Restaurant radar: May 2023

Lilienblum​
Israeli chef Eyal Shani has already brought something fresh to the dining scene with Miznon, and he hopes to do it again with his new venture Lilienblum. Named after the street of one of Shani’s first restaurants in Tel Aviv, the restaurant will have an ‘interactive’ open kitchen and will serve an Israeli-inspired menu divided by ingredients rather than starters and mains. Dishes on the launch men will include green asparagus ‘perfectly arranged in a paper envelope’; seafood pan roasted in ‘tomato ovaries’; and ribeye steak, ‘the way GOD intended’.
80 City Rd, London EC1Y 2BJ​
lilienblum.co.uk​​

BAO Mary​

Billed as BAO’s take on a Taiwanese dumpling house, BAO Mary will be located just of Oxford Street on Marylebone’s James Street. Dumpling options will include boiled cull yaw dumplings; boiled prawn dumplings; and pan-fried mushroom guo tie dumplings. Other dishes include street food-style Majiang noodles; bone marrow, cured egg and gao rice; Taiwanese-fried chicken chop; and beef tendon nugget with burnt chilli sauce. A selection of BAO’s eponymous bao buns will also feature on the menu. Entering beneath a coffee-coloured awning, guests will step into a dining room which is both ‘utilitarian and nostalgic’. Diners can sit on white stools at low tables covered with pale green glass, or at the counter at the rear of the restaurant, with a view into the kitchen. The upstairs space is dedicated to smaller tables while the downstairs space can be booked by larger groups.
56 James Street, London W1U 1HF​
baolondon.com/restaurant/bao-mary​​

The Campaner​
Barcelona-based restaurant group Los Reyes del Mango will make its international debut in May having secured a site within London’s Chelsea Barracks. Created by the group’s founder Mar Martin, The Campaner takes its name from the Catalan tradition of the town bell ringer and will offer ‘relaxed all-day dining with Barcelona soul’ but won’t be a traditional Spanish restaurant as such, offering ‘a varied menu of simple, seasonal dishes that are firmly rooted in the finest local ingredients’. Martin is best known for his trendy Terraza Martinez and Frankie Gallo Cha Cha Cha in Barcelona. One Terraza Martinzez signature classic will feature on The Campaner’s menu – the monkfish and lobster casserole – but reimagined with local ingredients. The dish is served in two stages: first the lobster, monkfish, and potatoes are served, before the casserole is returned to the kitchen and the remaining sauce mixed with poached eggs, more potatoes, and fish fumet, to be returned to the table as the second course, served with fresh bread.
Chelsea Barracks, 1 Garrison Square, London SW1W 8BG​
thecampaner.com​​

The Abbey Inn​

The latest venture from the Tommy Banks Group, The Abbey Inn will be located down the road from Banks' Michelin-starred flagship restaurant The Black Swan at Oldstead and serve a menu that brings the hyper-local, sustainably focused ethos for which the chef is known to the forefront. Head chef Charlie Smith will be spearheading the pub’s food offer, using produce primarily sourced from the Banks family’s farm in Oldstead. Dishes will include confit chicken brioche dumplings with lemon verbena; smoked baby beetroot with ewe’s curd and ‘rhuboshi’; and salt aged bavette tartare with fermented peppers and smoked bone marrow. Boasting views over Byland Abbey, the historic site, which has operated as a public house since 1853, has undergone a complete remodelling ahead of the launch and will feature a 'state-of-the-art kitchen, relaxed dining room and cosy bar area'. In addition, the pub will include a number of rooms, with guests able to book a two-night package that will allow them to dine at both the new pub and The Black Swan.
The Abbey Inn, York YO61 4BD​
abbeyinnbyland.co.uk​​

Maison de Beouf​
Steak frites and not much else is on offer at this new Cardiff-based Parisian-inspired bistro. Located in the city’s Castle Arcade, Maison De Boeuf will serve a prix-fixe, set menu built around a single main course of Welsh beef steak and fries with a selection of classic French starters and Parisian-inspired desserts the only other options.
21 Castle Arcade, Cardiff CF10 1BU​
maisondeboeuf.com​​

Restaurant OXA ​
Located on the former Restaurant Fraiche site in Oxton, Restaurant OXA is the latest venture from prolific restaurateur Andrew Sheridan. Named after the Old Norse word oxa-tún, which represents the word Oxton, the new restaurant promises to focus on seasonal British produce and nostalgic flavours.
11 Rose Mount, Oxton, CH43 5SG​
restaurantoxa.co.uk​​

Cantinetta Antinori​

Originally set for an Autumn 2022 launch, Cantinetta Antinori will open later this month on Knightbridge’s Harriet Street. Famed Tuscan wine family Antinori opened its first Cantinetta Antinori in Florence in 1957. Much more recently, it has turned it into an international luxury restaurant brand opening sites in Zurich, Moscow, Vienna and Monaco. It will serve an all-day menu of traditional Tuscan food along with a selection of fine wines that are all sourced from Antinori-owned estates. The Antinori family has been producing wine for over six centuries and today produces some of Italy’s most iconic wines including Sassicaia. “We are excited to begin our new story in London and welcome the community with our heartfelt Tuscan hospitality,” says Allegra Antinori. 
4 Harriet Street, London SW1X 9JR​
cantinetta-antinori.uk​​

Midland Dining Room​

Patrick Powell already oversees the food offer at Booking Office 1869 at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and now he’s also moving next door at the gothic revival 19th century building. Named after The Midland Grand Hotel, the impressive dining room will be the perfect backdrop for Powell’s equally impressive cooking with a menu that will feature the likes of comte gougeres; sea trout, sorrel, smoked butter and vermouth beurre blanc; tomato tarte tatin, artichoke, courgette and parmesan; a ‘soufflé de jour’.
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Rd, London NW1 2AR​
midlandgranddiningroom.com​​

Lasdun​
John Ogier, co-founder of Shoreditch restaurant Lyle’s, has teamed up The Marksman’s founders Jon Rotheram and Tom Harris for their latest venture at the National Theatre. Their 90-cover Lasdun is described as a ‘timeless brasserie’ serving seasonal, locally sourced ingredients where you can expect some of the Marksman’s signature classics, including its seasonal pies to share, buns and a new take on its brown butter and honey tart alongside new dishes.
National Theatre, Upper Ground, London SE1 9PX​

Blacklock Canary Wharf​

The fifth site for this London-based chophouse group will also be its biggest, with space for 120 covers. The restaurant, located in a warehouse on the North Dock under the railway tracks, will have all the trappings of its sister venues but with the addition of a bar menu for the first time. Here you will be able to order drink-friendly plates of pork scratchings; French dipped bone marrow buns;  pigs in nuggets made with Middlewhite pork collar and black pudding; as well as crab rarebit, the first seafood dish on any Blacklock menu.
5 Frobisher Psge, London E14 4AA​
theblacklock.com/restaurants/canary-wharf​​

Carlotta​

Mere months after the launch of Jacuzzi, its four-storied ‘pleasure palace' in London’s Kensington, French-owned Italian restaurant group Big Mamma is back again, this time launching an ‘intimate trattoria’ in Marylebone Village. Called Carlotta, it will be the group’s fifth outpost in the capital and feature a long skylit dining room with leather furnishings, golden drapes and a soft suede ceiling as well as a Venetian marble cocktail bar and a ruby red terrace. The basement will be home to an 80’s style drinking den in midnight blue that will also house an open kitchen. In keeping with Big Mamma’s indulgent food style, Carlotta will serve sharing dishes Neapolitan and Sicilian classics ‘with a retro Italian-American twist’. Menu items will include rosé veal tartare; tempura shrimp cocktail; penne alla vodka with Cornish crab; and lamb arrosticini skewers. True to its other venues it will also serve a show-stopping dessert, which this time comes in the form of a giant 10-tiered chocolate fudge cake.
77-78 Marylebone High St, London W1U 5JX​
bigmammagroup.com/en/trattorias/carlotta​​

Meet Bros​
Malaysian-owned steakhouse concept Meet Bros will launch in London’s Paddington later this month. Billed as a ‘semi-fine dining experience’, the restaurant is a joint venture between the group that created Malaysia’s Me’nate Steak Hub and Serai Group, which operates a number of different restaurant concepts in Malaysia including Jibby, Blonde and its eponymous Thai format Serai. Steaks will be sourced from all over the world with diners invited to select their preferred cut and have it flavoured with their choice of Asian marinade. The alcohol-free and fully-halal Craven Road restaurant says it will celebrate ‘the meeting’ of Asian and Western cuisines.
29-31 Craven Rd, London W2 3BX​
meetbros.co.uk​​

Salt Shed Brighton ​
Having had significant success within London’s street food scene Salt Shed has chosen central Brighton as the location for its first permanent restaurant site. The brand started out with a focus on salt beef and pastrami but its offering has extended considerably to include burgers and grilled meats. Billed as a British barbecue born in South East London,  Salt Shed’s current locations including Boxpark Shoreditch, Bermondsey, Wandsworth and a pop-up in Mill Hill. The brand have already dipped its toe in the water of the seaside city with a concession at Shelter Hall. Salt Shed’s Brighton site is located moments from the Royal Pavilion on the former site of Blakeaway on Church Street. 
111 Church Street, Brighton BN1 1UD​
www.salt-shed.co.uk​​

Noci Battersea​

Neighbourhood pasta restaurant Noci will launch its second London site this month within the newly-restored Battersea Power Station. Opening close to where JKS’s Arcade Food Hall is expected to launch later this year, Noci Battersea will serve small plates and pasta dishes, as well as snacks inspired by Sicilian street food and cocktails on tap. Small plates and snacks on the menu will include Islington-favourite saffron and ‘nduja arancini; charred octopus salad with lemon dressed potatoes; ‘nduja and ricotta; and burrata with rainbow chard, garlic, lemon and chilli. Pasta options, meanwhile, will include brown butter cacio e pepe ziti, silk handkerchiefs served with sautéed leeks, mint, peas, walnuts and a Burford Brown egg yolk; and veal and pork Genovese ragu with monk’s head cheese. A compact dessert menu will feature Gianduja chocolate and hazelnut budino; and ricotta cheesecake, clementine jelly and dark chocolate.
Battersea Power Station, London SW11 8BN​
nocirestaurant.co.uk/​ ​