It’s been a hot summer in more ways than one in the capital – with a string of scorching new restaurant openings landing alongside 30-degree days. Can’t snag a booking at Brockwell Park Lido or jet off to the Amalfi Coast? Book yourself into one of London’s freshest tables instead. Because let’s be honest: tucking into a good plate of food and a pint of something cold is an all-weather sport.
From the much-anticipated Duchy, stepping into the old Leroy site, to HelloJoJo from the Forza Win team in Camberwell, a design-led Vietnamese newcomer – Lai Ray – on Peckham Rye, and Josephine’s second site in Marylebone, there’s no shortage of brand-new spots to stick your fork into.
Of course, keeping up with London’s relentless wave of openings can feel like a full-time job – so we’ve done the legwork for you. Here’s our pick of the most exciting new and upcoming restaurants to try this July, plus a few recent favourites worth revisiting. It is our job, after all.
New London restaurant openings this July
Lai Rai
181 Rye Ln, London SE15 4TP
Dining at Lai Rai
Lai Rai has landed on Peckham’s Rye Lane with cold Saigon beers, sugarcane prawn skewers and a Ca Phe Martini that tastes like a disco in District 1. It’s Vietnamese bar-snack culture dialled up: fermented tofu with turmeric oil, twice-cooked crispy chicken with a fresh herb sauce, grilled betel leaf beef in coffee BBQ jus, and Laughing Cow ice cream laced with fish sauce (packed lunch nostalgia, eat your heart out). From Blair Nguyen (co-founder of the South East London project of Vinaxoa) and the Bánh Bánh team, it’s 50% childhood nostalgia and 50% afterparty sustenance. While there’s no pho on the menu, the traditional spices can be found on the quaffable cocktail list: the Pho Please is a mix of whiskey, pho-infused rice wine and house-made syrup. Môt, hai, ba, dô!
Set List
River Terrace South Side, Somerset House, WC2R 1LA
Dining at Set List
Setlist is the new bar, venue and general good-time enabler landing on Somerset House’s riverside terrace from 8 May. Built in a bespoke structure with views over the Thames, it’s part of the arts centre’s 25th birthday celebrations and promises a heady mix of live music, DJs, installations and snaffable food from some of London’s most exciting female chefs. The dream team behind it includes the folks behind Bar Elba, Bambi and Frank’s in Peckham, plus pub hero Clement Ogbonnaya and Somerset House stalwart Paul Smyth. Lock in for culture, carbs and cocktails with serious rhythm.
Duchy
18 Phipp Street, EC2A 4NU
Dining at Duchy
Duchy is the new spot from chef Simon Shand (formerly of Leroy), channelling the flavours of the old Duchy of Savoy – the Alpine-ish region once spanning Lyon to Milan – by way of pork neck with bagna cauda, Dover sole Grenobloise, and brown crab arancini. There’s pasta, there’s Génépi, there’s a Negroni made entirely from Savoyard booze. One for lovers of anchovies, artichokes, and Alpine amaro.
Hello Jojo
31 Camberwell Church St, SE5 8TR
Dining at Hello Jojo
Camberwell locals were gutted when Forza Win shut up shop in February – but good news: a belter’s already taken its place. Hello JoJo is the new restaurant and bakery lighting up Church Street, from Will Faris (formerly of The Dairy, The Ritz, Naughty Piglets) and Jo Garner (formerly of Mountain, Toad, e5 Bakehouse). It’s the kind of place that’ll quietly become your go-to. Think cured Tamworth pork belly sandwiches at sunrise and smoked potato dumplings by sundown. Take a pew. You’re staying a while.
Josephine Marylebone
6-8 Blandford Street, W1U 4AU
Dining at Josephine Marylebone
Claude and Lucy Bosi have swung open the doors to their hotly anticipated second Josephine, following the smash-hit Chelsea original. A Parisian brasserie Londoners dream about – this second outpost leans into the soul of classic Gallic cooking with a menu straight out of the 7th arrondissement. There are snails, heavy on the garlic, rum-soaked baba, plats à partager, and more fruits de mer to sink than Billingsgate. Best of all? A whole PDT (Pommes de Terre) menu devoted entirely to the humble spud – from silky purée and crisp frites to a golden, oozing gratin dauphinois and duchess potatoes. Vive la carb.
Our favourite recent openings
One Club Row
1 Club Row, E1 6JX
Dining at One Club Row
Justin De Souza
A new restaurant from chef Patrick Powell, James Dye, and Benjy Leibowitz, One Club Row is set to open in late March on the first floor above the trio’s newly opened pub, The Knave of Clubs. Drawing on the decade Benjy spent working in New York restaurants, One Club Row will bring a slice of the Big Apple to the Big Smoke with oysters and martinis galore, alongside a house pianist keeping the keys warm. Taking cues from both the bistros and brasseries of Paris and New York’s iconic taverns, the menu will be rooted in simple, timeless classics underpinned by seasonal British produce. Think whole lobster tagliatelle and bone-in ribeye washed down with champagne and classic cocktails. Rennie and Alka-Seltzer the next morning: strongly advised.
Dough Hands at The Old Nun’s Head
15 Nunhead Green, SE15 3QQ
Dining at Dough Hands
London’s rampant appetite for New York-style pizza is showing no signs of slowing down, and those living south of the river can now get a slice of the action because Dough Hands opened a second permanent residency at The Old Nun’s Head pub on 13 February. Toeing the line between classic New York style and Neapolitan, head honcho Hannah Drye’s pizzas feature Italian-leaning charred pillowy crusts and flop factor combined with heavy-hitting New- York centric toppings like a tomato pie with stracciatella or pepperoni with jalapeños. This new residency joins Dough Hands’ already incredibly popular home at The Spurstowe Arms by London Fields, so there are now ample spots in the capital to get your carbohydrate kicks.
Din Tai Fung
1 Crossrail Place, E14 9QN
Dining at Din Tai Fung
Not just a playground for the finance bros, Canary Wharf is having something of a culinary awakening the past few years, and Din Tai Fung is the latest restaurant to join the roster. This marks the fourth UK opening of this Taiwanese dumpling institution in a spot which flaunts a whopping 112 seats and a private dining room. The new outpost, in Crossrail Place, brings the same theatrical open kitchen, precision-made dumplings, and world-famous xiao long bao alongside exclusive Canary Wharf dishes.
Tasca
Cav, Arch 255 Paradise Row
Dining at Tasca
Bringing the flavours of Iberia to Bethnal Green, Tasca is a year-long residency by Head Chef Josh Dallaway and Sommelier Sinead Murdoch, housed at Cav in Bethnal Green. Opening on March 1, inspired by the dining cultures of Portugal and Spain, Tasca will sling out pintxos, petiscos and sharer dishes alongside wines (of which 80% are female-founded).
Luna Omakase
100 Liverpool Street, EC2M 2AT
Dining Luna Omakase
Set to launch this March, Luna Omakase is an exclusive 12-seat omakase experience housed within Los Mochis London City, which promises to bring the wasabi and wow in equal measures. Inspired by life’s phases – birth, growth, change, renewal – each of the 12 courses on the daily- changing menu reveal executive chef Leonard Tanyag’s personal stories and inspirations. A modern interpretation of traditional Edomae sushi, this is an intimate, immersive Japanese dining odyssey you’ll want to check out.
