The September Hit List: Chishuru, Cora Pearl, Sollip, and More

This highly anticipated Brixton restaurant brings award-winning chef Joké Bakare’s vision of West African cuisine to a wider audience. Early signs have been extremely positive, and the restaurant is excellent for longtime fans of the cuisine and newcomers alike to Bakare’s take; charred mutton skewers, groundnut soup with spiced cauliflower and peanut, and slow-cooked goat shoulder ayamase are a few highlights of a concise menu of bangers. 

Dining status: Open for indoor dining, terrace open for outdoor dining in the arcade. 

One of London’s great establishments, this 95-year old restaurant and members’ club is a bona fide classic. Breezily chic yet approachable, chef Jeremy Lee’s whimsical British menu steps up a gear in the autumn — specifically, you’re here for the grouse with bread sauce, but you can also expect pies, oysters, and autumnal dishes aplenty, with the added bonus of some of the most personable service and indulgent puddings around. 

Dining status: Open for dine in. Terrace open for walk-ins only. 

Recently reopened after lockdown, one of the city’s most outstanding cocktail bars is back. As well as their cutting-edge signature drinks, a new dining residency from the Kitchen F.M. team (ex-Frenchie, Pollen Street Social) maintains the bar’s double threat status. Further on, expect “Trade Only” masterclasses throughout October for London Cocktail Week, and there’s still an excellent online shop for some of the best pre-bottled cocktails money can buy.

Dining status: Open for dine in, terrace open for outdoor dining. Online shop open. 

Sollip was poised to be one of the year’s most intriguing newcomers, until lockdown forced them to pivot to opening a deli. Thankfully, they’ve returned properly, with a cosy spot that draws on the owners’ experience at fine diners like the Ledbury, the Arts Club, and Koffmann’s, through the lens of their Korean upbringing. Gochujang steak tartare and barley seafood “risotto” riff on classic Korean dishes; meanwhile, cassoulet laced with kimchi is a balm for chilly autumn nights. 

Dining status: Open for dine in. Grocery open for takeaway. 

For a devoted sect of London’s gourmands, this tiny, universally adored cafe on the Regents Canal towpath has always ushered in the warmer seasons. COVID paused operations, but thankfully, it’s reopening from Wednesdays to Sundays for the near future, with a set dinner menu in the evenings. Regulars know to expect unfussy, Mediterranean-leaning fare, like smoked mackerel with crème fraîche, crunchy kohlrabi salad with brown shrimp and capers, and confit garlic and goats curd on toast. 

Dining status: Open for outdoor dining and covered outdoor dining. 

Soho’s Sun & 13 Cantons pub is known for predicting the next big thing with alarming accuracy (Darjeeling Express, Sambal Shiok, and Sarap have all popped up there). It would come as little surprise, therefore, if chef Rishim Sachdeva’s endeavor followed suit. His plant-based pop-up (entirely vegan and vegetarian) sold out in previous iterations; the roast cauliflower with leek XO is excellent, and the baked Brie alone is worth the trip into Soho. 

Dining status: Open for indoor dining.

This Covent Garden gem from the team behind the legendary Kitty Fisher’s is back, with a pretty terrace on now-pedestrianised Henrietta Street, and legendary Sunday lunches worth travelling for. With a svelte dining room and bar as a backdrop, dive into a new comfort-led menu with dreamy cocktails to match; favourites like the ham and cheese toastie have returned, along with soigné plates like rose veal fillet with peppercorn sauce and quail ‘Kiev’. 

Dining status: Open for indoor dining, terrace open for outdoor dining (walk-ins only). 

One of the year’s most anticipated openings. A big sister to the beloved Jolene in Newington Green (itself of Westerns Laundry/Primeur lineage), Big Jo is planned as a bakery and 60-cover restaurant, with the former focusing on grains that bridge delicious bakes and sustainable practices like regenerative farming. Food-wise, when the restaurant gets up and running, expect pizzas à la Gabriele Bonci and dreamily rustic French and Italian-centric dishes to eat in and take away. 

Dining status: Open for takeaway only. 

Delicious, inventive food, stellar wine and cocktails, and some of East London’s warmest hospitality separate this industry favourite from the pack — in short, it’s everything we’ve missed about dining in. Chef Tom Anglesea’s menu wears its global influences lightly, best expressed via a 3-4 course set menu of dishes like guinea fowl and pork dumplings in a soothing brodo, or a riff on Hainanese-style chicken rice. Open for lunch at the weekends, plus delivery. 

Dining status: Open for indoor dining. Takeaway and delivery available via Big Night. 

A standout Sichuan restaurant in an area not exactly starved for quality Chinese options, Noodle & Beer has returned with the same zero-compromise lineup of spiced noodle dishes and small plates that made it such a hit. Xian jiao niu-rou (鲜椒牛肉面) soup noodles with braised beef and red pepper packs a punch, while suan-cai yu fen (酸菜鱼粉) with pickled greens and tender fish shows a subtler side. Delivery is also available. 

Dining status: Open for indoor dining. Takeaway and delivery available via Deliveroo.