New Restaurants in London: The Latest in London this Summer

London’s summer season of events—which dates back to the 17th century, when aristocrats brought their marriageable children into the city for socializing—begins with the Chelsea Flower Show, but it really takes off in June with Ascot, the Trooping of the Color, the Henley Regatta and Wimbledon. For all Anglophiles heading across the pond for these rituals, or just for a British fix under summer skies, there are lots of buzzy openings to know about. Read on to learn what is soon to open; what I recently loved—and found over-hyped; where local insiders are gathering; and much more.

Before it was announced that Richard Caring sold his restaurant empire, which includes Annabel’s and Scott’s, to an Abu Dhabi investment group for 1.4 billion GBP, the restaurant news that everyone in London had been talking about was Jeremy King’s reopening of Simpson’s-in-the-Strand.

The beloved, almost 200-year-old venue shuttered after the pandemic. (Even Dickens is said to have dined there, and my mother fondly recalls Sunday brunches in the early 1960s.) The fact that Jeremy King, the genius behind such London hotspots as The Ivy and The Wolseley, was reviving this iconic gathering spot held major promise. In March, when Simpson’s-in-the-Strand reopened, liveried doormen ushered guests into a refurbished complex, just next to the Savoy hotel, containing the ground-floor, wood-paneled Grand Divan restaurant and an upstairs bar and more casual brasserie called Romano’s. The glowing reviews swiftly followed, and a table at Simpson’s-in-the-Strand became the season’s most in-demand reservation. In fact, when I informed the concierge at Claridge’s that I had a booking at Romano’s for Saturday evening, he congratulated me.

At the sight of the top-hatted doorman, my adult daughter, who was joining me for dinner, voiced some alarm. “Are we going to a restaurant or to a show?” she asked. I assured her that Simpson’s-in-the-Strand was the spot to be in London. A glance into the Grand Divan—with its heaving roast trolley, paneled mahogany walls and tables of ruddy-faced older gentlemen—did not assuage her doubts. “It may look like we stumbled into an old boys’ club,” I insisted, “but trust me, this is London’s trendiest restaurant.” As we climbed the stairs to Romano’s, I reiterated how lucky we were to get a reservation: “Even the concierge was impressed.” The décor in Romano’s was revealed to be less somber, but the style remained very old-school British, with fretwork trim, columns and a color palette out of a Jane Austen novel. The crowd seemed a little younger; they looked like they might remember London during the Blitz.

When the menu arrived, I knew that my declarations of this being a trendy spot were never going to land. Amid the pork and herb faggots, smoked mackerel pâté, roast rib and smoked eel were the pies: beef and ale, ox cheek and mushroom, steak and kidney and beef shin, snail and garlic. My daughter asked in horror, “Do they have any vegetables?” (They did have celery remoulade.) After all, her generation grew up on international menus with healthier options always available.

“You’ve said that in the 1980s, the food in London was horrible,” she quipped. “This feels like going back in time, but not to an era that I want to visit.” It’s true the restaurant’s reviews were heavy on nostalgia. A journalist for The Guardian described the pleasures of suet “packed as it is with dried fruit that resembles dead flies, which instantly brings me back to Sundays in the 1970s.” He compared the Grand Divan décor to an Oxbridge dining hall. The Financial Times reviewer noted that the “story” behind this room is a celebration of the playwrights of the early 20th century, with portraits of Somerset Maugham and John Galsworthy lining the walls. Maybe as London wobbles between PMs in its post-EU phase, the British establishment is nostalgic for earlier times, ones that include coronation mayo and bubble and squeak. But my cosmopolitan daughter—who I would wager is not unlike many of the high-spending tourists staying in Mayfair—was not moved by this trip down memory lane.

“I think we can do better for dinner tonight,” my daughter concluded, after a lengthy pondering of the menu. I couldn’t argue with her, so we bailed. (I didn’t even try a roll, which may have come warm and slathered in good English butter.) We snuck out and took a cab back to Claridge’s, where we managed to get a table at their pop-up brasserie, Dante. Yes, it is an outpost of the famous cocktail bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, but its transatlantic menu offered a range of crowd-pleasing dishes like tuna sashimi, veal Milanese and a classic burger—as well as salads and sides of vegetables. The sophistication of the design, the cuisine and the crowd were definitely 21st-century—and, we agreed, perfect for a fun Saturday night mother-daughter meal. (After a successful spring pop-up, Dante Mayfair at Claridge’s is currently closed but will open a permanent establishment at the address later this summer.)

Later in the week, I reached out to a few friends and an Indagare member who had actually dined at Romano’s or Grand Divan. They all conceded that the menu dates back to an era when most people were unaware of cholesterol counts. “It’s a nostalgia play,” one agreed. “If you love old-world Britain and red meat, then it delivers, but for Americans, it may be best for breakfast.” When the Claridge’s concierge inquired after our meal, I admitted that we hadn’t stayed for dinner and suggested that if he gets requests for reservations that he makes sure to remind guests to review the menu—and to have their companions do the same—before booking a table.

Among the other new spots where we did eat—and enjoy the food—were DakaDaka, a Georgian restaurant with delicious dumplings and vegetable dishes, and Tobi Masa in The Chancery Rosewood, the latest sushi restaurant from Japanese chef Masayoshi Takayama. We also had a wonderful brunch at Mount St. Restaurant. High on my list for my next visit will be Café Clement at the new St. Clement hotel, which will have both indoor and outdoor seating and a great brasserie menu from a former chef at The River Café. Read about it in my dispatch on London’s hotel news—and see more of our London restaurant recommendations both new and classic here.

Have a favorite spot in London—or opinions on Simpson’s-in-the-Strand? I would love to hear from you in our London dining thread in the Indagare Member Forum.