London's restaurant scene is gearing up for a bumper September 2026, with a wave of highly anticipated openings and pop-ups across the capital. From the return of a celebrated Turkish chef to a Michelin-recommended Texas BBQ takeover, the month offers a diverse array of new dining experiences.
Major Openings and Chef Comebacks
The headline act is KID, a new Turkish restaurant in Soho from chef Sertaç Dirik, formerly of Mangal II, and restaurateur David Carter of Oma. Opening on September 1 at 53-55 Frith Street, the menu features meze, salatas, braised kid goat, and a variety of köfte. Dirik left the family business two years ago, and this marks his own standalone venture.
Another significant arrival is Cassette, a French restaurant in Covent Garden from the team behind Peckham's Levan and Bar Levan. Opening in late September at 42 Maiden Lane, the kitchen will be led by former Planque chef Essa Fakhry in a Grade II listed building dating from the 1630s. Levan co-owner Mark Gurney described the inspiration: 'It's inspired by lazy weekends drinking gentian spritz and playing pétanque outside Auberge de Chassignolles; by Édouard at Bistrot des Tournelles in Paris, where our friendship grew over a shared love of music; and by Toto at Le Verre Volé, where I recently DJed as part of their Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations'.
New Concepts and Residencies
In Hackney, Marrion's Bar opens on September 10 at 177 Morning Lane, a relaxed bistro from Elliott Kaye, who has cooked at Lyle's, The French House, and Leroy. The menu includes devilled crab rarebit, moules frites, a cheeseburger, and tuna melts. Kaye said: 'I wanted Marrion's to be somewhere I'd actually want to go - somewhere you can have a drink, eat something good and feel at home. Nothing too fussy or pretentious.'
Bunso, a Filipino bakery by day and pizza joint by night, arrives in Kentish Town in late September at 1a Hawley Road. It is the latest venture from Omar Shah, known for Belly, Guanabana, Mamasons, and Ramo Ramen. Shah explained: 'I want Bunso to be somewhere you can come in the morning for a really good pastry and coffee, drop in for lunch, or come back at night for pizza, pasta and a bottle of wine. Ultimately, I want it to feel like it belongs to the neighbourhood.'
Nakimushi in Notting Hill opens September 7 at 7 Kensington Mall, featuring a ground-floor ramen bar and a 25-seater upstairs restaurant. Chefs Yuji Shimokawa Kelly and Robin Kosuge previously trialled both concepts at their Urchin and Robin's Ramen residencies in Holland Park.
Pubs, Pop-Ups, and Pizza
Public House Group, known for the Fat Badger, Pelican, and Hero, opens The Horses in Clerkenwell in late September at 26-28 Ray Street. This is their first east London venture, offering seasonal Cotswolds-grown produce and a seafood selection at the former site of the 1897-built Coach & Horses.
A week-long pizza pop-up, The Macbeth x Fresh Hot Pizza, runs from August 31 to September 6 at The Fox in Haggerston (372 Kingsland Road). It combines the Portuguese kitchen of The Macbeth with Fresh Hot Pizza, creating a pizza inspired by Porto's Francesinha sandwich, topped with mozzarella, sausage, ground beef, and pork belly.
InterStellar BBQ and La Barbecue, two Michelin-recommended smokehouses from Austin, Texas, are hosting a one-month residency at The Ned from September 4 to October 4. Pitmasters John Bates and Ali Clem will serve an 'ultimate BBQ tray' with peach tea glazed pork belly, pulled lamb shoulder, chimichurri beef short rib, pork ribs, and chopped cheese sausage at the Electric Bar & Diner.
Seouls of Mischief, a Mexican-Korean fusion burger offshoot, launches at The Adam & Eve in Homerton on September 4. The menu includes smash burgers, wings, and elote corn ribs at 155 Homerton High Street.
More Openings and Final Notes
Beefbar opens at Broadwick Soho on September 14 at 20 Broadwick Street, replacing the Dear Jackie basement restaurant. The glitzy global brand, with outposts in Monte Carlo, Paris, Mykonos, and New York, will serve Japanese Kobe and Australian Wagyu. The Chelsea outpost, Le Petit Beefbar, closed earlier this year in preparation.
Five Feet Pizza opens in Bermondsey in September at 4 Tanner Street, from Jay Patel (co-founder of Legare and Luna), Roland Horne (founder of WatchHouse), and Jack Ellingham (former chef at Dusty Knuckle). They will serve pan pizzas with a spongy centimetre-thick dough.
Duda Diner, run by Hakeem and Zura Ahmad, brings its nasi lemak and kerabu salad to The Pilgrim in Paddington from September 17 to late December, as part of the hotel's 2026 Incubator Kitchen Series.
Dumbo, the French-born smash burger brand, opens a second London location on September 4 at 37 Berwick Street, Soho, serving double patty cheeseburgers, fries, and a vegetarian 'Earth burger'.
Talli Queen, a desi gastropub from former River Café cook Avinash Shashidhara, opens in Shepherd's Bush in September at 412 Uxbridge Road. The menu includes 'Military canteen-style meatballs', chicken and liver pepper fry, Kerala chilli beef, and Bangalore-inspired dosa, with Sunday roasts featuring slow-cooked lamb shoulder and biryani.
Finally, Rack City Ribs, previously at the Dukes of Highgate, begins a three-month pop-up at Kitchen E20 in the Stratford Hotel on September 1. The Caribbean-edged barbecue menu features crispy jerk pork ribs, battered boar sausage, and chicken wings with pineapple glaze.
