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A spread of dishes at Arcade Food Hall.
An array of dishes at 2022 food hall Arcade.
Michaël Protin/Eater London

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The Biggest London Restaurant Surprises in 2022

Outstanding pop-ups, a lack of chaotic evil eating in a food hall, and a hidden gem of a summer bar

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 2022, the group were asked 12 questions, covering the best meals and the worst moments alongside 2023 predictions and dining 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 the best newcomers, restaurant standbys, best meals, and saddest closures of the year. Now, it’s time for the biggest surprises.


Adam Coghlan, Editor, Eater London: That one of my favourite restaurants in London would turn out to be on the ground floor of a Holiday Inn Express, in an industrial park, just off the A102. And for that I must thank Jonathan Nunn.

James Hansen, Associate Editor, Eater London: That after a great many years of excellent Thai food in London, critics and influencers remain incapable of describing it in any way other than “insert fire emoji here.”

Anna Sulan Masing, food writer and Eater London contributor: This might not be what this question is asking, but after 21 years in London I discovered the Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Top Garden. It’s a bar, in a little garden on the South Bank, overlooking the Thames. There is rarely anyone there, and although there’s a bar, as long as you’re not bringing any alcoholic drinks, you can bring your own food and drink, so it’s perfect for having your lunch. Wonderful for a post-work drink and book read, or meeting people. It feels very secluded, I love it. Only open in summer.

Jonathan Nunn, food writer and Eater London contributor: That Umut 2000 refurbed, that the refurb wasn’t shit, and that throughout it all, no-one in Dalston remembered that there was another Umut 2000 on Green Lanes.

George Reynolds, writer and Eater London contributor: Given the splashiness of JKS’s Arcade relaunch, and given the sheer range of dishes and cuisines on offer, I really expected people to get properly, McDonalds-menu-at-10:31 a.m.-creative with things, turning the new food hall into a sort of culinary London in microcosm, where foodstuffs cross-pollinated with dizzying results. I can’t be the only one to have contemplated upending Hero’s paneer tikka over Manna’s excellent tater tots, creating a twisted riff on poutine; or to have wrapped Bekbek’s smashed duck leg in Shatta and Toum’s flatbread – and yet where were the demented social media posts documenting this behaviour? You’d think TikTok, with its love of a questionable food hack, would have gone absolutely mad for it. Next year, perhaps.

Feroz Gajia, restaurateur and Eater London contributor: 180 at the Corner running a very good succession of events. It reinvigorated the chef led pop-up event space by producing great meals at exceptionally reasonable prices. Service was a little haphazard, as was pacing, but overall it had the feeling of P. Franco in Paris with the vastness of an LA dining room. The end result showed what is possible when you give chefs a reasonable budget and ample resources.

Sean Wyer, writer, researcher and Eater London contributor: That the Great British Bake Off is still sailing, like the ship of Theseus, but with Paul Hollywood still clinging doggedly to the helm with his handshaking-hand. And, that there is still an audience for it.

Angela Hui, food writer and Eater London contributor: How mediocre the McCrispy was. Why can’t we have McTiramisu, McDeepFriedOlives, McCornpPie, McEbi burger and McStick of cheese??

David Jay Paw, food writer and Eater London contributor: Not really a surprise, but it’s been energising to see the return of supper clubs for all tastes and preferences, from Newgate Studio’s private dinners to the achingly beautiful spreads from personalities like Kirthanaa Naidu and Bre Graham. In many ways, it’s worth more social capital than a ticket at a hard-to-book omakase joint.

Joel Hart, food writer and Eater London contributor: In my previous incarnation as an anthropologist, I spent 18 months doing fieldwork in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, so it’s fair to say I was skeptical of whether Pockets’s falafel pita could be worth the queue. I was surprised to see that it was. Other surprises include: beef tartare being on every menu and yet still displaying innovation; the bizarre way in which Maroush Park Royal plates its hummus mezze; and how shockingly dated and unpleasant to eat the classic menu desserts are at Core by Clare Smyth (the potato dish is transcendent, however.)

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