Restaurant radar: September 2021

Ekstedt at The Yard​
Michelin-starred chef Niklas Ekstedt opens his first restaurant outside of Stockholm this month. Located in Great Scotland Yard hotel in Westminster, Ekstedt at The Yard will open on 17 September bringing Ekstedt’s signature style of wood fired ‘old Nordic’ cooking to the UK. The restaurant will focus on Scandinavian cooking techniques with dishes to include oyster flambadou with smoked apple and beurre blanc nasturtium; ember baked leeks, white fish roe, and smoked roe deer; reindeer, smoked celeriac, black pudding and salt baked roots to share; and a cep soufflé with birch ice cream and blueberries for dessert.
3-5 Great Scotland Yard, London, SW1A 2HN
www.ekstedtattheyard.com​​

Kudu Grill​
Amy Corbin and Patrick Williams’ fourth venue is located in the former Truman’s pub on Peckham’s Nunhead Lane. The  50-cover restaurant is focused on the braai - a South African grill using only wood and charcoal - with a menu of dishes that will include grilled potato flatbread with lardo and wild garlic; fried pigs’ tails with honey mustard; harissa beef tartare with crispy shallots; and duck terrine with biltong scratchings while larger dishes come in the form of a dry-aged T-bone with beer pickled onions and onion treacle bordelaise; and a whole black bream with zhug butter roti.
57 Nunhead Lane, London, SE15 3TR
www.kuducollective.com/kudu-grill​​

Bibi​
Opening on 9 September, Bibi will be the debut restaurant from talented chef Chet Sharma, who has previously worked as a development chef at fine dining restaurants including Moor Hall and L’Enclume as well as Mugaritz in Spain. Bibi, which translates in Urdu as ‘lady of the house’, a term used as a term of endearment for grandmothers across the Indian subcontinent, will have a 13-cover kitchen counter overlooking a custom-built sigree charcoal grill as well as an outside terrace for a further 20 diners. Launched in partnership with restaurant group JKS, expect a menu of high-impact, highly seasonal Indian cooking.
42 North Audley Street, London, W1K 6ZP
www.bibirestaurants.com​

The Waterhouse Project​​
Chef Gabriel Waterhouse’s eponymous east London restaurant is opening in a permanent location in Hackney. The larger space will allow more diners to experience its ‘social fine dining’ approach that sets out to create an dinner party-like atmosphere rather than that of a typical restaurant dining room. Guests will have the option of sitting at communal tables or smaller ones located to the outer of the open-plan room and will be served a nine-course tasting menu that changes in entirety every month.
1 Corbridge Cresscent, London, E2 9DT
www.thewaterhouseproject.com​

The Sea, The Sea​​​
Alex Hunter and Leo Carreira are launching a sister restaurant ​​to their Chelsea restaurant-cum-fishmonger. Located within a railway arch in Acton Mews, the new restaurant will specialise in seafood dishes, including that which has been dry aged. It will be an ambitious restaurant, serving a 12-course, £110 tasting menu with a snacks menu of raw or nearly raw seafood that leads into a creative menu of dishes made using super fresh seafood alongside lesser-known produce.
Arch 337 Acton Mews, London, E8 4EA
www.theseathesea.net​​​​

Trattoria Brutto​​
Trattoria Brutto marks a welcome return for Polpo co-founder Russell Norman and will once again see him take inspiration from the food culture and restaurants of Italy, this time its Tuscan region. With a kitchen led by Oliver Diver, who started his career working with Norman at Polpo in Soho before spending more than two years with Anthony Demetre at Wild Honey, the east London restaurant will serve classics such as vitello tonnato; panzanella; chicken liver toasts; lamb chops al cartoccio; and pappardelle with wild boar as well as some lesser known Florentine dishes such as peposo (beef stew); and lampredotto (spicy tripe in a crusty panino).
36-37 Greenhill Rents, Cowcross St, London, EC1M 6BN
brutto​

Manthan​
Inspired by chef-patron Rohit Ghai’s extensive international career, Manthan will bring together home-style cooking, street food and more technical dishes when it opens early this month in Mayfair. The menu will include a number of Ghai’s mother’s signature dishes on the menu, including chatpata, tikkas, and chops as well as a section dedicated to Nepalese delicacy sekwa kebabs, and Rassedar curries. Manthan, meaning to churn and reflect, will be the 19th restaurant Ghai has been involved in.
49 Maddox Street, London, W1S 2PQ
www.manthanmayfair.co.uk​​

Kindle​
Phill and Deb Lewis will open their sustainability-focused restaurant in Cardiff city centre this month following two-years of fundraising, planning and renovation. Located in a former warden’s cottage in Sophia Gardens, Kindle’s kitchen will be headed up by chef Tom Powell, formerly of The Walnut Tree, and will serve a menu of dishes cooked over flame made using ingredients grown in the restaurant’s kitchen garden and greenhouse. Many dishes are vegetarian or vegan friendly and will include crispy potato with confit egg; artichoke carrot ceviche; collard greens with coal roasted onion; and white crab, radish with brown crab romesco.
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, CF11 9SZ
www.kindlecardiff.co.uk​

The Oarsman​
Former Fat Duck Group chief operating officer Nigel Sutcliffe and business partner James Mclean will reopen this Marlow pub later this month following a refurb. Described as a ‘bistro pub’ The Oarsman will have a bar area as well as a 50-cover bistro with additional outside seating areas. Mclean started his career at Reads in Kent before moving on to Interlude in West Sussex and The Greenhouse. He has also been head chef at The Stonor Arms in Henley-on-Thames and chef manager at The Goose, also in Oxfordshire.
46 Spittal Street, Marlow, SL7 1DB
www.theoarsman.co.uk​​

Yellowhammer​
Taking its name from the woodland songbird Yellowhammer is the new project from Where The Light Gets In chef Sam Buckley, in partnership with baker Rosie Wilkes and potter Joe Hartley, and is a bakery and deli by day and pizza and wine bar in the evening. Yellowhammer with serve a wide selection of bread, sweet and savoury buns as well as breakfast and lunch sandwiches in the day time with a pizza and natural wine night taking place on Friday and Saturday evenings.
15 Lower Hillgate, Stockport

Straits Kitchen​
Luxury London hotel Pan Pacifi finally opens its doors this month after a lengthy delay, as does its Singaporean restaurant Straits Kitchen. Headed up by executive chef Lorraine Sinclair and Singaporean group executive chef Tony Khoo, the restaurant will ‘showcases a melting pot of cuisines from Singapore’s many cultures’ using Asian ingredients that have been sourced and grown locally in the UK to minimise the carbon footprint. Dishes will include a teapot double boiled soup with chicken, galangal, red dates, and wolfberries; sirloin steak with roasted black garlic, Himalayan salted chips, lemongrass, and curry leaf; and grilled native lobster with orange, cardamom and Thai green salad.
80 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7AB
www.panpacific.com​​

MiMi Mei Fair​
Spread across three floors, this Chinese-inspired townhouse restaurant is a change in direction for restaurateur Samyukta Nair, who is behind high-end Indian restaurants Jamavar and Bombay Bustle. The Mayfair restaurant takes inspiration from the Forbidden Palace of Beijing, ancient folklore tales, and whimsical 1920s Shanghai for its interiors while the menu will comprise contemporary Chinese dishes from across Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China. Overseen by Chinese-Singaporean executive chef Peter Ho, dishes will include crispy langoustine with Périgord ruffle; and apple wood-smoked Chilean seabass with Shaoxingwine, sweet soya and fried leaks.
55 Curzon St, London W1J 8PG
mimimeifair.com​​

Koya Ko​
Billed as a more casual ‘little sister’ to the Japanese noodle brand’s existing Soho and City sites, Koya Ko will be John Devitt and Shuko Oda’s first east London restaurant. Opening in Hackney’s Broadway Market, KO will be inspired by the fast-paced dining of the train station noodle bars found in Japan and will be a no-reservation bar that will seek to bring Japan’s tachi-gui (standing while dining) culture to London with a standing counter for up to eight diners. For those wanting to sit the bijou bar will have 15 seats indoors and a further 25 outside.
12 Broadway Market Mews, London E8 4TS
www.koya.co.uk​​

Mamma Pastrama​
Landing in Carnaby at the tail-end of this month, Mamma Pastrama is the brainchild of co-founder and executive chef Jay Morjaria who has put together a menu focused on cured meats using his secret blend of spices. Modern reinterpretations of classic pastrami-based sandwiches is the main focus here, with options such as the Big MammaMelt, made with smoked chicken, bacon, house pastrami, mustard and pickled onions on toasted sourdough; and the pastrami and kimchi toastie made with house pastrami, spicy kimchi slaw and a three cheese mix.
13 Ganton Street, Carnaby, London, W1F 9PP
www.mammapastrama.co.uk​​

Tigre Tacos​
Tigre Tacos’ first permanent restaurant space in the capital will open above mezcal bar Doña on Stoke Newington High Street this month. Founded by chef Ramon Ramos, the taqueria is inspired by southern California’s thriving Mexican street food scene with signature dishes set to feature on the Stoke Newington menu to include the shrimp tacos with grilled king prawns, habanero and roasted pineapple salsa; calabacitas, courgette, baby corn and hibiscus flowers served with salsa verde and crème fraiche; and pulpo tostada, octopus ceviche on blue tostada with chilli oil.
92 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 7NY
tigretacos.com​​

The Avocado Show​
This rather strangely named restaurant with an obvious hero dish will make its London debut on Princes Street in Mayfair. Founded in The Netherlands in 2017, the Mayfair venue will be the first in the UK and will serve its Instagram-friendly food that includes its ‘avocado bun burger’ featuring a grain-fed beef patty, bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion and grill sauce, served between two avocado halves. The 50-cover restaurant will be open for breakfast through to dinner.
6 Princes Street, London W1B 2LG
theavocadoshow.com​​

Isola by San Carlo​
The 220 cover Isola by San Carlo is the latest opening from the family-run Italian restaurant group. Located in St Christopher’s Place, off London’s Oxford Street, the brasserie will take inspiration from the islands of Italy with its menu that will feature the likes of Sardinian lamb; porchetta; Sicilian red prawns, swordfish and tuna. Some of San Carlo’s signature dishes such as its tagliolini lobster will also feature. The light, yellow-hued restaurant will also have a 50-cover terrace modelled on a grand Sicilian home with foliage and flowers.
St Christopher’s Place, London, W1U 1AY
sancarlo.co.uk/restaurants/isola-london/​​

Bar Flounder​
London fishmonger Fin and Flounder, supplier to restaurants including Brat, Rochelle Canteen, The Clove Club, Lyles, Smoking Goat, Bright, is opening a seafood shack at Netil Market in London Fields. Called Bar Flounder the grab and go-style operation will have a menu of dishes such as a prawn burger with chipotle mayonnaise; salmon tartare served with truffle Torres crisps; and a lobster roll. It will also serve a weekend brunch menu that includes a lobster breakfast muffin with fried egg and cheese; and a scallop and bacon butty with tomato relish.
Netil Market, Westgate Street, London, E8 3RL
www.finandflounder.com​

Bayside Social​
MasterChef winner and restaurateur Kenny Tutt is looking to bring a touch a Miami to the West Sussex seaside town of Worthing with his latest venue. Bayside Social will join Tutt’s debut venue PITCH Restaurant & Cookery School, which opened in 2019 and is inspired by the modern beach clubs and the art deco scene on Miami’s South Beach. Located on the coastline, the glass-fronted building will serve a more casual menu than PITCH with dishes including garissa roasted cauliflower, roasted onion and dukkah; merguez lamb sausage, chickpea ragout and labneh; and grilled chicken thigh with spiced peanut and kohlrabi slaw. A breakfast and brunch menu launches on 11 September.
1 Beach Parade, Worthing, BN11 2FG
www.baysidesocial.co.uk​

The Broadcaster​
The former BBC television headquarters in White City will be home to The Broadcaster, a four-storey pub, dining room and rooftop bar which is due to open this month. The third opening from hospitality group Open House, which also operates The Lighterman in Coal Drops Yard and Percy & Founders in Fitzrovia, the restaurant will focus on sourcing sustainable and local British produce.
101 Wood Lane W12 7FW
www.thebroadcaster.co.uk​

Santo Remedio Taqueria​
Santo Remedio founders Edson and Natalie Diaz-Fuentes are returning to where it all began for them with the opening of a new site in London’s Shoreditch later this month. Their Santo Remedio Taqueria will take on the site formerly occupied by grab-and-go brand Pod, just round the corner from their successful but short-lived debut restaurant. Menu details are yet to be disclosed but its guacamole and grasshoppers, tuna tostadas; Baja-style fish tacos; and chicken tinga tacos are likely to feature.
55 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3HP
www.santoremedio.co.uk​​

Supa Ya Ramen​
Supper club Supa Ya Ramen finally opens its first permanent restaurant proper this month, on Kingsland Road in Dalston. The 20-seat ramen bar will serve a selection of ‘traditionally inauthentic’ ramen, such as a prawn head, miso and Ibérico pork fat soup, served cold, with seared prawns marinated in red pepper oil and crab meat; and a buttered toast-flavour broth with slow-roast tomato, smoked pork belly bacon and soft egg, alongside a tight range of small plates and side dishes. Supa Ya Ramen’s first bricks and mortar restaurant was to open on Hackney Road in March last year but its plans were scuppered by the Coronavirus pandemic.
499 Kingsland Road, London, E8 4AU
supaya​​

Colonel Saab​
Holborn Town Hall will be home to new all-day modern Indian restaurant and bar Colonel Saab this month. The project of Indian hotelier Roop Partap Choudhary, the 150-cove restaurant takes inspiration from his childhood travels throughout India with his parents and will be open from breakfast through to dinner with a brunch menu served at weekends. The menu has been developed in partnership with Indian food-writer and cook Karen Anand with breakfast dishes to include caramel and banana paniyaram, with jaggery sauce and all-day menu of dosas served with a choice of meat,seafood or vegetarian options; and rice dishes served in tiffins.
193-197 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7BD
colonelsaab.co.uk​​

The River restaurant​
The River Restaurant will be Gordon Ramsay’s second venue located in London’s The Savoy Hotel, joining his Savoy Grill. His latest project is replacing seafood restaurant Kasper’s but seafood will remain central to the new restaurant’s offer, which will have a raw bar serving fresh oysters; caviar; and fruits de mere platters. Matt Worswick, head chef at Savoy Grill, will now oversee both Ramsay restaurants at the hotel.
The Savoy, Strand, London, WC2R 0EU
www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com​​