Here’s our guide to London’s best restaurant openings in September 2021:
London’s restaurant scene is bustling again, and if you need any further proof of that, you only need look at the number of new restaurants scheduled to open in the capital between now and the end of the year.
There’s small, intimate venues including Koya Ko and Parson Green’s West 4th, mid range eateries like MiMi Mei Fair and Bibi, and mega venues such as Whitcomb’s and The Stage at The Londoner.
So, with all that choice we thought we’d help narrow it down for you with a list of the best restaurant openings in London during September 2021. These are just a selection of the many new venues that are throwing opening their doors this month, so do check out our London Food section for the full list.
Whitcomb’s at the Londoner
‘Welcome to a corner of the French Mediterranean.’
View this post on Instagram
No current list of London’s best restaurant openings would be complete without mentioning The Londoner. The hotel is on everybody’s to do list right now, and it’s hardly a surprise given the colossal scale and ambition of the place. Super boutique in style but titanic in just about every other way, The Londoner boasts SIX food and beverage venues with Whitcomb’s looking like the pick of the bunch.
As you would expect, the interior of the venue are drop dead stunning. The world renowned design team of Yabu Pushelberg have seen to that, utilising warm tones and seductive, tactile finishes, to create a space that will wow guests no matter what time they choose to arrive at the venue.
Acclaimed chef Shailesh Deshmukh (The Leela Palaces Mumbai) heads up the kitchen team at the venue, with Deshmukh promising diners a truly special dining proposition.
That something special will centre around French cuisine with Deshmukh and his team cooking up a range of classics including tuna tartare with confit egg yolk and Oscietra caviar, escargots with white wine and grilled lobster with cognac.
The wine list, meanwhile, will showcase a selection of wineries from across the globe with particular emphasis on France’s ‘inimitable terroirs’.
Whitcomb’s will open on the 16th of September 2021.
Straits Kitchen at Pan Pacific, London
‘Embracing a respectful approach to cooking based on heritage recipes’
View this post on Instagram
Do you remember when hotel restaurants were bad? No, I mean really bad. So bad that you spent your holiday in your room getting over the effects of one awful meal. Well, those days are long gone if Straits Kitchen is anything to go by. Part of a trio of restaurant & bar launches in the stunning new Pan Pacific hotel in Bishopsgate, the sumptuous eaterie looks like being the pick of the bunch.
Gorge yourself on signature dishes like Wok Fry Singapore Chilli Mud Crab with Chilli Crab Spices, Teapot Double Boiled Soup with Galangal, Red Dates, Wolfberries and Chicken; and Butter Aged Buccleuch Beef.
Straits Kitchen will open at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Bishopsgate on the 2nd of September 2021.
MiMi Mei Fair
‘Mayfair’s best kept secret’
View this post on Instagram
MiMi Mei Fair is set to open in a three storey townhouse on Curzon Street in early September, with acclaimed chef Peter Ho at the helm.
Menu highlights including Smoked applewood Chilean sea bass, Crispy golden langoustine with Périgord truffle, sweet soya, and fried leeks; Steamed XO okra with shallot and enoki mushroom crumble and Lobster cooked three ways.
MiMi Mei Fair will open at 55 Curzon Street, Mayfair on the 7th of September 2021.
Trattoria Brutto
‘Small plates, negronis and no reservations’
View this post on Instagram
Russell Norman’s ‘ugly but good’ restaurant concept is opening its doors this September in Smithfield with the promise of a back to basics approach to dining and no small plates. Old school Italian in focus, Trattoria Brutto will look to the rolling hills of Tuscany for inspiration as Norman hopes to emulate his previous success with Polpo.
Ekstedt at the Yard
‘…a fire pit, a wood fired oven and a wood stove.’
View this post on Instagram
The city:countdown team were saddened to hear of the demise of The Yard, Robin Gill’s charming if critically mauled house restaurant at The Great Scotland Yard Hotel. However, we have been heartened to hear news of the hotel’s follow up restaurant, Ekstedt at The Yard.
The chef may be an unknown quantity in the UK but back home in his native Sweden, Ekstedt is a superstar chef with a distinctive style (wood fired cooking) and a string of top quality restaurants to his name.
Ekstedt at the Yard looks set to continue this success with the chef showcasing his ‘New Nordic Canon’ of dishes for a well heeled London clientele.
Dishes include:
Oyster flambadou with smoked apple and beurre blanc nasturtium
Ember baked leeks, white fish roe, smoked roe deer
Reindeer, smoked celeriac, black pudding, and salt baked roots to share
Cep soufflé with birch ice cream and blueberries
Ekstedt at the Yard will open at The Great Scotland Yard Hotel on the 17th of September 2021.
The Stage
‘coveted vintages, prestige cuvées and the finest ingredients’
View this post on Instagram
If you fancy indulging yourself this September, then The Stage is the place to visit. One of six new hospitality openings at Leicester Square’s new super boutique hotel, The Londoner, the venue’s menus centre around Champagne, with a range of accompanying savouries including seasonal rock oysters, Oscietra and Beluga caviar.
The restaurant will be open throughout the day, so, whether you are starting the day with a Champagne breakfast, indulging in a bubbly filled afternoon tea or treating yourself to the venue’s thrilling sounding ‘Grand Finale’, The Stage is set.
The venue will also feature a curated line-up of entertainment.
All of this adds up to make The Stage one of London’s best restaurant openings this months.
The River Restaurant at The Savoy
‘Gordon Ramsay opens his second restaurant at the world’s most iconic hotel’
View this post on Instagram
The list of London’s best restaurant openings continues with a new opening at The Savoy.
No one can deny that Gordon Ramsay has the midas touch when it comes to opening restaurants therefore it was little surprise when The Savoy hotel turned to the celebrity chef to open The River Restaurant. Ramsay is currently running The Savoy’s other big restaurant, The Savoy Grill, and it is was a no brainer to get the man in to revamp the old Kaspar’s site in the hotel.
Diners should expect a mainly seafood offering with whole baked Cornish turbot, seabass ceviche and oysters among the menu highlights.
Koya Ko
‘Popular noodle bar chain goes East’
View this post on Instagram
Udon lovers will be thrilled by the news that popular noodle chain Koya are launching a new baby sibling to their popular Soho and City based restaurants. Koya Ko is being described as a ‘neighbourhood version of Koya’ with the same mix of Japanese cuisine but a new take on the chain’s udon and donburi dishes.
West 4th
‘A taste of Vancouver’
View this post on Instagram
Canadian cuisine is the focus of our final choice this month: Parsons Green’s West 4th restaurant. The brainchild of Brits Livia Boumeester and Louisa Stevenson-Hamilton, the eaterie will showcase a carefully curated selection of Canadian brunch options, including Poutine (a mix of fries, gravy and cheese curds), pancake and waffle stacks, and Eggs Benny.
The venue will transform into a wine bar in the evening, with the emphasis on the restaurant’s impressive collection of wines and their equally impressive Bloody Mary bar.
West 4th will open at 175 New Kings Road, Parsons Green on the 29th of September 2021.
Bibi
‘JKS restaurants looks to repeat the Gymkhana magic in Mayfair’
View this post on Instagram
Bibi restaurant certainly has the pedigree with the team behind mega eateries Gymkhana and Hoppers leading the creative team at the venue.
Chef Chet Sharma will head up the kitchen team at Bibi with a food offering that will take inspiration from the kind of roadside cafés that Sharma ate in as a kid. Menu highlights include Raw Beef Pepper Fry, Gondhoraj Scallop and 4-pepper Lobster.
Well, we hope you’ve enjoyed our guide to London’s best restaurant openings for September 2021 but remember, these are only a small section of the restaurants opening in London this month, so do check out our London Food section for more exciting restaurant openings. And hurry – the clock is ticking!
For information on other forthcoming restaurants in London, please click here.
