Summer is over. It’s time to accept it. The leaves are falling, the evenings are getting darker, and the exit of the “Euro Summer” tourists means you can finally walk quickly again. Despite its faults, autumn is a prime time for new openings. We’ve rounded up the most interesting new venues opening their doors this season, because if you’re going to leave the house in the rain, it better be for something good.

Bars

Bar Brasso

Nine Elms

Taking over the space next to his beloved local oyster bar Darby’s, Chef Robin Gill is opening a Northern Italian aperitivo bar with a £5 Negroni happy hour. We repeat: £5 Negronis. The all-day affair means a café during the day with sandwiches, pastries, and lunchtime pastas, and moving into a small plates and cocktail bar in the evening. Our highlight? They’ll serve a Bourdain grilled toastie – inspired by the legend’s favourite sandwich – with Franceschini Mortadella ‘Opera’ and fontina. Desserts include a Campari and blood orange sorbet, and a tiramisu made from a family recipe. The opening weekend launch party is £10 per ticket, which includes a Negroni and cicchetti, plus a DJ set from Mind Enterprises.

Opening 27 September

The Marlborough

Mayfair

As an East Londoner, my first pizza at the Chancellor’s Pub in Hammersmith back in 2023 would end up being my last. But it’s still, hands down, the best pizza I’ve had in London. So I was thrilled to find out that Crisp W6, which has been operating out of the Chancellor’s small kitchen for five years, is moving to a permanent location in Mayfair. Backed by the Devonshire’s team and run by Crisp founder and pizza legend Carl McCluskey, The Marlborough’s Grade II-listed corner site will be transformed into a two-floor space: a traditional wet-led pub upstairs, and a 52-seat pizza restaurant (100 with the terrace) downstairs. With its pizza and £5 pints of Prahva (in Central!!!!), this is sure to be a hotspot.

Opening Early October

Kamara

Soho

The folks at Brother Marcus – known for their Mediterranean brunches – are taking on a new adventure with a cocktail bar in Soho. It’ll be Eastern/Mediterranean influenced, with cocktails that feature ingredients like Greek mountain tea, fermented figs, Cretan aged eau de vie, and basil leaf oil. They make their own spirits and ferments in-house, and the interior is design-led with pottery sourced from Cretan artisan potters. Of course, there’ll be mezze if you get hungry.

Opening 29 September

Restaurants

Adoh!

Covent Garden

Despite the name suggesting a relation to Homer Simpson, Adoh! is a Sri Lankan casual eatery in Covent Garden, and the name is more of a cultural greeting or exclamation of surprise. From the founders of Kolamba, Adoh! will feature street food snacks and plates, with the highlight being the kothu. A popular street food in Sri Lanka, it’s a dish of chopped roti, vegetables, and eggs tossed on a grill and finished with curry gravy. Cocktails include coconut Negronis and a rum punch, and the featured dessert is a soft serve made with salted jaggery, a palm sugar native to Sri Lanka. Better than a doughnut shop, in our opinion.

Opening 8 September

Lagana

Shoreditch

The Pachamama Group has been putting out some bangers lately – Nina in Marylebone, Zephyr in Notting Hill, and now Lagana in Shoreditch. With Greek-inspired small plates like soutzoukakia flatbread, lamb seftalia, and courgette tempura, the menu is relatively affordable, with the priciest dish being £22. The cocktails, named after colours, hover around £9. But what’s really bringing the swarms of influencers to Lagana? The playful design and branding, which harks on nostalgic childhood drawings. There’s even paper tablecloths and crayons for you to doodle (or test your date in noughts and crosses). It’s hard not to be charmed.

Opening 15 September

DakaDaka

Soho

New hospitality group Berkeley Square Hospitality is debuting with a Georgian restaurant and wine bar, taking over the Heddon Street space that once housed residencies for Manteca and Fallow. Giorgi Mindiashvili and Mitz Vora, who were behind restaurants like Eggbreak and Seabird, will open DakaDaka as a modern interpretation of Georgian culinary tradition, centered on open fire cooking. As expected, the drinks list features over 100 wines, all Georgian and low-intervention. The 100-cover space will also host private dining and regional wine tasting events. We’re not sure what the interior will look like, but from the smugness on the faces of the founders (pictured), we can assume they’ve done something pretty special.

Opening November

Carbone

Mayfair

After the horror that was their AI promotional video, we hesitated putting Carbone on here. Do we really need more American things in London? And can a chain that serves £25 spicy rigatoni outlast the already oversaturated pasta landscape? We don’t know. But according to owner Mario Carbone, London was always the plan. If you’ve never heard of it (where have you been?), Carbone is an Italian-American restaurant that opened in New York in 2013, and it quickly became a hit with celebrities and normies alike. It’s notoriously hard to get into, but you might have better luck in London. Whether it’ll be worth it? We can’t tell you. But it’ll definitely be memorable: tuxedo-clad servers, tableside bananas Foster, and a bill that’ll make your eyes pop out of your head. And hey, at least you went to Carbone.

Opening 15 September

Aram Cafe

Somerset House

If you don’t feel like standing behind a long line of influencers for an overpriced salad at Corner Shop 180, we’d recommend walking five minutes down the road to Aram. An all-day Syrian café, deli and restaurant by Imad Alarnab, it’s serving pastries and plates inspired by the flavours of Syrian, Turkey, Cyprus, and Jordan. The bakery has gems like zaatar croissants, halva brownies, and pistachio and rose cake, and you can get an express lunch with two counter salads, a protein, and a pitta for £18. And Somerset House as its backdrop, we still think it’s pretty insta-worthy.

If you’re craving Chinese, check out Poon’s next door, a traditional restaurant featuring chef Amy Poon’s family recipes.

Now Open

Other

The Chancery Rosewood

Mayfair

Perhaps the most anticipated hotel opening of 2025, The Chancery Rosewood opened at the start of September at 30 Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, home to the former U.S. Embassy. With 144 suites, multiple restaurants and bars, a spa, and retail spaces, it’s nothing short of luxurious. The rooms are, appropriately, supersized, as a (maybe unintentional) ode to the building’s past identity. There are multiple event spaces, including a subterranean ballroom for 750 guests. The eight restaurants and bars include The Eagle Bar, Serra, and the London outpost of NYC’s Carbone. It’s expensive – a night will cost you £1,500 at minimum – but be careful when trying to smuggle toiletries and linens. There’s no diplomatic immunity here.

Now Open

The 77

Marylebone

A new club is entering the Central London nightlife scene. The 77 is a 550-capacity space located beneath the BoTree Hotel, focusing on house music by DJs and live acts alike. The weekends are reserved for all-night-long DJ sets, a rarity in London and made possible by the soundproofed walls. The split-level layout is equipped with an L-acoustics sound system, lasers, and LED screens for an immersive sensory experience.

Opening 26 September