With plenty of exciting restaurant openings constantly taking place across the Capital, here’s our pick of the best new restaurants arriving in London over the coming month.
With two successful restaurants already operating on the other side of the city (one in Kensington, and the other in Soho), the team behind Dirty Bones are set to open a third site this month. Taking over a Grade II listed heritage building at the Shoreditch end of Bethnal Green Road, alike the other two restaurants, the new venue will serve a selection of American comfort food classics, albeit this time around the menu will be heavily inspired by New York. The exact menu is still under wraps, for now, though it has been announced that the new restaurant will be the first Dirty Bones to offer an all-day dining menu, plus an all-new breakfast menu that’s been specially developed for the Shoreditch outpost. What’s more, a brand new bar area will also be unveiled, equipped to host live music and DJ nights, focusing on the classic funk, soul and hip-hop music that the other Dirty Bones restaurants have become renowned for.
Dirty Bones Shoreditch is set to open in August and can be found at 1 Club Row, London, E1 6JX.
London-based foodies are in for a treat this month, as Eneko will open at London’s One Aldwych Hotel. Launched by Chef Eneko Atxa, renowned for his contemporary take on Basque cooking at his three Michelin-starred Azurmendi in Bilbao, this new space is set to open officially in September, but will be open for a soft launch period throughout August – offering guests the chance to take advantage of a 50 per cent discount on food. And though Eneko at One Aldwych will also serve Basque food, the focus will be on far more traditional cooking, served within a casual space, while a commitment to top quality ingredients will still be a prominent feature. As for the menu, diners can expect the likes of Eneko’s ‘Txerri Boda Pork Festival’ (photographed) – a trio of Iberico ham and mushroom duxelle in milk bread, suckling pig brioche and pig’s trotter bocata. Mains, on the other hand, will include the likes of Basque-style hake tempura with red pepper sauce and parsley emulsion, as well as some creative vegetarian dishes such as dressed beetroot tartare, and bomba rice risotto with Idiazabal pesto. Elsewhere, a floating 35-cover wine bar will be located on the mezzanine, with a carefully crafted list of Spanish wines, including the house Gorka Izagirre Txakoli, a white wine from the chef’s own vineyards.
Eneko at One Aldwych is open now and can be found at 1 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BZ.
Set up as a celebration of her city, and of memories growing up in a household obsessed with food – Bengali chef Shrimoyee Chakraborty will open her first permanent site this month, following a string of successful pop-ups. Massively inspired by Bengali home dining, the Fitzrovia space will offer diners the chance to visit the ground-floor ‘no reservations’ space, which focuses on smaller tables and casual gatherings around the kitchen island bar, or within the unique downstairs dining room, which is available for both bookings and walk-ins. Downstairs, each evening at either 7pm or 9:30pm, up to 20 diners can be accommodated and seated around two communal tables to eat, drink, socialise, and indulge in a menu of shared dishes, with endless breads, rice, chutneys and pickles. As for the food on offer at Calcutta Street, the menu revolves around the chef’s family dishes that have been passed down through the generations, which are made here with focus on seasonal British produce. From the a la carte menu, expect the likes of Doi Phuchka (crispy semolina balls with potato, black chick peas, tamarind and yogurt filling) and a Malai curry of jumbo prawns cooked in coconut and mustard sauce. A Kolkatan favourite – Pithe (pancakes made with rice flour and a coconut and jiggery filling) will be the main draw for dessert.
Calcutta Street is set to open in August and can be found at 29 Tottenham Street, London, W1T 1RU.
Literally meaning “tea restaurant” in Chinese, Cha Chaan Teng is set to open in Holborn this month, taking over a space previously occupied by Rocket. Unsurprisingly inspired by the 1950s and ‘60s cha chaan teng cafes in Hong Kong, the restaurant is set to serve affordable food that marries both Cantonese and Western cuisine, with School of Wok creator Jeremy Pang on board as Executive Development Chef. Jeremy Pang will also oversee the menu, set to include the likes of macaroni soup, spam rolls, and cinnamon hedgehog doughnuts with duck egg yolk centres. As for the drinks offering, the restaurant has collaborated with Soul Shakers, with a cocktail list paying fitting homage to Chinese tea culture, while a range of Chinese beers will also be available on draught.
Cha Chaan Teng is set to open in August and can be found at 36-38 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6EY.
