It is a long time since going out for an Asian meal in the UK was a binary choice between Chinese or Indian, but this month’s new openings are vivid proof how far London’s restaurant scene has evolved.
In addition to the new launches below — which take in a permanent site for pop-up stars AngloThai and Turo Turo, as well as new yakitori joint Hotori and Rohit Ghai’s latest, Vatavaran — look out, too, for an East London outpost of Chinatown’s Bun House, when Bun House Disco opens on November 12 (112 Bethnal Green Road, E2 6DG, bun.house).
Most thrillingly, the most exciting Asian restaurant opening this month is the one that won’t be open long, with David Thompson — the chef behind Nahm in Bangkok, widely regarded as the world’s best Thai restaurant — popping up with Long Chim in Soho until early next year (36-40 Rupert Street, W1D 6DW, longchim.london). Who needs bonfires this November? The real fireworks are exploding on the capital’s plates.
Nipotina
Restaurateur Samyukta Nair (Jamavar, Koyn) continues her Mayfair takeover with a sixth restaurant on the most expensive square on the Monopoly board, opposite her southern French collab with Claude Bosi, Socca. The culinary theme at Nipotina is Italian, cooked by former Lina Stores and Turin-born chef Somaia Hammad, though her inspiration is as much her travels around Puglia with her grandmother (”Nipotina” is the Italian word for “granddaughter”) as the cuisine of the north of the country, with some top-notch ingredients imported from Italy. Things kick off with Italian breakfasts ahead of an all-day offering of crisp-based pizzas, punchily flavoured pastas, wood-fired seafood and meats, aperitivo and an all-Italian wine list. Read more about it here.
Opens: November 4
49 South Audley Street, W1K 2QD, nipotinaristorante.com
AngloThai
Half British, half Thai chef John Chantarasak and his sommelier wife Desiree have been a fixture of London’s pop-up scene for the past four years; now the couple have found a first bricks-and-mortar site for their AngloThai concept. The idea is that seasonal British ingredients are treated to Thai technique, but don’t come here expecting pad Thai: Chantarasak trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Bangkok and worked at the world-famous Nahm in the Thai capital. Dishes here will include monkfish jungle curry with holy basil, using Suffolk-grown herbs and wild-caught Devon monkfish cooked over coconut husks. On the drinks front, expect aromatic bottles of white from central European producers, while interiors have drawn upon up-and-coming Thai designers.
Opens: November 11
22-24 Seymour Place, W1H 7NL, anglothai.co.uk
Vatavaran
Chef Rohit Ghai’s latest is a four-floor restaurant which takes the Himalayas for inspiration, immersing diners in interiors that include a living tree by the open kitchen, and reflective ceilings in the top-floor bar designed to reflect snow glinting on mountain peaks. This is Knightsbridge, so appearances are important, but given that Ghai won a Michelin star at Jamavar before bagging one at his solo restaurant Kutir, the food is likely to be the star attraction. Signature dishes will include robata-grilled wild tiger prawns with chickpea and coconut, and lamb barbat, a curry in a hot and spicy gravy. Cocktails, too, incorporate spices. Read more here.
Opens: November 7
14-15 Beauchamp Place, SW3 1NQ, vatavaran.uk
Turo Turo
Chef Rex De Guzman’s Filipino street-food concept has been opening Londoners’ eyes to the cuisine of the island nation at markets around the capital for the past 10 years; now he’s found longterm digs in Tooting. The term ‘turo turo’ is used to describe fast-food in the Philippines; here the idea is to mix-and-match small plates such as oxtail kare kare croquettes with peanut sauce and ensaladang talong, a charred aubergine and tomato salad which won Best Vegetarian Dish at the British Street Food Awards in 2019. Groups of eight or more can try a “Boodle Fight” sharing feast, with dishes served on a bed of banana leaves without crockery or cutlery.
Opens: November 14
102 Tooting High Street, SW17 0RR, turoturo.co.uk
Hotori
Central London has been bereft of a contemporary yakitori specialist since Angelo Sato turned Humble Chicken into a tasting-menu fine-diner. Now Mike Zheng and Kuangyi Wei are filling the gap with Hotori, where grilled skewers of Fosse Meadows free-range chook will be prepared behind a chef’s counter and washed down with wines, premium saké and Japanese whisky. The beak-to-tail menu will feature pretty much every bit of a chicken that is edible, with everything from gizzard to tail meat threaded onto a skewer and cooked over hot charcoal on a custom-made hibachi grill; a set menu offers each of the 17 chicken yakitori plus five vegetable skewers. Not in the mood for chicken tonight? There’s fish, meat and tempura, too, plus lunchtime bento boxes.
Opens: November 18
1 New Fetter Lane, EC4A 1AN, @hotori_london
Also opening
Busters
Yet more burgers, this time from the quality-assured duo of Matt Harris and Tommy Kempton (founders of Ploussard wine bar), who are replacing their Brixton fried chicken outfit Other Side Fried with wagyu patties in potato rolls.
Opens: November 1
3 Atlantic Road, SW9 8HX, @busterslondon
William IV
The long-serving pub (200 years and counting) on the Hoxton/Islington border is opening an upstairs dining room serving the simple British likes of lemon sole with tarragon sauce and dill oil.
Opens: November 1
7 Shepherdess Walk, N1 7QE, william-iv.com
The Georgian at Harrods
It’s been a sticky couple of months for Harrods on the PR front, so the arrival of pie king Calum Franklin in the store’s flagship dining room, sparkling from a multi-million refurb, should bring some good publicity.
Opens: November 4
Fourth Floor, Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL, harrods.com
Quill
A new Borough Yards wine bar and restaurant from the team behind Plume in Covent Garden and Finch in Brixton, with a focus on fine wines at reduced margins, an emphasis on English wine and casual British food to match.
Opens: November 5
Borough Yards, Arch 232 Bank End, SE1 9FJ, quillwinebar.com
Row on 5
Details are still scarce for Jason Atherton’s new fine-dining flagship, but expect a two-storey site serving a 15-course menu for £195 from Atherton and Spencer Metzger, former Ritz head chef and Great British Menu winner.
Opens: November 23
5 Savile Row, W1S 3PB, rowon5london.com
