Where To Eat in April: Rambutan, Archway, Tiella, and More

From supper club host to bestselling cookbook author, and now owner of the most feted new restaurant in town, Cynthia Shanmugalingam is one of the most exciting voices in food right now. Rambutan, her love letter to Sri Lanka, takes a plum spot in Borough Market, serving dishes that reflect its Tamil diaspora in their depth. So: flaky roti fresh from the oven, swiped through creamy ray wing curry or a rich tamarind-laced red curry with prawns; sticky chicken rice with pearlescent grains; or playful gundu dosas, perfect with fragrant green chutney. There’s a short but excellent cocktail menu, and while the high-ceilinged atrium at the back is perfect for lunch dates, there’s also a sleek bar that’s perfect for drinks and watching the chefs at work, or to lazily watch the market go about its business. Go with a few friends and order the whole menu.

One of north London’s classic pubs, the Compton Arms in Islington is no stranger to phenoms in the kitchen thanks to the likes of Four Legs (now decamped to The Plimsoll in Finsbury Park) and Reece Moore’s Belly popping up. Dara Klein, who made her bones at Trullo and Sager + Wilde, has now arrived in N1 with Tiella, a new six-month restaurant residency focused on the kind of gutsy, warming Italian fare that most of can only dream of – swoonworthy plates like classic ossobuco, ribbon like strands of sagne nccanulate from Lecce tossed with cime di rapa, or crisp fried sage flecked with anchovy, hot from the fryer. There’s biodynamic wine to drink, and one of the most atmospheric pubs to linger at afterwards. Unmissable.

From April 14th. Learn more here. 

There are bouji supermarkets, and then there’s Supermarket of Dreams in Notting Hill, which has a unit specifically designed for dry-aging bluefin tuna – which tells you everything that you need to know. At 6:30pm as the shop closes, a long table and chairs are brought out and the space turns into a cosy Japanese small plates restaurant, using some exceptional produce that’s expertly turned into artful dishes by a pair of ex-Endo and Sumi chefs, paired with hot sake and cocktails. There is plenty of excess – expect plenty of otoro, chutoro and N25 caviar – but plenty of finesse, too. The food? Sublime. The vibes? Immaculate.

To make a reservation, call 0207 221 0238.

For those who know, some of the most interesting cooking is happening in kitchens in Melbourne and Sydney, where immigrant traditions and indigenous produce meld with French culinary training. For Kostas Vais, this takes shape at Esti, a six-month residency at TT Liquor in Shoreditch, which features a flavourful take on Greek-Australian dishes cooked over fire, with a smattering of Australian ingredients like lemon myrtle, forest anise and finger lime. Don’t miss the ossobuco croquettes, intense and yielding; lamb ribs with tzatziki; or a parfait of vanilla ice cream with good olive oil, Australian lemon aspen berries, and Murray river salt. Cocktails and wine are superb, and the space, hidden on the top floor of TT Liquor, is the kind of place you’ll want to keep to yourself.

To make a reservation, call 020 7183 9503.

Imagine an elegant Battersea reimagining of a mid-aughts Sager + Wilde, if you will – flickering candlelight, delicately sauced pastas, the rumble of trains overhead – and you won’t be far off this chic new opening tucked beneath a railway arch. Here, River Café alumna Alex Owens takes the lead of a kitchen turning out exceptional Italian dishes, with simplicity and peak ingredients at the heart of its ethos. A wood oven takes pride of place in Owens’ busy kitchen, with plates like wild Atlantic prawns smothered in ‘nduja butter or roaring hot flatbreads pulled from the embers and quickly served to guests, plus perfectly sauced pastas, an Italian-focused wine list, and beignets with honey mascarpone that are likely to become irreplaceable on the menu.

To make a reservation, email hello@archwaybattersea.co.uk 

The excitement around this Hackney wine bar and restaurant has focused its founders’ past excesses, 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 dialled-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.

A staple on Kentish Town road for many years, the former Oxford pub has been given a new lease of life as The Parakeet. Along with a smart fit-out inside – hello, stained glass windows and sleek new banquettes – the key draw here is that a pair of ex-Brat chefs are steering the kitchen to turn out exceptional meat, fish and vegetables cooked to perfection in a wood oven, along with a wine list that leans towards the biodynamic and low-intervention. Dishes can be meat and fish-forward (peep the spoonable ox cheek with mash, or anything spotlighting Cornish mutton) but there’s an exceptional lineup of vegetable-centric dishes too.

To make a reservation, call 020 4599 6302.

Few things spark joy quiet like a great neighbourhood restaurant – the kind that focuses on great wine, food, its regulars, and little else. The arrival of Ploussard (named for the grape) is an antidote to the frenzy taking place up the road and comes courtesy of the founders of Other Side Fried, with co-founder Matt Harris having cut his teeth at the likes of Lamberts and The Parlour. Here, a France-heavy wine list that favours regions like the Jura, Loire, and Languedoc takes pride of place, along with seasonal plates designed to complement the pours – dishes are almost reverentially simple, and all the better for it. Asparagus arrives with a brown butter hollandaise designed for licking the plate clean, potato and egg yolk ravioli is zhuzhed-up with the ever-chic wild garlic butter, and there’s a brown butter tart that’ll make you question whether you’ll open another pastry book ever again.

Brooding interiors, flickering candlelight, and ambience so thick you could cut it with a knife – there’s much to love about Paradise, Dom Fernando’s contemporary take on the seasonal fare of Sri Lanka. Want to impress a friend who’s seen it all? The menu will take their breath away. Hot date? The Brutalist dining room is one of the sexiest rooms in London. Fernando and head bartender Erin Mulkerrin-English, have launched Paradise After Dark, extending the bar’s hours until 1am and introducing a menu of delicious, snacky dishes and a cocktail menu that’s among the best in Soho. Twists on late night classics come alive in Mulkerrin-English’s hands, like a negroni mixed with guava-infused Colombo 7 gin, or clarified margarita layered with mezcal, arrack, grapefruit, and Jersey cream.

This spin-off from Ombra was originally announced over the pandemic as a bakery-slash-pizzeria and arrives on the heels of a successful crowdfund. In a hidden railway arch, literal steps away from Ombra, Forno has been open only a matter of weeks and is already turning out exceptional Amalfi buns, zeppole, and creamy maritozzi, as well as seasonal bakes like pastiera Napoletana. Superb coffee and Roman-style pizza al taglio is sold by the slice, while plentiful seating and a tiny courtyard make it perfect for lingering.