Where To Eat in February: Lulu’s, Jacuzzi, Akub, The Holland and More

Named for the symbolic native plant that’s forbidden to forage on the West Bank, Akub originally ran as a well-received pop-up at Carousel before arriving fully formed in Notting Hill, offering a modern Palestinian menu that reinterprets dishes like celebratory chicken Mousakhan humming with sumac and onions, baby eggplants stuffed with fermented herbs (a riff on Sheikh el Mahsi), and skate kufta in vine leaves. The kitchen mixes imported Palestinian herbs and spices with British produce, while reminders of founder Fadi Kattan’s motherland are also present in ceramics from Palestinian artist Nur Minawi, or vintage keys that hang in the dining room and serve as symbols of houses lost under the current occupation.

To make a reservation, call 020 7792 2472.

Anyone who’s experienced a Big Mamma dining room in full swing knows that where they go, the party follows, and the French hospitality group’s latest opening – this time in Kensington – may be their most over-the-top proposition yet. Jacuzzi is the group’s first opening in West London and there are enough chandeliers, Italian marble and potted plants in the dining room to make most Venetian palazzos look like a Homebase. Come for excitable dates and extravagant group dinners with your rowdiest friends – everything from the cocktails and food (yes, the cheese wheel is back) to the room and crowd just feels good.

With a spot on the World’s 50 Best and a second Michelin star this past year, Ikoyi is the place on everyone’s lips when it comes to fine dining in London. The move from its original St. James premises to a gorgeous new restaurant in 180 The Strand, has paid dividends, with an even more ambitious menu – and pricing to match – complete with a private area and a glamorous new dining room designed by Studio David Thulstrup. Only weeks old, the latter has already won a prestigious design award, and though the emphasis on Moneyball-style tasting menus hasn’t changed, Jeremy Chan’s hyperseasonal cooking remains as compellingly creative as ever – a third star and a rise through the global ranks feel within the realms of possibility.

As far as neighbourhood restaurants go, they don’t come much more adored than Llewelyn’s in Herne Hill. That same team has opened up Lulu’s, a cosy corner deli and wine bar on the corner, serving fortifying lunches and salads during the day, and snacky plates designed to pair well with wine at night. Led by chef Lasse Petersen (Llewelyn’s head chef since 2020 and ex-Amass), it’s an even more relaxed and casual younger sibling to Llewelyn’s, offering modish dishes like gildas, devilled eggs with playful trout roe, and egg yolk ravioli with crispy sage and hazelnuts – perfect for a nightcap or the kind of overdue catchups that melt late into the evening.

Walk-ins only.

The opening of this secretive private omakase within an ultra-minimal London izakaya offers plenty of intrigue, especially when considering that said izakaya is already one of the most exciting restaurants in town right now. Taking up residence in Evernight’s private dining room, Uosei is a six-seat omakase designed for private bookings and small groups of friends to experience chef Shaulan Steenson’s 18-course menu of intricately prepared dishes. Steenson (previously of Temaki) folds and presses immaculate nigiri using local and imported fish, rice and vinegar, alongside seasonal riffs like smoked eel chawanmushi and sakekasu ice cream, created from the lees left over from sake production. In terms of exclusivity, there’s little that can touch it right now — moreso when considering its limited two-month run.

To make a reservation, drop a message to uosei@protonmail.com 

With a thoughtful and seasonal approach to sourcing, this new vegan café and restaurant on Mare Street is already one of the city’s best new plant-forward eateries. With many items sourced from regenerative farms, produce is often some of the best available and cooking highlights each ingredient’s flavour. Small plates like roasted Delica squash or a salad of chicory, pear, and almond feta are standouts, while the mushroom kebab main shouldn’t be missed. There’s a pretty garden for warm weather and a popular bottomless brunch at the weekend, too.

With the closure of a great many bars, cafes and restaurants over the past few years, the return of this beloved Filipino bakery to its Battersea home has been a balm. Brothers David and Nigel Motley have created an innovative coffee program serving brews sourced from across the Philippines and Southeast Asia (with many of their own signature blends), alongside baked treats like bibingbka, cassava cake, and leche flan that justify the frequent queues that the café attracts. The bibingka espesyal royale – loaded with cured salted egg, ube jam, and dusted with queso de bola – is worth the effort of pre-ordering for the weekend.

Walk-ins only.

The revival of West London’s casual restaurant scene has taken many forms, not least of all in the pub dining room. At this Kensington gem, minutes from Holland Park, there’s a buzzing pub downstairs and an elegant dining room upstairs, offering precise takes on modern British fare, like venison and smoked bacon faggot with broccoli rabe, spiced brown crab on toast, or a rib of beef for two with red wine jus. Max de Nahlik, chef, and co-founder of the pop-up Oxalis, likes his produce British and sustainable, and his cooking is the perfect antidote for frozen February evenings.

There’s little dispute that the beautiful new Dorian – which follows buzzy Notting Hill spots like Caia, The Pelican, and Straker’s – is about as impressive as it gets in terms of upscale neighbourhood dining. Led by an ex-Ikoyi and Frantzen chef (and with a cast cherrypicked from the city’s elite restaurants), the kitchen turns out immaculate dishes that riff on classic bistro fare – think veal sweetbread with gribiche, wood roasted mallard, and lobster with pumpkin and greens – prepared over wood fire. Produce is on point – the owner owns Notting Hill Fish Shop, supplying many of the city’s high-end dining rooms – while tightly packed tables, a glitzy bar, and plenty of natural light make it an attractive proposition, day or night.

To make a reservation, call 020 3089 9556. 

Some places just feel like home, and at Darjeeling Express, a steaming cup of chai can comfort like nothing else. It’s apt, then, that Asma Khan’s acclaimed restaurant has returned to Soho’s Kingly Court where its star shot into the stratosphere on Chef’s Table. The layout will be strikingly familiar to those who remember the previous site – it’s exactly the same, but with cosmetic upgrades that lend a sheen to the dining room’s welcoming ambience. The food is as electric as ever, with Khan’s all-female kitchen team expediting favourites from the kitchen, like crisp puchkas spiked with tamarind, tender chicken momos, and the ever-familiar tangra prawns. Meanwhile, Khan herself roams the kitchen making diners feel like personal guests in her home.

To make a reservation, email reservations@darjeeling-express.com. 

After a brief reimagining of the dining room, complete with faithful interiors and the preservation of details like those stained glass windows, this legendary restaurant and member’s club is poised for a reopening to remember. It’s fitting, then, that chef Jeremy Lee and his team will host guests for a preview lunch on the 11th February — three days ahead of the dining room’s official reopening — with a splendid multi-course lunch, complete with snacks and Champagne upon arrival, plus a copy of the chef’s acclaimed cookbook. Don’t miss your spot with this early look, available exclusively through Resy. To make a reservation for lunch, click here.