the World’s 50 Best Bars. The high-ceilinged restaurant, designed by Japanese architect Noriyoshi Muramatsu pays tribute to the building’s heritage, combining the faded grandeur of its historic fabric with industrial features and bespoke chandeliers consisting of over a thousand cut glass decanters and an open kitchen with a dramatic fireplace and wood oven. Dishes include brill with tarragon and chicken butter sauce, half chicken ‘al ladrillo' with onion fondue, Ibérico pork matambre and Hispi cabbage with burnt onion and blue cheese. Opening July 2021.
A 'trattoria Toscana' from the influential and award-winning restauranteur behind Venetian-inspired Polpo and small plate favourite Spuntino – Russell Norman. The name Brutto is Italian for ‘ugly' and the restaurant's philosophy is based on the Italian ‘brutto ma buono', which means ‘ugly but good'. Expected to open in August – the restaurant (replacing Hix Oyster & Chop House), next to Smithfield market - will seat 80 across the dining room, with a separate bar and a few tables outside. There aren't too many details yet, but expect a "hearty, rustic Tuscan menu" with dishes such as Florentine steaks, stew ribollita, pappardelle with wild boar and veal chops. Expect an August launch.
A London outpost of the latest concept eatery by international restauranteur Riccardo Giraudi. Beefbar is a foodie favourite - now with outposts around the world - was created in Monaco by Riccardo Giraurdi, a leading European meat importer and his love for all things beef. The iconic Beefbar is perhaps the world's most fashionably delicious steakhouse. This new concept (with outposts already in Monaco and Paris) is in partnership with Relais De Paris - the classic French institution famed for its steak-frites and secret sauce created in 1959. The menu concept is simple, based on the finest high-quality ingredients and centred around five signature menu options - including traditional steak and fries and Australian Wagyu steak with XL-fries - all served with the famous original Relais de Paris sauce.
A highly anticipated opening from JKS Restaurants (Gymkana, Hoppers etc.) and Chef-Patron Chet Sharma. Expect the restaurant to present 'Indian food in a relaxed and playful (and more contemporary) way; still paying homage to the flavours of the subcontinent, but with a renewed focus on high-quality produce and contemporary technique'. With many of the dishes taking inspiration from the street carts and roadside shacks from Karachi to Kerela - with much of the menu being cooked around wood and charcoal grilling. Chef-Patron Chet Sharma has worked as a development chef for some of Europe’s most celebrated restaurants, among them the two-Michelin starred Mugaritz in San Sebastian and also Simon Rogan's iconic restaurant L’Enclume. The design incorporates mango wood and sandstone furnishings and walls adorned with antique brass and abstract prints. There's also a a 20-seat terrace with rattan chairs and foliage aplenty.
