This month, London welcomes international icons: from the beach clubs of Mykonos to specialty coffee pioneers from Istanbul, a French brasserie group making its international debut, and one of Milan’s most celebrated seafood restaurants.
Elsewhere, there’s Basque pintxos bars, Asian after-hours dining and NYC-style bagels. Throw in Bastille Day celebrations (and all the wonderful French food that comes with them), Michelin-starred Nigerian street food, and a celebration of British strawberries, and the capital feels fresh – and more fun than ever. These are the new London restaurants to book in July.
Nammos Iconic Mykonos venue arrives in Mayfair
From the shores of Mykonos to the heart of Mayfair, Nammos has made its London debut, and its first metropolitan opening feels every bit as glamorous as you’d expect. Since launching on the Greek island in 2003, Nammos has become synonymous for their long, sun-soaked lunches that evolve into lively music-filled parties. Now, alongside destinations including Dubai, Cannes and Sardinia, London joins the Nammos family with a restaurant that brings Mediterranean escapism to the capital. Set across two beautifully designed floors, the space is still all about relaxed coastal elegance – combined with some Mayfair glamour. Downstairs is the dining room, while upstairs offers sweeping views across the neighbourhood, alongside bars on both levels that keep the vibe going throughout the day. The menu celebrates the flavours of Greece and the wider Mediterranean, so expect lots of seafood options, a premium meat selection, and a dedicated raw bar and dishes cooked over a Josper grill to deliver that real holiday feel. The drinks list shines a spotlight on Greek wines alongside Mediterranean-inspired cocktails. Add daily live singers and DJ sets into the mix, and Nammos London comes as close as the capital can to capturing the original Mykonos beach club energy.
Langosteria Celebrated Milan seafood spot opens at The OWO
One of Milan’s most celebrated restaurants has finally arrived in London. Making its UK debut at The OWO, Langosteria pairs its signature seafood-led cuisine and warm Italian hospitality with the grandeur of the former Old War Office, to deliver a captivating new dining destination. The menu pays homage to the sea and will feature Langosteria’s signature dishes alongside new creations exclusive to London. Expect an elegant Oyster Bar complete with the restaurant’s famed Plateau Royale, handmade pasta, and plenty of fish and shellfish, including Brittany Lobster ‘Spicy Blue’ and King Crab Special Edition 2007, with the dessert menu offering up classics such as tiramisu and stracciatella gelato. An impressive wine list spans prestigious Italian labels alongside rare vintages and smaller producers, making this a destination for oenophiles as much as seafood lovers. The setting also deserves a mention. It’s a remarkable meeting of old and new, where classic Italian craftsmanship, including a striking travertine and Italian walnut counter, have been woven into one of London’s most significant historic landmarks. Diners should look out for one of the building’s most fascinating hidden features: the former Messenger Wall, once used to transmit highly sensitive communications from across the British Empire, now incorporated into the restaurant’s private dining space.
Brasserie Olivia Chelsea is introduced to l'art de vivre
Parisian restaurant group La Nouvelle Garde makes its international debut this month with Brasserie Olivia, bringing its take on the traditional French brasserie to Chelsea. After building a devoted following across France with nine restaurants, the team is introducing its celebration of classic French dining and l’art de vivre to Sloane Square. Expect all the hallmarks of a great Parisian brasserie, with home-style French cooking elevated through seasonal, locally sourced ingredients and warm, convivial hospitality. The menu celebrates the simple pleasure of sitting down together over beautifully cooked food, from timeless French classics to generous dishes designed to linger over. It’s this relaxed, sociable approach that has made La Nouvelle Garde’s restaurants such a success across France, and one that feels perfectly suited to Sloane Square.
Miokuru British seafood, handrolled
London’s fascination with hand rolls shows no sign of slowing down, and rightly so, because when they’re done well, they’re utterly delicious. Opening on Warwick Street this month, Miokuru is a British-born, Japanese-inspired restaurant aiming to bring the energy of Tokyo’s izakayas to Soho via an intimate counter dining experience. Centred around a 20-seat open kitchen, Miokuru will pair the best seafood from British waters with refined Japanese techniques, creating hand rolls and small plates that celebrate seasonal ingredients. Expect everything from Cornish white crab with wild garlic mayo and dry-aged beef tartare with wasabi mustard to pressed scallops and seared ChalkStream trout sashimi, all prepared-to-order in front of you. Drinks are complementary to the theme, with a London-brewed sake, Japanese-inspired cocktails and natural wine. Interiors are designed to feel both intimate and energetic, combining dark wood and hammered steel with soft lighting. If you are yet to try your first handroll, this is the place to do so.
Bar Blondie New southern European wine bar with serious sommelier credentials
Queen’s Park is rapidly becoming one of London’s most exciting food neighbourhoods, and Bar Blondie opens this month to add even more clout to NW6. Together, restaurateur Elliot Milne (founder of Antipodean-themed Soho favourite Milk Beach) and award-winning sommelier Alex Price (of Michelin Green Star restaurant Plates) are bringing the easy-going spirit of a southern European wine bar to northwest London, pairing exceptional wines with ingredient-led cooking in beautifully restored stable mews. Wine is very much the focus, with a 200-bin list spanning revered old-world estates and exciting independent producers, many championing regenerative farming and terroir-driven wines. However, the food menu has also been well considered and takes its cues from Italy and the south of France, offering everything from elegant bar snacks and handmade pasta to grilled seafood and generous sharing plates. Beyond the food and wine, Bar Blondie also promises to become a genuine neighbourhood hub, with an events schedule planned throughout the year including live music, poetry evenings, DJ sets, tastings and guest speakers.
Dorothy's European caffè culture for Savile Row
Savile Row is getting a new all-day destination this month with the opening of Dorothy’s, a European-inspired caffè, bar and restaurant from the team behind Foreign Exchange News and Fort Road Hotel in Margate. Named after Lady Dorothy Savile, whose family gave the famous street its name, the new opening pays homage to Savile Row’s rich history while taking inspiration from the grand cafés of Vienna, Milan, Rome and Paris, where lingering over coffee or an aperitivo is a part of daily life. Open from morning through to late evening, Dorothy’s is designed to be a place you can drop into at any time of day, whether that’s for coffee and pastries, a leisurely lunch, early evening cocktails or dinner with friends. The menu encompasses elegant sandwiches, seasonal salads and generous sharing plates. Throughout the day the specialist coffee list evolves into a curated wine list and classic cocktails.
Cup of Joy Beloved Istanbul coffee spot opens in Marylebone
If you’ve spent any time in Istanbul over the past decade, chances are you’ve come across Cup of Joy. Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the city’s modern specialty coffee movement, the much-loved café has built a loyal following since opening in Bebek in 2013. Now with multiple locations across the city, it helped redefine coffee culture in a place where cafés have always been woven into everyday life. This month, the brand makes its international debut right here in London, bringing its signature blend of exceptional coffee, warm hospitality and all-day dining to Marylebone. Alongside great coffee, there is a menu full of Cup of Joy favourites, from freshly baked pastries to their signature dishes such as Eggs Istanbul. Come lunchtime, the menu continues with vibrant, produce-led dishes inspired by the Eastern Mediterranean, alongside house-made toasties, salads and some sweet treats. Thoughtfully designed to reflect both its Istanbul roots and its new London home, Cup of Joy brings a little slice of one of Europe’s most vibrant culinary scenes right into the capital.
Bar Alta Soho Spanish spot now offers pintxos
Kingly Court’s Alta has quickly established itself as one of Soho’s standout restaurants, with a menu focused on the flavours and produce of the Navarra region of Northern Spain. This month it’s expanding with the launch of Bar Alta, a more relaxed, walk-in friendly concept inspired by the pintxos bars of the Basque Country. Taking over the restaurant’s ground floor and terrace in Kingly Court, it’s designed for walk-ins as much as bookings, so is perfect for a spontaneous, delicious bite. Led by head chef Robbie Jameson, formerly of HUMO, the menu celebrates the sociable spirit of Basque dining, where food and drink are inseparable. Expect beautifully executed small plates including grilled flatbread with green romesco and Manchego, spiced cecina and padrón peppers, alongside larger sharing dishes such as A4 Wagyu with Marmite, honey and Espelette pepper. Drinks are equally considered, with savoury Spanish-inspired cocktails, vermouths, sherries and an expanded by-the-glass wine list encouraging guests to linger a little longer. The original Alta experience continues upstairs, while Bar Alta offers a more relaxed way to enjoy one of Soho’s best restaurants.
Café François The Bastille Day Celebrations Return
Bastille Day is one of our favourite evenings in London’s dining calendar, and Café François is once again throwing the closest thing you’ll find to a Parisian street party without hopping on the Eurostar. It’s every bit as much fun as it sounds, with great food, flowing wine and an atmosphere that spills out across Borough Yards long into the evening. On 14 July, Cirque François returns, transforming the square into a French fête complete with can-can dancers, stilt walkers, jugglers, an accordionist, the now-famous snail race and a pétanque tournament. Inside, executive chef Matthew Ryle has created a special prix fixe menu celebrating French classics, from gougères, salmon rillettes and escargots to steak frites with sauce au poivre, moules marinière or a twice-baked Comté soufflé, finishing with éclairs for dessert. As the evening unfolds, DJs take over, martinis and wine continue to flow, and the celebrations carry on well into the night. If you plan to celebrate Bastille Day this year, make it here.
Zula Burger A French burger avec attitude
Speaking of French celebrations… for the many fans of Camille, or those yet to make it to one of London’s most talked-about restaurants, this is a delicious way to experience head chef Elliot Hashtroudi’s cooking in a completely different setting. For two weeks only this July, he’s swapping refined regional French cooking for comfort food, teaming up with Zula Burger as part of their chef collaboration series. The result is the ‘Eric Cantona Burger’, a thick Aubrey Allen beef patty topped with British blue cheese, homemade caramelised onion chutney, mayonnaise and pickles, all tucked inside Zula’s signature brioche bun. Elliot describes it simply as “bold, brazen and blue”, a classic pairing of cheese and onion done the French way. Available for just a few weeks, with just 20 burgers served each day, it’s a limited-edition collaboration that’s well worth seeking out before it disappears.
64 Goodge Street The Return of a French London Favourite
Another French-inspired highlight is taking place over in Fitzrovia. A favourite among London’s chefs and food lovers, 64 Goodge Street has long been one of those restaurants recommended by those in the know. This summer finally gives us the perfect opportunity to include it, thanks to the return of its celebrated Lobster Vol-au-Vent. Available throughout July and August, the restaurant’s early evening menu offers three courses and a glass of champagne for £49, making it one of the best-value menus in town. Chef Stuart Andrew describes his approach as “French cooking from an outsider’s perspective,” balancing classical technique with a playful edge. The returning Lobster Vol-au-Vent, previously hailed by critics as the restaurant’s signature dish, is served between jambon persillé with sauce gribiche and a beautifully executed crème brûlée with myrtille berries. Combined with the restaurant’s understated dining room and quietly impeccable service, this summer special gives you the perfect excuse to book.
Chop Chop Adults-only Cantonese gets a refresh
If you’re craving exceptional Cantonese food after a night at the theatre, a few drinks, or a late night at work, Chop Chop should already be on your radar. Hidden beneath the bright lights of the Hippodrome Casino, the restaurant serves up authentic Cantonese cuisine until 4am. This month, for the first time since opening in 2022, it’s introducing an expanded menu alongside refreshed interiors. The new additions celebrate the breadth of Cantonese cooking, from handcrafted dim sum, including spicy chicken siu mai and pork and shiitake mushroom dumplings, to generous sharing plates such as sautéed scallops with asparagus, comforting prawn scrambled eggs and deep-fried baked spare ribs. Signature dishes, including the restaurant’s popular Hong Kong-style roast duck with rice, and lobster noodles with ginger and spring onions, remain firmly on the menu. Save room for dessert too, as Chop Chop has partnered with cult Filipino ice cream brand Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream on an exclusive range of flavours, alongside a playful espresso affogato-inspired dessert. Whether you order the espresso at 2am is, of course, entirely up to you. One final thing to note: because it’s located inside the Hippodrome Casino, all guests must be over 18 and bring ID with them.
The Peninsula Strawberry Afternoon Tea for the height of summer
With Wimbledon in full swing and strawberry season at its peak, The Peninsula London has given its afternoon tea a suitably summery makeover. Available until early September, the limited-edition Strawberry Afternoon Tea celebrates the height of the British strawberry season across an elegant selection of sweet and savoury treats, served either in the hotel’s light-filled lobby or on the terrace at Soleil by Claude, overlooking Hyde Park. Naturally, strawberries hold centre court throughout the menu. Alongside delicate finger sandwiches and freshly baked scones served with clotted cream, lemon curd and strawberry preserve, expect a selection of pastries including strawberry and Timur pepper mousse, strawberry choux, strawberry jasmine tart and strawberry and almond mousse. Add a glass of Perrier-Jouët Champagne or opt for sparkling tea if you’d prefer something alcohol-free, and you have all the ingredients for an indulgent summer afternoon.
Bun House Disco An After-Hours Asian Experience
London’s late-night dining scene really feels like it is gathering pace in recent months, and Bun House Disco is one of the latest restaurants encouraging us to stay out just a little longer. Launching this month in Shoreditch, Disco Lates blurs the line between dinner, drinks and a night out. Running from 10pm until midnight, Thursdays to Saturdays, Disco Lates is built around six food-and-cocktail pairings, created in collaboration with TĀ TĀ Eatery and Circle13. The original cocktails draw on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine to reinterpret ingredients traditionally associated with wellbeing, in concoctions such as the Osmanthus Gimlet, Shaoxing Martini and Sweet-Grass Old Fashioned. Each has been created to work in harmony with a specific dish.
It's Bagels Soho NYC style late night bagels
Less a Top Table, more a late bagel… As the bars fill up, It’s Bagels is aiming to bring a slice of New York bodega culture to the heart of Soho, operating until 11pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Their new Bodega Nights menu is indulgently designed for the late-night crowd, serving chopped cheese sandwiches, bacon, egg and cheese bagels, towering Reubens and their Brunson Bagel, packed with hash browns, egg, cheese and spicy mayo. Classic Italian mob films projected into the windows are aiming to transform D’Arblay Street into Soho’s own late-night ‘drive-in’, making this as much about the atmosphere as the food.
Chishuru Michelin dining for £7
Michelin-starred dining for £7? That’s exactly what’s on the menu this summer at Chishuru. From 22 July, the acclaimed Michelin-Starred Fitzrovia restaurant from Adejoké “Joké” Bakare is swapping its usual tasting menu for Summer Suya Sessions, a relaxed à la carte celebration of Nigeria’s vibrant street-food culture, with dishes starting from just £7. If you’ve been looking for the perfect excuse to try one of London’s most exciting restaurants, this is it. Inspired by the suya grills found across Nigeria, where spiced meats are cooked over open flames, the menu is designed for sharing, mixing and matching. Expect charred skewers of bavette, whole prawns coated in yaji butter, spaghetti jollof, and larger plates including whole seabass and goat belly balangu. Pair it all with one of the restaurant’s inventive West African-inspired cocktails and you’ve got one of the best-value meals of the summer.
Napoli on the Road Award-Winning Pizza for the third year in a row
If you’re craving pizza this month, there’s only one place to head. Napoli on the Road has just been crowned the best pizzeria in Europe for the third consecutive year at the prestigious 50 Top Pizza Europa Awards, cementing founder Michele Pascarella’s reputation as one of the world’s finest pizza makers. Born near Naples, Michele moved to London at 19 years old, before launching Napoli on the Road from a humble three-wheeled Ape Piaggio van, serving wood-fired pizzas at markets across the capital. Fast forward a decade and that passion project has grown into an award-winning restaurant group, with neighbourhood favourites in Chiswick and Richmond joined by a sleek Soho outpost earlier this year. Expect the best Neapolitan pizzas, balancing exceptional award-winning dough with contemporary toppings and a selection of all-time pizza favourites.
Orrery by Pierre Minotti 12+ Michelin stars in one night
On 15 July, Orrery by Pierre Minotti will host Six Hands, a one-night-only collaboration bringing together three of the UK’s most accomplished chefs, each with a completely different approach to cooking. Between them, Pierre Minotti, Miller Prada and Craig Johnston have cooked in kitchens boasting more than a dozen Michelin stars, including Anne-Sophie Pic, Alain Ducasse, Hélène Darroze, The Ledbury and Endo at Rotunda. Across six courses and three canapés, each chef will showcase their own distinctive style, from Pierre’s refined French technique and Miller’s vibrant Latin American influences to Craig’s exceptional British seafood and produce. Served in Orrery’s elegant Marylebone dining room, with the evening beginning in the Salon du Vin over a glass of wine, this is a rare chance to experience three remarkable culinary talents in one evening.
Sarah Jackson is a dining contributor at Citizen Femme. A Londonophile, she has previously lived in Dubai and Copenhagen, building her career in international communications. When not discovering the capital’s hottest new restaurants and bars, she loves to jet off for a European city break, always with the next meal in mind.
Lead image: Zula Burger
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