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A bird’s-eye view of quesadillas with consomé; tostadas; and totopos on colourful plates.

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The Most Anticipated London Restaurant Openings This Autumn

Raucous Thai cookery in Soho; a Sri Lankan diaspora dream in Borough Market; and more openings to watch as the leaves turn

by James Hansen
A spread of Sinaloan and Tijuanese dishes at Mexa.
| Mexa

As summer moves into autumn and menus begin to feature funghi, game, and orchard fruits, the restaurant opening cycle begins to return to some kind of normal. Though in 2022 this is an industry facing a raft of fresh challenges — one still reeling from the aftershocks of COVID-19 now faces stratospheric energy bills, rising costs, and long-running difficulties with recruitment.

Still, openings there are, and among the highlights: an homage to the speedsters of Bangkok’s waterways; a Tamil Sri Lankan debut that’s already been a soft serve hit; and a London debut for a leading Palestinian restaurateur.

Here are the most anticipated autumn restaurant openings in London for 2022.

A Mexican woman and white British man stand next to each other in an industrial kitchen, with brightly coloured plates of tacos and quesadillas in front of them.
Michelle Salazar de la Rocha and Sam Napier, of Sonora and Mexa.
Mexa

Mexa

Address: Arcade Food Hall, Centre Point, 103-105 New Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road WC1A 1DB
Key people: Michelle Salazar de la Rocha and Sam Napier, of London Fields taqueria Sonora, and JKS Restaurants.
What to expect: A broadening of Sonora’s northwestern remit, which will return in a new guise in the future. Here, Sinaloan mariscos, suadero tacos, and birria quesadillas will join the party.
Projected opening: 16 September 2022

A white man in portrait with bokkeh behind suggestive of an outdoor restaurant scene
Chef and grower Luke Farrell, who will open Speedboat Bar this September.
Speedboat Bar

Speedboat Bar

Address: 30 Rupert Street, Chinatown W1F 8QE
Key people: Chef and grower Luke Farrell, and JKS Restaurants.
What to expect: Another movie set experience from Farrell, whose devotion to reproducing Thai food culture will here centre on Bangkok dishes influenced by Chinese immigration.
Projected opening: 25 September 2022

An illustration of a modernist Sri Lankan property, with palm trees on a blue sky, with the word “Rambutan” in white all capital letters, the font a little dreamlike
An illustration commissioned by Cynthia Shanmugalingam for her Rambutan restaurant.
Rambutan

Rambutan

Address: 10 Stoney Street, Borough Market SE1 9AD
Key people: Chef and cookbook author Cynthia Shanmugalingam.
What to expect: A Tamil Sri Lankan “diaspora dream,” celebrating the fruited, rich curries of the region. Already a hit in its soft serve guise this summer.
Projected opening: October 2022

A hand presses the top bun down on a fried chicken sandwich glistening with chilli oil and doubanjiang.
A fried chicken and mapo tofu sandwich from Sichuan Fry.
Sichuan Fry

Sichuan Fry and Dumpling Shack

Address: 2 Westgate Street, London Fields E8 3RN
Key people: John and Yee Li.
What to expect: A first full restaurant for one of London’s most queued-for street food hits, with Sichuan fried chicken on the ground floor and its inimitable shengjianbao pork soup dumplings in the basement. Hackney be ready.
Projected opening: 20 October 2022

Bone marrow at St John, one of London’s restaurants with a butchery attached
The iconic bone marrow and parsley salad from St John.
Nick Solares

St. John Marylebone

Address: 98 Marylebone Lane, Marylebone W1U 2QA
Key people: Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver.
What to expect: A first restaurant in seven years for the Modern British institution, with a wine bar feel taking cues from European cities, but also inviting people to eat doughnuts and drink at 11 a.m., as only St. John can do,
Projected opening: October 2022

An orange squash cream in a white, shallow dish.
Fadi Kattan’s orange squash cream dish at his Bethlehem restaurant Fawda, in Palestine.
Fawda

Akub

Address: 27 Uxbridge Street, Notting Hill W8 7TQ
Key people: Palestinian chef and restaurateur Fadi Kattan.
What to expect: The restaurant will draw on Kattan’s process in the West Bank, which leans on ingredients grown in Palestinian territories, as well as local ingredients from its new London home.
Projected opening: November 2022

Dumpling Shack

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Little Bread Pedlar

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Bubala

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OMBRA

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