The London Hot List: Summer 2026
Seven rooms we'd actually send our mates to right now — from a Lebanese stunner in Notting Hill to a chopped-Caesar phenomenon off Park Lane.
The brief
Every week another London opening rolls in claiming to be the one. Most aren't. These seven are.
We ate, drank and queued at every spot below. No PR dinners, no comp tabs, no favours. If our mates asked us tonight, these are the seven names we'd text back.
1. KINZ — Notting Hill
The Lebanese opening of the year, no contest. KINZ quietly slipped into Notting Hill Gate and is already doing the thing where regulars guard the booking link like a state secret. Order the muhammara, the lamb shoulder, and whatever the manager points at.
Vibe: First-date, second-date, anniversary.
Go on: A Tuesday at 7pm before the rest of London catches on.
2. Czer — Mayfair
A chopped-chicken-Caesar-wrap phenomenon. Yes, really. The line on North Row is becoming an aesthetic in its own right. Worth it once; twice if you're the kind of person who finds joy in a perfect lunch.
Vibe: Lunch hour, queue with a colleague.
Go on: 11:45am, before the suits descend.
3. Mour — Marylebone
Mediterranean small plates next door to a proper martini bar. The Gibson is filthy in the best possible way. Stay for the room — green velvet booths, low light, very 1pm-Monday-energy.
Vibe: Drinks, then dinner, then more drinks.
4. Oudh 1722 — Fitzrovia
Aktar Islam's Lucknow-rooted Awadhi tasting room picked up early acclaim at the National Restaurant Awards and we get it. The galouti kebab alone is worth the trip.
Vibe: Birthday, anniversary, "let's actually go somewhere."
5. The pub everyone won't shut up about — Bermondsey
We're sworn to slight secrecy but: hospitality royalty, a proper fire, a Sunday roast that takes itself seriously without being boring. Get the bone marrow.
Vibe: Sunday with the group chat.
6. A celeb-owned restaurant that's actually good — Soho
It happens once a decade. The room is loud, the cocktail list is short, the steak is the steak. Stop reading reviews and just go.
Vibe: Birthday dinner that ends in dancing.
7. A late-night listening bar — Dalston
Vinyl-only, low lights, a brilliant orange wine list, and a tiny dance floor that fills by 1am. The closest thing we have to Tokyo right now.
Vibe: After dinner, before the night bus.
How to use this list
Don't try and do all seven in a weekend. Pick two — one to anchor dinner, one for after. Or use it to settle the next "where shall we go?" argument in the group chat. That's what we're here for.
Are You About? — IRL plans, human-curated.