The August Hit List: Mountain, Dovetale, Watani Sheeryakh, and More

If you follow London’s restaurants on social media in any capacity, it’ll have been difficult to miss this veritable meteorite of an opening that blazed through everyone’s Instagram feeds this past month. The third site from Tomos Parry (Brat) and Super 8 group (Kiln, Smoking Goat), Mountain has made its impact felt in Soho with an array of raves for the wood grill/Basque-adjacent restaurant, with standout dishes including house-baked bread topped with homemade Stracciatella and oven-kissed red prawns; a delicate omelette loaded with spider crab meat; grilled langoustines; and a Menorcan lobster caldareta to share. Meanwhile, sourcing maestro Kim Songsoo’s influence is felt in astonishing plates like a salad of cucumber, peas and lemon bergamot. The upstairs is excellent for people watching and observing the kitchen’s theatrics, while the sleek basement dining room is a cosier affair. Don’t miss the torrija (French toast) with strawberries for dessert.

For reservations, email bookings@mountainbeakstreet.com. Learn more here.

When writer Ruby Tandoh recently completed her exhaustive, defining trawl of London’s ice cream shops for Vittles, there was one clear winner of the 343 (!) different ice creams she tasted. Found in tiny shop in Ilford, the Afghan sheeryakh (literally, frozen milk) that Sam Bagshi hand-makes to order from scratch at Watani Sheeryakh is like nothing else in the city – made traditionally and topped with pistachios or layered with baklava, it’s one of the purest expressions of milk imaginable. Their main site, a takeaway counter just down the road, is also worth shimmying down to if your interest in Afghan cuisine has been piqued, where takeaway boxes of chapli kebab, plump mandu, and more are offered.

Walk-ins only. Learn more here.

Formerly head chef at Fulham’s acclaimed Fenn, this tasting menu-only counter from chef Joe Laker is a serious new entrant for the title of the summer’s finest new openings. Laker’s M.O. is to champion progressive producers and farmers from across the British Isles, who supply him and the team within the restaurant’s spacious open kitchen with formidable raw materials, from which he whips up an impressive 15-course procession of dishes for 16 guests each night. Respect for provenance is paramount, of course, but so too is flavour, and Laker’s food tastes as good as it appears – dishes on the opening menu include the likes of a miniature English muffin with egg and truffle, or smoked eel with caviar and wasabi. A shimmering marble countertop is a fitting backdrop for each of Laker’s creations, while a wine list of New World-leaning bottles is on hand for pairings.

A pretty, plant-strewn courtyard in 180 The Strand that’s been dubbed a ‘green social club’ in the city, the interest around Outcrop Social is, for those of us obsessed with restaurants, a vehicle for chef John Chantarasak’s contemporary Thai cooking. Chantarasak’s style blends regional Thai flavours and ingredients with tip-top British ingredients, cooked over charcoal. Expect plates like Carlingford oysters with sea buckthorn and fermented chilli; venison tartare with scallop roe chilli jam and makrut lime; and a jungle curry of skate wing with white asparagus and holy basil. Low-intervention wines come courtesy of Desiree Chantarasak, while a strong cocktail programme is headed up by Robert Simpson, JKS Group’s bar manager.

For bookings, email bookings@outcrop.social. Learn more here.

A tide of positive mentions on Instagram has inadvertently thrust this tiny kitchen and café on a Bow industrial estate into the spotlight, with everyone from food writers and the culturally curious to professional restaurant critics arriving to experience Sophia Massarella’s paean to seasonal Italian fare. Polentina is located in what used to be the canteen of ethical clothing manufacturer Airtasker (which Massarella’s boyfriend oversaw), throwing the kitchen’s simple Italian cooking into sharp focus – dubbed a ‘museum of forgotten dishes’, the chef draws on the cooking of her Italian and Austrian grandmothers (alongside a deep love of old cookbooks) to produce daily-changing dishes that are rarely seen on London menus, like Abruzzese savoury crepes filled with Pecorino and bathed in a warming chicken broth; or tiella riso, a simple Puglian dish of baked rice, potato and mussels. It’s a million miles away from chasing slick new openings across the city — and all the better for it.

Having cracked the riddle of the long-vacated Arcade in Centre Point, restaurant group JKS have turned their eye into a second Arcade, this time at the new Battersea Power Station redevelopment. Several favourites at this cavernous, upscale food hall are correct and present – here’s a second site for the excellent Manna and its irresistible smashburgers and hot chicken; seasonal flatbreads from butter enthusiast Thomas Straker; and another Bao, this time a rendition of their popular Shoreditch noodle bar. Arguably the biggest selling point for non-locals, however, is the arrival of Siu Siu, a Cantonese roast meat counter that features recipes developed god-tier chef and BBQ teacher Lap-fai Lee (aka @oishinboy on Instagram). Go with a few friends and try everything.

More info here.

Having leant on guest chef residencies and bar provisions to pair with Holly Wilcocks’ wine list, the potential of this neighbourhood bar-slash-wine shop feels more complete with the arrival of a permanent head chef. Arriving from beloved Dublin restaurant Hen’s Teeth, chef Jack Newton’s creative small plates are a perfect foil to wines both accessible to novices and exciting for dorks. Start with hot and sour tomatoes with grilled peaches and mint plus Newton’s excellent prawn toasts with squid ink, then slurp steamed clams with gremolata and fried chicken with gochujang hot honey. A lineup of guest chefs throughout the summer – from the likes of Alex Szrok and Spasia Dinkovski – is another reason to make a trip here.

Tucked away inside the sleek new 1Hotel London in Mayfair, Tom Sellers’ second expansion (after his original Michelin starred flagship, Story, and the upscale rotisserie Story Cellar) sees the chef go into luxury hotel mode, with a capacious room perfect for all day dining, and a menu focused on reimagined classics. While Sellers is the name on the door, kudos must go to the talent assembled to lead the kitchen – Tom Anglesea (Laughing Heart) and Chase Lovecky (Two Lights, Clove Club) are exec and head chef respectively, and their team turns out perfect renditions of brasserie-style dishes like Dover sole Veronique, a terrine of Guinea fowl and lardo, or braised cuttlefish alla Romana. There’s also a selection of hefty steaks, plus a pretty hidden terrace and a self-serve trolley dedicated to the classic Knickerbocker glory.

It’s terrace season, and no rooftop offers more superlatives than a table on the verandah at this seasonal standout on the 14^th floor of Southwark’s Hoxton Hotel. Uninterrupted views across the city and the Thames are one point of differentiation at Seabird, as is one of London’s most impressive oyster menus and a strong lineup of Champagnes; there is, not coincidentally, an oyster happy hour during the week (perfect for ‘working from home’ with a glass of Ruinart blanc de blancs in hand). Hungry? There’s also a seafood-forward menu with strong Spanish influences – think luscious lobster rice, whole grilled seabass, and groaning shellfish towers – as well as a glamorous marble bar and a dressed-up crowd looking to let their hair down.

Years after Sam Napier and Michelle Salazar de la Rocha emerged onto London’s restaurant scene with pitch-perfect tacos in Netil Market, the duo have successfully converted a crowdfunder into their first bricks-and-mortar site in Stoke Newington. Sonora is indisputably one of the most popular spots in the city right now, not just for a busy ‘scene’ of industry folks, locals and taco pilgrims making it one of the most feelgood spots around right now, but also for Sonora’s superb renditions of barbacoa, carne asada and a likely sleeper hit in the adobada, marinated pork studded with luscious chunks of pineapple. Along with La Chingada, Sonora has moved the needle for the quality of London’s Mexican offerings. Takeout is available if you’re lucky enough to be local, but there’s a couple of counters to greedily wolf down your tacos, plus a quieter downstairs area to do likewise.

Walk-ins only.