Best new restaurants: London, June 2023

From a disco-loving Indian restaurant in Notting Hill to a thrilling collaboration between some of the city's best restaurateur's, these are tables to book now and dine at later this June.

Empire Empire, Notting Hill

Move over, Big Mamma group, there's a new party restaurant in town. Empire Empire, a new offering in Notting Hill from Gunpowder restaurant founder Harneet Baweja, is as much inspired by India's 1970s disco scene as it is the cuisine of the old Punjab in the northwest of the country. Tuck into kid goat samosas; biryanis; curries; and the original-sounding guineafowl chutney kebab, then stick around for a boogie once the plates have been cleared.

WHEN

Opens Thursday 15 June

WHERE

16 All Saints Road, London W11 1HH

Outcrop, Temple

While a pop-up rather than a permanent restaurant, the opening of Outcrop at pioneering, multi-purpose 180 Strand couldn't go unmentioned in our June restaurant edit. The venture unites the co-founders of the Clove Club with Anglo-Thai husband-and-wife team John and Desiree Chantarasak. John is behind the stoves, cooking up a Thai-inspired menu made with British ingredients, while Desiree is in charge of the low-intervention, European wine list. The Clove Club's bar manager Rob Simpson, meanwhile, is overseeing the cocktails. Running in tandem with the edible offering is an arts and live music programme overseen by some of the Secret Cinema team, which promises to create 'musical journeys' for its guests.

WHEN

Running for three months from Friday 23 June

WHERE

180 Strand, London WC2R 1EA

Little Kudu, Peckham

It’s been a busy year for Peckham’s superlative South African restaurant Kudu and its offshoots. The Michelin Guide restaurant relocated its cocktail bar Smokey Kudu to the flagship store of boutique clothing brand RIXO in Chelsea. Now, a tapas spin-off to the restaurant named Little Kudu is taking over the archway Smokey Kudu used to occupy, with menu highlights including smoked peri-peri mussels; a South African grilled cheese sandwich (known as braaibroodjie); and ham hock terrine with biltong scratchings. As for drinks, look forward to a short wine list, naturally boasting a bias towards South African varieties.

WHEN

Opens Wednesday 21 June

WHERE

133 Queen's Road, London SE15 2ND

Cantinetta Antinori, Knightsbridge

The Cantinetta Antinori brand has been transporting diners back in time to stately Florence since the 1950s, but this week sees the Antinori family open their first London restaurant. Lavish interiors meet luxe Tuscan cuisine inside their dining rooms – and their wine list demands to be taken seriously: after all, the family has been running vineyards since the 1300s.

WHEN

Opened Thursday 1 June

WHERE

Cantinetta Antinori, 4 Harriet Street, London SW1X 9JR

Lina Stores, Clapham

Having conquered zone one, the team behind London's mint-hued pasta parlour Lina Stores – itself an offshoot of the long-standing Soho Deli – is opening its first branch south of the river in Clapham. The 80-cover restaurant overlooks the Common, making it the ideal location for long lunches fuelled by aperitivi or perhaos a glass of organic, biodynamic wine. Head chef Masha Rener is once again in charge of the menu, which takes diners from breakfast (freshly squeezed juices; truffle scrambled eggs; house-made granola); through to dinner (linguine with crab and Amalfi lemon; pappardelle with lamb sausage ragù being two highlights). For those with a sweet tooth, the site marks another place to tuck into Lina Stores' lauded tiramisù.

WHEN

Opens Friday 30 June

WHERE

22 The Pavement, London SW4 0HY

The return of P. Franco, Clapton

Few restaurant-world announcements could be quite as welcome as that of a beloved but shuttered business reopening its doors. News that Clapton's perennially busy wine-shop-cum-pop-up-restaurant P. Franco was closing down left east London foodies feeling bereaved and bereft earlier this year. Cue a generously backed crowdfunding campaign, and mere months later, the cave à manger is back, under the ownership of former manager William Gee. A hearty cheers to this – we'll be first in line for a glass of natural wine.

WHEN

Mid June TBC

WHERE

107 Lower Clapton Road, Lower Clapton, London E5 0NP