From the restaurant overlooking Hyde Park where a dreamy birch sap croissant cost almost as much as a cocktail, to the cosy Fitzrovia dining room which has put central Turkish cuisine on the map, these are the most special openings of 2018.
The solo debut from chef Tomos Parry, Brat, introduces the grilling traditions of the Basque seaside (visit Getaria to see where it all began) to East London and has recalibrated fine dining. It's all about showcasting superlative ingredients, tirelessly sought by Parry around the UK; whether whole turbot, mallard or outstanding seasonal vegetables, the slow-grilling and use of a wood oven is consummate with pure technique that belies the apparent simplicity.
Service is outstanding and the wine list, developed by Noble Rot, reflects the care in every other aspect of this brilliant and very cool restaurant. Who cares it is in a former strip club pub on the corner of Shoreditch High Street – that even adds to its street cred.
This is the hottest restaurant in London. Even Michelin has stepped up and recognised this and given Brat a star in its first year.
DInner for two including drinks: £150
Hide is breathtakingly beautiful in every sense. Yes, it has the benefit of wealthy Russian owners, also the proprietor of Hedonism Wines, yet it still feels like and is genuinely a personal project with impeccable taste throughout its food, design and service. Olly Dabbous is an exceptionally talented chef with a delicate, ultra discerning palate and boundless creativity. This is polished perfection.
What's more, Hide isn't only for the wealthy. Ground Floor offers breakfast, including an ethereal fresh ricotta with shaved apple and hazelnuts (which is far more breathtaking than it may sound) and birch sap croissants that are better than most you'd find in the best Parisian patisseries.
If Hide is fully booked, check out their gorgeous pop-up in Burlington Arcade.
Dinner for two including drinks: £180. Breakfast: £40
For a chef to open their first solo restaurant in London and earn two Michelin stars at the first available opportunity is an outstanding first for London. Even though Clare had helmed Gordon Ramsay's three Michelin star restaurant for eight years and expectations were high, it was not a given.
It has been an incredible year for Clare, from winning the controversial best female chef in the world award from The World's 50 Best, to her new restaurant gaining pretty much every accolade going in UK restaurant awards, including a perfect 10 in The Good Food Guide.
Chefs too are unanimous in their praise of her sheer technical skill that she executes in her modern British fine dining with the strictest attention to accentuating the flavours of definitive seasonal produce. Expect charlotte potato, dulse beurre blanc, Isle of Mull scallop tartare, skate with Morecambe Bay shrimps, braised lamb with carrot and sheep’s milk yoghurt, and a superlative chocolate tart. Each course can be matched with wines by the glass selected from Core's sizeable cellars.
Tasting menus from £95
Lunch menu: £65
One of London's best loved chefs during her time running Barrafina, Nieves Barragan Mohacho and her business partner and Jose Etura had much to live up to with their first solo venture Sabor – a dramatic bare bricked open kitchen space. It is a triumph: an exciting place to eat whether it is with the inimitable prawn croquetas, chiperones with hake, sobresada, and honey and saffron ice cream at the bar, or upstairs for whole octopus cooked in traditional Galician copper pots or whole baby suckling pig cooked in stone ovens.
This is authentic Spanish food, drawing from the entire country presented with huge affection, fun and aplomb. The cocktails, and draft gin and tonics are great too.
Better still, simply pop into the bar for a tortilla or chicken oyster bocadillo at the bar for an affordable treat.
Dinner for two including drinks: £140
Selin Kiazim has made manti, the dumpling speciality of central Turkey 'a foodie must' in London: between ravioli and dim sum, they are even better and more flavourful at Kyseri, Selin's second restaurant to Oklava. Try beef inflected with sour cherry served with yoghurt and a punchy red pepper sauce.
It is an eye-opener to a thrillngly unfamiliar cuisine certainly worth getting to know. Standout dishes include caramelised and meltingly soft within veal sweetbreads with braised wet garlic, hazelnut yoghurt and brown butter(served with big chickpeas and earthy celeriac with sharp/sweet preserved mandarin, sunflower seeds with a herby sauce. A first too is mahlep (cherry stone) infused custard served with an almond crumble. The Turkish wines are a revelation too, of superb quality. This is refined and adventurous, an exciting addition to London's thrillingly diverse culinary culture.
Lovers of lush decorative wallpaper, cosy yet elegant dining rooms, and attentive authentic Indian food will love newcomer Kutir that has just opened. This is Rohit Kahn's first solo venture, he previously headed up the launches of fine dining Gymkhana and Jamovar; he is clearly in his element here cooking exactly the food he loves to eat.
Don't miss the paneer and spinach with crisp popcorn, the stand-out starter. Mains are beautiful renditions of more traditional dishes including a superb venison biriyani with delicately scented rice.
The service is knowledgeable and proud. This is an absolute gem of a restaurant, special enough for treats, yet accessible enough with its sharing dishes and set lunch to walk in when shopping at Peter Jones and King's Road.
Dinner for two including drinks: £100
It may be a schlep for non Hackney residents, yet Cornerstone, the first solo venture of former Nathan Outlaw head chef Tom Brown is well worth a hungry journey especially for seafood and fish lovers.
Dishes are original, clean, simple yet punchy, whether it is his signature oysters with fresh horseradish, that potted shrimp on a freshly made crumpet with celeriac and gherkin slaw, or hake so pearlescent it deserves a hymn dedicated to its perfection. It is a triumph served with nostalgic Cafe de Paris hollandaise: a whipped combination of paprika, capers, curry powder, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and herbs.
Be patient for desserts finished to order: the crumbles are the finest ever experienced in a restaurant and served with clotted cream.
It is a cool, pared down rather utilitarian informal space that works better when it fills up in the evenings.
Dinner for two including wine: £100
Refreshingly different to his six other restaurants, chef and cookbook author, Yotam Ottolenghi’s newest venture celebrates vegetables, and grilling and fermenting techniques that he has been showcasing in his books for far longer than they've been high fashion.
From the gloriously inventive plant-focussed menu, try parsnip and pecorino croquettes with smoked garlic aioli and pickled walnuts; crumpet lobster toast with kumquat and chilli sauce; hasselback beetroot with lime cream and herb salsa; and the extraordinary celeriac schwarma with fermented tomato sauce. Fantastic too are squid and lardo skewers with red pepper glaze and Jerusalem mixed grill with baharat onions, and pickles.
Rovi is brilliant for brunch/breakfast too: think smoked haddock, welsh rarebit crumpet, piccalilli or green shakshuka. It is a great place for solo diner as well.
Dinner for two including drinks: £130
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