Leonie Cooper

It’s that time of year again – time for the legendary, heroic and what some are calling era-defining Time Out Christmas sandwich taste test. Our team have tirelessly trawled London’s high streets, foodie markets and bakeries for the mightiest seasonal sarnie of the year, leaving no chiller cabinet unturned. After all, the true meaning of Christmas is surely all about putting some vaguely festive fillings between two slices of bread. Let battle commence. RECOMMENDED: For more festive fun here’s our guide to the best Christmas markets in London.  And don’t miss the best Christmas events, either. 

Want a drink? Well you've come to the right place. This is Time Out’s list of best bars in London, our curated guide to London’s drinking scene, featuring the buzziest booze dens in the capital right now. If it’s on this list, it’s excellent. These are the 50 places we'd recommend to a friend, because we love drinking in them and have done many times over. From classy cocktail joint to delightful dives, hotel bars, speakeasys, bottle shops, rooftops and wine bars, London's got them all. The latest additions to our list include Bar Lina, an Italian aperitivo spot underneath the famous Soho deli, Moko hi-fi listening bar in Tottenham, Oranj's vertitable wine warehouse in Shoreditch, and Helgi's, a suggestively Satanic rock bar in Hackney. Now go forth and booze. RECOMMENDED: Like bars? Then you'll love London's best pubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

London is full of perfect pizza. The finest of fast foods, this delicious staple has been elevated far beyond its humble roots by great Italian restaurants in London, pop-ups, street food vendors and pub residencies, and we know just where to find these world-class wonders. Whether it’s delivered in a cardboard box or served in a swish restaurant, excellent pizza is hard to beat. Browse our list of the best pizza parlours in town and try not to drool on your screen. Recent additions to the list include Chicago deep dish at Soho's Japes, cripsy Detroit style slices at Four Corners in the basement of The Hoxton hotel in Holborn, and Dough Hands at Bethnal Green boozer Three Colts Tavern.  RECOMMENDED: The finest fish and chips in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Looking for a traditional Christmas meal – aka, the roast with the most – but without all the faff? Feasting on December 25 definitely doesn't mean getting up at 6am to brine your turkey, half-destroying your kitchen and then washing up into the wee hours. London's full of great restaurants that'll do you proud, whether you're after fancy hotel dining rooms with elaborate set menus, a cosy pub, or down-to-earth curry house feasting. Here are the best places to eat out on Christmas Day in London.  RECOMMENDED: Things to do on Christmas Day in London.  The information on this page was correct at time of publication, but please check with venues when you book.

London might well be the world’s greatest food city, but in the midst of a cost of living crisis, it’s not like any of us can eat out as much as we’d like to. So welcome to our list of London’s best cheap eats. Every highlighted dish here costs £10 or less and variety is the name of the game – so expect London staples like fish and chips, but also discover the best bargain places for burek, curry, burgers, pizza, shawarma, bao, naan, kebabs, baps, sarnies and salads. These places give you the kind of buzz only a bargain bite can deliver, while you can relish the fact that you’re supporting small independent London businesses when they need you the most. So hit the streets – filling up in some of London’s best restaurants needn’t empty your wallet. RECOMMENDED: The best vegan restaurants in London. 

Everyone loves a Christmas pub lunch. The festive, mulled boozing. The endless, delicious turkey gravy, cranberry sauce and pigs in blankets. The fact that it usually lasts an entire afternoon. Nothing else gets us in quite such sky-high festive spirits. One of the most wonderful things about London this time of year is the sheer number of pubs that serve fabulous Christmas lunches. From homely abodes to airy modern pubs, grubby roasts to posh gastro kitchens, here you have it: the best pubs to book in London for a top-notch Crimbo lunch. RECOMMENDED: The best pubs in London with open fires.

Okay, it's winter. But that doesn't mean you have to spend every night cooped up in stuffy, packed out pubs and bars. Some of our favourite London bars and restaurants have created gorgeous (and surprisingly cosy) spots for outdoor socialising, many of them with that seasonal must-have: an igloo. So wrap up warm and check out these delightful outdoor terraces for drinking and dining decked out in wintry decor and adorned with roaring fire pits, patio heaters and enough faux fur to make you think you got stuck in the wardrobe on your way into Narnia. RECOMMENDED: London's most cosy pubs.

With the twin food heavens of Borough Market and Bermondsey Street at its heart, plus an abundance of hidden restaurant gems, you’ll struggle to eat badly in SE1, an area of London with something for every taste and budget. Eating around London Bridge is like a backpacking world tour these days, and our selection includes picks from the global melting pot. Kolae does phenomenal southern Thai slow cooking, while serious Spanish style can be found at Pizarro. Mexico is represented by the brilliant reboot of Santo Remedio and taco joint El Pastor, while Rambutan does Sri Lankan heat extremely well. And that's just for starters. Here are our favourite restaurants near London Bridge. RECOMMENDED: The best breakfasts in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

The capital’s Thai food scene is one of the world’s finest, and way more varied than you might expect. London’s best Thai restaurants do the staples extremely well; you won’t go wanting for green curry, pad thai, tom yum and all the rest, but there are twists and turns in our Thai offerings too. Line up for spicy showstoppers, tangy Thai tapas and fiery regional fare, as well as Thai with an LA twist and Bangkok-inspired street food feasts. And this all happens everywhere from buzzy pub basements to luxury hotels and fabulous food halls. What are you waiting for?  RECOMMENDED: London’s best Chinese restaurants.

Every week, a frankly stupid amount of brilliant new restaurants, cafés and street food joints arrive in London. Which makes whittling down a shortlist of the best newbies a serious challenge. But here it is. The 15 very best new restaurants in the capital, ranked.  Go forth and eat, featuring everything from Italian-ish snacks at Forza Wine on the South Bank and Macedonian bakes at Mystic Burek in Sydenham, to sassy small plates at Lulu's in Herne Hill, west African set menus at Chishuru in Fitzrovia, big spender sushi at Sushi Kanesaka and gastropub favourites at The Waterman's Arms in Barnes. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best restaurants in London.

The humble brunch is perhaps one of the greatest inventions of the modern age. Breakfast is too early to really get stuck into, while eating eggs and downing buckets of coffee at lunchtime seems odd. Brunch, then, is the one true morning-ish meal, especially if it incorporates pancakes, bacon and those aforementioned eggs. London is particularly well stocked with places to indulge in the famous breakfast/lunch hybrid. Let us guide you to the best restaurants in town for a fabulous brunch in our city, from a traditional full english to innovative twists on the majestic meal, such as a bacon bao brunch. And it’s not just a weekend treat; some of these spots serve brunch every single day.  RECOMMENDED: Like unlimited fizz with your fry-up? Here are the best bottomless brunches in London.  Want to brunch for less? Check out the awesome selection at Time Out Offers. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

There are good restaurants to be found just about everywhere you look. Travel 30 minutes from your front door and I guarantee you’ll stumble on at least one brilliant operation quietly going about its business, serving honest and delicious plates of food. Making a list like this – a round-up of the very best restaurants in the UK, outside of London – is difficult because there are simply too many to choose from. There are good spots dotted all across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland working tirelessly to create dishes that will provide you with napkin-stained memories you'll carry with you for the rest of your life. This list is about those places. These aren’t the 16 best restaurants in the UK, but they are 16 of the best restaurants in the UK. Eat up.  RECOMMENDED: The best things to do in the UK.

Rome is chock full of breathtaking, ancient stuff, and Palazzo Ripetta is no exception. Situated on one of Rome’s oldest streets, this grand seventeenth-century convent became a hotel in the 1960s and recently underwent two years of tireless renovation, reopening as one of the chicest hotels in the city. Of course, location is the big draw here – Palazzo Ripetta is only a short stumble away from a living history book of iconic Italian attractions – though the hotel itself is well worth a linger. There’s a spacious, sun-dappled courtyard for an indulgent buffet breakfast or afternoon aperitivo (try to nab the table next to the third-century sarcophagus, which doubles up as a water feature) or you could pitch up at the rooftop bar for views that would make Fellini blush. Indoors, the lobby hosts a dramatic Arnaldo Pomodoro sculpture, while acclaimed architect Luigi Moretti – who assisted when the building was first converted – has made his mark on the moody San Baylon cocktail bar. (You’ll also find a giant canvas by New York street artist Angel Ortiz here.) Rooms are elegant but homely: red glass chandeliers nod to Murano, the parquet is perfect, the massive beds extremely comfy; and there are freestanding baths in the high-ceilinged suites. Minimal it isn’t – but if you can’t go big in Rome, where can you? Neighbourhood Palazzo Ripetta is right where you want to be – in the middle of the old city, aka Centro Storico. The River Tiber, Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese, and Piazza

The South Bank has long been a great place for a hang, be you a chin-scratching movie buff, a teen skater, drama nut, or one of those peculiar people who actively enjoys the London Eye. And yet, when it comes to getting a decent feed, it always seemed lacking. Forza Wine, the Peckham rooftop wine bar that isn’t really a wine bar but a breezily impressive stealth restaurant, is here to change all that.  They’ve been given the run of the top floor of the National Theatre, a building that King Charles (back in his Prince Charles days) lovelessly compared to a nuclear power station. To a select few architecture pervs though, this 1960s concrete monolith always seemed dreadfully sophisticated and now London’s most-cultured car park is doubling up as the city’s most exciting new restaurant opening. There's a wonderful wraparound terrace, too, even though it's far too cold for that kind of thing at the moment. Rest assured, it'll be the only place to sip a flute of pét-nat when t-shirt weather returns. Nothing is overly fancy, nothing is overly cheffy, but it’s all spotless.  As with their south London location, Forza Wine insists every dish on their menu is a ‘snack’. It remains an infuriating move, implying that you won’t get a full meal here however much you order. This is wrong; an £8 helping of weighty, golden cauliflower fritti nuggets proved so robust we couldn't finish a single portion between two, despite our best efforts. And for £140 you can have every last thing on the

The story of Chishuru is one of a speedy, spectacular rise, and most of all, phenomenal graft.  Joké Bakare's independent West African restaurant started life after the British-Nigerian chef won a contest to stage a Brixton Village pop-up during the most ruthlessly confounding part of the pandemic tier system. That pop-up rightfully became permanent when word spread about her sensational cooking – a fiery dollop of scotch bonnet gel here, some hake in spiced plantain sauce there, and buttery, caramelised scallops to round things off. Her alchemical way with flavour was heralded in our original review as ‘the perfect collision of sweet, salty and peppery heat’. Chishuru was – and is – Joké’s first ever restaurant; before that she was a skilled home chef, though one who also had a day job that wasn’t remotely kitchen-related.  A crunchy sinasir rice cake with white crab meat and a smear of sorrel puree sets the tone for a menu smouldering with prestige comfort food. Chishuru was this magazine’s best London restaurant of 2022, but only six months later it closed due to staffing issues. What followed was a flurry of crowdfunding, whispers of a move to the middle of town, and yet another pop-up for Joké. Now, a year on from the original site’s closure, she brings you Chishuru v. 2:0.    A discreet kind of place from the outside – we stride past the glass frontage then quick-turn after realising we’ve missed the front door – Chishuru is small, with two cosy floors, including a ste

It’s hard to hide in London. Anyone who lives here will be painfully aware of the phenomenon which states that every time you leave the house, you will bump into someone you kind of know. Your college nemesis in the Holborn branch of Boots. The dull date you abandoned at the Chesham Arms just before the pandemic. The peculiar flatmate who collected empty cans of Tyskie, strolling by Moorfields Eye Hospital. London is crawling with casual acquaintances, and sometimes, it can be a bit of a slog.  Enter then, the diminutive Evelyn’s Table, potentially the smallest fine dining restaurant in town. Not unlike a gourmand’s take on Churchill's WWII bunker, you’ll find this tiny 12-seater tucked under The Blue Posts pub (aka the Posh Blue Posts) on the outskirts of Chinatown. It is, in other words, the perfect place to embark on your next scandal without fear of running into a single soul.  A gourmand’s take on Churchill's bunker, you’ll find this tiny 12-seater tucked under The Blue Posts pub (aka the Posh Blue Posts) on the outskirts of Chinatown.  The titular Evelyn isn’t, as I first assumed, Evelyn Waugh, who regularly wrote of local Soho debauch, but rather Faye Dunaway’s character in the moody 1974 movie Chinatown. That the film was set in the 1930s Chinatown of Los Angeles is, we assume, unimportant. What is important is that Evelyn’s Table feels so discreet that we might be breaking some kind of code by even discussing it. Thankfully, the cat has been out of the bag for some

When it comes to clasping onto history via the medium of dining, London does pretty well for itself. You can ping back to the 1790s and devour game at Rules like a disgraced Whig, or feast Mrs Beaton-style at Victorian time capsules Sweetings, Quality Chop House or M Manze’s. If it’s 1920s opulence you’re after, then the Savoy Grill and J Sheekey will gladly provide a slinky backdrop of art deco elegance, while Edwardian splendour oozes out of the balustrades at The Ritz.  But what of the flashy dining establishments of the 1960s? Alas, an authentic, and still-edible slice of swinging London is harder to come by, but one bastion of the grooviest era is still admirably hanging on. Open since 1967, you’ll find Tiroler Hut down a rickety staircase on Westbourne Grove. Can’t see the sign? Then simply follow the sound of dinging cowbells and the smell of hot, liquid cheese. A fever dream of an Austrian restaurant, it’s Disneyland as penned by Hunter S Thompson, with a front bar populated by gently swaying local barflies, and beyond it a basement dining room that is best described as an Alpine-set ayahuasca trip. Snow-capped mountains adorn the walls, dirndl-clad waitresses sweep past red gingham curtains, and there’s more pine than the timber aisle of your nearest B&Q.  A fever dream of an Austrian restaurant, it’s Disneyland as penned by Hunter S Thompson This is where our octogenarian host Josef holds court. A one-man band in a felt hat and full lederhosen, he greets every tabl

The crowd is less night at the opera, more weekend in Whitby. Like Old Demdike and her witches at a black mass, goths, steampunks, and the leather-and-lace faithful have gathered for the London premiere tour ‘Black Sabbath - The Ballet’.  It’s not the only thing here that’s wildly different from your average dance production. Comedian Stewart Lee has written the intro to the programme; the velvet curtain is a shimmering shade of purple; and if it wasn’t already obvious, the Birmingham Royal Ballet will be dancing to the heady sounds of heavy metal. Tchaikovsky, you are excused for the evening. Under the direction of Carlos Acosta – and with the Satanic blessing of the band – ‘Black Sabbath - The Ballet’ is a tribute to the founding fathers of hard rock. But with well over 50 years of history under their studded belts, how best to tell the band’s story, and, just as importantly, how best to avoid any moments of ‘We Will Rock You’-style cringe? Instead of a chronological biography or a brand new narrative set to the band’s distinctive sound, we get a little of both. The first act sees symphonic renderings of Sabbath’s greatest hits; ‘War Pigs’, ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Paranoid’, as the company – all dressed in black, of course – twist and turn around a live guitarist, who does some messianic posing against a stark backdrop of lightboxes etched with guitar pedals, the band’s bouffants, and a natty crucifix. As powerful as it is to have a musician on stage rather than in the orchestra pi

A chef’s table isn’t for shrinking violets. In the case of Counter 71 that doesn’t just go for the cooks, but the guests too, as this new backstreets-of-Shoreditch spot puts the diners on display as much as those running the joint. Taking over an inauspicious, long-shuttered boozer, Counter 71 boasts a mega marble countertop with space for 16 diners, with chefs calmly milling around the open kitchen that’s blam in the middle. Lights are bright, and you see the whites of the eyes of your fellow guests. It’s halfway between a suburban swingers party and the first episode of a reality television show; the one where you face everyone you’ll be spending the next month with. Who here knows basic first aid? Who’s going to get on your tits with their wacky humour? Who’s going to have a breakdown?  A nifty cheese and onion gougere came on like a glammed-up Greggs bake (which, if there was any doubt, is a serious compliment).  As it stands, an evening at Counter 71 is far less stressful than any of that. In fact, it’s a breeze. At the first solo venture from Joe Laker – formerly of gone-but-not-forgotten Fenn and St Leonards – there’s only one group seating each evening. That makes this lowkey tasting menu feel truly special, and never overwhelming, and that’s in spite of the fact there are 16 courses (which comes in at a not unreasonable £110 a head, especially if you consider it's just £6.80 per course.)  The concept is a ‘culinary ode to the British Isles’, but it’s a loose, casual

Situated in the imposing Titanic Mills – a textile factory built the same year as the doomed ship – Titanic Spa proudly calls itself the UK’s first eco-spa. But rather than offering jacuzzis full of pond water or mud packs dug out of the nearby Pennine hills, its eco-credentials come in the shape of a redeveloped, carbon-neutral building plastered in solar panels and with energy-efficient lighting as well as its own private borehole. This spring water isn’t just available for guest hydration, but supplies the spa’s plunge pool and salt-regulated swimming pool, as well as the showers. Think of it as bathing in Yorkshire’s own Evian. If it seems slightly strange to name your spa after a doomed aquatic journey, then the Titanic Spa manages to swim rather than sink, thanks to rousing series of hammam-like rooms, which they have somewhat dramatically branded as the ‘Heat and Ice Experience’. Thankfully this doesn’t mean you’ll be running a Game of Thrones-style gauntlet, but rather strolling through a series of very hot rooms followed by an ice chamber. What it lacks in the Nordic elegance of jumping to a pile of crisp white snow straight after a sauna, it makes up for in being extremely bloody cold. After the heat of the herbal infusion room, sauna cabin, aromatherapy and steam rooms – as well as some foot baths which we could have passed on, to be frank – you will leave glowing like never before.  The food at the on-site bistro wasn’t particularly inspiring, but after an excelle

In spite of its bracingly central location, Fitzrovia has always been one for the heads. Soho too brassy for your evening out? Then trample past the soulless 1960s office blocks and seek solace in one of Fitzrovia’s perfect boozers. Be like Dylan Thomas – or even occultist Aleister Crowley, depending on your predilection for ceremonial satanic magic – and snuggle up in The Fitzroy Tavern; settle in for a proper session by the jukebox at Bradley’s; or be like George Orwell and wrap yourself up in the Newman Arms while considering the plight of the workers. Restaurants too, are built into the very bones of this central London location, though there’s a fickleness to Fitzrovia’s food scene, which seems more susceptible than most to constant comings and goings. Even big names such as Bao seem to struggle here, with their Fitzrovia branch closing at the end of 2022. The focaccia was as thick and buoyant as a 15 tog duvet However, the sturdy Norma has made itself something of a culinary destination since opening in 2019. Arriving a couple of months after the nearby Circolo Popolare, both offer big ticket Italian dishes, matched by equally ostentatious interiors. Norma, mercifully, is more restrained than its neighbour (though both seem immune to the charms of a bumper burrata). Situated in a skinny Charlotte Street townhouse, it’s Marrakesh by way of Palermo, with blue tiles and plush velvet booths reflecting the Moorish-slash-Sicillian menu.  The first dish to arrive was, without

Mystic Burek has been a long time coming. Since the first fateful summer of lockdown Spasia Dinkovski has been whipping up traditional Macedonian filo pies using her grandma’s recipes; semi-psychedelic swirls of pastry packed with ground meat, gooey cheese, and enough butter to make you see into the future. Until now, the Balkan-British chef resorted to flogging these gorgeous golden bakes via Instagram, dishing them out of a car in pizza boxes, or at pop-ups in the restaurants of foodie pals across the capital.   It’s in an unassuming corner of south London that Mystic Burek has found a forever home, which must have come as a relief to the nomadic chef – finally, a kitchen of one’s own. Like the Julia Roberts movie from which it takes its name (we beg of you to watch the excellent Mystic Pizza if you haven’t already seen), the bricks-and-mortar Mystic Burek is endlessly charming. A former Italian deli, it bears all the hallmarks of a great London caff; wood panelled walls, red and white gingham tablecloths, and stacks of mugs ready and waiting to be filled with piping hot tea. Spasia Dinkovski whips up filo pies using her grandma’s recipes; semi-psychedelic swirls of pastry packed with ground meat, gooey cheese, and enough butter to make you see into the future.  Added into the mix are vintage accoutrements of Balkan culture – embroidered banners for FC Skopje and 1970s Yugoslav rockers Bijelo Dugme’s kitsch, bottom-bearing vinyl records – as well as framed photos of Spasia

José Pizarro's tapas takeover began in 2011, when the smiley Spanish chef opened José. His sherry-swilling, Seville-style spot on a quaint corner of the village-y Bermondsey Street was an instant hit. The former exec chef at Brindisa then opened the bigger, bolder Pizarro on the same road later that year, a welcoming cave of warm wood, black leather banquettes, exposed brick and splashes of painted Spanish tile. You’d have thought that sister restaurants within metres of each other would be a terrible business move – even Pret know they have to spread themselves out a bit more than that – but José’s confidence proved commensurate.  Rambunctious tables are packed with laughing pals and pleasantly sloppy fifth dates – the one where you stop caring about dripping mojo rojo down your chin In the decade or so after opening, both restaurants are never anything less than heaving, and they’ve since been joined by more José Pizarro joints at Broadgate Circus and in the stunning surrounds of the Royal Academy’s Senate Room. On our way to the SE1 Pizarro we coyly stroll past the casual, no-bookings José. There’s a line out of the door and the tall tables which line the pavement have all been nabbed, even though it’s one of the first chilly nights of early autumn. Pizarro is equally thrumming. Rambunctious tables are packed with laughing pals and pleasantly sloppy fifth dates – the one where you stop caring about dripping mojo rojo down your chin – while the open kitchen is a riot of ho

Like the lifespan of a mayfly or the harrowing music career of footballer Paul Gascoigne, Farang was only ever meant to be a short-lived affair. Former Smoking Goat and Begging Bowl chef Seb ‘Sebby’ Holmes temporarily took over his step-dad’s terrazzo-tiled Highbury trattoria San Daniele in 2017 to serve zippy Thai food. His plan was to bring sweet, fragrant heat and confident stir-fried dishes to a room more suited to ragus and ricotta for as long as people wanted it. Six years later, and they haven’t stopped turning up in their hungry droves. Not just a firm neighbourhood favourite, Farang is now a global phenomenon, and proudly displays a phalanx of pillar box red Michelin Bib Gourmand shields outside its front door.  One of north London’s most lowkey dining rooms, Farang is a decent enough saunter from both Finsbury Park and Highbury & Islington tubes that nobody will simply stumble across it. You go because you know. And though the Thai Embassy has given it their seal of approval, Farang’s name (which means ‘white foreigner’) shows us that Holmes is under no illusions that his cooking is steeped in generations of family tradition. What it is, however, is a passionate and masterful display of technique, skill and sheer ingenuity, without being nearly as wanky as that sounds.  Gai prik, a crispy IPA-battered chicken with a fish sauce glaze, was presented like a glam auntie’s fascinator at a wedding, its thick batter and potent spice levels just as likely to seduce you on

Every time we even think about grabbing a quick dinner at Euston’s legendary Roti King, we are met with a queue of mammoth proportions. So news that a brand new branch is opening has us giddy with excitement.  Roti King 3.0 (which joins the Euston and Battersea branches) will launch December 1 at 97 Lower Marsh in Waterloo, bringing head chef and founder Sugen Gopal’s take on Malaysian roti canai to a new 50-cover restaurant.  The menu will feature four different kinds of kari – chicken, mutton, dahl and fish – which come with two pieces of flaky roti, and there’ll also be stuffed roti murtabak, as well as rice dishes like beef rendang, nasi lemak, and noodle dishes such as char kuey teow and kari laksa on offer. And for pudding? Sweet roti of course! Filled either with coconut jam, condensed milk or banana. The original branch of Roti King opened in 2014, following the first iteration of the restaurant at Bang Bang Oriental food hall in Colindale, and has long been a fixture of our Best Cheap Eats in London list. You can also find Sugen Gopal’s food at Gopal’s Corner in Market Halls Canary Wharf, Oxford Circus and Victoria.  97 Lower Marsh, SE1 7AB Did you see that London’s legendary Batman-themed restaurant just got an ‘iceberg lounge’? Plus: Whyte Rushen is opening his first permanent restaurant in Hackney. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.

The chef known as Whyte Rushen has announced plans to open his very first London restaurant – and we can barely deal with the excitement.  Known for his left-field foodie pop-ups across the capital, as well as a very cheffy background at such noted establishments as Brat, Scully St James and Kerridge’s, Whyte Rushen’s debut restaurant is set to open next month in Hackney. ‘It’s with a mix of every emotion humanly available, excitement, pride, anxiety, fear, joy and all the rest, that I can finally announce, we’ve found a site, a restaurant, a hub, a home,’ wrote the chef, who first came to Time Out’s attention due to some extremely moreish Monster Munch-covered oysters.  The plan to open up in December, but Whyte is calling on fans to chuck the project a bit of dosh via a Go Fund Me to support the opening. ‘To create the space we’ve always dreamed of is obviously gonna cost a few quid, so this is not only an announcement, it’s a call to arms... I ask you with the most thanks imaginable in advance, to, if you can, if you can spare it, however little, donate to help make this a reality for us all, at this point every penny counts.’ There’s a £20,000 target.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chef Whyte Rushen (Blue Tick) ™️ (@whyte_rushen) There’s no word on the menu yet, but when Whyte popped-up in Mortimer House a couple of years back, he was serving up dishes like Stamford Hill Estate, with wagyu beef meatballs, brioche, burger sauce, g

One of Soho’s most-missed bars is set to return as an immersive art installation. The sleazy and fabulously seedy Colony Room Club has been recreated in the basement of brand new restaurant and bar, Ziggy Green. Opening on November 22 at 4 Heddon Street (just off Regent’s Street), Ziggy Green will host a 40 cover David Bowie-themed dining room on the ground floor, while the basement will be home to a revived Colony Room. The original Colony Room Club opened in 1948 at 41 Dean Street. The private member’s club was founded by Muriel Belcher, and became a bohemian and LGBTQ+ enclave, attracting the likes of Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Belcher passed away in 1979, and the club was taken over by barman Ian Board, and following his death in 1994, barman Michael Wojas. In the 1990s it became to Soho base of the Young British Artists group, and was frequented by Tracey Emin and Damien Hurst. The club closed for good in 2008.  The recreation of the Colony Room Club has been presided over by painter Darren Coffield, who wrote 2020’s ‘Tales from the Colony Room’, and the installation is based on an early 2000s version of the club. It will feature 100s of original and recreated artworks, including a portrait of famed Soho dandy Sebastian Horsley by Maggi Hambling, and of Francis Bacon by Michael Clarke. Original artefacts from the club will also be on display. As with the original club, no phones are allowed, and prices will be set as they were in 2008, including a Beefeater gin and

Eaters of London, we come bearing good (and tasty) news. November is a bountiful, bumper month for new restaurants.  On the fast-ish food side there are brand new branches of The Breakfast Club and Yard Sale Pizza set for Seven Dials and Hither Green, as well as a second site for pasta pros Notto in Covent Garden.  If it’s old classics you’re into, the former Larry’s site in Peckham will become the Parisian-styled Bar Levan on November 23. Head there for loads of trendy wine, and a decadent, outright filthy croque monsieur to soak up the intense mezcal selection they’re also promising.  Now, it’s over to November’s hugest hitters… Photograph: Jamie Oliver 1.The big comeback Jamie Oliver Catherine St, Covent Garden  So we meet again, Mr Oliver. After the 2020 collapse of his restaurant empire, Jamie’s back to give it all another swing. This time he’s sensibly going for just the one restaurant, opening next door to Covent Garden’s Theatre Royal and putting seasonal, well-sourced ingredients on the main stage. There’ll be devilled eggs with sustainable Exmoor caviar, roast Sutton Hoo chicken with stroganoff sauce and fish stew packed with Dorset clams and Welsh mussels. The curtain is officially raised on November 28.  6 Catherine St, London WC2B 5JY Photograph: The Wolseley 2. The forever-fave offshoot  The Wolseley City, City Like Bill Nighy, Lily Allen and a bunch of other hungry celebs, we love The Wolseley. The flouncy all-day dining spot will attempt to repeat its inef

A new documentary is set to tell the story of the man behind legendary London restaurateur Mr Chow. The film, handily also called ‘Mr Chow’, goes deep into the life of Michael Chow, who opened his first restaurant in Knightsbridge in 1968. And it’s still there! Here’s what we had to say about it: ‘When Mr Chow first opened, in 1968, it became a little like a Chinese version of The Ivy: a place that swinging A-listers (The Stones, The Beatles) could come for a noodles and cosseting service.’ The restaurant – which spawned Beverly Hills, New York and Miami versions – has long been known for its high prices, which our review called ‘fairly outrageous’, but it’s still pretty damn popular if you want to splash the cash on handmade Beijing noodles, satay chicken and green prawns.  The film, which is currently airing on HBO in the US, but with a UK release date yet to be announced, also looks at Chow’s own art career and how Chow – who was born Zhou Yinghua in 1939 in Shanghai – celebrated the likes of Peter Blake and David Hockney by putting their work on the walls of his celeb-packed restaurant. Chow studied at Saint Martin’s School of Art in the 1950s, and opened a hairdressers on Sloane Avenue in Chelsea before his debut restaurant. Mr Chow, 151 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7PA  Now check out our guide to the best restaurants in London’s Chinatown, plus the best Chinese restaurants in the capital.  Listen to Time Out’s brilliant new podcast ‘Love Thy Neighbourh

It is officially cold in London. No more standing outside of pubs nursing a beer for you – it is now the season to retreat indoors to the comfort of a bar. So what better time to discover that five London bars have made the cut at the latest edition of The World’s 50 Best Bars?  The lucky boozers were revealed at an event in Singapore on October 17, and though the top spot went to Sips in Barcelona – which is a relative bar baby at just two years old – London very much held its own, with two bars in the top ten. Mayfair's Connaught Bar came in at number five and Old Street’s Tayēr + Elementary at number eight. Cheers! Funnily enough, we’re in agreement with these guys – the Connaught also currently tops our list of the best bars in London, not least because they have a special Martini trolley that they’ll roll to your table if you order one. Here’s what we say about it: ‘As classy as they come, the Connaught Bar is a must-try for any Londoner. Sip mega-dollar drinks in a mega-dollar Mayfair setting, among a clientele of flashy hotel guests.’ Other London drinking spots giving the nod in the official World’s 50 Best Bars list were Scarfes in the Rosewood Hotel, which was a new entry in the list at number 41, as well as Shoreditch’s A Bar With Shapes For A Name at 35, and Satan’s Whiskers in Bethnal Green at 28. Check out Time Out’s list of the best 50 bars in London for some more pocket-friendly options, as well as neighbourhood cocktail joints, dancefloor-friendly spaces, an

Be strong. You too can fight the seasonal siren song of pumpkin spice! The sugary blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger – there is, in a wild plot twist, no actual pumpkin in the ubiquitous autumnal flavour – has hijacked hot drinks for the past few years and we remain annoyed by it. But rather than flipping over every pumpkin spice latte we see, we’ve decided to celebrate the humble pumpkin instead, and point you in the direction of the best savoury squash dishes available in London this autumn. ‌Steamed Delica Pumpkin at Poon’s Wontoneria, Fitzrovia Photograph: Courtesy of Poon’s Wontoneria Herald the extension of Chinese restaurant royalty Amy Poon’s wonton-tastic pop-up (now running until February 2024) with this steamed pumpkin dish. Served alongside dried tofu skin also known as fǔzhú, as well as Chinese mushrooms and black bean sauce, these perfect hunks of soft pumpy are just what you need to cosy up to as the nights draw in. Yes, we did just call in ‘pumpy’. Get on board.  23 Charlotte St, W1T 1RW. £11.50. Pumpkin Arancina at Norma, Fitzrovia Photograph: Norma An oozy nugget of carb-based gold, this is pumpkin done the Sicilian way. The godfather of seasonal rice balls, this Delica delicacy comes topped with shavings of scamorza cheese and sage, and makes for the perfect edible autumn accessory. And if you really, really need that tawdry pumpkin spice hit, then scroll down to Norma’s dessert menu, and check out the pumpkin spiced tiramisu they’ll be offe

Clapham favourite Eco is celebrating its thirtieth birthday by offering their whole menu at their 1993 prices for one day only. That means on Monday October 23 you’ll score margheritas for a stunning £4.50, as well as ham and mushroom pies for £4.70, fiorentinas for £5.50, and garlic bread for £1.90. All of their calzones will be £6.20, and you’ll get tiramisu for £3.50. Their current menu will be replaced by the pizzeria’s 1993 offerings for the whole month (though alas not at the bargain prices) so if you fancy sampling the taste of Clapham in 1993 – think of it as a culinary time machine – then you know what to do.  The family-run Eco opened in 1993, taking its name from the writer Umberto Eco, whose novel-turned-film The Name of The Rose was playing next door at the Clapham Picture House cinema.  Eco was founded by Sami Wasif from Egypt. Sami moved to London in 1976, and, after finding the pizzas in the capital to be somewhat lacking, set about perfecting his very own recipe for a sourdough base based on traditional techniques learned in his hometown of Beni Suef. His first pizzeria was Brixton’s Pizzeria Franco – which would go on to inspire Franco Manca – and which Sami took over in 1989. If that hasn't already convinced you, here's a nugget from our Time Out review of Eco:  ‘The pizzas – made with double fermented sourdough – prove popular. Examples range from classics such as margheritas, Napoletanas and a San Daniele to options including a spicy piccante (ventricina

Yard Sale’s dominance of London continues on apace, as their eleventh store is announced. Their newest pizza parlour will open in November in Hither Green, and will offer delivery to the nearby areas of Catford, Ladywell, Kidbrooke, Blackheath and Lewisham. There’s 50 percent off delivery from November 6-8 and November 13-15 to celebrate the new opening, which you can score if you sign up to Yard Sale’s mailing list.   If that’s too long to wait, then there are ten other branches across the city that’ll be able to provide you with your hot cheesy fix. Yard Sale are also currently offering their latest special, the Sloppy G Remix Feat. Tabasco; with ground beef spiced with Tabasco hot pepper sauce, along with red onion, mixed peppers and fior di latte mozzarella. The Tabasco special is for National Pizza Month – which is October, apparently! – and comes in a special pizza box with a blank space in which you can write a message for the pizza’s intended recipient.   Yard Sale Pizza, 170 Manor Lane, SE12 8LP Time Out’s take As the winner of our 2022 Clash of Slices, we fully endorse any and all Yard Sale openings, and still can’t stop thinking about their Sonora Taqueria collab pizza from the summer.  Did you see that this London pizzeria is offering food for 1993 prices? Listen to Time Out’s brilliant new podcast ‘Love Thy Neighbourhood’: episode ten with Derren Brown in Hoxton is out now. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the cit

London has some great pizza.  You doubtless already know this to be true – when did you last order a sublime slice? Last month? Last night? For us it was last week, and we’re pretty sure we’ll be doing it again extremely soon.   The National Pizza Awards are also more than aware that some of the best pizza in the UK can be found in the capital. Out of 16 finalists for this year’s awards, a whopping eight are London-based. Breadstall Pizza, Franco Manca, Homeslice, Mamma Dough, Pizza Pilgrims, SALT Deptford, Voodoo Ray’s and Zia Lucia all make the cut.  The winner will be decided next month at a live cooking showdown on November 21 at Walthamstow’s Big Penny Social.  ‘This year drew stellar entries from businesses all over the UK, the sheer scale and quality of which we’ve never seen before,’ says Genna Ash-Brown, editor of Dine Out Magazine, who are behind the annual event. Last year’s winner was London's Bad Boy Pizza Society and their Pepperoni Alla Vodka pizza.  ‘Choosing just 16 from such a high calibre of entries was no mean feat, but we have our 2023 competitors at last – and the line-up is certainly impressive. The mix of up-and-coming and well-established names is sure to result in a nail-biting final. We can’t wait for them to step up to the ovens and see who comes out on top!’ Each pizzeria had to submit a signature recipe for consideration in the final, with Breadstall Pizza’s Cheesy Rider, Franco Manca’s Finta Diavola, Homeslice’s Wagyu, Mamma Dough’s John O Goat

There’s a whole lot of good eating out there this October – and you’ll be pleased to hear that none of it involves pumpkin spice.  For starters you’ve got a brand new branch of Bone Daddies opening up in Leicester Square, as well as a fresh outing for Emilia’s Crafted Pasta on Baker Street, and – following their hallowed brunch spots in Stoke Newington, Soho and Margate – a new site for The Good Egg in Camden Stables Market. And after five years, seasonal produce champions Nest will move from Hackney’s Morning Lane to a bigger site on Old Street in Shoreditch.  What else is there? Lots! Read on to discover the best restaurants that are opening this scary season in London. Fowl 1. The posh pop-up chicken shopFowl, St James’s Like your chicken as ethical as it can be (for an animal that’s been butchered for your delectation)? Then you may be interested in Fowl. Coming from the same team as the fantastic Fallow – who love a bit of sustainability and edible mindfulness – this walk-ins-only, ‘beak-to-feet’ eatery will serve pasture-raised and soy-free birds from regenerative agriculture farms, which is surely the best life a chicken destined for the dinner plate can ever wish to have. Opening on October 3, look out for Fowl’s chef collab menu items, which start with Pierre Koffmann’s chicken leg corn dog with aleppo pepper and La Grande Coque Pie for two with confit chicken hearts, livers and cockscombs. Cluck cluck.  Norris St, SW1Y 4RJ Mambow 2. The big Peckham-to-Hackney m

We bring you big news in the bivalve world, as a London based chef has been named World Oyster Opening Champion at the annual Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival. Federico Fiorillo – who is Head Shucker at Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill in Mayfair – received the salty honour last weekend. He was representing Britain at the brine-tastic event in Ireland, which has been running since 1954. Contestants have to open and present 30 native oysters with speed and professionalism, before serving them to a judging panel. Federico, who has won the British Oyster Championships three times, was this year’s runaway champ.  ‘I am still absolutely speechless!’, he commented. ‘It was an incredibly tough competition, but I am extremely proud to have represented the UK and hope I have the opportunity next September. It’s a true honour to take home the title of World Champion.’ Federico has the nickname ‘Oyster Boy’ and was trained by Helio Garzon, the former Chief Oyster Shucker at Bentley’s. The London landmark restaurant has been a hallowed seafood spot since 1916 – with chef Richard Corrigan the owner since 2005. Corrigan recently launched The National Portrait Gallery’s new in-house restaurant, Portrait. Read our glowing review here. Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill, 11-15 Swallow Street, W1B 4DG Did you see that London has five of the UK’s best restaurants, according to TripAdvisor? Plus: Hollywood hero Danny Trejo is opening a west London taco restaurant. Listen to Time Out’s b