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.
Coming soon to Crystal Palace, the team behind The Lido Café’s new opening will have a strong focus on Pizza and Beer. Named after traditional Aztec lore of the God of Fermentation and the Goddess of Alcohol spawning 400 Rabbits. Boasting some of the best Pizza London, the kitchen will use Sourdough to make their Pizzas and toppings will closely follow the food seasons. Elsewhere, there will also be a range of trendy British Artisanal Beer to accompany the Pizza, served in alternative measurements such as Schooners and Growlers.
Four Hundred Rabbits is open now and can be found at 30-32 Westow Street, London, SE19 3AH.
Set to feature a Beer-heavy food menu, Wahleeah is set to open this month as chef Dave Ahern’s first restaurant. Heavily inspired by Brooklyn’s thriving food scene, Wahleeah is the phonetic spelling of an old Brooklyn slang term “wallear” – a craving that can only be fixed by certain types of food. Not only does the menu feature Ahern’s penchant for Beer-based cooking, almost everything will be made in house, including specialty Salts, Flour, Cheese and Sauces, as well as Bacon and Meats also smoked on the premises. Set to include the likes of Oxtail and Onions in Stout with Horseradish Toast, Tuna Meatloaf with Polenta Nicoise and bloody Beer Sauce, Ricotta Dumplings with Rainbow Chard, Mushrooms and Beer Butter, amongst other scrumptious dishes. Also, the Wine list will be very limited, with just one selection of Red, White and Rosé, allowing a list of 30-40 Beers from both local and international Breweries to takeover and compliment the food on offer.
Walleah is set to open on September 3rd and can be found at 18 Farm Lane, London, SW6 1PP.
Last year, Thomasina Myers opened her first project since Wahaca – DF Mexico in Brick Lane’s Truman Brewery. Now, following the success of said outpost, the Chef is set to open another DF Mexico offshoot, this time in a revamped area on Central London’s Tottenham Court Road. Expect similar American and Mexican inspired flavours with plenty of Tacos, Burritos, and the like, while the new Restaurant will also be introducing a new dish – Carne con Chile crinkle-cut Fries, while plenty of frozen Margaritas and Mexican Beers will be on hand to accompany.
DF Mexico is set to open on September 17th and can be found at 28-29 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 1BU.
Also following in the success of their previous restaurant, the team behind The Lockhart will be expanding, set to open a brand new restaurant in the slightly more central location of Kingly Street. Named after a type of American house, Shotgun will feature a strong focus on low and slow Barbecue cooking onsite, with an open kitchen, striving to use the best quality British Meat, which will be smoked on Shotgun’s wood-burning smoker with English and European hard woods. Also, there’s going to be a very strong Cocktail bar, featuring a drinks list, which will focus heavily on Punch, put together by Matt Whiley, the man behind Peg + Patriot over in East London.
Shotgun is set to open in September and can be found at 26 Kingly Street, London, W1B 5QD.
Also coming to the Carnaby Street area this month, Dirty Bones will open their second restaurant, following the opening of their Kensington flagship a year and a half ago. Expect plenty of the Restaurant’s American Comfort Food, a brand new weekend Brunch Menu which features the likes of Steak & Eggs and The Benedict Burger (6oz Burger topped with Poached Egg, Black Treacle Bacon and Dirty Bones’ own Hollandaise Sauce). There will also be plenty of bespoke Cocktails available from the bar area.
Dirty Bones is set to open in September and can be found at Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, London, W1B 5PW.
MasterChef Champion Tim Anderson is finally set to open his long-awaited first restaurant in Brixton this month. Taking over the site of an old Pie & Eel House on Coldharbour Lane, Nanban is set to restore many of the original interior features, from where they’ll serve an array of traditional Southern Japanese food that Anderson has become acclaimed for, whilst continuing a selection of Brixton-inspired dishes. Carrying on the local focus, most of the food will be sourced from the nearby Brixton Market, and dishes will include the likes of Electric Eel (breaded, deep-fried Ell with Lime-Chilli-Ginger Sauce and Sanshō Pepper), another homage to the building’s origins. There will also be plenty of Ramen and Izakaya, as well as a bottle of F*ckYuzu sauce on every table, Anderson’s collaboration with The Ribman.
Nanban is set to open in September and can be found at 426 Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8LF.
Having launched the first Poco in Bristol, back in 2011, the first London outpost is set to open in Broadway Market this month. As with the original Poco, the new Restaurant’s menu will focus on Organic and seasonal produce, used in order to produce a selection of humble, rustic and affordable dishes. The evening menu will feature a strong seasonal Tapas focus, while Breakfast will also be served from 8:30am (10am on Weekends) with the likes of Organic Eggs on Sourdough with homemade Harissa, and much more.
Poco is set to open on September 7th and can be found at 129A Prichards Road, London, E2 9AP.
