Best new restaurants: December 2021

Zahter, Soho

With four popular restaurants in Istanbul under her belt, celebrated Turkish chef Esra Muslu brings the vibrancy and exotic flavours of her mother country to Soho via Zahter, her first London restaurant named after the wild thyme of Turkey’s mountains. Muslu is no stranger to London though; she was previously head chef at Ottolenghi Spitalfields and warmed up a fan base with a residency at Carousel. Expect a parade of dishes usually found in Turkish tavernas and mezze houses, with standout dishes including Köz Patlıcan (smoked aubergine, fried chilli, fresh zahter); Kuzu Kol (lamb shoulder); and Levrek Marin (mustard-marinated sea bass), plus plenty of wood oven-warmed breads.

Carmel, Queen’s Park

Flavours of the eastern Mediterranean and north Africa come to Queen’s Park by way of Carmel, a new all-day dining institution from brothers Josh and Paul Katz, and Mattia Bianchi, of Berber & Q acclaim. Those who come early can look forward to moreish breakfast specials including oat porridge with cardamom milk, poached quince and candied hazelnuts. Highlights later in the day, once the clay oven has been cranked up, include a dish of slow-grilled chicken from Sutton Hoo with curry-pickled radicchio and apricot glaze. And to drink? Your choice of 60 wines.

Dai Chi, Soho

Having already sent discerning foodies flocking to Dalston with their experimental, Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant Angelina, ex-Bocca di Lupo chef Daniele Ceforo and owner-manager Joshua Owens-Baigler (of River Café acclaim) are taking on Soho. Only here, in a similarly pared-back, elegant dining room, they’ve adapted their offering to suit the grab-and-go culture craved in these quarters, where dinner is often supplementary to a theatre trip or night of dancing. Osaka’s signature concept of kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers) make up the bulk of the six-course menu, making dinner here akin to a night of feasting on canapés.

Some work better than others. A dry skewer of fine bean and its understuffed shiitake mushroom companion are missable, but on the same platter was a juicy and flavoursome mouthful of black iberico tomato topped with anchovy. A subsequent skewer of lamb neck rubbed in green harissa and grapefruit proved a highlight worth returning for. Sandwiching the skewers are fresher small bites, including an oyster speckled with sweet blackberry granita, gulped down like a frosty bite of winter; and a ceviche-style sliver of hamachi with truffle soy and furikake, which stole the show.

Fans of Angelina will be happy to hear the lauded hokkaido milk bread buns encasing softshell crab make it onto the menu here, and are every bit as delicate, fragrant and moreish as you no doubt remember them.

Miscusi, Covent Garden

Milan-born restaurant group Miscusi has a simple, worthy aim: to dish up pasta that’s good for the planet. The mini-chain’s first branch outside Italy has landed in London’s Covent Garden. Run by a fun, young team, the restaurant serves up healthy plates of pasta, with diners able to choose their ‘base’ out of options including ancient grains paccheri or rigatoni made with chickpea and durum wheat. Next, you top your dishes, with some – including the butternut squash ravioli with ricotta and chopped pistachios – allowing you to track the carbon footprint of your meal.

Between the ethical angle and the purse-friendly drink prices – with house wine starting at £4 per glass and prosecco at just £4.50 – Miscusi is likely to appeal to environmentally conscious Gen-Z.

Where’s Fred’s, the City

Chelsea Finch of three-part café-chain District is venturing into the wine world while keeping a foothold in caffeine culture with her new, playfully named coffee and wine bar, Where’s Fred’s. The brunch-to-dinner spot will serve hearty breakfast treats like loaded banana bread earlier in the day, while those who visit later can look forward to burrata with roasted squash and pesto, or platters of charcuterie and cheeses, paired with a low-intervention, largely European wine list curated in collaboration with The Pem’s Emma Underwood. If it’s all as appealing as it sounds, before long, nobody will be asking: ‘Where’s Fred’s?’.

Jeru, Mayfair

With its grandiose Middle Eastern furnishings, open-plan bakery, separate wine bar and incredibly indulgent-sounding menu, Aussie chef Roy Ner's new Mayfair venture Jeru is bound to be one of the season’s most exciting restaurant openings. From a menu portioned into ‘raw, cured and nibbles’, ‘mezze’, and ‘charcoal meats and fish’, look forward to showstopper plates including: sheep cheese roasted almonds; smoked duck bites; Brussels sprouts in fermented chili jam; monkfish steak; and stuffed lamb’s neck. Our advice? Opt for the chef’s selection set menu (£69pp) to ensure you sample the best the restaurant has to offer.