Restaurant radar: July 2019

Arcade Food Theatre​
Another huge food hall to open in London, the 12,500 sq ft Arcade Food Theatre (located on the ground floor of The City’s Centre Point building) features an arguably more eclectic selection of restaurant operators, with the line-up set to include Selin Kiazim and Laura Christie’s Turkish concept Oklava; Chotto, a ‘more accessible adaptation’ of Kurt Zdesar’s Japanese-Peruvian fusion brand Chotto Matte; and steak restaurant group Flat Iron, which is to open a workshop space ‘dedicated specifically to working on new dishes and specialist cuts’. Promoted as a space where ‘top culinary talent can experiment and thrive’, there will also be an ‘incubation-focused’ mezzanine kitchen designed to showcase emerging concepts beginning with Ana Gonçalves and Zijun Meng’s katsu-sando brand TŌU.
103-105 New Oxford Street, London, WC2H 8LH​
arcade-london.com​​

Flor​
Split across two floors, Flor will be housed in a 19th century building in the centre of Borough Market and will feature a wine bar, bakery and restaurant. The new restaurant from Lyle’s founders James Lowe and John Ogier, Flor is said to be inspired by the buvettes of Paris and the pintxos bars of San Sebastián. Open all day, the restaurant will serve a selection of ‘light and informal’ daytime options including Mangalitsa and Comté sandwich in fermented potato bread, and raw scallop with preserved gooseberry and green tomato; while the evening menu will feature burrata with grilled bread and salted tomatoes, and Cornish pollack brandade served with pickled peppers.
1 Bedale Street, London SE1 9AL​
florlondon.com​​

Six by Nico​
Scottish-born chef Nico Simeone is launching his first restaurant south of the border, with the fourth iteration of his Six by Nico concept opening in Manchester this month. Using ‘food as a narrative’, the restaurant will draw on different places, memories and ideas –everything from visits to street markets in the Middle East, to road trips across Route 66 – to create a six-course tasting menu that changes every six weeks. The first menu to feature at the Manchester restaurant is inspired by the British chippie, and will include a dish of cod served with confit fennel, samphire, beer-pickled mussels and brandade; sampi made with monkfish cheeks and served with a pea emulsion, herb butter sauce and gribiche; and finished off with Simeone’s own take on the deep-fried Mars Bar.
60 Spring Gardens, Manchester M2 2BQ​
sixbynico.co.uk/Manchester​​

Allegra​
Former Chiltern Firehouse head chef Patrick Powell is launching his first solo restaurant on the seventh floor of property developer Harry Handelsman’s Manhattan Loft Gardens development in Stratford (where Ben Harrington opened the Stratford Brasserie last month). The menu will focus on modern European cuisine, with the chef sourcing a large proportion of ingredients from farmland in Kent that is owned by Handelsman. Dishes will include fresh ricotta served with red pepper, charred and salted courgette, rape seed and lemon thyme; smoked eel and confit potato pithivier with parsley sauce; and roast chicken with wild garlic sausage, white asparagus and confit garlic cream.
Olympic Park, 20-22 International Way, London E20 1GQ​
thestratford.com​​

Isla and the Double Standard​
Former Pachamama head chef Adam Rawson will be overseeing operations at the Double Standard bar and the all-day Isla restaurant, which are set to open within The Standard Hotel’s new King’s Cross site, the group’s first iteration of the brand outside the US. Isla will be the cornerstone of Rawson’s culinary offering at The Standard, with a menu focusing on British coastal cuisine, light proteins and seasonal produce. The Double Standard, meanwhile, is aesthetically inspired by the New York dive bar scene and will serve craft beers, wine and classic cocktails served alongside a menu of pub classics.
Judd Street, London WC1H 9JE​
standardhotels.com​​

Mo Diner​
A Mediterranean take on the classic American diner, Mo Diner is the brainchild of Sketch London and Momo founder Mourad Mazouz. Located next door to Momo on 23 Heddon Street, the diner will serve food inspired by the Med from breakfast through to dinner, with dishes set to include Mo hash browns with pomegranate and brown sauce; grilled octopus with saffron aioli; and spiced cauliflower with pomegranate and almonds. Diners will also get to experience the ‘Mo Lotto’, a scratch card that gives them the opportunity to win prizes including half price breakfasts and a whole meal on the house.
23 Heddon Street, London W1B 4BH​
modiner.london​​

Heritage​
Described as the city’s ‘first modern Swiss-inspired restaurant’, Heritage (opening moments from Leicester Square on Rupert Street) is positioning itself as a brand of luxury and sophistication. As well as a menu of traditional Swiss dishes including fondue and raclette, options will also include small plates of dry-aged steak tartare and lobster tart. Following on from the recent launch of Parrillan in Coal Drops Yard, Heritage will be the second restaurant opening in (almost) as many months to feature a table-top grill element, with the restaurant giving diners the freedom to barbecue their own meats, seafood and seasonal vegetables if they wish.
18 - 20 Rupert Street, London W1D 6DE​
heritagerestaurant.co.uk​​

The KPH​
The Kensington Park Hotel (KPH) on London’s Ladbroke Grove is to reopen this month following an extensive, two-year restoration. Originally established in the 1860s and recognised ‘as being one of London’s oldest live music venues’ (it’s believed to be where Tom Jones’ first gig took place), the new KPH will feature a ground floor pub and a first-floor dining room, with former St John sous chef Ruairidh Summers overseeing the kitchen. Dishes will combine influences from the Montreal food scene with more traditional French flavours, with Summers championing unusual cuts of meat and offal.
139 Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, London W10 6HJ​

Rudy’s Pizza​
Manchester’s Mission Mars hospitality group is continuing to expand its Neapolitan pizza brand in the North with the launch of its fourth Rudy’s Pizza restaurant on 15 July. Having received a £10m investment from the Business Growth Fund last year to help fuel its growth plans, this new opening in Birmingham’s city centre marks the start of a potential roll out. Founded in Manchester in 2015, Rudy’s offers 12 pizzas priced from £4.90 - £8.90, alongside small Italian starters, sharing plates and desserts such as tiramisu. Toppings include a classic margherita with tomato and basil; the Calabrese with n’duja sausage; and a capricciosa with prosciutto cotto, kalamata olives, portobello mushroom and artichoke hearts.
9-10 Bennetts Hill, Birmingham B2 5RS​
rudyspizza.co.uk​​

Nutshell​
Focused on contemporary Iranian cuisine, Nutshell is the brainchild of Tehrani-born Mohammad Paknejad, and his partner Marwa Alkhalaf who was previously a chef at Mayfair’s two-Michelin-starred Greenhouse restaurant. Opening on London’s St Martin’s Lane, the menu has been designed to ‘highlight the nuances of Iranian cuisine’, with many dishes developed using brining, pickling, drying and fermentation methods that are a staple in homes across Iran. Choices will include sharing plates and signature dishes adapted through the seasons, with breads and vegetables featuring heavily across the menu.
30 St Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4EJ​
nutshelllondon.co.uk​​

Moncks of Dover Street​
An all-day brasserie concept from the team behind high-end Chinese restaurant Park Chinois, Moncks of Dover St. promotes itself as a different type of foodie destination. Menu options at the all-day Mayfair restaurant are influenced by the cosmopolitan tastes of the capital, with breakfast featuring a truffled benedict of artichoke and black truffle served with organic poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on an English muffin; and the dinner menu including a roasted leg of baby lamb with spiced couscous, sautéed shallots, apricots and pomegranates.
33 Dover Street, Mayfair, London W1S 4NF​
moncksbrasserie.com​​