This year has seen a return to form for London’s restaurant industry, including some exciting new openings.

As a wise man once said, today’s soft launch is tomorrow’s hotspot. This year was no exception as new openings from existing eateries paired with fresh contenders, including Japanese, Italian and several Middle Eastern newcomers.

Whether you’d sooner tuck into a sumptuous steak or twirl into a bowl of tagliatelle, there’s a new London restaurant for you. But the array of options on offer can be dizzying. So here, in no particular order, is a gourmand’s guide to London's best new restaurants.

10. Pascor, Kensington

Run by Tomer Amedi, former head chef at Layo Paskin’s The Palomar, Pascor is a Levantine restaurant in Kensington offering challah bread, Egyptian duck breast salad and a charcoaled wagyu skirt that comes with a pomegranate and herb chimichurri.

The venue has been around for a few years but in this latest revision, everything has changed but the name. A performative set-up sees an open kitchen that combines cooking, music, fire and, if you’re lucky, conversations with Tomer.

9. Zephyr, Notting Hill

The Pachamama group are better known for fine Peruvian fare. However, as a gift from the Gods, their newest restaurant Zephyr offers high-end Greek cuisine on Portobello Road. Expect steamed mussels, salt-baked beetroot, carpaccio of seabass and whole smoked aubergine elevated with ingredients like lemon-oil dashi and black caviar.

At the helm is John Skotidas, a Greek South American chef known for Notting Hill hotspots Suzi Tros and Mazi. The restaurant also features a late-night downstairs bar – a go-to destination for cocktail lovers.

8. Roketsu, Marylebone

From Chef Daisuke Hayashi, who trained for two decades at renowned Tokyo restaurant Kikunoi Honten, comes Japanese fine dining spot Roketsu. This new London restaurant is both small and exclusive – with reservations released two months in advance to the day.

Roketsu offers traditional Japanese fare centred around Dashi, a dried fish stock, which is elevated to lofty heights with a fine dining twist. Furthermore, the omakase menu means no headaches choosing what to eat.

7. Ottolenghi, Chelsea

As the Ottolenghi empire gently expands, west London can now boast another branch. Ottolenghi Chelsea is an all-day deli offering the best in light, flavoursome Middle Eastern cooking. Set in a calming pastel pink space, the interiors have been styled by designer Alex Meitlis.

The menu features lemongrass meatballs with tamarind sauce, grilled masala mackerel, roasted free-range chicken with za'atar and a selection of daily salads and bakes. And if you’re looking for a last-minute gift or addition to the coffee table, Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks are on sale too.

6. Lahpet, Covent Garden

Having brought Burmese cooking to London via a street-food stall which then became a permanent spot in Shoreditch, renowned restaurant Lahpet has now opened a 100-cover venue in The Yards, Covent Garden.  

Don't miss the roasted pork belly and bamboo shoots, a spicy and sour Rakhine fish noodle soup and Shan fish with rice. The heavily Myanmar-inspired dishes pair perfectly with a small but considered cocktail menu while the wine list is supplied by Liberty Wines.

5. Maria G’s, Kensington

Maria G’s is a new Italian restaurant with a focus on local seasonal ingredients. Located in Kensington, it is headed up by executive chef Aaron Potter (formerly Trinity and Elystan Street). The Maria G’s menu favours southern Italian dishes in the summer, turning to northern influences in the winter.

Pasta dishes include squid ink linguine, hand-rolled fettuccine and Ivy House ricotta ravioli while secondi dishes incorporate rump of Launceston Farm lamb and monkfish cooked in puttanesca butter. On the dessert menu, there's a tempting piedmont hazelnut cannoli.

4. Design Restaurant, Chelsea

From renowned catering company Social Pantry who brought us Lavender Hill and Crane's Kitchen in Peckham, Design Restaurant offers a low-waste, seasonal British and Mediterranean menu in Chelsea Harbour.

Expect Cornish hake, cracked farro, torched Mackerel, lemon posset and to be served by ex-offenders – as Design Restaurant is a supporter of Key4Life, a charity which gives young offenders a second chance.

3. The Black Cow, Camden

Also from The Palomar, chef Shiri Kraus has joined forces with Amir Batito, previously of Machneyuda, to bring us The Black Cow. Located in Camden’s new Hawley Wharf development, this canal-side Middle Eastern steakhouse has free-range, grass-fed, traceable cuts for every budget.

On the menu are flame-grilled onglet, Denver and sirloin steaks with exciting twists including a burnt herb oil and sides like chilli whitebait and harissa-coated fries. There’s also a tempting cocktail menu which leans towards gin, vodka and citrus flavours.

2. Honey & Co, Bloomsbury

After a decade on Warren Street, Honey & Co closed its doors in April. However, the Middle Eastern favourite has now reopened in Bloomsbury. From chefs Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, Honey & Co focuses on classic Middle Eastern fare.

Dishes on the menu include falafel, slow-cooked lamb, barbecued aubergine and its famous feta and honey cheesecake. The new restaurant also has a tempting cake counter and a breakfast offering including a sharing mezze, burnt potato and feta pastry parcels and an Insta-ready shakshuka.                                           

1. Roji, Mayfair

Tucked into a charming alley in Mayfair, Roji is a sushi restaurant the name of which literally translates as “path” or “hidden alley”. The husband-and-wife team have Michelin heritage and multiple wins of the Japanese Culinary Art Competition under their belts.

The intimate, 10-seater restaurant specialises in seasonal British produce, such as Cornish seafood and foraged herbs, with a focus on pickling and preserving, charcoal-grilling and poaching. Dishes include trout with coastal vegetables, turbot with shrimp mochi, grilled mushrooms with bottarga and saki pairings to complement each course.

Last but not least, a notable mention goes to gastronomical institution The Ledbury which has reopened its doors after a lockdown-induced hiatus. Having technically lost its two Michelin stars due to being closed, The Ledbury has relaunched with a six-course tasting menu promising new and exciting ingredients. Also arriving to Notting Hill is social media sensation Thomas Straker. With a butter fixation to rival that of Ina Garten, the trained chef is opening Straker’s on Golborne Road this year.