Top Tucker: A Seriously Joyful Guide to London’s Hottest New Restaurants This May
- Yvette Thomson
- Apr 28
- 4 min read
Updated: May 1
by Yvette Thomson
May in London is never short of sparkle – cherry blossoms, rooftop spritzes, and, this year, a seriously impressive lineup of fresh restaurant openings that are shaking up the city’s food scene. From a Ukrainian culinary comeback to a joy-fuelled creative studio, here’s your cheat sheet to the capital’s tastiest new arrivals. Bring your appetite – and maybe your notebook and paintbrush, too.
Honey & Co. Studio: Where Ceramics, Kimchi, and Crumb Cake Collide
Lamb’s Conduit Street
Opening with “The Joy Season” in May
Honey & Co. are London food royalty. But their new venture, Honey & Co. Studio, isn’t just a restaurant – it’s a joy factory. A mash-up of deli, creative hub and workshop space, this is where sourdough meets sketchbook. Pop in for a slab of tahini cheesecake or a za’atar-laced sarnie from the front counter, then stick around to throw clay with Sarit and Itamar, ferment something funky with Russo’s Kitchen, or talk food, feminism and ferments with cookbook queens like Olia Hercules and Alissa Timoshkina.
Dubbed “The Joy Season,” their launch series includes everything from lino printing to book clubs and kombucha-brewing. It’s about community, creativity, and carbs – and we can’t get enough.
Don’t Miss: Ceramic pinch pot classes with the founders (May 13 & July 1), and the Bridget & Winnie book club launching with A Waiter in Paris.
Bonus: A new season of their podcast, “The Food Sessions,” is also landing, promising surf-loving chefs and poetry-writing pâtissiers.
Little Bat Bar x James Cochran: Fried Chicken Gets Fancy
Islington
Relaunching with new menu on May 7
Remember when Little Bat was the cool sibling of Callooh Callay? Well, now it's entering its glow-up era. Enter James Cochran, culinary maverick and fried chicken wizard, who’s joined the Islington bar as chef consultant. His menu is global, cheeky, and unapologetically indulgent – think truffle bread pudding, jerk-glazed buttermilk chicken, and beer-battered oysters with braesola XO sauce.
The cocktails keep pace with the food: from seaweed-laced vermouth to a “Pop Tart” tequila milk punch, they’re playful, punchy, and destined for your Instagram.
Hot tip: Try the slow-braised jerk Mangalitza pork and stay for dessert – a Berkswell Basque cheesecake with fermented grapes. Even your palate will need a nightcap.
SINO: Ukrainian Elegance with Edge
Notting Hill
Opening May 2025
Ukrainian cuisine gets a refined reboot at SINO, the stunning new opening from Polina Sychova and chef Eugene Korolev, who returns to the kitchen after serving on the frontlines of war. “Sino” means “hay” in Ukrainian, a nod to tradition, but what’s coming out of this kitchen is pure innovation.
Expect cherry-glazed BBQ catfish with samphire, beef tartare with cep sabayon, and ox tail vareniky swimming in spicy broth. The drinks, dreamed up by mixologist Ana Reznik, read like liquid art: buckwheat milk punch, dulce de leche vodka spritz, and apple bun cocktails are just the start.
Design fans, rejoice: Walls adorned in Ukrainian clay, handmade crockery from Saga pottery, and sculptural lighting by Clayp create a tactile, earthy backdrop that’s as thoughtful as the menu.
Town: A Delicious Utopia on Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Opening May 12
Stevie Parle’s Town isn’t just a restaurant – it’s a movement. A dream team of chefs (hello, Olly Pierrepont, Andy Bright, and Zinzan Riess-Hollier) is manning the stoves, using only the most sustainably sourced produce from Parle’s inner circle of regenerative farming pals.
Wildfarmed beef? Check. South Indian fish curry to share? Absolutely. Asparagus with aged cherry vinegar and Mangalitsa lardo? You bet.
The interiors, designed by North End Design, are impossibly cool – lava stone countertops, lacquered green kitchens, and just enough Jacobsen chairs to make design nerds cry happy tears.
Sip this: A Nikka Whisky Kashi for dessert, or dip into their seriously considered low-ABV cocktail list for the ultimate slow sip.
The Engineer: Primrose Hill’s Beloved Pub Returns
Primrose Hill
Reopened and ready now
After a well-earned makeover, The Engineer is back to reclaim its pub royalty status in NW1. Head Chef Nino Sadallah is in the kitchen serving up refined British comfort food (crab brioche, scallops with crispy chorizo, cod with pommes anna), while Sundays bring showstopper roasts including a 16oz Chateaubriand with all the trimmings.
With 40+ wines by the glass, a summery spritz lineup, and a garden you’ll never want to leave, this is a pub with serious party tricks.
Pro tip: The spring feasting menu (4 courses for £50, £10 extra for champagne) is the kind of value that’ll have you cancelling all other plans.
Atis Mayfair: Salad, But Make It Sexy
Grosvenor Street
Opens May 12 (with 50% off bowls all week)
London’s wellness warriors, rejoice! Atis, the salad bowl supremos, are bringing their zen-minimalist vibes to Mayfair. This new location is all sunshine, clean lines, and plant-powered eats – just steps from the office towers of W1.
To mark the launch, they’re throwing a Dead Hang Challenge (yes, really) in partnership with Manor Gym. Come for the 50% off bowls, stay to test your grip strength and walk away with your dignity (or a T-shirt).
Need inspo? Build your own bowl with grilled tofu, rainbow quinoa, charred veg and tahini dressing – or trust the Atis signature creations. Either way, your lunch break just got an upgrade.
London, You're Spoiling Us.
From joy-filled ceramic studios to smoky pineapple cocktails and cherry-glazed catfish, London’s May 2025 restaurant scene is shaping up to be one of its most delicious, daring and downright delightful yet.
Whether you’re in the mood to sip, sculpt, or simply scoff something spectacular, this month’s newcomers are here to remind us of everything great about this city: diversity, creativity, a little eccentricity—and really, really good food.
Where will you eat first?
__
Yvette Thomson
Enjoyed reading A Seriously Joyful Guide to London’s Hottest New Restaurants This May? Consider following @banglemag on Instagram for the most up-to-date content and hear news about the latest flip-book edition: https://www.instagram.com/banglemag/
