Here we go again. Paloma Lacy and Jo Aspin round-up the hottest new places to drink and dine each month.
Lusin
Mayfair gets its first Armenian restaurant this November. The 100-seater dining space is spread across two floors. Pillars with hand-made carvings resembling Armenian symbols and signs, flank the entrance, along with Tuff stone interiors sourced from the Armenian Mountains. Menus have been curated by double Michelin-starred chef Marcel Ravin, all inspired by Eastern Europe and the Levant. Dishes that have caught our eye include signature spiced charcoaled kebab skewers, with homemade sour Armenian cherry sauce. Lusin's kibbeh is made from a special recipe of mixed daily fresh meat, bulgur and nuts, with pomegranate molasses. And, their honey cake (pictured) is already getting props. JA.
Now open
Pulia
There’s a new kid on the Borough Market Block bringing Southern Italian cuisine to the forefront. Pulia’s menu will highlight dishes born out of the region’s rich soil and balanced Mediterranean climate, championing Apulian food in a sophisticated 60-cover restaurant. Enjoy antipasti cuttlefish stuffed with breadcrumbs, beef sausage spiral from Bari and hand-rolled strozzapreti, with fresh grilled tuna, and pizza topped with Stracciatella cheese, spicy Nduja and black truffle. Start off in the bar with an aperitive, while snacking on taralli. This is the sister restaurant to the original in Brindisi. PL.
Opens 3rd November
Lucarelli
Lucarelli launches at Harvey Nichols, in Knightsbridge, this month with everyone’s favourite Italian chef, Aldo Zilli, in charge. Situated on the renowned Fifth Floor, a 60-cover restaurant will welcome diners and offer them an Italian terrace dining experience. A menu with family dining at the heart, expect signature seafood dishes, home-made pasta, as well as comforting risotto and pizza, the key to the Sacco family’s success. This latest restaurant is the fourth Lucarelli opening in 12 months, following Birmingham, West Bromwich and Solihull.
“I’ve been inspired by my loved ones to create a menu with some of my favourite dishes to serve when hosting family. Some of the recipes and methods have been passed on through generations of the Zilli family, so I’m thrilled to bring them from my family to our guests,” said Aldo Zilli. PL.
Opens 7th November
Club Mexicana
Spitalfields is getting a new taqueria. A 100% vegan taqueria. Club Mexicana opens a second site, sister, to the original in Kingly Court this autumn. Signatures including the 'Cheezeburger' burrito, and sticky glazed BBQ Short jackfruit ‘Ribs’ Tacos are sure to kick off any East London night with a bang. For afters, coffee-infused tequila Mexican soft serve ice cream has our name on it. Over at the bar work your way through Blanco Negronis and firey Jalepenoback cocktails as well as Mexpresso Martinis. JA.
Opens 16th November
Notto
198-200 Piccadilly will soon be known as home to Notto, the first bricks and mortar operation from Michelin-starred chef Phil Howard and business partner Julian Dyer. This all-day pasta bar showcases fresh pasta at its best. Dishes include gnocchetti with smashed sausage, white wine, fennel and chilli, pappardelle with slow-cooked shin of beef, oxtail and red wine, and squid ink spaghetti with sauce made from sardines, garlic, sweet peppers and tomato will all feature. Notto describes itself as ‘deeply rooted in using extraordinarily good ingredients, but has made sure it remains an affordable and accessible concept, with an eye on the simplicity of Italian cuisine. In terms of décor, stone-coloured walls, oversized rattan light shades, and touches of olive-green mosaic tiles and wood create a neutral landscape. An open kitchen adds to the Mediterranean feel of the place and also provides the culinary theatre for diners. PL.
Opens 14th November
Studio Frantzén at Harrods
It seems department stores are having their moment this month as it’s over to Harrods now for the opening of Studio Frantzén. Taking over the rooftop terrace of one of London’s most iconic stores, the Swedish chef Björn Frantzén’s critically acclaimed Nordic gastronomy with Asian influences can now be enjoyed against the backdrop of the city’s skyline. Mirroring the menu from Frantzén’s open-flame kitchen in Stockholm, Studio Frantzén will be serving dishes ‘from the fireplace'. Try grilled porterhouse steak with pine-scented bone marrow and oxtail ponzu, blistered lobster with curry hollandaise, pomegranate-infused mirin, dried cloudberries, ginger and coriander butter and discover new flavours like their fermented lingonberries, smoked pea soy and crispy lichens. Björn Frantzén is an internationally renowned chef whose Restaurant Frantzén in Stolkholm currently holds three Michelin stars. JA.
Opens 28th November
Comments