10 key restaurants opening before the end of the year
Row on 5
Due to open on London’s Savile Row on or around 6 November, Row on 5 is a partnership between Jason Atherton and former head chef at The Ritz Spencer Metzger. The restaurant is set to be Atherton’s most ambitious in the UK and follows in the footsteps of Row on 45 in Dubai, Atherton’s similar concept that recently bagged itself two Michelin stars. Split over two floors, the restaurant will be divided into three distinct areas through which diners will ‘journey’ during the course of their 15-course meal. The menu will be priced at around £195, which seems fair given the pedigree of the chefs and the quality of the ingredients uses, but there will be the option to add two supplementary courses for those looking to splash out even more.
5 Savile Row, London W1S 3PB
jasonatherton.co.uk/
Shanghai Me
Set to take over the space previously occupied by Galvin at Windows on the 28th floor of the London Hilton hotel on Park Lane, Shanghai Me will be the latest opening in the capital for the Dubai-based Fundamental Hospitality. The rooftop restaurant will boast 1930s Shanghai-inspired interiors by designer Richard Saunders and feature deep red velvet chairs and low lighting intended to create a ‘glamourous and romantic atmosphere’. The menu is inspired by the culinary traditions of East Asia and will feature an extensive ‘library’ of dim sum; wagyu kushiyaki; and miso cod. Shanghai Me London will be complimented by the brand’s dedicated lounge concept, Bund, which is bill as being ‘opulent and richly decorated nightlife spot’.
28th Floor, 22 Park Lane, London, W1K 1BE
shanghaime-restaurant.com/
AngloThai
The wait is finally over. More than three years after husband and wife team John and Desiree Chantarasak (main image) announced they would be opening their debut restaurant it is finally being brought to life. Located on Marylebone's Seymour Place, AngloThai is yet another partnership with MJMK restaurants (see Fonda) and will be a 50-cover restaurant serving Thai-British cuisine. Dishes will make use of seasonal ingredients sourced within the British Isles but will draw inspiration from John’s Thai and British heritage as well as his time working in Thai restaurants including Som Saa in London and Nahm in Bangkok. Details of the menu are still under wraps but it will serve à la carte dishes designed to be shared accompanied by a Europe-focused wine list that will place the emphasis on biodynamic producers.
22-24 Seymour Place, London, W1H 7NL
anglothai.co.uk
Undercroft
Having made waves in Birmingham for several years, Carters of Moseley chef Brad Carter will make his London debut this autumn with his restaurant Undercroft located in the crypt of Mayfairʼs St Georgeʼs Church. Open from lunch through to late evening, the 107-seater dining room will be housed in a striking vaulted underground space. Carter will ‘bring his meticulous obsession with British produce and classics, reviving dishes that have disappeared off menus, elevating and giving them his signature playful, yet elegant takeʼ. Dishes will include wild garlic chicken toast; and sea tripe and seaweed soup to start and mains of Tamworth pork with creamed snails and sorrel; BBQ aged duck with offalʼd oats. Desserts will take in bread pudding with Beauvale and Cotswold sherry and strawberry and woodruff layer cake.
30a St George’s Church Mayfair, London, W1S 2FH
www.undercroftldn.com/
Boxhall London and Bristol
More than five years from first unveiling of plans to launch a smaller F&B-focused offshoot, ‘pop-up’ street food and retail mall business Boxpark is finally set to unveil its first Boxhall locations, with outposts in London and Bristol expected to open before the end of the year. Occupying a 17,000sq ft space, Boxhall London will be located within the historic Metropolitan Arcade building close to Liverpool Street station and feature 16 kitchen units as well as two internal bar areas, with space for 266 covers. The Bristol outpost, meanwhile, will take over the historic dockside O&M Sheds on Welsh Back in the city centre. Spread over 20,000sq ft, Boxhall Bristol will have seven kitchens and feature two terrace areas overlooking the waterside. Details on the roster of traders for each site are yet to be confirmed, but the openings mark a significant step forward in Boxpark’s expansion plans.
Fantomas
‘Modern European food ‘with an eye on Asia, particularly Japan’ is how chef Chris Denney describes the offer at his soon-to-open restaurant in Chelsea. Named after the arch villain fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, Fantomas sees Denney bring his diverse experience in various international cuisines to bear to ‘focus on an innovative and precise culinary experience’ - although quite how that pans out is yet to be revealed as he is so far keeping the restaurant’s dishes a secret. Denney has a (not so) secret weapon up his sleeve in that he is partnering with George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev, the duo behind respected London restaurants Goodman, Beast, Wild Tavern, and Lita, for his project, which makes it even more of a mouth watering prospect.
300 King’s Road, London, SW3 5UH
www.fantomas.co.uk/
Fonda
Santiago Lastra’s much-anticipated follow up to his hugely successful Mexican restaurant Kol will open early next month on Mayfair’s Heddon Street. Fonda once again sees the chef partner with MJMK Restaurants and promises to showcase ‘the evolution of Mexican cuisine’ serving traditional dishes in a more informal setting than his Marylebone-based fine dining restaurant. The corner restaurant - which will count the newly opened Ambassadors Clubhouse and Sabor as well as Casa do Frango, another MJMK restaurant, as its neighbours - will be split across two floors and will serve a contemporary a la carte menu that brings together the disparate regional styles from across Mexico. Smaller dishes will include sikil pak, a toasted pumpkin seed ‘guacamole’ with pine oil served with fried totopos for scooping; and chalk stream trout ceviche topped with thinly sliced squash aguachile and tostadas, while larger options will include ribeye topped with a layer of melted swaledale cheese on a flour tortilla; baja tacos with a cucumber, pistachio and mint sauce, chipotle and sourdough; and tostada with baked beetroot, seaweed oil, marigold and elderflower vinegar. The cocktail list also promises something different, with creations that will feature lacto-fermented tomatoes and chillies and mushrooms.
12 Heddon Street, London, W1B 4BZ
https://fondalondon.com
Jöro
Earlier this year, Luke French and Stacey Sherwood-French announced plans to relocate their Sheffield fine dining restaurant Jöro to a site within the Oughtibridge Paper Mill development, a move billed as a ‘significant milestone’ for the business. Scheduled for November, the restaurant’s relocation will form part of a larger dining destination developed by the couple that will also encompass two bar areas and an outdoor BBQ kitchen concept located on the terrace. Alongside this, the site will offer five studio rooms and two, one-bedroom apartments, giving guests the chance to stay for a foodie night or weekend. Designed by Luke and Stacey, the rooms will be Scandi-inspired, offering views of the Peak District border, and will include a kitchen, ensuites and homemade continental style breakfasts delivered to the room. There will also be a retail offering called Shop by Jöro, a deli shop within the mill selling a range of everyday ingredients.
Main Rd, Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, Sheffield, S35 0LB
jororestaurant.co.uk/
Pip
Part of the new Treehouse hotel in Manchester, Pip will mark the latest opening from former The Fat Duck chef Mary-Ellen McTague. Located on the ground floor of the hotel, Pip will serve dishes championing low-waste cooking and seasonal ingredients, with an emphasis on north west produce. McTague will take a ‘hands-on approach’ to sourcing ingredients working directly with suppliers including Littlewoods Butchers, Organic North, Courtyard Dairy, Platt Fields Market Garden and Cinderwood Market Garden. Dishes will include Carlingford oysters with fennel kimchi liquor; home-smoked mackerel with pickled beets, mustard cream, and rye; Lancashire hotpot with pickled red cabbage and oyster ketchup; and rhubarb fool with olive oil biscuits.
Blackfriars Street, Manchester, M3 2EQ
www.treehousehotels.com/manchester/eat-drink/pip
La Belezza
Manchester was expected to be the first regional location for Italian restaurant group Big Mamma but instead it has swooped on the former Vinoteca site in Birmingham for a new site that will open before the year is out. True to form for the Instagram-friendly restaurant group, La Bellezza will be a bold and brash 150-cover trattoria that will also feature a ‘whimsical’ 25-cover terrace and will no doubt make a splash in Brum’s casual dining food scene.
2 Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3 3AX
www.bigmammagroup.com/en/accueil
