[title]
2025 will bring many things to London; the Silvertown Tunnel! The V&A East Storehouse! A general sense of doomy ennui that comes without fail at the start of every single year!
But there’s more – a bunch of brand new restaurants will be opening in January, and some of them sound rather good. Here are the ones we’re most intrigued by.
1. The Clove Club’s more casual offshoot
Bar Valette, Shoreditch
Double Michelin star restaurant The Clove Club is, of course, extremely great. One of the best in the world, in fact. But its £225 tasting menu means it’s hardly the kind of place you can simply swing by on a Tuesday night for a spontaneous nibble. Step forward then the rather more casual Bar Valette, a new European restaurant from The Clove Club’s main man, chef Isaac McHale. Expect scrummy sharing plates such as devilled crab tartlets, venison meatballs, grouse sausage rolls with greengage ketchup, and The Clove Club’s hero dish; buttermilk fried chicken in pine.
28-30 Kingsland Rd, E2 8AA
2. The revamped favourite
Dove, Notting Hill
Less a new restaurant, and more an old favourite in slinky new attire, Dove is the new name for west London’s much-loved Orasay. With Brunswick House and Henri honcho Jackson Boxer still at the helm, it’s out with the seafood-forward menu and in with a super-seasonal, super-flexible selection that reflects what Jackson fancies cooking at the time. ‘We have decided to imagine a bold new future for ourselves in quite another direction,’ he says. Expect the likes of lemon & ricotta dumplings with lobster cream and lime leaf, deep fried taleggio and Wiltshire truffle lasagna, and fior di latte soft serve with extra virgin olive oil and caviar.
31 Kensington Park Rd, W11 2EU
3. The perfect pub pop-up
Rake, Highbury
A kitchen residency at the Compton Arms comes with a weighty dose of expectation. Former residents include Four Legs – who went on to open their own gastropub, the Plimsoll - and Tiella, a rustic Italian paradise hosted by Time Out hot chef Dara Klein. Next up is Rake, which from January 9 will be offering a menu driven by whole beast butchery and sustainable Cornish fish. Moving from the Compton Arms’ sister pub, The Gun, Rake’s chefs have done stints at everywhere from Quo Vadis and Brat to Acme Fire Cult. Try the beer battered cockles and clams, rarebit baked oysters, and devilled duck hearts on St George’s toast.
4 Compton Ave, N1 2XD
4. The bakehouse with bravado
Don’t Tell Dad, Queen’s Park
Did somebody say truffle and cheddar beignets with mushroom ketchup? Don’t Tell Dad is the daytime bakery and nighttime restaurant where head chef Luke Frankie (Noble Rot, Forza Wine, Spring) will be slinging out crab tarts with watercress and crab oil mayo, duck and sausage cassoulet and spiced mallard with celeriac and chard. Want to grab and go? Then visit from January 17 during bakery hours, where head baker Keren Stenberg (Layla Bakery) will be drumming up hazelnut brown butter croissants, a honey-poached quince, crème fraîche and pistachio Danish, and artichoke, sage and Lancashire cheese Pain Suisse.
10-14 Lonsdale Rd, NW6 6RD
5. The Korean restaurant with a twist
Cálong, Stoke Newington
Joo Won knows his stuff. Former head chef at the Michelin-starred and dearly departed Galvin at Windows, he’s finally opening up his first restaurant at the end of January. The plan is Korean flavours weaved in with European technique (kimchi risotto!), and you’ll find it where Rubedo used to be.
35 Stoke Newington Church St, N16 0NX
6. The seriously big sarnie spot
Sandwich Sandwich, City
No-one is safe from Sandwich Sandwich. The phenomenally successful Bristol-born sarnie shop is opening up its second London spot, which promises to be the largest sandwich shop in the UK, spanning a whopping 3,500 sq ft. There’ll be a bigger grab and go section than their original London location on Gresham Street, as well as their bespoke deli options on offer.
70 Mark Ln, EC3R 7NQ
7. A(nother) Camden gastropub
The Dark Horse, Camden
In the Camden Stables Market bones of the Farrier pub – which closed at the end of last year – comes The Dark Horse. Opening January 6, it sounds more like a bar than a pub to us, with a menu devised by Stephen Tozer and Ed Brunet of Le Bab and Kebab Queen, cocktails and wine as equally important as pints and music and events programmed by the team behind Tape London.
Camden Stables Market, 87/88 North Yard, NW1 8AH
8. Fancy french finesse up west
La Môme at The Berkeley, Knightsbridge
Ever been to swagger around Cannes for the film festival? If so, you might have heard of a-list fave La Môme, which opened in 2015. The classy cocktail bar and swanky Med restaurant is opening its first London iteration at (where else?) The Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge. There’ll be live music, Slim Aarons prints of the Riviera on the walls, and posh Provençal cookery.
Wilton Pl, London, SW1X 7RL
The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest reviews: we’re serving it all on our London restaurants WhatsApp channel. Follow us now to tuck in.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.