New Restaurants
New Nightspots
Coming Soon
Barrafina
In December, the owners of Fino will open this Soho tapas bar (54 Frith St., W1; 020 7813 8010), where the casual setup will feature a mere 25 counter seats, a no-reservations policy and hours from noon to midnight. The Spanish menu will offer simpler, more affordable fare than the Fitzrovia flagship, including seafood cooked on a "plancha," the traditional Spanish grill.
Mimosa Bar & Restaurant
Opening in November in Belgravia's new Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel (sister hotel to the Jumeirah Carlton Tower) is this bistro-style Mediterranean (21 Lowndes St., SW1) with alfresco dining, plus a tapas and meze option during the day. The bar's cocktail list will include house specialties such as a mimosa peach martini and a bloody mimosa.
Scott's
This well-known seafood restaurant in Mayfair (20 Mount St., W1; 020-7495 7309) has been acquired by Caprice Holdings (The Ivy, J. Sheekey, Le Caprice, Daphne's, Bam-Bou and Rivington Grill), and will reemerge in late November from a total refurbishment that will return it to its former glory. The 1940s-inspired space will feature a central oyster bar, a private dining room in the basement and a classic menu sectioned into oysters, caviar, crustaceans, fish, meat and grills.
Good Deals and Other News
A new bright and airy branch in Borough Market (1-2 Rochester Walk, SE1; 020-7357 9922) is built into the arches of a railway bridge.
Chez Patrick
Patrick Tako (ex Lou Pescadou) has taken over Stratford's, Lou Pescadou's sister restaurant, sprucing up its decor and introducing a Classic French menu that no longer specializes in seafood.
The Martini Bar has created a special cocktail for Breast Cancer Awareness Month – the Raspberry Fondant, a mixture of Tanqueray gin, crème de framboise, raspberry puree, double cream and white chocolate shavings. For every £8 cocktail sold, the restaurant will donate £3 to breast cancer charities.
There is a new Chelsea outpost of this Persian-Lebanese at 9 Park Walk, SW10 (020-7352 1330).
A Marylebone branch has opened on the lower ground floor of Selfridges (400 Oxford St., W1; 020-7318 3981).
Through November 15th, this Mayfair hideaway is offering a three-course "Autumn" set lunch menu for £32 that includes a complimentary glass of wine, a half a bottle of water and coffee.
Le Club, the Classic French eatery, is offering wines from its La Cave wine boutique at wine-shop prices on Monday evenings.
The Web site of this fashionable Moroccan is finally up and running at www.momoresto.com.
This Belgravia Thai's new "Street Food" lunch menu offers a quick dining option (two courses for £20; three for £26).
New head chef Craig James has developed a special menu – "The A to Z of Apples" – in collaboration with the Brogdale Horticultural Trust. Offered throughout the month of October, it features daily changing dishes made with lesser known varieties such as the Arthur Turner, Doctor Hogg and Galloway Pippin.
The Sauterelle restaurant on the mezzanine level is offering a "Boodle me over dinner" promotion in partnership with the British jeweller Boodles and Charles Heidsieck Champagne. During the month, all dinner guests will receive a complimentary champagne cocktail and a chance to enter a prize draw to win a 1.03 karat diamond worth £10,000. The winner will be drawn at random in November.
Tana Ramsay's Family Kitchen
It seems that Gordon (Ramsay) isn't the only one in the family who can cook. His wife, Tana, a mother of four, has published this new cookbook that includes over 100 recipes for healthy family meals (£20; HarperCollins).
This Chelsea New French now has a private dining room for up to 10 guests.
Now that this Marylebone eatery has emerged from a £1 million refurbishment, it features a French brasserie menu and a variety of new products from suppliers all over Europe.