New restaurants: summer 2013

Karam Sethi of Trishna, who won their first Michelin star this year, opens Gymkhana in Mayfair at the end of July. The restaurant will hark back to India’s colonial days, albeit with modern interpretations of classic dishes.

Alan Christie and Colin Kelly, both former chefs at Arbutus and Wild Honey respectively, have teamed up with Arbutus Group restaurant manager to open Picture, located opposite Great Portland Street’s BBC outpost. The menu has dishes like spiced lamb meatloaf with white peach and slow poached egg with mushroom marmalade.

Ed and Tom Martin (Chiswell Street Dining Rooms, The Jugged Hare) launch One Canada Square in September, catering to Canary Wharf workers. Details of the menu have not been released yet but the restaurant will have 100 covers and a separate cocktail bar.

After a hiatus of almost 20 years, Boulestin (pictured) re-opens in September, overseen by Terence Conran's former partner Joel Kissin. Kissin told us that the new restaurant will pay homage to chef Xavier Marcel Boulestin's ideas, but with a 21st century twist. "Signature dishes will be jambon persille and cassoulet. Next door Café Marcel will be for customers who would prefer a more casual dining experience. It will serve dishes from the restaurant plus lighter fare that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner."

Far Eastern
Aqua Group’s Hutong on the 33rd floor of the Shard is one of the season’s biggest openings, and will focus on the cuisine of northern China. Expect spicy food and a chic cocktail bar with a stunning view.

Rather more casual in concept is Koya-Ko, the second site for Koya which opens next door, on the former site of Mooli’s. We spoke to Koya’s John Devitt, who said “our second site will hopefully open the first week of August, possibly earlier. It will be a pared-back noodle bar with 24 stools all watching an open kitchen. It will allow Koya to grow a little and take up a supporting role. We will also be open from 8 am till 11 pm, incorporating Japanese breakfast.”

Ross Shonham of the uber-successful ramen bar Bone Daddies opens Flesh & Buns, where customers can make their own steamed buns with a variety of fillings. We loved Bone Daddies (check our review here) so we’re anticipating great things.

American
The American trend continues with US imports Shake Shack and Five Guys. British burger chain Honest Burgers open a new branch in Camden (with more sites planned for the future), and Covent Garden’s Navajo Joe is being reinvented as Joe's Southern Kitchen & Bar, with southern dishes and BBQ.

Italian
A new wave of Italian restaurants arrive this summer, specialising in regional cuisines. Luce e Limone on Gray’s Inn Road will have Sicilian dishes, while the already open Acciuga, which means “anchovy” in Italian, will concentrate on food from Liguria. Paesan will be devoted to “cucina povera”, literally translated as peasant food, so there’ll be pizza frita, sardine bruschetta and Florentine tripe.


Chicken
More eateries are set to focus solely on chicken. Whyte & Brown will place emphasis on both chicken and eggs, while LeCoq will be a rotisserie chicken restaurant, run by Sanja Morris of Salt Yard Group along with her sister. Richard Caring continues to grow his empire with the affordable Grillshack, an all-day restaurant where you order grilled chicken from the counter.

Masterchef winners
Several Masterchef winners and past contestants are setting up restaurants. Bilbao Berria is part of an established chain of Basque eateries in Spain; the chef in charge of their overseas site is 2011 winner Ash Mair. The Corner Restaurant and Champagne Bar, already open at Selfridges, has Keri Moss at the helm, joint winner of MasterChef 2012. Finally The Lockhart, a Texan food restaurant, will be run by 2010 Masterchef quarter finalist Andrew Justice.

Also...
Canary Wharf is the home of the new Tom’s Kitchen, which follows a similar model to the Somerset House branch, with an onsite bar and deli as well as the restaurant.

Soho’s Duck Soup open a sister site in Hackney at the end of June called Raw Duck. This will be a wine shop and bar with an all-day menu, so far no raw duck dishes have been announced.

Aqua Shard opens a modern British restaurant at the Shard on July 1st.

Jamie Oliver launches Jamie’s Italian Trattoria, a smaller version of Jamie’s Italian. The first branch will be in Richmond.

Chef Luis Baena, who’s worked with Paul Bocuse, is behind Portuguese/Spanish restaurant Notting Hill Kitchen.

The man behind the hugely successful Ping Pong group will launch modern Japanese restaurant Chotto Matte in September.

Yet another street food stall branches out with a permanent restaurant; this time it's Pizza Pilgrims, regulars at Berwick Street Market, set to open on Dean Street in July.