It's our last hottest restaurant round-up of 2022 and this month looks set to end the year with a bang. Here are the latest spots to eat, drink and be merry, opening in the capital and beyond, rounded up by hungry hacks Jo Aspin and Paloma Lacy.
Stereo
Aptly named, Stereo is a new late-night drinking, dining and live music venue from Experimental Group. ‘Inspired by the vibrant late-night cultures of New York and London, complete with undertones of Parisian chic’, Stereo Covent Garden, (which opens on the former site of Roadhouse), will see a rotating series of music from resident DJs and their house band. Over on the menu Chef Andrew Clarke (formerly of Brunswick House and St Leonards) is consulting to bring this new music venue all American-inspired classics. Expect the likes of grilled ribs, lobster pie, and Bourbon whiskeys. Considering sustainable practices, all spirits on the bar will be stored in large 25-litre tanks to save on glass and transportation usage, and there will be no single-use plastic on site. The carefully planned beer and cocktail menu will feature London heroes, South Bermondsey microbrewery Partizan and Thames Distillers (creating Stereo house vodka and gin blends), as well as Hine Cognac and The Lakes Distillery. JA.
Opens 9th December
Bacchanalia
Big, bold and flamboyant. Richard Caring’s latest venture Bacchanalia is now open on One Mount Street. Damien Hirst statues, hand-painted ceiling murals and an array of 2,000-year-old Greek and Roman artworks provide a backdrop for a menu of Greek and Italian food curated by chef Athinagoras Kostakos. Seasonal dishes will be theatrically finished at tables and signature sharing plates include Risotto Nero for three and Turbot for two to share. The restaurant’s vast wine list features over 650 references from Greece, Italy, France and beyond including exclusive Bacchanalia own-label House Champagne, Champagne Rare, Super Tuscan red and Assyrtiko white wine. JA.
Now open
Shiro
London’s ratio of contemporary Japanese restaurants has been boosted by the opening of Shiro. Calling Broadgate Circle home, it marks Aqua Restaurant Group’s fifth property in the Capital. Taking inspiration from Tokyo’s effervescent Ginza dining culture, experience Crystal Sushi, made by Chef Ken Miyake and his team, invented five years ago in Japan. Expect layers of infused jelly, delicately laid on top of each sushi piece and compiled with just the right balance of mirin, sake and soy. Enjoy each piece whole, with no need for dipping. Clever and unusual flavour combinations allow the ingredients to shine: scallop and caviar with kimchi; botan ebi and avocado with rose; and salmon with mint and sake. Originating in Edo (now known as Tokyo), this style of sushi involves carefully sourced seafood being cut longer to drape on top of the rice almost touching the plate. Shiro is one of the few restaurants in the UK where you can experience true Edomae-style sushi such as akami tuna, seabass, and aburi (charcoal-seared) salmon, to name a few. PL.
Now open
Dorothy & Marshall
Fancy having dinner in the grandeur of Bromley Old Town Hall? You’ll be able to do just that before the year is out. The Grade II listed building will soon be home to an all-day dining restaurant celebrating a classic British menu, championing locally sourced ingredients from London and Kent. Heading up the kitchen team at Dorothy & Marshall is local chef Ralph Jones, who has worked with some of the world's greatest chefs, including Chris Galvin, Marco Pierre White, Garry Hollihead and Eric Chavot. His dishes include Braised beef short rib with Guinness and black treacle, bone marrow mash, red cabbage as well as Baby artichoke, heritage tomatoes with Ragstone goat's cheese, puff pastry tart, and a Golden Tate & Lyle treacle tart and flamed Baked Alaska with sloe gin blackberry sauce. Word is that the cocktail list will be something rather special. PL.
Now open
The Lillie Langtry, Fulham
Is there anything worth eating on a Sunday afternoon in winter other than a roast? Yes, the ultimate sharing roast. Promoting family or friends’ togetherness or simply use it as a test of how much you all love each other and find out who is prepared to share their last roastie,
newly opened The Lillie Langtry is serving up roasts with all the trimmings (£60 for four people). A selection of tender roast rump of dry-aged beef, pork belly and Cumbrian chicken supreme is accompanied by bowls full of sides – pigs in blankets, smoked cauliflower and leek cheese, pork and apricot stuffing balls, crisp roast potatoes, fluffy Yorkshires and seasonal veg, finished with lashings of roasted red wine gravy. And if a roast really isn’t for you, there are feel-good starters like crab and crayfish cocktail, with avocado and Marie-Rose sauce, smoked haddock croquettes with truffle hollandaise. The pub has kept along a traditional path with mains such as bangers and mash, and fish and chips. No surprises here but London classics will please the palate. PL.
Penelope’s
Israeli-Spanish dining is now on offer at Penelope's at the recently launched Hotel AMANO Covent Garden. Nice to see female Executive Chef, Fez Ozalgan leading the kitchen who heritage spent six years at Jamie Oliver’s fire cooking joint, Barbecoa as well as stints at Yosma, Hovarda, Playa, Cinquanta, Sucre and Barboun, eastern Mediterranean restaurant at Hart Shoreditch. Inspired by her Turkish-Cypriot heritage and a passion for barbecue, Fez combines smoke and fire on the mangal and josper grills. Get ready for paella Israeli style with whole lobster, freekeh and gin-tomato-sauce, Israeli sofrito with pulled chicken and laffa bread, and pistou stuffed courgette with piquillo cream, ajo blanco and tarragon oil as well as Penelope’s signature Baklava cheesecake. The restaurant seats up to 160 guests. JA.
Now open
MUSU Manchester
Multi-million-pound interiors, bespoke Italian furniture, and bespoke Geisha wall designs - no expense has been spared for the opening of high-end Japanese restaurant MUSU which is now open in Manchester. The Japanese word MUSU translates as ‘infinite possibilities’ which Chef Patron Michael Shaw replicates in his menu offering. Chose from Kaiseki – a seasonally changing set menu, Omasake – counter dining where the chefs select each course, and Sentaki – a customer-led tasting menu where the guest gets to choose each dish. A menu of premium sakes and whiskies features on the drinks list. JA
Now open