Looking forward: 2019 London restaurant openings to greedily anticipate
The 2019 restaurant openings we are most looking forward to
EartH Kitchen to bring sustenance to Hackney culture centre
Providing sustenance with St John pared down, provenance-driven style, EartH Kitchen is a collaboration between Chris Gaillard (former executive chef of St John restaurants) and Aura Foxcroft, founder of Village Underground. Situated within the repurposed Hackney Arts Centre, it promises to be the place for cultural creatives with an East London edge who appreciate good, unfussy, seasonal and locally sourced produce.
Expect rilettes, hearty stews. roast lamb with pickled raisins, vibrant vegan dishes such as roast carrots, crisp polenta, fennel, radichio and salsa verde, as well as good old-fashioned puddings. Steamed ginger pudding and custard couldn't offer a better antidote to winter.
Former St John's cocktail maestro Tony Castillo is mixing the drinks and there's thoughtfully curated music from raucous Thursday evening jazz to mellow Sunday night DJ sets.
Peter Sanchez-Iglesias of Bristol's Casamia at London's new Standard Hotel
Gastronomically the most eagerly anticipated opening of 2019 is likely to be celebrated Bristol chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias opening his first London venture in the rooftop restaurant of new The Standard hotel in King's Cross.
Sanchez-Iglesias promises hugely creative and precise cooking with bold flavours. His menus are known for offering single words whose definitions only become clear on the menu. These might include carabineros prawns, parmesan or blackberries.
Both the roof-top restaurant and Adam Rawson's ground floor restaurant at The Standard Hotel will be overseen by New York prodigy of Mission Chinese Angela Dimayuga.
Hot culinary duo Jackson Boxer & Andrew Clarke to open Orasay inspired by the Outer Hebrides
Who knows where Orasay is? Chef-restauranteur Jackson Boxer and his business partner chef Andrew Clarke (who most recently opened St Leonard's in Shoreditch) are putting this Outer Hebridean island off the west coast of Scotland on the culinary map in Notting Hill. From one extreme to another!
Seafood will, unsurprisingly, form the backbone of the menu: oysters, langoustine, scallops, razor clams, crabs, and lobster from the Hebrides. It promises to reflect their belief in "unting over beautiful food in a thoughtful room for sparkling conversation". Who would argue with that?
Cornish seafood supremo chef Nathan Outlaw to open at The Goring Hotel
Cornish multi award-winning chef Nathan Outlaw has much to smile about. He is opening a new seafood restaurant at the iconic Goring Hotel, the only family owned luxury hotel in London, and, it must be said, a favourite of the Royals.
This will only add to his stellar reputation for creating simple seafood dishes of understated brilliance, already recognised with three Michelin stars between his two Cornish restaurants.
The new restaurant will be housed in an ornate orangery overlooking The Goring's majesctic, secluded gardens designed by the inimitable Russell Sage with the help of some very special craftsmen and designers.
Alongside the restaurant, the hotel’s bar is set to become a destination in its own right transformed into a brighter and more lively space serving classic cocktails and British spirits in impeccable style with a subtle streak of wit.
Poolside dining in Vauxhall! The Dairy's Robin Gill to open Derby at Embassy Gardens
Fancy pool snacks with a cheeky Irish edge and housemade vermouths at a sky-high pool in Vauxhall?
The good news is that, though only residents of the mega luxe Embassy Gardens development (and members) will have access to the pool, the poolside restaurant, Derby, is open to everyone. This is the largest restaurant yet from ultra-talented Robin Gill who trained at Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons, and is chef-proprietor of Clapham's The Dairy. It will be a laidback, homey restaurant where he showcases his Irish heritage and keeps to his belief in cooking with only ethically sourced produce.
The restaurant is named in homage to Gill's Dad and will have a clearer Irish inflection to the menu than his other restaurants, as well as a big emphasis on wood-fire cooking, fermenting and in-house drink production.
Quique Dacosta: bringing Valencian rice specialities to London
Quique Dacosta, the highly regarded three Michelin star Valencian chef, is opening a rice-focused restaurant in Fitzrovia, Arros QD, early next year. Dacosta is well known for his creative, often flamboyant presentations so expect some fireworks and surprises.
Arros QD promies to elevate Spanish dishes featuring rice to new heights, together with other seasonal and regional ingredients.
Parrillan: table-top bbq Spanish style comes to King's Cross
There is no stopping the Barrafina team. In May, Parrillan, a terrace bar and grill, will open at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross,
The name Parrillan is taken from the Spanish ‘parilla,’ meaning ‘grill’. The table-top grilling of beautiful British produce takes inspiration from Executive Chef Angel Zapata Martin’s favourite Ibicencan restaurant, C’an Pilot, where he used to eat during his time working as a private chef on the island. Dining will be relaxed and participatory, as well as delicious: guests will cook their own meats, fish and seafood at their own table-top grills. It will be a terraced, partially covered space.
Parrillan is the final opening from Harts Group at Coal Drops Yard, joining Barrafina, Casa Pastor, Plaza Pastor and The Drop wine bar, which opened on 26th October 2018.
Bob Bob Cité: French country cuisine and champagne with Eric Chavot
Sibling to the West End's louche BBR, French chef Eric Chavot (his CV includes Pierre Koffmann, Marco Pierre White) brings his prodigious talent to Bob Bob Cite for a riff on French country food with special attention to the Arcachon region famous for its seafood and where Chavot grew up. Expect glamour, classics and press the button for Champagne served in magnums and jeroboams too.
Check the restaurant's twitter for updates
Maremma: putting the culinary spotlight on coastal Tuscany in Brixton
The unspoilt coastal region of Southern Tuscany is little known outside Italy. Alice Staple and co-proprietor Dickie Bilenberg are set to put this region on the map. Alice will draw on her travels and experiences of the fantastic seafood, olives, salumi to offer classic Tuscan dishes through a modern lens: expect dishes including wild boar proscuitto, spinach and ricotta tortelli, as well as bistecca alla Fiorentina.
Wines will be sourced from local producers, never available before in the UK. The interior will reflect the Maremma with silvery-sage colours echoing the olive groves, the terracotta of Etruscan hilltop towns and the blue Tyrrhenian sea with oak tables made from wood native to the area.
Mercato Mayfair: dream foodie playground
Housed in the beautiful Grade 1 St Mark's Church in Mayfair, the Mercato Metropolitana team are creating a new, sustainable and community-focussed culinary hub working with Grosvenor Estate. It will house restaurants, cocktail bars, delis and patisserie and a curated programme of culinary and cultural events in the centre of Mayfair. It promises to be a foodie's dream playground.
Corbin & King arrive in St John's Wood with Arts & Crafts inspired Soutine
Taking inspiration from the great boulevard cafes of Paris, Soutine in an impressive Edwardian period building, with a design evoking the Arts & Craft Movement, will be in many ways similar to Sloane Square's Colbert.
The pavement and front area will offer relaxed cafe style eating with a slightly more formal dining area at the back.