Restaurant openings to watch in 2022

Lisboeta

Location Fitzrovia, London

Head chef Nuno Mendes

Opening Spring

Chef Nuno Mendes is returning to the London restaurant scene after stepping away from Shoreditch restaurant Maos in 2020.

Lisboeta will be set across three floors and serve large sharing dishes inspired by ‘tasca' (casual Portuguese eateries) of Lisbon, alongside ‘pesticos' (small plates).

X by Harry Guy

Location Chester, Cheshire

Head chef Harry Guy Opening Summer

Harry Guy, winner of the 2016 Roux Scholarship, is to open his first solo restaurant at the boutique Wildes Chester hotel this summer. It will seat 50 covers and serve British dishes, and the chef will work with local suppliers and farmers.

Apricity

Location Duke Street, Mayfair, London

Opening March

Chef Chantelle Nicholson's next London restaurant will pioneer the principles of a circular economy. She has worked with head chef Eve Seemann to create a menu centred around seasonal produce from small-scale farmers and locally foraged ingredients, with a zero-waste approach to cooking.

Duck & Waffle Edinburgh

Location Edinburgh Opening 2022

Duck & Waffle is heading to Scotland for its first UK restaurant outside of London. The all-day venue will occupy an 8,400 sq ft site with an outdoor terrace on the fourth floor of the St James' Quarter development in Edinburgh. It will serve a playful twist on British cuisine, with dishes designed for sharing.

Gaucho

Location Glasgow

Opening February

Gaucho's first Scottish restaurant will serve exclusively ‘carbon-neutral steaks'. The group claims all carbon emissions from its beef will be offset through funding a reforestation programme in the Amazon rainforest with charity partner Not For Sale.

Cedric Grolet at the Berkeley

Location Knightsbridge, London

Opening Early 2022

French pastry chef Cedric Grolet has gained more than two million Instagram followers with images of his fruit desserts and delicate flower designs. His first pâtisserie outside France will open at London's Berkeley hotel alongside a new café, which will serve a teatime experience designed by the chef.

Björn Frantzén at Harrods

Location Knightsbridge, London

Opening Late 2022

Swedish chef Björn Frantzén (pictured), whose restaurants Frantzén in Stockholm and Zén in Singapore both hold three Michelin stars, is to open his first UK site at Harrods in London. Details are scarce but the restaurant is described as a state-of-the-art site that will serve Frantzén's signature cuisine, which traditionally draws on Nordic, Japanese and French influences.

Boxhall

Location Bristol

Opening Autumn/winter

Boxpark is to open its first shipping container food hall outside of London in Bristol. The 20,000 sq ft venture will feature local, independent street food traders and restaurant operators across seven kitchens and two external terraces.

The Aubrey

Location Knightsbridge, London

Opening January

The former Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London hotel is being relaunched as an izakaya-inspired bar and restaurant by hospitality group Maximal Concepts. The restaurant will offer lunch and afternoon tea before transforming into a ‘lively' evening destination.

Arcade Food Hall

Location Tottenham Court Road, London

Opening 2022

JKS Restaurants is relaunching the Arcade Food Hall at London's Centre Point after the development got off to a rocky start. The venue will have eight new kitchens and showcase multiple JKS brands under one roof, while a counter will serve coffee, sandwiches, pastries and an "immersive dessert experience".

Number Eight

Location Sevenoaks, Kent

Opening January

Stuart Gillies, former chief executive of the Gordon Ramsay Group, is to open a restaurant and bar in Sevenoaks in Kent. The menu will be based on Gillies' time working as a chef in cities including Stockholm, Rome, New York and London, with dishes set to include buttermilk chicken, barbecue sauce and blue cheese shavings; and fettucine of Dorset crab, chilli, spring onions and garlic (pictured).

Noci

Location Islington Green, London

Opening March

Louis Korovilas, the chef behind Bancone's signature silk handkerchief, walnut and confit egg yolk pasta, is to open a neighbourhood Italian restaurant in London's Islington Green. It will serve regional Italian dishes with a deli counter selling fresh pasta daily.

Aragawa

Location London

Head chef Kazuo Imayosh

Opening May

Tokyo restaurant Aragawa, which has been serving specialist Japanese beef for more than 50 years, is opening a restaurant in London. Its menu will focus on a strain of wagyu cattle, which will be grilled over charcoal and seasoned only with salt and pepper.

Rockfish

Location Salcombe, Devon

Opening Summer

Mitch Tonks' ninth Rockfish restaurant will launch in Salcombe in Devon this summer. It will overlook the seafront and serve sustainably caught seafood, including John Dory, hake, scallops and plaice, depending on the season, availability and weather.

M Newfoundland

Location Canary Wharf, London

Opening Spring

M is to open a 10,000 sq ft restaurant in the Newfoundland tower in London's Canary Wharf, the UK's sixth tallest building. Its design will be inspired by the French Riviera, with floor to ceiling windows, a 180-cover dining room, members' lounge and a ‘wagyu and wine' café.

Riding House Bloomsbury

Location Bloomsbury, London

Opening Spring

Adam White, who launched London's Riding House Café in 2011, is to open a second iteration of the restaurant in Brunswick Centre in London's Bloomsbury. The 6,000 sq ft site will seat 165 indoor covers and 65 outside. Executive chef Henry Omereye will serve an all-day menu with Bajan influences.