We’ve always got one eye on any new restaurants opening on the London food scene. Our editors are on the ball for the latest openings in each London neighbourhood, from Covent Garden restaurants to Shoreditch hotspots. For the ultimate list of places to eat in the city, check out our definitive guide to London’s best restaurants. These are the places that we consider the crème de la crème, from generations-old spots that have stood the test of time and Michelin-starred dining rooms that get better each year to mind-blowing new openings from this list that we decided deserved a spot on the ultimate round-up of the best restaurants in London.
For new restaurants opening in London recently we’ve seen follow-ups from some of the city’s biggest-name chefs. In January 2024, Tom Sellers reopened Restaurant Story after closing for a multi-million-pound renovation, while Claude Bosi opened Lyonnaise restaurant Josephine. Endo Kazutoshi opened a rooftop sushi spot at The OWO, and Akira Back is at the helm of the restaurant at the new Mandarin Oriental Mayfair. In the second half of the year, we’ve seen a cluster of openings from Jason Atherton, Santiago Lastra’s Kol follow-up, and a West London outpost of Covent Garden cult favourite, The Barbary.
How we choose the tastiest new restaurant openings in London
The best new restaurants in London are the most exciting places to eat that have just opened in the capital city. Ranging from small affairs with daily changing menus from up-and-coming chefs to Michelin-starred spots with fresh new menus, these are London’s new restaurants we’ve got our eye on right now.
Every restaurant on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has eaten at that restaurant. When choosing new restaurants, our editors consider both high-end and affordable eateries that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We’re always looking for stand-out dishes, a great location, warm service, and serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new restaurants open in London.
Best new London restaurants in May 2025
Josephine Marylebone
A Claude Bosi opening always has us rubbing our hands in anticipation. Six months after the super-chef’s last eatery, Socca, closed down in Mayfair, he and his wife Lucy have unveiled Joséphine in Marylebone, and we’d put money on it becoming one of central London’s most beloved French restaurants. In contrast to the Lyonnaise cuisine served at sister eatery Josephine Bouchon in Chelsea, the menu here is full-on classic Parisienne, with interiors to match: café curtains, antique walled mirrors smothered with Art Nouveau posters and Impressionist prints; ceiling murals of Cancan dancers, and a soundtrack replete with Jeanne Moreau chansons françaises and Serge Gainsbourg’s lascivious vocals. The effect is cosy, immersive and ever so French.
Brasserie classics dominate the starters, like the Camembert soufflé and the knockout French onion soup, its layers beautifully tangy and peppery. Mains include bold-flavoured filet de bœuf and poulet aux Morilles, while potato junkies will love the pommes de terre menu, featuring spuds in all forms, from purée to frites. I paired my gratin Dauphinois with a juicy pork belly main, mushrooms and wholegrain mustard, which hit the spot just as hard as the crispy-skinned brill. Only cooked seafood was available on opening night, but something tells us the menu’s Homard Mayonnaise, langoustines, crevettes roses and freshly shucked oysters at the dedicated oyster kiosk will be worth the wait.