SLMan’s Best New London Restaurants Of 2023
Caitlin Isola
The Devonshire
Soho
The hottest pub launch we can remember in a long time, The Devonshire is brought to you by landlord Oisín Rogers (ex-Guinea Grill), Charlie Carrol (founder of Flat Iron) and Michelin-starred chef Ashley Palmer-Watts. Downstairs, The Devonshire is your classic London pub – warm, welcoming and serving up bar food from the team’s in-house butcher and bakery – just with famously perfect pints of Guinness. Upstairs is the smart Grill Room, specialising in Scottish beef – dry-aged and butchered on site – creel-caught langoustines from Oban, day-boat fish, lobster and hand-dived scallops from Devon. Highlights on a recent menu included brawn toast, white crab salad, lamb hotpot, and beef cheek and Guinness suet pudding. The restaurant is currently fully booked for the rest of the year, so consider this your nudge to get a table booked in for the new year. Unless you’re happy just elbowing your way to the bar for a pint (which, if we’re honest, is exactly what we’re planning to do over the festive break).
Visit TheDevonshireSoho.co.uk
Brooklands
Belgravia
The Peninsula opened its first property in Hong Kong in 1928. Just the 95 years later, the group launched its first hotel in London. In Belgravia, the property is home to an exciting collection of restaurants and bars: The Peninsula Boutique and Café serves hand-crafted chocolate, confectionery, patisserie and viennoiserie; The Lobby is a spectacular space serving an all-day menu and afternoon tea; while Canton Blue and adjoining cocktail bar Little Blue nod to the hotel group’s heritage. Most exciting of all, though, is Brooklands, the rooftop restaurant led by chef director Claude Bosi, the man behind Michelin-starred Bibendum. The site offers uninterrupted views of London’s skyline and a distinct design inspired by its namesake, Brooklands racetrack in Surrey. The top-floor dining room pays tribute to the Concorde, with many pieces of furniture replicas from the original Concorde lounge. Count on three, five and seven-course menus that invite diners on a gastronomic journey across the British Isles.
Visit Peninsula.com
Chishuru
Fitzrovia
Until recently, Nigerian-born Adejoké Bakare was a home cook. For several years she hosted dinner parties and supper clubs, but in 2019 she won a competition to open a three-month pop-up in Brixton Village. Chishuru launched in August 2020, inspired by the food of Nigeria. After Jay Rayner visited and gave the restaurant a rave review in November that year, the pop-up became a permanent fixture in Brixton. Now it has a new central London location. On Great Titchfield Street, its menu pays homage to Joké’s West African heritage, focusing on open-fire cooking and an extended pastry offering. Dishes include sinasir rice cake with white and brown crab and squash purée; squid, turnip and shredded uziza leaf peppersoup; and black sesame caramel and baobab meringue. Cocktails feature West African herbs and spices, including a house-pickled okra martini as an aperitif, and an eau de vie shot with alligator pepper as a digestif.
Visit Chishuru.com
64 Goodge Street
Fitzrovia
64 Goodge Street quietly opened in Fitzrovia in August, but soon caught the attention of food critics like Marina O’Loughlin and that man Rayner. It’s from the team behind Portland and Clipstone, with a menu based on chef Stuart Andrew’s vision for “French cooking from an outsider’s perspective”. The à la carte offering is crammed with wintry hits: snail, bacon and garlic bon bons; boudin noir maison with hay-baked apple and celeriac; and venison, haggis parmentier and sauce grand veneur. As at Portland and Clipstone, wine is celebrated in all its diversity, albeit with an unapologetic focus on burgundy. At this time of year, it might also be useful to know there’s a wood-panelled 12-seat private dining room downstairs.
Visit 64GoodgeStreet.co.uk
The Portrait
Covent Garden
Irish chef and restaurateur Richard Corrigan has opened a place on the top floor of the all-new National Portrait Gallery – and it’s just the spot to book if you’re having a cultural day out in the capital. On the corner of Trafalgar Square – offering unique views over the square and towards the Houses of Parliament – The Portrait pays homage to the great dishes of Corrigan’s career. We rated the whole artichoke with cock crab mayo and kombu; poached smoked haddock with potato and egg; and pig’s trotters on toast. It wouldn’t be a Corrigan restaurant without his beloved oysters, and here the dressed Carlingfords come with ginger, lime and coriander. The bar focuses on a concise wine list available by the glass and classic cocktails (don’t be shy if you’re offered a salt and vinegar martini) and there’s an all-day snack menu featuring a fun twist on Scampi Fries.
Mountain
Soho
On Beak Street, this hotspot from Brat’s Tomos Parry and his team is a wood grill and wine bar, showcasing Tomos's favourite meals from journeys across Spain over recent years. Specifically, inspiration comes from long lunches around BBQs in friends’ vineyards, small plates of raw prawns in fish markets, and braises of shellfish. As at Brat, Tomos's cooking is guided by long-standing relationships with fishermen and farmers in Wales and Cornwall. In Mountain’s first year, menu highlights have included pink bream served whole, split and gently roasted on the plancha, a plate of wood-grilled lamb chops, and an aromatic braised dish of whole Anglesey lobster caldereta. The traditional Menorcan caldereta is brought from the grill to the tables in steaming ceramic pots for two to three people to share. Given Mountain’s huge and ongoing popularity, if you want a table any time soon, you should book as early as possible.
Visit MountainBeakStreet.com
Forza Wine at the National Theatre
Southbank
Forza Wine – the Peckham rooftop venue known for fun seasonal drinks, considered Italian snacks and views of the capital – launched a long-awaited outpost at a cool spot within the National Theatre this year. The 160-cover indoor/outdoor space occupies the north-west terrace of the Brutalist London landmark. Menus change with the seasons. When we were there, a ‘sort of Italian’ snack menu included cauliflower fritti with aioli; mozzarella with figs and hazelnuts; pancetta potato cakes; and signature soft serve. Each can be ordered individually alongside drinks, or the entire menu will serve four for those after a full meal, including pudding (£120 all in). On the cocktail front, the classics sit alongside a cherry negroni, a limonata bianca and a frozen peach margarita. Don’t forget to order the bar’s signature ‘Custardo’ – a riff on an affogato – before you pay the bill.
Visit ForzaWine.com
Bébé Bob
Soho
From the team behind French-inspired phenomenon Bob Bob Ricard – which celebrated its 15th birthday this year – Bébé Bob is a fun spin-off across the road from the Soho original. On a corner of Golden Square, Bébé Bob offers two varieties of rotisserie chicken, with fine wines (including white and red burgundy) and champagne to match. The stars of the show, chickens are served whole at the table and carved in view of guests. Diners are encouraged to pick from a handful of elevated sides and sauces to accompany the bird, including truffle french fries, winter leaf salad, sautéed kale and truffle jus. Lavish interiors rival the blue, red and gold opulence of the original spot.
Visit BebeBob.com
Solis
Battersea
One of Arcade Battersea’s best openings of the year was Solis. The latest project from the duo behind TĀ TĀ Eatery, the restaurant is named after Juan Díaz de Solis, a 16th-century explorer said to have been the first European to land on what is now Uruguay. The menu focuses on chicken and steak, with flavour influences from both the European and South American ends of the voyage. Served straight from the grill, there’s flat-iron steak with Solis’s version of entrecôte sauce or half chicken served with aji-aji sauce. Other highlights include on-trend gildas, huevos rellenos – a play on devilled eggs with a spiced tuna filling and salsa golf – and beef croquetas. We also have our eye on the Basque-style cheesecake, served with blueberry sauce. Quality cocktails include a Fernet Cola (Fernet Branca, Coca Cola top and mint) and a Sevilla negroni (Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla, Antica Formula, Campari and orange).
Visit ArcadeFoodHall.com
Bistro Freddie
Shoreditch
Dominic Hamdy is the founder of Crispin in Spitalfields and Bar Crispin in Soho. He only opened Bistro Freddie at the end of September, but it’s fast become the place to get a table – partly thanks to its cool, old-school London dining room. Retaining the same ethos as its siblings, the kitchen focuses on small and predominantly independent producers and growers. The menu is overseen by head chef Anna Søgaard, who joined from Manchester restaurant Erst after beginning her career in Copenhagen. Anna describes her menu as “the kind of food I genuinely love to eat – robust, hearty dishes with soul” and we couldn’t agree more. Imagine pork crackling and pickled walnut ketchup; Dorset snail flatbread, beef fat, garlic and parsley butter; pork chop, apple glaze and bacon jus; or fried skate wing, peas and curry sauce. There are also now-famous pies to share and a pudding menu that nods to decades past – look out for raspberry roly-poly, milk ice-cream with brown ale caramel, and malt bread with cheese.
Visit BistroFreddie.com
Kolae
Borough Market
Borough Market’s Kolae is the new child of Som Saa co-founders Mark Dobbie and Andy Oliver. The restaurant draws its name from Kolae (also known as Golae, Galae and Gaw Lae), a cooking style from Southern Thailand where ingredients are marinated in a curry-like coconut sauce and grilled over open flames. Signature dishes are prepared in the Kolae style, with a variety of proteins or vegetables finished over smouldering coconut to create a rich and aromatic smokiness. Seasonal fish, game, seafood and vegetarian specials that pay homage to the region’s cooking techniques are served alongside vibrant curries, fresh small plates and punchy salads.
Visit Kolae.com
Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO
Whitehall
Mauro Colagreco, one of the world’s most respected chefs, recently opened Mauro Colagreco, Mauro’s Table and Saison within the newly opened Raffles London at The OWO. The restaurants are Colagreco’s first London ventures, bringing to the city a culinary style that has seen him achieve three Michelin stars at his Menton restaurant Mirazur. Colagreco’s eponymous signature restaurant is an ode to British terroir, focusing on locally produced, seasonal ingredients. Menus might feature the likes of Jerusalem artichoke with hazelnut and Cornish monkfish; lettuce with vermouth and cockle sauce; and red berries with yoghurt shiso ice cream and shiso leaf. Next door, Mauro’s Table is an intimate chef’s table dining space, where up to 20 guests can sample a creative tasting menu called The Knotted Garden. Across the hallway is Saison – Colagreco’s fresh, elegant take on the traditional all-day brasserie.
Visit Raffles.com
Bambi
Broadway Market
Bambi is a music-led wine bar and restaurant from James Dye (co-owner of Franks in Peckham and The Camberwell Arms) and chef Henry Freestone, who previously won a Bib Gourmand at Peckham Cellars. Bambi operates as a wine bar and restaurant in the early evening (and has already made a name for itself with its martinis), then DJs take over, playing tunes from a custom-built wall of records over a high-spec vintage sound system until 1am on weekends. On the menu, expect to find casual snacks and main dishes like cauliflower cheese arancini; chicken parm ciabatta, vodka marinara with pickles and aioli; and Dedham Vale rump with lemon and confit garlic.
Visit Bambi-Bar.com
Lasdun
South Bank
The team behind the critically acclaimed The Marksman in east London now looks after a brasserie inside the National Theatre. Named in honour of the landmark building’s architect Sir Denys Lasdun, the restaurant loads its menus with classic and contemporary dishes: think smoked eel, pressed potato and cured ham; Cornish crab with salt lemon and a saffron bun; whole Cornish john dory; and a chicken, wild garlic and leek pie. On the pudding front, look out for the team’s much-loved brown butter tart with vanilla set cream. As well as offering pre and post-theatre menus, a full à la carte menu is offered from 5pm to 11pm. Lasdun also houses the ultimate destination for a nightcap along the Thames – drop by for a drink at the beautiful dark marble bar, which offers cocktails and wine alongside shellfish and small plates.
Visit LasdunRestaurant.com
The Midland Grand Dining Room
King’s Cross
This handsome spot is named after The Midland Grand – the 19th-century Gothic-revival hotel that first occupied the building that’s now the St Pancras Renaissance hotel. Headed up by Allegra’s Patrick Powell, the beautiful restaurant takes inspiration from the original space, which was renowned for its French haute cuisine. Highlights from Patrick’s menus have so far included moreish comte gougeres; an incredible crab on toast with elderflower and shellfish sauce; sea trout with sorrel, smoked butter and vermouth beurre blanc; plus a soufflé de jour (ours was chocolate and banana – and truly excellent) as well as bombe alaska with raspberry and verbena to share. Look out too for the pommes pallaison with snails bourguignon, ’nduja and guanciale, which is surely a contender for dish of the year. And kick things off with a pre-dinner cocktail (we liked the ‘Thirsty Gargoyle’) in the handsome adjoining Gothic Bar.
Claridge’s Restaurant
Mayfair
After a summer soft launch, Claridge’s Restaurant officially opened its art deco doors onto Davies Street in September, embarking on a new era and coming fully in house. The contemporary British restaurant sees chef Coalin Finn head up the kitchen and some of the dishes he’s devised – such as the whole grilled native lobster – have already become Insta hits. Like some of the Maybourne hotel group’s other spaces, the restaurant has been designed by Bryan O’Sullivan Studio and pays homage to the hotel’s art deco design, with a contemporary colour palette complemented with Calcutta Viola marble and antique brass.
Visit Claridges.co.uk
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