New Restaurant Openings in London
Mele e Pere
46 Brewer Street, Soho, W1F 9TF
Mele e Pere - an 80-seater northern Italian restaurant - has opened on Brewer Street in Soho. The contemporary trattoria and vermouth bar is co-owned by Peter Hughes and chef Andrea Mantovani, who has worked at Harry's Bar, Arbutus and Wild Honey. The menu includes dishes like salt cod 'alla Veneta'; orecchiette with Romanesco broccoli and clams; veal Ossobuco; and Bistecca alla Fiorentina.

Meursault
36 Gloucester Road, Kensington, SW7 4QT
L'Etranger have expanded next door with the opening of a new lounge bar and dining room. Meursault offers molecular cocktails, small plates, and a Japanese themed menu created by executive chef Jerome Tauvron. Diners can expect sashimi, tempura and sharing platters, plus luxury mini burgers made with crab, Wagyu beef, and lobster.

Hix Belgravia
Belgraves Hotel, Pont Street, Belgravia, SW1X 9EJ
Mark Hix has opened Hix Restaurant and Mark's Bar at the new Belgraves Hotel on Chesham Street in Belgravia. The 80-seater restaurant offers 'a menu inspired by Mark's travels from around the world', while the bar pays homage to his ever-popular Soho drinking den. The venue also boasts 'a stylish cigar garden with commissioned artwork by British artist Mat Collishaw.'

Boqueria
192 Acre Lane, Brixton, SW2 5UL
Galante
87 Sloane Avenue, South Kensington, SW3 3DX
The Oyster Shed
Ground Floor, 5 Angel Lane, City, EC4R 3AB
Pub group Geronimo Inns have opened a flagship site called The Oyster Shed on the ground floor of the headquarters of Japanese bank Nomura in the City. Locals can look forward to carefully selected wines and beers, Bar Boards to snack on, and great views of the River Thames. The main menu features seafood, a rare breed burger, and steak and oyster pie.

Meat People
4-6 Essex Road, Islington, N1 8LN
Dabbous
39 Whitfield Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 2SF
Ollie Dabbous (formerly of Texture) has opened his own restaurant with mixologist Oskar Kinberg (ex-Cuckoo Club) in Fitzrovia next year. Dabbous serves a modern European menu of small plates as well as a seven course tasting menu priced at 49 pounds. The Whitfield Street restaurant is spread over two floors, with a basement bar offering bar snacks and an extensive range of cocktails.

Enoteca Super Tuscan
8a Artillery Passage, Spitalfields, E1 7LJ
Leon de Bruxelles
24 Cambridge Circus, Covent Garden, WC2H 8AA
One of Belgium's oldest restaurants, Chez Leon, has opened the first UK branch of its Leon de Bruxelles chain in London. The Covent Garden eatery serves Belgian beers, traditional fish soup, crisp frites, waffles, and - of course - moules in a range of delicious sauces, from the classic Mariniere to the more unusual Madras curry sauce. Leon de Bruxelles is initially open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with afternoon tea launching later in 2012.

Pitt Cue Co
1 Newburgh Street, Soho, W1F 7RB
Following the success of their Southbank BBQ van, the Pitt Cue Co team have opened a permanent Soho site near Carnarby Street. Diners can squeeze into the bijou basement space and feast on trays of pulled pork, juicy brisket, ribs, and sides like burnt ends mash, smoky beans and crispy pickled shitake mushrooms. The drinks list focuses on beer, bourbon and whisky-based cocktails, including the infamous pickleback.

The Lounge at Odeon (Whiteleys)
Odeon Cinema, Whiteleys, 151 Queensway, Bayswater, W2 4YN
The newly revamped Odeon cinema at Whiteley's offers a sophisticated snack menu devised by Rowley Leigh (Le Cafe Anglais). Diners can order without leaving their seat and choose from finger, fork and spoon options that are easy to eat in the dark. The menu includes a porchetta, fennel and apple ciabatta, red mullet and prawn risotto, and venison chilli.

Yipin China
70-72 Liverpool Road, Islington, N1 0QD
Now open in Islington, Yipin China is an authentic Hunanese restaurant. Chef Mingyuan Geng has put together a menu of traditional dishes from his native Hunan, alongside Sichuan and Cantonese classics. Don't miss Chairman Mao's red braised pork, deep fried beef with cumin, and the restaurant's signature dry wok dishes.

Giovanni Rana
17-19 Triton Street, Regent's Place, Euston, NW1 3BF
Italian pasta producer Giovanni Rana has opened its first UK restaurant near Euston. The chain was first launched by Giovanni Rana in Italy, where there are now 24 outlets. Situated on Regent's Place, the restaurant features open kitchens, a relazed dining room serving fresh pasta, and an antipasti and aperitivo area.

Tuk Cho
28-30 New Broadway, Ealing, W5 2XA
Antico
214 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3TQ
Now open on Bermondsey Street, Antico is a new Italian restaurant with a separate lounge bar. Diners can drop in after work for aperitivo snacks washed down with an Aperol Spritz or glass of Prosecco. The a la carte menu includes antipasti and spuntini, as well as full size plates like pork agnolotti, bistecca di Fiorentina, and pan-roasted sea bream.

Burger & Lobster
29 Clarges Street, Mayfair, W1J 7EF
The team behind the ever-popular Goodman steakhouses have launched their latest project, Burger & Lobster, in Mayfair. There's no menu - just a choice of their infamous burger or a whole lobster (steamed and grilled or in a roll) for £20. The bar is fully stocked with fine wine, Champagne and cocktails by Soul Shakers priced around the 7.50 mark.

Obika
West Wintergarden, 35 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, E14 5NW
Obika Mozzarella Bar is now open in Canary Wharf. It specialises in fresh mozzarella, which is flown in three times a week from artisanal producers near Naples. Diners can opt for classic tasting plates or try the mozzarella in salads, with smoked salmon, or melted over lasagna and pizza. There is also a takeaway counter for lunch on the go.

The Angel & Crown
58 St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden, WC2N 4EA
The ETM Group (The Botanist, Chiswell Street Dining Rooms) have opened their first West End gastropub in Covent Garden. The ground floor operates as a traditional pub whilst the first floor provides an informal dining room for lunch, dinner and pre/post theatre meals. Ingredients are sourced from select farms and Billingsgate fish market and the menu offers seasonal British dishes and bar snacks.

East Street
3-5 Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia, W1T 1HJ
Caparossa
3B The Piazza, 30 Brewhouse Lane, Putney Wharf, SW15 2JX
BAKU
164 Sloane Street, Knightsbridge, SW1X 9QB
Flute Champagne Bar
4 Great Portland Street, Oxford Circus, W1W 8QJ
Flute Champagne Bar, which already has sites in New York and Paris, now has a London branch on Great Portland Street. The fizz-focused lounge-bar offer over 100 sparkling wines and Champagnes available by the glass and bottle. If you're hungry, Flute's spring roll bar serves 20 different Vietnamese fusion creations.

ICN Cafe
96-98 Leonard Street, Shoreditch, EC2A 4RH
Now open in Shoreditch, this minimalist cafe is part of the ICN Gallery - a new contemporary art space that showcases the work of up-and-coming artists from Japan and other Asian countries. The ICN Cafe serves 'honest-to-goodness Japanese food' and high-quality teas. Locals and gallery visitors can tuck into authentic Japanese dishes like onigiri (rice balls), chicken karaage, and hearty nimono (simmered) dishes like braised chicken and vegetables.

The Delaunay
55 Aldwych, Covent Garden, WC2B 4BB
KIN
88 Leather Lane, Clerkenwell, EC1N 7TT
Bukowski Grill
Unit 61 Boxpark, Bethnal Green Road, E1 6GY
Now open at the Boxpark in Shoreditch, the Bukowski Grill is the brainchild of Robin Freeman (long time head chef of Soho members club Blacks) and Alberto Figueroa (ex-Green and Red). They're serving 'good, greasy, mouthwatering gourmet burgers cooked in the fires of the legendary and infamous charcoal Josper Oven.'

The Lucky Pig
5 Clipstone Street, Fitzrovia, W1W 6BB
Busaba Eathai (King's Rd)
356-364 King's Road, Chelsea, SW3 5UZ
Pizarro
194 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3TQ
Following the success of his Bermondsey Street tapas bar, acclaimed Spanish chef Jose Pizarro has opened a more formal restaurant on the same street. Pizarro will feature a bar with a huge selection of cavas, sherries and wines, where diners can graze on snacks, cheese and cold meats. In the 40-seater dining room, the menu will offer dishes that are more substantial than tapas but still suitable for sharing.

Bincho EC1
55 Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, EC1R 4QL
Alyn Williams at The Westbury
The Westbury Mayfair Hotel, Conduit Street, Mayfair, W1S 2YF
The restaurant formerly known as Artisan has been relaunched as Alyn Williams at The Westbury, a 45-seater fine dining restaurant. It is the first solo venture for Williams who joins the hotel after many years working with Gordon Ramsay and more recently heading up the kitchen for Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley Hotel.

Mishkin's
25 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 5JS
Russell Norman and Richard Beatty have opened Mishkin's, a Jewish deli and cocktail bar, in Covent Garden. Their fourth venture was inspired by the Jewish delis of the Lower East Side in New York and the traditional cafes in London's East End. It serves classic cocktails from the 1930s and 1940s with an emphasis on gin and the menu includes Brick Lane salf beef on soda bread, a classic Ruben sandwich on rye, and house-smoked beef brisket hash and eggs.

Colchis
39 Chepstow Place, Notting Hill, W2 4TS
34
34 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1K 2HD
Caprice Holdings (The Ivy, J Sheekey, Scott's) has opened a 100-seater steakhouse on South Audley Street in Mayfair. Head chef Paul Brown and his team will be serving carefully sourced meat and seasonal game cooked on a bespoke charcoal grill that was imported from Argentina. Carnivores can look forward to prime cuts of meat including Scottish dry-aged grass-fed, Australian Wagyu, US prime Creekstone Farm and organic grass-fed beef from northern Argentina.

Kitchen Joel Antunes
Embassy Mayfair, 29 Old Burlington Street, Mayfair, W1S 3AN
French chef Joel Antunes has launched a Provencal restaurant at Embassy Mayfair. Kitchen Joel Antunes showcases traditional Provencal dishes like sweetbreads with porcini, octopus salad with caponata, and roast sea bass with lemon. The restaurant's interior is inspired by 1950s and 1960s Riviera glamour.

Soif
27 Battersea Rise, Battersea, SW11 1HG
Ed Wilson and Oli Barker, the team behind the ever-popular Terroirs and Brawn, have launched their third site in Battersea. The restaurant, named Soif after the French word for thirsty, offers a concise daily-changing menu of dishes like scallops with lardo di colonnata, jugged hare, and heirloom beetroots with baked ricotta. The wine list will feature approximately 150 bins, with up to 18 available by the glass.

Goodman Canary Wharf
South Quay Waterfront, Canary Wharf, E14 9RU
Iberica Food & Culture (Canary Wharf)
10 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, E14 5NY
Iberica Food & Culture have opened their second restaurant in Canary Wharf. The Cabot Square restaurant serves the same authentic Spanish dishes and tapas as their Great Portland Street original, as well as offering a take-away and delivery service. The drinks menu includes beers and wines that were previously not exported outside Spain.

Union Jacks
4 Central St Giles Piazza, Covent Garden, WC2H 8AB
Jamie Oliver has opened the first outlet of his new Union Jacks chain at Central St Giles. The menu focuses on wood-fired flatbreads with British inspired toppings like slow-braised oxtail and brisket, roast pork shoulder, and Cornish sardines. Diners can also tuck into trad Brit starters like ham hock terrine, potted prawns, Arctic Roll and treacle tart.


