Listen: we love our hospitality industry so much that we were happy to dig our winter coats out from the cupboard again and embrace our pints in the pissing rain... but we won't lie to ya - we're pretty stoked that we're soon gonna be able to enjoy our food and drinks without having to cramp ourselves beneath a brolly while wearing our ski thermals. The 17th of May is almost here, and London's got some awesome newbies joining the indoor party.
KOL Mezcaleria
There's no smoke without fire at this LIT new joint
Mezcal fans - pay attention! This new smokey, agave championing joint is finally about to open. KOL Mezcaleria promises to be one of Europe’s leading destinations to get better acquainted with mezcal. Love it. Whether you're already a firm friend or are yet to make its acquaintance, this is the place to spend some quality time cosying up with a measure or three. Now, we're not one to namedrop, but it seems pretty essential to mention that the badass bartender heading up KOL is none other than Maxim Schulte. When you have an award-winning mixologist who was formally Head Bartender at none other than the American Bar at The Savoy on board... well, let's say we feel in very safe hands indeed.
KOL Mezcaleria will open beneath the Marylebone restaurant of the same name at 9 Seymour St, Marylebone, London W1H 7BA
Sabine
Hot damn, Summer in the City
Hot damn, Summer in The City is looking mighty fine from where we're standing - just imagine how good it's gonna look several storeys up when you're chilling on this killer new rooftop next to St Paul's Cathedral. This alfresco hot spot is bringing not one, but two outside terraces for you to spend your golden hours on this Summer while reuniting with your pals over a glass of rosé (or 5). If you're ready to get your love life back on track after lockdown, Sabine's dedicated The Botanist & Tonic Bar is gonna be the perfect place to arrange a hot date.
Sabine's rooftop will open on May 20th on the 7th Floor, Leonardo Royal Hotel, 10 Godliman St, EC4V 5AJ
The Cellar
From The Cotswolds To Kings Cross
As far as we're concerned, there can never be too many wine bars in London, which we guess is good news for two mates from Stow-On-The-Wold who are opening their second neighbourhood wine bar on the previous site of a butcher's in Kings Cross. They've returned the Pentonville Road site to its former glory - if you like to be surrounded by exposed bricks, tiles and concrete colour tones while you sip on low-intervention wines from vineyards around the globe and share boards of awesome cheeses and rich, juicy charcuterie, well man, this place is gonna pop your cork.
The Cellar Kings Cross will open on 17th May at 258 Pentonville Rd, London N1 9JY
Hot Stone
Sizzle sizzle, baby
Top-notch sushi and sashimi, razor-sharp maki rolls and a sh*t hot Ishiyaki menu inspired by the ancient Japanese art of cooking on a bed searing-hot stones. That's everything you can expect from the second Hot Stone restaurant opening in Fitzrovia in May. Yeah, you might be sick of cooking your own dinners, but we bet at no stage of lockdown have you trying cooking an A5 Wagyu steak on 300°C sizzling stones. Yeah, thought not. This is a whole other level of cooking, baby. And hey, you won't have to do the dishes after.
Hot Stone will open for in-restaurant dining on 17th May at 3 Windmill Street, Fitzrovia, London W1T 2HY, with delivery and collection of its at-home menu available now.
Heritage, Dulwich
Not your average Ruby Murray
A neighbourhood as posh as Dulwich deserves a place like Heritage. Executive Chef Dayashankar Sharma is at the helm of this new fine-dining Indian restaurant, and he's created a sick menu celebrating traditional and authentic Indian recipes & ingredients, all taken to new levels with seasonal produce and some bad-ass modern cookery techniques. This is not your average ruby murray, my friend. Whether you're rocking up to this joint in May when restrictions are lifted, or you wanna check out their delivery options (available now if you live within 2.5m of the restaurant). The chargrilled truffle murgh kebab has our mouths watering, and the gruyere and chilli naan def has our name on it.
Heritage will be opening at 101 Rosendale Road, London, SE21 8EZ on May 17th, and delivery is available now
The Cheese Barge
Great if lactose floats ya boat
Let's be honest, the guys behind Pick & Cheese and The Cheese Bar won us over when they brought a god damn cheese conveyor belt to Covent Garden. Now, they're floating their way into our hearts with a double-decker Cheese Barge. That's right, y'all. This new lactose-based water-bound restaurant will have a permanent mooring on the Grand Union Canal at Paddington Central with a menu that'll focus on serving seasonal dishes centred around the best of British cheese. Expect dishes freshly made with locally sourced ingredients, and plenty of small producer & natural wines and London craft beers to wash it all down. Bring on the cheese dreams.
The Cheese Barge will be opening on 17th May at Sheldon Square, Paddington Central, London W2 6HY
Ganymede, South Kensington
The new pub coming into orbit
The Lunar Pub Company are nothing if not consistent with their celestial branding. This May they're adding a new 30-cover bar and 46-cover dining room to their catalogue which already includes South Ken's Hunter's Moon, and this new joint on Ebury Street will be named after the largest moon of Jupiter and the third-largest celestial being in the solar system. That's right quiz nerds - Ganymead is coming into Belgravia's orbit. Expect classic Lunar Pub Company staples such as foie gras parfait and scallop ceviche, a sharing fillet of beef wellington alongside innovative daily-changing menus. And because no-one can resist the gravitational pull of an epic brunch or traditional roast, they'll be offering those up on Saturdays and Sundays respectively.
Opening in May at 139 Ebury Street, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9QU
KRAFT Dalston
The night out holy trinity!
Beer, gin & kebabs. The holy trinity of an epic night out. And from May you'll find them all together at this exciting new London outpost from forward-thinking aparthotel brand Locke in Dalston. Can we get an Amen?! KRAFT Dalston is the new home of a sustainably managed microbrewery German Kraft Brewery, a sustainable urban gin distillery Jim and Tonic, and the first of two new East London homes for kebab legends Le Bab. More about the other below.
KRAFT is opening at 130a Locke Kingsland, Kingsland High Street from 17th May
Le Bab Old Street
Late-night rituals return!
It's amazing the things you start to miss when you can't have them, isn't it? A packet of crisps ripped open and placed in the middle of a pub garden table to share; a pint of beer served in an actual pint glass that you don't have to wash up; the restorative kebab at the end of a night out with your friends. They're all in touching distance now, baby, and in May, we're gonna be beelining for the nightlife heartland of Shoreditch for that early-hours kebab, as the team behind Le Bab open up their third joint on the former site of “Turkish Delight” kebab shop in Old Street. Open until 5am, they'll be bringing a mix of Middle Eastern flavours with international influences and fine dining techniques to the small hours.
Le Bab 231 Old St, Hoxton, London, EC1V 9HE will be open from 17th May
NoMad London
NYC crosses the pond
Love NYC, hate jetlag? 2021 is finally bringing you a TREAT. It's 2020 opening might have been delayed by you know what, but now one of our fave spots in the Big Apple is setting foundations in BarChick's hometown. NoMad is coming to London, baby! The fashionably boutique NoMad hotel is setting up shop in the former Bow St Magistrate's Court in Covent Garden this Spring. Expect the same epic cocktails that landed the O.G at No.13 on the World's 50 Best Bars list last year in their two bars; Side Hustle and Common Decency. The former is NoMad's take on the lively British pub through their unique lens, while the latter is a subterranean craft cocktail bar x stylish lounge. They've also turned the original courtroom into an epic private event space available for hire and dining will take place in a lushly landscaped atrium with a soaring glass ceiling.
The NoMad London opens 25th May at Bow Street Magistrates Court & Police Station, 28 Bow Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 7AW