London’s Best New Restaurants of 2025

This year’s best new restaurants have sat on both sides of the spectrum: we’ve had big, flashy Mayfair spots and smaller, more experimental eateries. Restaurateurs Martin Kuczmarski and Stevie Parle each opened two excellent restaurants, while neighbourhood spots like Dockley Road and Field Notes experimented with cuisine-spanning dishes and sustainable, whole-animal cooking. Then there were the talented chefs like Amy Poon and Nathaniel Mortley (aka Natty Can Cook), who took their projects from pop-ups and residencies to standout permanent venues. These are Broadsheet’s best new restaurants of 2025.

For more guides to the best of London in 2025, read our list of the year's best dishes, our favourite bars that have opened, and our top picks of restaurants to open outside of London.

The biggest flex of 2025? Arguably, it’s being Martin Kuczmarski, creator of Mayfair’s glamorous New York-Italian restaurant, The Dover, who has opened not one but two new restaurants in the last month with little to no prelude. Set in the former Hugo Boss store on the twinkle of Sloane Square, Martino’s is a sexy, mid-century-modern Milanese daydream. Open from 8am until at least midnight every day of the week (with a short pause from 4pm to 5pm for a quick zhoosh), its tagline – “Buzzy. Not loud. For everyone.” – summarises its lively, child-friendly charm.

Designed to enjoy in a cosy, walnut-clad nook or on a tall stool at the glossy bar, the tangy Martino’s Shakerato aperitivo with Campari, gin and orange juice is an (admittedly lethal) must. Otherwise, for breakfast, everything from classic cornetti and fluffy ricotta pancakes to silken cacio e pepe scrambled eggs with focaccia sliders have already made it a local mainstay. The all-day menu’s reassuringly familiar trattoria favourites include crisp veal Milanese, soothing tortellini in brodo and meatballs zuppetta, while the deeply decadent tiramisu, fluffy doughnuts and strictly classic cocktail list prove that consistency can be its own source of comfort.

This two-storey fever dream of butter-yellow brick, red and mint-green resin floors, and stainless-steel counters glowing under neon, arrived on Rye Lane with a bang in June. Inspired by Vietnam’s casual streetside bia hoi drinking culture, the Vietnamese canteen with a “little by little” approach to eating is a casual stop for banh mi and Vietnamese coffee by day, and home to a tightly edited run of flavour-bomb small plates by night.

The team – Blair Nguyen and Ivy Vo of Vinaxoa, chef Alex Lê and creative leads AP Nguyen, Joseph Losper and Tomio Shota – remake their favourite childhood dishes through a laid-back south London lens: prawn lollies wrapped in young rice; lemongrass beef tartare; and a papaya, braised pig’s ear and pineapple salad.

It would have been easy for Jonny Lake and Isa Bal to copy-and-paste their two-star success story, Trivet, into what was formerly the Met Bar on Park Lane. But that’s not their style. Instead, London got something looser, louder and more impulsive – but served with no less precision than at its older Bermondsey sibling.

A creative, cheffy destination with a slight Mediterranean lilt, Labombe became a beacon for the high-low, thanks to head chef and former Dinner by Heston alum Evan Moore. Glossy brioche layered with delicately sliced Wagyu tongue, anchovy mayo and blackcurrant, tiny bottarga toasties, and duck heart and cherry skewers make Moore’s case that there’s always a place for small plates. At the same time, larger, shareable hunks of iberico pork, txuleton beef and whole monkfish are also winners, arriving off the woodfired grill pampered to perfection, and bolstered with a side of cleverly spiced “New York fries” (a wink to a Canadian fast-food chain).

Head sommelier Philipp Reinstaller’s Euro-leaning list means you can drink seriously well by the glass without blowing the budget. Either that or disappear down a rabbit hole of old-school rioja and grand cru burgundy. It’s entirely up to you.

There’s a reason One Club Row is London’s worst-kept secret. Hidden behind a plain black door on a low-key, graffiti-strewn Shoreditch side street, above The Knave of Clubs pub, the New York-style brasserie hits every single person with an Instagram account in the “if you know, you know” nerve, somewhere between the heart and the liver.

With beautifully faux-aged bare plaster walls, the flicker of candlelight and a piano in situ, romance is on the menu – that and chef Patrick Powell’s expertly executed take on the classics, as well as thrillingly cold Martinis. Go for the roasted scallops in confit garlic butter, stay for the cheeseburger with peppercorn sauce – and don’t be ashamed when they have to pry you from the table at closing time. It happens to the best of us.

Having opened two restaurants within six months, it’s safe to say chef Stevie Parle is on a roll. Here at Broadsheet, it’s neck-and-neck between the two, but Town just pips Motorino to the post. A vast 120-seat space with a lacquered green open kitchen, a long glossy bar with cocktails by Kevin Armstrong of Satan’s Whiskers, and burgundy, retro-futurist walls, Town is the kind of confident, glamorous West End opening London hasn’t seen in a while.

Following Parle’s instinctive knack for cooking the best in-season with the utmost care, the menu moves from light spears of asparagus topped with slivers of lardo to ceps and crispy potatoes folded into silken Burford Brown yolks. Meanwhile, Wildfarmed’s regeneratively farmed beef takes pride of place year-round, with dishes like beef shin ragu and osso buco with saffron risotto sitting alongside custom-cut slabs cooked expertly to order.

This year has seen plenty of big, splashy launches, but 2210 by Natty Can Cook didn’t need one. Having built an impressive following with his videos about hearty Caribbean-style roasts and a sell-out pub residency, chef Nathaniel “Natty” Mortley’s contemporary take on Caribbean cooking was an instant hit.

A polished, grown-up dining room set a stone’s throw from Brockwell Park in Herne Hill, it’s a place where the proprietor serves food from the heart. Mortley’s aunt runs operations, his godmother leads the front-of-house team and a friend from primary school is general manager. The restaurant’s name references the date his grandmother died, and the same numbers are inked across his fingers. On the menu you’ll find his trademark Sunday roasts, as well as crisp little rolls stuffed with ackee and saltfish; jerk chicken with a deep-fried allspice terrine; and a plantain cake layered with white chocolate and an invigorating hit of sharp, lively pickle. And if that wasn’t joyful enough, there are plenty of rum-heavy, island-inspired drinks to back it all up.

In Shoreditch’s shiny new Montacute Yards development, Nieves Barragán Mohacho is delving deeper into Spanish cooking than ever before. The chef-restaurateur behind Michelin-starred Sabor, and original head chef at Barrafina, has built a mega-menu that roams across her native country, from seafood-heavy dishes inspired by Catalonia and the Balearics to Galician-style octopus, crisp Cadiz-style fritura and rice cooked the Valencian way. In Legado’s open kitchen, twin cast-iron ovens from Madrid turn out golden Segovian suckling pig and slow-cooked lamb, with nose-to-tail treats like frito mallorquin with lamb offal.

It’s all served in a terracotta-and-warm-wood room that feels more like a smart, homely casa than a shiny new build, with an all-Spanish wine list heavy on sherry and cava. The result is a celebration of Spanish food without cliché: precise and generous.

Set across two floors above the bustle of Canteen on Portobello Road, The Fat Badger by Public House group (The Pelican, The Hero, The Bull) is an unconventional pub with a menu that exceeds expectations by some margin. Downstairs you’ll find traditional Scotch eggs and cheese toasties – as well as the likes of Olivia Rodrigo kicking back between gigs – while upstairs offers a three-course lunch or multi-course dinner shaped around diners’ preferences and whatever chefs George Williams and Beth O’Brien can source that week. The menu is impossible to pin down, though scallops in lobster gravy, pigeon on toast and simple grilled fish regularly showcase the pair’s delicate yet straightforward, produce-led cooking. It’s all served in a candlelit, wood-panelled room, more countryside inn than Notting Hill proper – and all the better for it.

Following her father Bill Poon’s success in running a chain of popular Chinese restaurants in London in the ’70s and ’80s, Amy Poon had big shoes to fill – and she’s doing so with ease at the newest iteration of Poon’s, inside Somerset House. After reviving the Poon’s brand with her Wontoneria pop-ups, chilli oils and condiments, the restaurateur continues to bring her family’s legacy into the 21st century with a permanent place for Cantonese comfort food by the river.

Framed by Leonora Service’s soft, storybook murals of mahjong-playing rabbits and other leafy, dreamlike scenes, the room plays host to immaculate wontons, soy-poached chicken and lacquered char siu cooked with care. Claypot rice with Poon’s signature wind-dried meats and whole steamed fish also sit alongside cheekily named bar snacks, including a take on sesame prawn toast called The Hill That Amy Didn’t Die On. It’s a fun, thoughtful evolution of a London institution.

After shutting his beloved Michelin Green Star restaurant earlier this year, chef Ivan Tisdall-Downes has reappeared in Hackney with something far more personal. His self-financed solo project on Mare Street is a compact concrete-and-candlelight room where every plate is shaped by his fixation on sustainability.

For anyone who followed Native, the framework for Field Notes will be familiar – wild foods, whole-animal cooking, nothing wasted – but the scope has widened, showcasing citrus and olive oil producers he met while cooking everywhere from Madrid to the Philippines. The menu might bring sesame fish toast with sharp apple “hoisin”, stracciatella supercharged with miso bagna cauda, or a cafe-style steak tartare served with fried bread and brown sauce. Plus, there’s the return of the cult-favourite Marrowmel: white chocolate and bone marrow caramel presented in a hollowed-out roasted bone. But will we be reacquainted with Tisdall-Downes’s headline-making grey squirrel lasagne? Watch this space.

This year, Bermondsey’s glut of great restaurants grew. Shaped by a team with experience at St John, Rochelle Canteen and Montreal’s Joe Beef, Dockley Road is defined by its close ties to the area’s best bakers, butchers, brewers and cheesemongers. With big windows, soft ’70s tones and an open kitchen trimmed with a green counter made from recycled plastic bags, the warm, unfussy space is a good indicator of what’s on the menu. Witty, approachable and full of character, chef Emily Chia’s dishes provide plenty of table talk, with small plates of crisp panisse, banh mi-inspired terrine, and a potato “brick” (dauphinoise) seasoned like cacio e pepe leading the way. Her hearty Lancashire hotpot makes use of local Kernel Stout and Farmer Tom Jones’s beef, while legendary bartender Nick Strangeway (No Regrets, ex-Hawksmoor among others) seizes the same butcher’s by-products to impart his Martinis with a meaty, fat-washed edge.

For serious sushi and even more serious people-watching, look no further than Eel Sushi Bar in Notting Hill. Founded by Chris D’Sylva – the man behind Dorian, Urchin, Supermarket of Dreams, Notting Hill Fish & Meat and the much-imitated Tuna Fight Club – it shares the same top-tier supply lines as his other operations, and sees the freshest Spanish tuna, hand-dived scallops and, of course, seared eel, sliced to order from behind a glowing timber counter.

There’s no omakase theatre, no tempura and no California rolls, just a concise run of sashimi, nigiri and an excellent mushroom-heavy miso, all designed to be ordered à la carte and eaten at speed. Order a bottle from Dorian’s wine cellar across the road and you might just hold onto your seat long enough for round two.

Clare Smyth’s move into a more casual style of dining was never going to be laid-back – but that’s beside the point. Her return to Chelsea (where she once headed up Restaurant Gordon Ramsay) takes the precision and sourcing philosophy of her three-star flagship, Core, and channels it into her own take on British comfort cooking. There’s dover sole fish’n’chips piped with lobster mousse; toad-in-the-hole with Cumberland sausage, black pudding and bacon; a thermidor-style lobster bisque; and old-school puddings, like sherry trifle and “Irish coffee-misu”, with more frills than an ’80s wedding dress. Sure, it’s still very much a “treat”, but it’s one that might just bring a nostalgic tear to your eye.

Once a hub for intimate indie gigs by the likes of Florence & the Machine, Franz Ferdinand and Fontaines DC, The Macbeth is now the place to go for a big, juicy bifana. Revived by the co-founder of Four Legs and The Plimsoll, Jamie Allan, the old-school boozer has gained a stellar Portuguese menu and a very good low-intervention wine list, all while retaining its East End charm.

The bifana – Allan’s unmissable Portuguese-inspired pork belly and cheese sandwich – sits on a chalkboard of daily-changing dishes. Expect pub-grub-perfect small plates of lamb samosas and ham-hock croquettes with HP Sauce, alongside bigger servings like rabbit piri-piri with chips. They’re all undeniably good with a pint of Murphy’s.

If you’ve got £500 to spare and you don’t know how to spend it, go to Punk Royale – but only if you a) like to drink and b) have a sense of humour. Imported from Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo by Swedish chef Joakim “Jokke” Almqvist, Noma alumnus Katherine Bont, and entrepreneur Erik Gustafsson, the fine-diningish restaurant is a no-phones, down-the-rabbit-hole whirlwind of neon, flavour-bombs and excess.

Its Total Over Delivery service begins with a gargantuan caviar bump and a shot of vodka, and has between 20 and 30 courses – one of which lands roughly every five minutes – with a dedicated drinks pairing included in the price. There’s lobster, foie gras, langoustines, white truffle, oysters, “white gold” truffle and more caviar. There are also syringes, a smoke machine, blue lights, glittery Negronis and loud music. It sounds insane because it is.

After the success of Bar Crispin, Crispin and Bistro Freddie, this year restaurateur Dom Hamdy decided to take his winning restaurant formula west with Canal, a waterside spot in Westbourne Park. Perfect for long sunny afternoons on the south-facing terrace or hunkering down in the studio’s softened brutalist interiors, Canal is lively and casual with a touch of low-key glamour.

In the kitchen, New York-born chef Adrian Hernandez Farina (ex-Humo, Luca, The French Laundry, Chiltern Firehouse) turns out a Mediterranean-leaning menu that treats British produce with the utmost finesse. The much-photographed “table cheeseburger” (literally a cheeseburger shared between the table) earns its hype, while snacks such as Portland crab doughnuts and larger plates – think flaky Cornish John Dory with lemon-dill butter or a juicy Jersey sirloin – make sharing the rest non-negotiable, too.

It would be remiss not to include two openings that weren’t brand-new restaurants, just excellent eateries moving to new digs. Kudu’s move from south London to Marylebone marked a new phase in the South African restaurant’s evolution; its richly textured design, with plaster-pink walls evoking Cape Town sunsets, provides a fittingly elevated setting for a menu blending Kudu’s classics, like piri-piri tiger prawns, with new dishes centred on fire-based cooking from the braai (barbeque). And Crisp Pizza teamed up with Soho’s The Devonshire to revive Mayfair boozer The Marlborough to great success, thanks to Crisp chef-owner Carl McCluskey’s signature crisp-bottomed pizzas.