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The service counter at Popeyes’ new London restaurant
The queue at Popeyes’s first London restaurant.
Michaël Protin

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The Biggest London Restaurant Surprises in 2021

Popeyes being good, Salt Bae discourse, and the hype surrounding Sessions Arts Club

It is the tradition at Eater to end the year with a survey of friends, contributors, rovers of the industry, and professional eaters. Even a year like this one. For 2021, the group were asked 13 questions, covering the best meals and the worst tweets alongside 2022 predictions and restaurant standbys. Their answers will appear throughout this week, with responses relayed in no particular order; cut and pasted below.

So far, Year in Eater has covered best newcomers, restaurant standbys, best meals, restaurant openings to watch in 2022, best and worst food moments of 2021, and the best and worst food tweets of the year. Now, it’s time for restaurant surprises.


Adam Coghlan, Editor, Eater London: Sessions Arts Club being as good as it was / is. That more restaurants didn’t close; that meal kits were a complete stop-gap. And Just how much people do like going out to restaurants in London really hit home post July “freedom day” — as our American friends, might say, “huh.”

James Hansen, Associate Editor, Eater London: In truth, I was expecting a lot more closures. Maybe this is rose-tinted, but there have been enough examples to make it feel like hype is gaining a closer relationship to substance. And, the Times restaurant critic Giles Coren still being employed after revelling in the death of young journalist Dawn Foster. Wait: this is surprises, sorry.

Anna Sulan Masing, food writer and Eater London contributor: Lighthaus! Discovered just when they re-opened, on a walk with my dog; Alex Vines was just cooking there (which if I had known, I’d have been less surprised.) Not what I was expecting as I walked from the marshes then across the industrial estate... All food is great, but the salads are just *so* good.

Jonathan Nunn, food writer and Eater London contributor: I really hate to say it because it’s such basic bitch territory, but how good the Popeye’s chicken sandwich was for £4.95. Made a mockery of all those bougie £15 chicken sandwich joints with stupid chicken based puns in their name. Still, it’s not worth going to Westfield for ─ just wait until they roll it out.

Bibi being so much more thoughtful and enjoyable than the Mayfair bait it could have so easily been. The lahmacun at Bebek Baklava.

Planque by rights should just be a hideout for bankers too self-aware to be spotted in St. James, but Seb Myers’s food grounds it in a Parisian mode that tons of other London restaurants try and fail to copy. It feels like the only restaurant in London that could actually work in Paris as well.

Also, I thought I would hate everything about Sessions Arts Club given the hype and the endless discussion about “oh you must see the room.” but it’s infuriatingly good.

Chris Cotonou, writer and Eater London contributor: The seitan gyros from the hip Smashing Plates. It goes against everything instilled within me as someone with Greek Cypriot roots, but has become a great meat alternative. I also didn’t expect to love the Oeuf en Gelée at the new Maison François as much as I did. Cult merch brand Novel Mart has done a collection of t-shirts with the Jermyn Street restaurant. And there’s an Oeuf en Gelée one for admirers like myself.

Sejal Sukhadwala, food writer and Eater London contributor: Well, sixteen smart or upscale Indian restaurants opened in London within a period of about six months which — particularly during a pandemic — is truly astonishing.

Emma Hughes, writer and Eater London contributor: That Pophams’ Marmite, Schlossberger and spring onion swirl was actually worth standing in a 20-minute queue for.

George Reynolds, writer and Eater London contributor: That creating a hostile environment for almost any kind of European labour would lead, in time, to a historic shortage of staff in a hospitality sector that has historically significantly relied on European labour. Oh, wait.

Feroz Gajia, restaurateur and Eater London contributor: Marugame Udon not being terrible, Popeye’s being as good as it is, the Michelin awards, the complete lack of accountability in the restaurant industry or the newly anointed gods of London food. Take your pick.

Daisy Meager, food writer and Eater London contributor: Just how much discourse could be squeezed out of Salt Bae’s restaurant.

Sean Wyer, writer, researcher and Eater London contributor: The vegan version of the Greggs sausage bean and cheese melt is actually quite nice.

Ed Cumming, writer and restaurant critic: Pleasantly surprised to see resurgence of bars in central, drawn by (slightly) lower rents. Generally impressed by resilience in face of all the crap.

Angela Hui, food writer and Eater London contributor: Definitely the Elizabeth Haigh/Makan plagiarism and it just seemed to snowball with more people coming forward. I feel very angry and disappointed by the whole thing, but I am very glad that Sharon Wee’s Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen is getting the recognition it deserves and is being reprinted.

David Jay Paw, food writer and Eater London contributor: After a month in Canada, with strict mandates requiring proof of vaccination for dine-in, the relative ‘normality’ of being able to visit restaurants without proof or masks felt almost surreal.

Lucas Oakley, food writer and Eater London contributor: Kudu Grill. I wasn’t a massive fan of Kudu but was really taken by surprise at how great Kudu Grill was. The vibe is on point (very New York, I’ve been told by people who have actually been to the Big Apple) and the food was consistently delicious.

Shekha Vyas, food writer and Eater London contributor: That Jai Durga Mahal, a tiny restaurant which claims to specialise in South Indian, North Indian, Desi Chinese, East African Gujarati and pizza (obviously) is actually very good and has the best chilli paneer I have eaten in London. Also, how many days the huge queues for Popeye’s and Wendy’s lasted; it seemed endless at the time.

Westerns Laundry

34 Drayton Park, , England N5 1PB 020 7700 3700 Visit Website

Salon

18 Market Row, , England SW9 8LD 020 7501 9152 Visit Website

Sabor

35-37 Heddon Street, , England W1B 4BR 020 3319 8130 Visit Website

Lanzhou Lamian Noodle Bar

33 Cranbourn Street, , England WC2H 7AD 020 7836 4399 Visit Website

Cafe TPT

21 Wardour Street, , England W1D 6PN 020 7734 7980 Visit Website

BRAT

4 Redchurch Street, , England E1 6JL Visit Website

Sambal Shiok

171 Holloway Road, London, Greater London N7 8LX

Pita

197A Massachusetts Avenue, , MA 02115 Visit Website

Pizza Pilgrims

11 Dean Street, , England W1D 3RP 020 7287 8964 Visit Website

Kiln

53 Foy Lane, , NSW 2000 (02) 8099 8799 Visit Website

Rochelle Canteen

16 Playground Gardens, , England E2 7FA 020 3928 8328 Visit Website

Naughty Piglets

28 Brixton Water Lane, , England SW2 1PE Visit Website

Franco Manca

20 The Broadway, , England SW19 1RE 020 8947 4368 Visit Website

The Good Egg

93 Stoke Newington Church Street, , England N16 0AS 020 7682 2120 Visit Website

Brawn

49 Columbia Road, , England E2 7RG 020 7729 5692 Visit Website

40 Maltby St

40 Maltby Street, , England SE1 3PA

Thattukada

241B High Street North, East Ham, Greater London E12 6SJ +44 20 8548 8239

Flor

1 Bedale Street, , England SE1 9AL 020 3967 5418 Visit Website

The Quality Chop House

88-94 Farringdon Road, , England EC1R 3EA 020 7278 1452 Visit Website

Lina Stores

18 Brewer Street, , England W1F 0SH 020 7437 6482 Visit Website

Tasty Jerk

88 Whitehorse Lane, , England SE25 6RQ

The Wolseley

160 Piccadilly, , England W1J 9EB 020 7499 6996 Visit Website

Hawksmoor

10 Basinghall Street, , England EC2V 5BQ 020 7397 8120 Visit Website

Dosa n Chutny

466 London Road, , England CR0 2SS 020 8683 3297 Visit Website

Jolene

54 Great Jones Street, Manhattan, NY 10012 Visit Website

Quality Wines

88 Farringdon Road, , England EC1R 3EA Visit Website

Kaieteur Kitchen

, , England SE1 07466 616137