A new Asian-influenced BBQ joint, an homage to the traditional meyhanes of Istanbul and Northern Cyprus, and a handroll spot opening all feature in London’s newest openings for July. 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 restaurant openings for July
Miokuru
6-8 Warwick Street, W1B 5LU
Miokuru
British seafood meets Japanese technique at Miokuri, a new 20-seat handroll spot. Handrolls like Cornish white crab with wild garlic mayo and dry-aged beef tartare with wasabi mustard and herbs sit alongside pressed scallops with house pickles and seared Chalkstream trout sashimi. On the drinks front, London-brewed sake and cocktails like Mezcal Miso Margarita and Melon Sour keep things as fresh and light as the dishes.
miokuru.co.uk
Banquet 88
Unit 2 Commodity Quay, E1W 1AZ
Banquet 88
Jamie Lau
It is very easy to stay loyal to your tried-and-tested dim sum spot, but Banquet 88 may just persuade you to jump ship. Newly opened in St Katharine Docks – delightful in summer, all cobbles and masts – it brings polished Cantonese cooking to the marina. It is the first City opening from the team behind Wimbledon and Ealing dim sum favourites Good Fortune Club, and a very persuasive one at that. Nab a table in the expansive dining room overlooking the water and order like it’s your last supper. There is no obvious wrong move, though the XO turnip cake, Iberico pork char siu cheung fun, prawn, crab and spinach dumplings, and mapo tofu are sure-fire winners. Add a bottle of Chinese chardonnay and you have an excellent evening on your hands.
Kismet
8 Bedale Street, SE1 9AL
Kismet
Adding to the deluge of restaurants in Borough comes Kismet, an homage to the traditional meyhanes of Istanbul and Northern Cyprus, which is taking up a year-long residency above The Globe Tavern. Launched by restaurateur Dom Hamdy (Bistro Freddie, Crispin) and chef Keiran Mustafa (previously BiBi and The Harwood Arms), the menu is built around sharing meze and mangal-grilled kebabs. Expect dishes like zeytinyağlı taze fasulye (braised green beans in olive oil), atom (buffalo milk yoghurt with chilli butter) and şeftali kebabı (a Cypriot minced lamb and beef kebab wrapped in caul fat). Raki, Türkiye’s anise-spiced unofficial national spirit, sits at the heart of the drinks list, with several styles available by the glass or by the bottle, as well as a wine list that focuses on producers from across Türkiye.
kismet.london
Hons
Unit 7 Queen’s Yard, E9 5EN
Hons
Texan-style barbecue with Chinese and Asian influence? We’re interested. Hons is the long-awaited permanent home for chef Man Hon Luk, who has built his brand with a residency at All My Friends in Hackney before this move to the old Silo site. It operates on true Texas barbecue principles: meat is smoked low and slow for up to 12 hours and sold by the gram until it sells out. Think dishes like eight-hour ox cheeks and Sichuan beef short ribs alongside a wine and cocktail list from Brat's sommelier and late-night music.
unclehonsbbq.com
Bar Blondie
19-21 Lonsdale Rd, London NW6 6RD
Bar Blondie
With temperatures hitting 30 degrees in May and openings like Bar Blondie, London is becoming a de facto Mediterranean city. Founded by sommelier Alexandra Price and Silver Tree Restaurant owner Elliot Milne, it’s a wine bar and restaurant inspired by the southern European bar culture, a hub of unique wine, ingredient-led cooking, art, music and design. The geographical spread of wines is vast, from old-world estates to new-age producers, and the bar menu features small plates from the grill and fresh pasta. Drawing on the creativity of its Queen’s Park neighbourhood, a cultural program of musicians, DJs, poets, guest speaker nights, chess nights, and wine tastings will keep things fresh.
barblondie.co.uk
Stubbys
28 Parsons Green Ln, SW6 4HS
Render of Stubby's
Coffee shops that moonlight as restaurants – or vice versa – are not that common in London yet, but they are starting to become a thing. They are common, however, in Australia, where Stubby’s gets its inspiration. Founded by childhood friends Oli Man and Greg Weaver, the duo behind Bermondsey's These Days Bar and Kitchen, coffee is treated with typical Antipodean reverence, alongside a daytime serving of freshly made sandwiches. In the evenings, cocktails, wines from Hunter Valley and Marlborough vineyards, and Stubby’s pilsner take over to turn the notch up a little.
Johnny Boy
3 Northwold Rd, N16 7HL
Johnny Boy
The World Cup has pushed America to the forefront of public consciousness for – more or less – the right reasons for once, so it’s the perfect time to open up a SoCal-inspired restaurant, which is exactly what those behind Johnny Boy have done. Founded by LA-native Julian Denis, also behind Facing Heaven and Easy 8 in London Fields, Johnny Boy is less a fetishised American Diner, more an everyday casual-eatery that takes inspiration from the diaspora cross-cultures of LA dining. Expect crab tostada with crab mayo, pea salsa, and carrot escabeche, pastrami dip with mustard pickles and consommé, fried chicken with mac salad, and Hawaiian roll.
eatjohnnyboys.com
Our favourite recent openings
Toad Deptford
St Paul’s House, Deptford High Street, SE8 4BX
Toad founders Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello
An opening that doubles as an act of community service, hopefully, a second site will do something to diminish the size of the crowds that congregate around Peckham Road every weekend. Since opening in 2022, Toad has become something of a South London icon, winning Baker of the Year at the National Bakery Awards in 2025. Founders Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello have made their name through their range of playful flavours and traditional bakes, and their new venue in Deptford will give them more bandwidth for further development. The new bakery is larger than the original and will serve as a central bakehouse for both sites, baking everything from specialist sourdough and signature bakes, including the everything bagel croissant and the saffron and vanilla teacake.
Cafe Jikoni
V&A East Museum, 107 Carpenters Road, E20 2AR
Cafe Jikoni
Culture, as every museum-goer learns by room three, is best absorbed with bread in the bloodstream, which makes Café Jikoni’s arrival at V&A East feel like an essential pitstop. Ravinder Bhogal’s new all-day café and restaurant opens on the lower ground floor of the museum in Stratford, within East Bank, the cultural quarter taking shape in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. For Jikoni, this offshoot feels like a natural expansion, bringing the Marylebone restaurant’s layered, generous cooking into a public museum setting, with a menu that sounds every bit as droolworthy as the original outpost. Expect turmeric and ginger chicken pie, lamb merguez flatbreads with fennel, tahini and pickled chillies, and yuzu and pandan strawberry iced buns. Enough substance, we think, to carry you through the galleries.
Buvette
2 Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, WC2H 9DP
Buvette interior
New York institutions making a transatlantic pilgrimage to London are all the rage at the moment – Carbone, Tobi Masa – and the latest comes from Jody Williams, who will be bringing her “gastrothèque” Buvette to Covent Garden from Thursday, 4 June. Think all-day Gallic dining, starting with early-morning coffees, madeleines, and eggs, right through to late-night cocktails and croques, with a French wine list full of crémants, aligotés, and beaujolais. It’s been running in New York’s West Village since 2010, so there’s no reason the success can't be translated here.
Circle13
Helmsley Place, E8 3SB
Cirlce 13 founders Marc Sarton Du Jonchay and Monty Quaia
In what might be the final boss of hipster game bars, a new pétanque venue is opening under the arches in London Fields. It comes from Circle13, who have been dipping in and out of various bars across London and New York with its signature low/no cocktails and gaming ethos, and now it has a permanent site. For those unfamiliar, pétanque is essentially boules – the game that, if it were an Olympic sport, would result in an 80-year-old French retiree taking home the gold medal. Enjoy alongside a rotating selection of pintxos from Sean Donnelly, formerly of Andrew Edmunds, made to be picked up easily between rounds.
Rosina
35 Bellevue Road, SW17 7EF
Rosina founder Adam Byatt
The new opening from Michelin-starred chef Adam Byatt of Trinity, Rosina, marks his first professional venture into Italian cooking and a dip into the more personal side. Named after his daughter, Rosie, it will aim to showcase some of Italy’s best produce, wine and recipes with a neighbourhood feel. Think fried taleggio wrapped in chard leaves with tomato fondue, to conchiglie with veal and bone marrow ragù. If you want to taste Michelin-starred cooking in a more casual setting, this is the place for you.
Latine
10-11 Lancashire Ct, London W1S 1EY
Latine interior
Talk about ambition: Latine is opening not just a restaurant but also a dedicated crudo bar, champagne terrace and private dining room, ‘El Cielo’, seating up to 20 guests. The main restaurant, ‘La Candela’, is located on the first floor, led by executive chef Francisco Lafee, who has had stints at El Celler de Can Roca and Barrafina, with the menu sitting at the intersection of classical French and Latin American. The crudo bar will be slinging ceviches, tiraditos and tartares, while signature dishes in the main space include chargrilled beef fillet with Périgord sauce and dark chocolate, and steak tartare with truffle mayonnaise.
Zylia
6 Bedford Street, WC2E 9HZ
Zylia founders Nick Molyviatis and Barry Karacostas
If London hitting 20°C has massively increased the frequency at which you suddenly crave charcoal-grilled souvlaki, you’re in luck. Zylia, a new Cypriot-Greek taverna from Nick Molyviatis (Oma, Singburi 2.0) and Barry Karacostas, will open at the end of May. It promises mezzes like
Kinz
50 Notting Hill Gate, W11 3JD
Kinz interior render
Hitting Notting Hill with a fresh interpretation of Lebanese cuisine, combining classic recipes handed down through generations alongside more contemporary interpretations. The all-day menu features house-made mezze like baba ghanoush and tabbouleh, larger plates like lamb kafta, warak enab and fattet aubergine with seating for 130 diners. Meanwhile, a deli counter at the entrance will serve take-home favourites like delicate lamb and pine nut kibbehs or crisp spinach and onion fatayers, as well as a selection of Lebanese pastries in the morning.
