It’s been a weird few weeks in London food, with one of Brick Lane’s best-loved bagel shops unexpectedly closing down – hopefully not for good. But when one door closes, another flies open and south London’s Silk Road has returned from its seven-month slumber to once again shower us with lamb skewers. We can’t have angered the gods as badly as we thought.
A whole bunch of brand-new restaurants and bars are also about to launch in this fair city, so let us introduce you to March 2024’s best new London openings.
1. The classy cocktail bar
Three Sheets, Soho
Three Sheets has been casually providing Dalston with the finest French 75s this side of Harry’s since 2016, so it makes total sense that they’re branching out with a new venture in Soho. Our only real question is: what took them so long? Brothers in booze Max & Noel Venning will be joined by ex-Lyle’s chef and butcher William Blank who’ll be pumping out a small menu of alt British classics from salt beef sarnies to fresh oysters.
13 Manette Street, W1D 4AP
2. Pizza with a side of art
Unlock, Hackney Wick
In the most Hackney Wick appropriate way, Unlock isn’t just a pizza restaurant and a cocktail bar – it’s also an art collective space. The first London project from Italian siblings Arianna and Giovanni Izzo, Unlock will offer classic and artisanal Neapolitan pizzas, ranging from a simple margherita to a fancier truffle cream, mortadella, burrata and hazelnut crumb pizza. There’ll be a set menu featuring slices paired with cocktails, and there’ll be new artwork every couple of months from local and Italian creatives. Keep your eyes peeled for a terrace overlooking the canal, which should be in place by summer.
1 Monkwood Way, E3 2EG
3. The cheesy collab
Koya at The Cheese Bar, Camden
Fondue Thursdays at The Cheese Bar – and The Cheese Barge – have fast become a London institution, with all manner of excellent local cooks swinging by to offer up their interpretation of the ultimate dipping dish. March’s special guest looks set to be the most interesting of them all, with Shuko Odo from Koya – one of our hottest chefs in London – bringing pickled vegetable dippers and tempuras to force fondue through the lens of Japanese cuisine. It’ll be available every Thursday in March.
Unit 93 – 94, Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8AH
4. The new terrace in town
Los Mochis, City
Popular Japanese-Mexican fusion joint Los Mochis is spreading its wings from Notting Hill to Suitland aka the City of London. It’ll be quite a switch from the cosy residential backstreets of west London to the ninth-floor rooftop of Broadgate’s 100 Liverpool Street, but with a bar, two private dining rooms and a massive 3,000 sq. ft outdoor terrace, we think it’ll probably go down a treat. Exec chef Leonard Tanyag – last spotted serving up some proper showstoppers at Juno omakase – will be heading up a menu that includes DIY king crab leg and wagyu grade five tomahawk steaks tacos.
100 Liverpool Street, EC2M 2AT
5. The all-star chef series
The Pem, Westminster
International Women’s Day, but make it International Women’s Month. Chef Sally Abé is extending the celebrations at her signature restaurant The Pem with four exclusive dinners throughout March. The magnificent likes of Romy Gill (March 1), Great British Bake Off champ Candice Brown (March 7), TikTok spud queen Poppy O’Toole (March 15), and Apricity’s Chantelle Nicholson (March 22) will all be creating an exclusive menu for £85 a head. Gill’s kick-off Brit-Indian feast will include Mangolorian spiced crab on crumpets with tamarind chutney and roast chops and braised shoulder of fallow deer with roasted celeriac puree, kulcha bread, and chilli turnip tops.
22-28 Broadway, SW1H 0BH
6. The smokey, eastern Med dining hall
Carmel, Fitzrovia
Sublime smokehouse Berber & Q’s Queens Park offshoot Carmel has now beget an offshoot all of its own. Carmel 2:0 comes in at 95 covers and will focus on hearty grub from across the Eastern Mediterranean, with offerings such as monkfish crudo with sheep’s yoghurt, as well as lamb tartare with amba, pickled cucumber, challah and za’atar. Mains will be sharing plate-centric (whole sea bream with hot honey, lemon butter and fennel or hanger steak çis, with bone marrow, burnt onion and sour cherry molasses reduction), while flat breads and pastas will also be on offer. We’re mainly thinking about the cocktails; dried lime, sage and rose Negroni and a Tom Collins made with beetroot and apple infused gin, acai and vermouth.
7 Market Place, W1W 8AG
7. The long-awaited spritz-adjacent kitchen
These Days Aperitivo Bar, Bermondsey
You can now finally get some nibbles to line your stomach at the Bermondsey Beer Mile’s most sophisticated drinking establishment. These Days opened up last year, serving own brand spritzes, aperitifs, and plenty of plonk. From March 14 their kitchen will finally be in full flow, serving small plates with an Asian influence, as designed by former Culpepper chef Gregg Weaver. Expect popcorn cockles, cured trout with rhubarb ponzu, veal escalope with sauerkraut and celeriac with miso & radish. Like the great Forza Wine before it, you can order the whole menu for £85.
100 Druid St, SE1 2HQ
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