Late October is when the autumn openings land properly. This week brings one of our own clients to Drury Lane, a cult pizza residency going permanent in Covent Garden, a 15-seat ube bar in White City, and two chefs leaving big hotel kitchens to open their own places in Belgravia. Here is what is opening, who is behind it, and why we think it is worth a visit.
Nonna Bakery, Covent Garden
161 Drury Lane, WC2B 5PN. Open now.
We will declare an interest: Nonna is a GoodFolks client, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Sicilian lawyer Matteo Cicero started Nonna in Shanghai because he could not find the bread he grew up with, and the first London bakery opened in Holborn earlier this year. Drury Lane is the second: a corner site with big windows, outdoor seats and a shelf of Italian things to take home. Go for the cornetti with pistachio cream, the ricotta cannoli and the focaccia, and look for the two bakes only this branch does, an Eton Mess maritozzo and the pane cunzatu, a Sicilian sandwich from the Aeolian Islands. Find them at nonnabakery.co.uk and @nonnabakeryuk.
Lenny’s, Covent Garden
24 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8ND. Opens Tuesday 27 October.
Max Lewis spent time in Connecticut learning New Haven-style pizza, then spent two years proving London wanted it from a residency at the Bedford Tavern in Finsbury Park. The queues answered that question. Now Lenny’s goes permanent in partnership with MJMK, the group behind Kol and Casa do Frango. The signature is the tomato pie: a longer bake, a charred and chewy crust, and tomato doing the work rather than cheese. The Lenny splits one pie between tomato, garlic and pecorino on one side and classic mozzarella on the other. Bookings are open at lennysapizza.com.
Toasteé, White City
Unit 1018B, Westfield London, Ariel Way, W12 7JQ. Opens Tuesday 27 October.
Florence Mae Maglanoc already runs Panadera, the Filipino bakery with sites in Kentish Town and Marylebone, and Donia in Kingly Court. Toasteé is her fourth, and the most focused: a 15-seat bar built around French toast and ube. Three signature toasts to start (ube jam, matcha ganache, Milo cookies and cream), a classic butter and maple version, and a drinks list that runs from ube milk to ube horchata. Chef Adrian Kyle Felipe is in the kitchen. It is a small room doing one thing well, which is usually how the good ones start. Find it on Instagram at @toasteelondon.
A small room doing one thing well is usually how the good ones start.
Ralphie’s, Belgravia
87 Pimlico Road, SW1W 8PH. Opens late November.
Tom Booton put his name above the door at The Grill at The Dorchester. Ralphie’s is his first restaurant that is actually his, named after his dog and pitched squarely as a neighbourhood place rather than a destination. The menu is modern takes on British classics: battered cod cheek scampi, a pork and mushroom pie with charcuterie sauce, a Sunday roast with a shepherd’s pie Yorkshire. Pritesh Mody, the Sunday Brunch cocktail regular, has written the drinks list. There is a 14-seat private room with Tom’s own record collection, and yes, a dog menu. The site at ralphies.co.uk has a mailing list for the opening date.
Han & Han, Belgravia
16 St Barnabas Street, SW1W 8PE. Opens November.
Jeff Tan ran the kitchen at Hakkasan Mayfair. Han & Han is his first solo restaurant, and the name is personal: his mother’s surname alongside his own middle name. The cooking is modern Chinese built on classical technique. The headline dish is a 36-hour dry-aged Peking duck with house-made black truffle pancakes, alongside Teochew-style wild sea bream and a braised pumpkin with dried shrimp roe. Belgravia has plenty of expensive restaurants and not many with this much intent behind them. Follow the opening at @hannhanrestaurant_london.
Opening something yourself?
We work with independent venues on launches: the press list, the opening-week social plan, the Google profile that decides whether locals find you. If you are opening in the next few months and want the first month to count, have a look at what we do for hospitality or drop us a line at hello@good-folks.co.uk.
