By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food
With plenty of exciting restaurant openings constantly taking place across the Capital, here’s our pick of the best new restaurants arriving in London over the coming month.
Big Easy Bar.B.Q & Lobstershack – Canary Wharf
Opening new restaurant that’s “reminiscent of a turn of the century dock-side warehouse with all the intrigue and excitement of goods shipped from Southern states of America and the rest of the world”, Big Easy Bar.B.Q & Lobstershack will be arriving at Canary Wharf’s Crossrail Place this month. Marking the restaurant’s third London opening before plans to spread out across the UK, the new space will feature plenty of room for alfresco BBQ with spectacular views, an oyster bar and what’s rumoured to be the biggest BBQ pit room in the UK. Expect plentiful portions of American comfort food from this exciting new opening.
Big Easy Canary Wharf is set to open on November 4th and can be found at 1 Crossrail Place, London E14.
German Gymnasium – King’s Cross
A new opening from D&D London (the people behind Angler, Le Pont de la Tour and Skylon) is arriving at King’s Cross this month. Taking over the newly renovated Grade II listed gymnasium designed by architect Edward Gruning in 1865, German Gymnasium will feature a series of cafés, restaurants and bars within the huge 447-cover complex. As for the main restaurant, German-born executive chef Bkoern Wassmuth will bring a grand café and brasserie-inspired menu with a range of Mittel-European dishes as a nod to Germany’s food and drink heritage.
German Gymnasium is set to open on November 12th and can be found at 1 Kings Boulevard, London, N1C 4BU.
Orange Elephant – Chelsea
Opening in a spot known as ‘The Beach’ on Fulham Road, this month, Orange Elephant is the brainchild of chef Jai Parkinson. Within the restaurant, the focus is on good quality steak, so much so that there’s not even going to be a menu. Instead, diners will be invited to sample the signature dish of 12oz sirloin steak (cooked using a Big Green Egg barbeque) that’s served with a special house sauce, hand cut chips and a side salad, all for £20. Taking it’s name from the breed of the South Devonshire cow from which the steaks are sourced, nicknamed after their bold appearance, Orange Elephant will also serve a vegetarian option, as well as a huge Tomahawk steak to share, but it’s clear that the real focus here is on the steak.
Orange Elephant is set to open in November and can be found at 351 Fulham Road, London, SW10 9TW.
Pizza Pilgrims – Exmouth Market
Since setting up a street-food stall at the tail end of 2011, following a pilgrimage to Italy, brothers James and Thom have opened two pizzerias in Soho, published a cookbook, their own Limoncello, and now they’re preparing to launch a brand new site in Exmouth Market. Within the 40-cover restaurant, guests will be treated to a selection between Pizza Pilgrims’ four Neapolitan pizza toppings, including classics Margherita and Marinara, as well as their own Carbonara and spicy Nduja creations. What’s more, there will also be a lunchtime only Zuppa menu from a market stall, combining all of their favourite pizza ingredients, served as a soup. This will be accompanied by a roll for dipping – made from their pizza dough, with some fior de latte, olives and garlic baked in. On top of the food available at the newest Pizza Pilgrims branch, the team will also be launching the ‘World’s First Pizza Box Art Gallery’, inviting the diners to draw/paint/collage their own creations onto one of the pizza boxes, and the very best creations will receive a free pizza.
Pizza Pilgrims is set to open in November and can be found at 15 Exmouth Market, London, EC1R 4QD.
Pho & Bun – Soho
Having opened Holborn’s Viet Eat in 2013, Andy Le is currently preparing to open his next quintessentially Vietnamese restaurant venture. Taking residence in Soho’s Shaftesbury Avenue, Pho & Bun will specialise in classic Pho Noodle Soup as well as something completely new for London – their own steamed milky bun burger. Combining the trend for steamed buns with a patty that’s made using 28-day dry aged beef, served with Viet Eat’s signature smoky mayonnaise and a selection of different herbs and salad. As for the interiors at Pho & Bun, leading Vietnamese design firm Water Architecture have been called in to create an atmosphere that reflects the country’s rich street food scene.
Pho & Bun is set to open on November 3rd and can be found at 76 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6ND.
Zelman Meats – Soho
Following the news of Rex and Mariano’s closure, it’s been announced that the people behind the popular seafood restaurant are now set to open a meat restaurant on the former site of Rex and Mariano’s. Named after the company’s boss Misha Zelman – Zelman Meats will attempt to bring a quality, accessible steak house to Soho, with another focus on slow-cooked larger cuts of meat. Also, as was not the case with the site’s previous venture, there will also be a takeaway lunch menu, which will include the likes of £5 steak sandwiches, which really is great value for a central London lunch.
Zelman Meats is set to open on November 2nd and can be found at 2 St Anne’s Court, London W1F 0AZ.