Where To Eat in March: Ha’s Đặc Biệt, Papi, Little Baobab, Joia, and More

Having met at the legendary Mission Chinese, chefs Anthony Ha and Sadie Mae Burns knew they were onto something special when their roving NYC pop-up, Ha’s Đặc Biệt, started receiving the kind of hype usually reserved for streetwear drops. After a stint at Bistrot Paul Bert in Paris, the duo have arrived at Oranj in Shoreditch for a monthlong residency, offering dishes which pair Vietnamese flavours with a bistronomy attitude. The pâté chaud is already one of the best things you’ll eat this month, while five spice chicken liver pate on crostini channels classic bánh mì. Meanwhile, one of the best natural wine lists around (ably handled by GQ’s somm of the year, Henna Zinzuwadia) and a palpable buzz make this a can’t-miss pop-up. Read more about Ha’s Đặc Biệt here.

The excitement around this Hackney wine bar and restaurant has focused on notions of excess and its founders’ irreverence, but belies the finesse of chef Matthew Scott, who worked at Cub before later finding success with residency Hot 4 U. The menu reads like a dream line up of amped-up bistro classics – ‘elevated nostalgia’ – with plates like sea bream crudo run through with wasabi, veal brain cacio e pepe with Tokyo turnips, and rabbit charcuterie all potent reminders of the kitchen’s ambition and creativity. The best seats in the house are (obviously) at the bar, with a view into the kitchen; don’t miss co-founder Charlie Carr’s rotating list of rare bottles and superb by-the-glass pours, which champion small and underrepresented vignerons.

With a rep for punchy Thai BBQ and natural wines, it’s little wonder that Smoking Goat has remained one of the most popular restaurants in Shoreditch. For March only, they’ve turned the dining room into a Thai-style ‘chicken shop’, with a revamped menu focusing on birds marinated in fish sauce and fried until crisp on the outside, and succulent on the inside, served with a flourish of crispy shallots and garlic. With a keen eye for sourcing and R&D, the rest of the menu is just as good as the chicken. Don’t miss the kuaytiaw khua, fried egg rice noodles stir-fried with pickled squid and chicken, developed in homage to Bangkok’s legendary Suan Mali.

To make a reservation, email shoreditchbookings@smokinggoatbar.com.

Live fire restaurants aren’t uncommon in London, but few have gone all-in on the cooking technique quite like this sleek new restaurant in Mayfair. Humo initially drew attention for its pedigree, coming from the team behind the likes of Endo at the Rotunda and Sumi, as well as its chef Miller Prada, an Endo Kazutoshi protégé who draws references from his Colombian heritage. Now, a consistently excellent menu of plates cooked entirely over fire has made the restaurant one of the most intriguing establishments in town, with a menu stacked with pristine sashimi and creative vegetable dishes, and aged cuts of meat and fish grilled over open flame or slow-cooked under embers. The aged Cornish lamb with beetroot sauce is unmissable. Pro tip: grab a seat at the counter for some spellbinding kitchen theatre.

To make a reservation, call 020 3327 3690. 

Many of Mayfair’s buzziest openings have come courtesy of restaurateur Samyukta Nair, a driving force between the likes of Jamavar, Koyn and MiMi Mei Fair. Socca, her newest restaurant, is a typically high-power affair, which sees her teaming up with the legendary Claude Bosi for a chic, upscale bistro that offers the two-star chef’s take on the sun-kissed fare of the French Riviera and its surrounds, from raw and cooked dishes offering pristine seafood, immaculate pastas (don’t miss the lobster gnocchetti) and country-style plates like slow-cooked rabbit with confit garlic or a tripe and cuttlefish gratin, based on a dish Bosi’s mother made for him as a child. For those splurging, there’s a deep wine list, and an elegant dining room studded with gorgeous details like wood panelling, mosaic floors, and hand painted walls.

To make a reservation, call 020 3376 0000.

Make your way to the sixth floor of Peckham Levels and to Little Baobab, which serves soulful takes on Senagalese fare from a takeout counter. The founders of this small-but-mighty spot made a name for themselves through a series of pop-ups and via a successful events business, and this, their first brick-and-mortar enterprise, is something to celebrate – especially given an increasingly challenging landscape for restaurants. Order dishes at the counter and grab a spot at one of the picnic benches nearby – a plate of thiebou dienne (the owners’ take on the classic Senegalese dish, here with seabass, jollof and veg) will cure any ailment, while a stew of slow-cooked lamb mafe sings with spices and peanuts. If you’re sharing, a snack plate is all but essential.

Walk-ins only.

On paper, this new restaurant across from the Battersea Power Station redevelopment sounds predictably flashy – a flagship restaurant helmed by a two-Michelin star chef within a brand-new hotel, itself tucked within a multibillion-pound complex – but the reality is, somehow, even more than the sum of those superlatives. Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa is known as one of Portugal’s finest chefs, and his Lisbon establishment Alma is testament to that. Here, his cooking materialises in refined takes on Portuguese dishes like bacalhau à brás, Carabinero prawns with luscious orzo, slabs of txuleton heaved from the Josper, and braised pork cheeks with Madeira. There’s a deep list of Portuguese wines and an excellent bar menu; meanwhile, a room with soaring ceilings and a glamorous interior fit for lounging – without even mentioning those views of the Power Station itself – make for a memorable evening.

To make a reservation, call 020 3833 8333. 

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 07788 446859.

Indonesian cuisine has a steady but growing presence in London, buoyed by personalities like supper club host Rahel Stephanie, the chef and writer Petty Elliott, and Pino Edwards, whose eponymous Camden shop has become a cult hit for its spot-on flavours and specials. The latter has opened Toba, an upscale space in St James market on the former Ikoyi site, with a menu studded with outstanding takes on classic fare like slow-simmered beef rendang, gulai kambing (a lamb shank curry originating from the Minangkabau ethnic group) and restorative soto Betawi, a traditional soup of beef tendons and vegetables in a coconut milk broth. Low lighting and low-slung seating gives the restaurant a louche, intimate ambience, making it perfect for a celebration or date nights.

To make a reservation, call 020 7839 8659.

Another omakase counter, you say? This Marylebone omakase opened a few months back on Chiltern Street, but has distinguished itself from similarly new openings by way of an inventive multi-course menu and a knowing sense of fun, whether found in non-traditional elements like décor (guests sit at an intimate 11-seat counter flanked by pitch-black walls and a chandelier that resembles a diamond canopy), food or music. The original Mayha earned a stellar reputation in Beirut, and here, its chefs ably proffer immaculate courses like classic chawanmushi and nigiri, to creative dishes like barely cooked langoustine in a kumquat sauce topped with caviar. There’s a separate vegetarian omakase, plus a subterranean cocktail bar with six seats and – of course – its own tasting menu to boot.

To make a reservation, call 020 3161 9493.