The Best London Restaurant Openings this Winter

Chargal, Mayfair

Mayfair has more than an abundance of restaurants. The good, the bad, and the overrated, there’s a little bit of everything. But the latest opening, Chargal, definitely is one to watch. Described by restaurateur Serdar Demir as a reflection of Turkish cuisine’s sophistication and depth, the three-storey culinary experience will offer a refined dining room, a mezze terrace, and a sophisticated low low-lit basement lounge designed for unwinding after dinner. Signature dishes will be reinterpretations of beloved Turkish classics like wagyu İskender, red bream ceviche that nods to Turkey’s coastal traditions, and playful sucuk “candies’’ coated in hot honey glaze, as well as a dark chocolate sorbet lifted with fennel pollen and olive oil, that echoes the flavours of the Aegean.

Chargal opens on 11th December on Berkeley Street, Mayfair.

Sale e Pepe Mare, Marylebone

Sale e Pepe has welcomed everyone from Priscilla Presley to Rod Stewart in its longstanding – 50 years – Knightsbridge establishment. Arriving at The Langham on 9 February, is its waterside rendition, Sale e Pepe Mare, capturing the charm and tranquillity of the Italian coast. With curving archways, deep blue-accented interiors and a seafood-centric menu served from breakfast through to dinner, guests get a taste of the Riviera through dishes such as tableside salt-baked sea bass and linguine vongole e bottarga.

Peruse the menu via sale-e-pepe-mare-the-langham-london

Gilroy’s Loft, Covent Garden

It’s not every day we celebrate our own cuisine, but here to help is Gilroy’s Loft, offering British and Irish coastal cooking alongside panoramic views over Covent Garden. Atop the newly opened Guinness Open Gate Brewery, drinks include expertly brewed beers such as The Brewer’s Lager and Piazza Pale Ale, alongside a concise cocktail list – features including Toucan Colada and Espresso Stoutini – plus an international and English wine list. Highlights from the seasonally inspired menu include native oysters from Wright Brothers – shucked at the central bar – grilled half native lobster, and blood orange mousse paired with Guinness ice cream and malt biscuit.

Bookings available now at guinness.com/en/gilroys-loft

Brasserie Angelica and Gambit Bar, Fitzrovia

With the arrival of Aki London, Aces Foodcraft and Motorino, it’s safe to say Fitzrovia is having a moment. Set within one of the neighbourhood’s most anticipated new hotels on Newman and Goodge Street, The Newman will house Brasserie Angelica and Gambit Bar from February. The brasserie will serve comforting classics with Northern European influences, while its suave, underground counterpart offers refined yet understated cocktails. Gambit is also set to host a rolling programme of events, from in-house DJs to regular chess nights inspired by its namesake.

Take a look around at brasserieangelica.com/

Hoppers, Shoreditch

Hopping over to the Tea Building in Shoreditch, the Sri Lankan restaurant group is opening its latest – and fourth – outpost in London as it marks its ten-year anniversary. Exploring the rich influence of Southern India on Sri Lankan cuisine, the restaurant will deliver new regional dishes alongside cult classics. Interiors lean on the palaces of Padmanabhapuram and Mattancherry in Kerala, bringing a splash of grandeur through its typical tropical modernism.

Bookings will be available from late January 2026 via  hopperslondon.com/

MA/NA, Mayfair

Situated on Upper Grosvenor Street in Mayfair, MA/NA is a luxurious new restaurant bridging Japanese culinary rituals and meticulous cocktails in a space designed to move seamlessly from dinner to drinks. No detail is accidental, from the dragon-shaped banquette guiding guests from bar to table to resident DJ sets that carry the evening through. The menu, curated by chef Leo Tanyag, offers indulgent renditions of familiar favourites, from teriyaki edamame with black truffle to grilled bone-in ribeye glazed with ginger, garlic and sesame soy.

Opening on February 23, join the waitlist at manarestaurants.com/

Stable Wines, Islington

From the founders of Goodbye Horses and The Dreamery, Alex Young and George de Vos return to Islington with a new opening – this time a wine shop with a subterranean bar. In keeping with the whimsical and atmospheric identity of their other spots, guests suitably enter through a glass-surrounded frontage before descending into a former bank vault where preserved arches and low lighting set the tone. Wines are drawn from a handpicked list of natural producers, best enjoyed alongside artisanal cured meats and cheeses, including Goodbye Horses’ signature cheese toastie.

Book your spot in the cellar at stablewines.com/

Fuego Bar, Fitzrovia

Fitzrovia’s open-flame restaurant Arros QD is extending its fire-led ethos downstairs with the opening of Fuego Bar. Designed in rich orange and black tones with textures that evoke burnt wood throughout, the space reimagines classic cocktails through a distinctly smoky lens. Signature serves include the Fuego Negro — a bourbon cocktail smoked with applewood chips and finished with cacao bitters and orange zest — and Sol y Humo, blending red vermouth, grapefruit, smoked paprika syrup and cava. A concise bar menu accompanies the drinks, including a Socarrat Rice Cracker that transforms the crisp, caramelised base of a paella into a bite-sized bar snack.

Drink in the menu at arrosqd.com/menus/FUEGO-BAR/