Restaurant Radar: 10 openings to watch in February

By Chloe​

Drury House, 34-43 Russell Street, WC2B 5HA​

Trendy US vegan restaurant chain By Chloe will finally make its UK debut in Covent Garden on 6 February. The 70-cover site will serve its signature American menu, alongside veganised versions of British classics such as shepherd’s pie with seitan mince and beet ketchup; fish and chips (where the fish is made from crispy tofu); and sticky toffee pudding with coconut whipped cream. Fans of By Chloe won’t have long to wait for another, the group is set to launch its second UK site in Tower Bridge later this spring.

20 Stories​

1 Hardman St, Manchester M3 3EB​

D&D London has teamed up with chef Aiden Byrne for the opening its first Manchester restaurant. The 10,000 sq ft site will be split in to an 80-90-cover fine dining restaurant and 220-cover grill on the 19^th​ floor of the city’s No.1 Spinningfields development. Byrne is turning his back on tasting menus in favour of a la carte, with a choice of seven starters, mains and desserts on the fine dining menu. The grill will serve up more 'accessible' dishes such as fish and chips and cottage pie. Byrne’s role is chef director of the north at D&D, and he’ll be looking after any future openings outside London – potentially including Liverpool and Scotland.

Patty & Bun Brighton​

27 Ship St, Brighton BN1​

Patty & Bun is set to bring its burgers to the seaside with the launch of its first site in Brighton this month. The 60-cover restaurant in the city's busy South Lanes area will be the group’s first opening outside the capital, offering the same menu as its London sites - including the Ari Gold cheeseburger and Hot Chic chicken burger. Patty & Bun, which has nine London sites, says it is looking to work with property agency Shelley Sandzer on its further regional growth in the UK.

Tim Allen’s Flitch of Bacon​

The St, Little Dunmow, Dunmow CM6 3HT​

Chef Tim Allen has taken the reins at The Flitch of Bacon, Daniel Clifford’s Essex restaurant with rooms, this month. Allen has been appointed chef-partner at the site, and will create a new menu of British cuisine ‘with a modern edge’. Clifford opened The Flitch as a pub in 2015 and it has since relaunched as a destination restaurant following several changes of head chef over the past two years. Clifford said: “Due to the intense commitments of running a two-Michelin-star restaurant [Midsummer House] in Cambridge, there’s no one I’d trust The Flitch with more than Tim.”

Butterscotch Marylebone​

56 James St, Marylebone, London W1U 1HF​

Bea’s of Bloomsbury founder Bea Vo is bringing her pimped-up porridge to Marylebone with the launch of a second Butterscotch bakery and tearoom. . As well as specialising in signature cakes, the site will feature a customisable porridge bar, where diners pick a base and then choose from 60 different toppings. It will also have a larger focus on afternoon tea, with a breakfast version including mini versions of crumpets, porridge pots and smashed avocado on toast.

Purezza​

43 Parkway, London NW1 7PN​

Purezza, which bills itself as the UK’s first vegan pizzeria, is set to make its London debut. The Brighton-based restaurant has chosen a 100-cover, two-storey site in Camden as the location for its second restaurant. It will offer a fully vegan menu including sourdough pizzas topped with ‘ham’ and pineapple, and the ‘One Night in Bangkok’ topped with stir fried vegetables, sprouted beans, sriracha and peanut sauce.

Daddy Bao​

113 Mitcham Road, Tooting, London SW17 9PE​

Peckham-based Taiwanese restaurant Mr Bao launching a second site, Daddy Bao, in Tooting Broadway this month. Despite its different name, the new restaurant from Frank Yeung will offer a similar menu to its sister site including bao buns filled with pork, pickles and peanut powder; and beer marinated prawns. A sweet bao will be available for dessert, deep fried and filled with melted chocolate and toasted marshmallow.  The new opening is named after Yeung’s father Joe, a restaurateur of 31 years who was instrumental to the success of the first site.

Evelyn’s Table at The Blue Posts​

28 Rupert Street, London W1D 6DJ​

Palomar founders Layo and Zoe Paskin opened Soho pub The Blue Posts late last year, and its in-house restaurant will finally open its doors on 8 February. Evelyn’s will serve modern European dishes priced from £8-£22. Expect cuttlefish ragout; rock salt fillet of beef with bone marrow; and Brussel sprouts with oyster sauce and sesame. The 15-cover restaurant, located in the beer cellar of the pub, is the third concept to open in the three-storey site – joining the traditional ground-floor pub and The Mulwray cocktail bar on the first floor.

Chokhi Dhani London​

80 Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia​

Indian hospitality group Chokhi Dhani is making the jump to London to launch a restaurant on Riverside Walk, just along the Thames from the Battersea Power Station development. The company, which has operated hotels, restaurants and resorts in India since 1990, is set to bring its ‘fine food and vibrant atmosphere’ to the UK. Diners can expect an upstairs restaurant with a ‘regal ambience’ (there’ll be a 14ft bronze elephant statue weighing over two tonnes), and a more relaxed street food offering on the ground floor. Vishnu Natarajan, former executive head chef at D&D London’s Carom, will be overseeing the menu alongside Bhagwan Singh, who most recently cooked at Cinnamon Culture.

Jidori​

15 Catherine Street, London WC2B 5JZ​

Australian chef Brett Redman is opening a second site of his Dalston yakitori restaurant Jidori, in Covent Garden. The 50-cover site will offer an extended menu with small plates such as katsu curry scotch egg; tsukune (minced chicken with egg yolk); and ginger ice cream with miso caramel and sweet potato crisps. Head chef Shunta Matsubara is moving from the Dalston site to head up the kitchen.