The best new restaurants London has to offer: April edition

Acme Fire Cult, Dalston

Fire-breathing chef duo Andrew Clarke and Daniel Watkins have joined forces with Steve Ryan of 40FT Brewery in Dalston to launch a permanent restaurant, Acme Fire Cult, that puts vegetables centre stage. Expect dishes fermented or sauced with beer-brewing by-products, such as Acme ‘Marmite’, made from leftover beer yeast. Diners can devour the likes of char siu monkfish soaked in a sweet and sour molasses (a by-product of fermented beetroot juice), while working their way through a 10-strong beer list or wines chosen by Holly Willcocks, of Noble Rot and Half Cut Market acclaim.

Brix, London Bridge

Hoping to bring a taste of New York’s Brooklyn to London’s Bankside is Brix, a restaurant and late-night bar from restaurateur Michael Lythgoe and his partner Cidalia Rodrigues (of former Brixton spot BVG). Inside an ‘industrial chic’ setting, visitors can tuck into a menu of refined street food (we’re talking doughnuts stuffed with oxtail or infused with gin, and vegan hemp and cauliflower burgers), curated by chef Radek Nitkowski (previously of the Soho House Group). Brix is also set to host a cultural programme, with exhibitions, film screenings and live DJ sets enticing guests to linger after dinner.

Apricity, Mayfair

New Zealand-born chef Chantelle Nicholson, who closed her Covent Garden outpost Tredwells last year, is opening a new, sustainable, zero-waste restaurant, Apricity, in Mayfair. Working with head chef Eve Seemann, Nicholson's female-run restaurant will serve the likes of venison with elderberry and walnut butter, and roasted Kuri squash with fermented Fireflame chillies, among a range of dishes said to symbolise ‘regeneration, warmth, generosity and light’. A hot tip: book a seat at the chef’s table in the basement to see ingredients collide on the plate.

Cellar at Kindred, Hammersmith

As if Andrew Clarke didn’t have enough on his plate with the opening of his new restaurant Acme Fire Cult this month, the bearded chef has also designed the menu for Cellar, the restaurant at Anna Anderson’s new private members’ club, Kindred. Wait, before we lose you, it’s open to the public and its setting in Grade II-listed Bradmore House makes it quite the place to wine and dine. As is Clarke’s way, the ever-revolving menu will muddle together locally sourced ingredients, with stand-out dishes from the opening offering including Korean spiced tartare of Dexter beef with straw chips, and mutton merguez flatbread with pink onion, herb labneh and salsa verde.

Caia, Notting Hill

Golborne Road gets a new neighbourhood restaurant and wine bar this spring that's truly run by locals: founders Rishabh Vir and Tim Lang live near by, and together they’re hoping to make their 60-cover bar, restaurant and music venue a pillar of the community. Caia, which takes its name from the Roman goddess of fire, boasts a chef’s table which allows 10 guests to watch the open-fire cooking in action. Elsewhere, a 12-cover wine room showcases a floor-to-ceiling display of bottles, and a basement featuring a Kuzma R record player and Auditorium R-25 A speakers hopes to keep guests dancing to everything from rare jazz to tropical house until the early hours. Look out for special events with guest speakers and acoustic live sessions.

Arcade Food Hall, Soho

Opening in 2019 at Centrepoint in Soho, Arcade Food Theatre was among a new wave of glammed-up canteens (see also Seven Dials Market and Market Hall) that brought together several of the city’s best restaurants in pop-up form, under one roof. It was a concept with all the right ingredients that was thwarted by the pandemic. Fortunately, celebrated restaurant group JKS (Bao, Hoppers and many others) have come to the rescue, relaunching the venue as Arcade Food Hall and kitting it out with nine new restaurants and a bar.

Highlights include Shatta & Toum, a shawarma kitchen from Berenjak founder Kian Samayani; Plaza Khao Gaeng, a bookable Thai flagship from Luke Farrell; and Provisions, a bakery and sandwich joint from Rochelle Canteen’s Margot and Hector Henderson.