16 restaurants that defined eating in 2016

16 of the best meals in the capital, at 16 new launches
Ben Norum26 December 2016

Contrary to just about, well, everything else this year, 2016 was brilliant when it came to restaurants.

It was a year that boasted a relentless stream of exciting new openings, some offering styles of food previously unseen in the capital and others creating compelling takes on a classic.

Here is the rundown of 16 new restaurants which represented the best of London’s food scene in 2016, presented in chronological order of their opening. If you haven’t eaten at them all, then mark them in your diary for 2017.

1. Frenchie

Frenchie
Matt Writtle

Opened: January

Star dish: Clarence Court egg mimosa topped with shredded black truffle

Back at the start of the year, in what we might think of as simpler times, the restaurant scene started as it meant to go on with the launch of Frenchie in Covent Garden. Grégory Marchand presides over this industry-favourite brasserie, putting to use experience gained at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in Shoreditch as well as his Paris restaurant of the same name.

2. Pitt Cue Co

Pitt Cue Co
Paul Winch-Furness

Opened: February

Star dish: Mushroom and bone marrow mash

Having outgrown their itsy bitsy teeny weeny Soho spot, the team behind Pitt Cue Co delighted fans by unveiling an upscaled and upgraded version of their restaurant in the City. Particularly joyful upgrades include a new policy of allowing bookings so you don’t have to queue, and new, more adventurous dishes such as grilled lamb heart and smoked pig jowl. And then there's that mash...

3. The Woodford

The Woodford

Opened: March

Star dish: Norfolk Black chicken with charcoal mayonnaise

Putting South Woodford, in the borderlands of London and Essex, on the gastronomic map makes The Woodford worthy of a place on this list in itself. It was also named Restaurant of the Year at the Evening Standard Restaurant Awards, voted for by readers. British ingredients and French techniques work together in intricate and interesting dishes which show no shortage of ambition. Unfortunately its future is looking uncertain: young chef Ben Murphy has now left with a view to opening his own restaurant.

4. Padella

Padella

Opened: March

Star dish: Pici cacio e pepe

Doing one thing and doing it well is de rigeur, and at Padella it is pasta that gets the attention. Simple dishes — such as pici cacio e pepe, pasta with cheese and black pepper — are exemplary in their execution, with every step from the rolling of the pasta to the serving of it done before your eyes in the open kitchen. Be warned that you may have to queue.

5. Anglo

Anglo

Opened: March

Star dish: Cod with smoked potato and sea fennel

“This is Noma if Noma was born and raised in Norwich,” said Grace Dent, while AA Gill praised its “classic flavours made harmonious, but also beguiling and ingénue fresh". Experienced chef Mark Jarvis is at the helm and he has a knack for creatively combining proteins with plants in a way that is anything but meat and two veg.

6. Counter Culture

Counter Culture

Opened: March

Star dish: Potato bread and nduja with cultured cream

From the rather genius Robin Gill and team, who are behind The Dairy, comes this tiny spot next door. It’s cramped, intimate and doesn’t even have a loo — you have to nip to The Dairy — but the food is superlative. Dishes are made for snacking, tapas-style, and are the kind of deceptively simple-seeming things that involve baking, curing, pickling and fermenting from scratch. One of the most forward-thinking openings of the year.

7. Som Saa

Som Saa

Opened: April

Star dish: Som tam isaan

It was one of the most hyped restaurants of recent times, and no let down whatsoever. The Som Saa team chose Spitalfields as the place to go from pop-up to permanent, creating an almost constantly jam-packed site that serves what most would agree is the best Thai in town.

8. The Barbary

The Barbary

Opened: June

Star dish: Naan with a plate of zhug, harissa and pickled chilli

The team behind The Palomar has done it again with this superb second opening. Diners perched at its convivial counter are passed plate after plate of exhilarating Middle Eastern and eastern Mediterranean food — think smoky chargrilled meats, roasted veg, pickles and layer upon layer of aromatic spice. One of the very best restaurants in town.

9. Clipstone

Clipstone
Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures

Opened: July

Star dish: Rillettes of rabbit, pork and foie gras, with homemade pickles

Will Lander and Daniel Morgenthau have delighted both diners and industry with this close quarters follow-up to their original hit Portland. Baked sourdough flatbreads served with inventive toppings are a new addition, along with a repertoire of homemade pickles, wild herbs and flowers, brasserie-style dishes and French-influenced puds.

10. Elystan Street

Elystan Street
Matt Writtle

Opened: September

Star dish: Roast calf sweetbread

For 17 years Phil Howard held two Michelin stars at The Square, and this cracking British-meets-European follow-up shows he hasn’t lost the magic touch. Not that Elystan Street is what you’d expect from a chef of this description — it is far more light-hearted, jovial and generously portioned than that.

11. Jikoni

Jikoni
Matt Writtle

Opened: September

Star dish: Mutton keema Sloppy Joe

Given all that 2016 has thrown at us, perhaps Jikoni is the restaurant which we most need in our lives. Chef-owner Ravinder Bhogal is of Indian descent, was born in Nairobi and raised in the UK — and her cooking at Jikoni is even more multicultural than she is. Her dishes fuse ingredients and inspiration from all these cuisines and more, yet describing the resulting offering as fusion would feel entirely wrong. That’s because despite being dynamic and inventive it is honest and homely, it is very much the food of her own culture.

12. Kiln

Kiln

Opened: October

Star dish: Ox heart laap

Just when you thought Som Saa was unrivalled as the king of Thai restaurants, along comes this sexy number from the team behind Smoking Goat. The northern Thai menu is based on dishes cooked in the restaurant’s namesake device along with with fiery curries, homemade noodles and natural wines. Be prepared to queue, and for every item of clothing that you wear to dinner to smell of spicy smoke. To be fair, it’s quite alluring.

13. Smokestak

Smokestak
Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures

Opened: November

Star dish: Brisket buns with pickled red chilli

Continuing 2016’s trend for street foodies settling down and restaurants filled with smoke is Shoreditch’s Smokestak. It is brisket buns which elevated the original stall to the realms of the street food elite, and they’re on the menu here and even better than ever. But it’s the addition of interesting vegetable sides and clever snacks — such as ox cheek croquettes — that cements its transition from smokehouse to serious restaurant.

14. Temper

Temper

Opened: November

Star dish: Burnt end Thai larb

Barbecue? Check. Tacos? Check. Mezcal? Check. The offering at Temper reads like a list of the year’s biggest trends all rolled into one — and the best thing is, it really works. Tender smoky meats, delicious fat, clever sauces: what more could you want? By buying in whole animals and using up leftovers and offcuts in tacos, it’s sustainable too.

15. Tandoor Chop House

Tandoor Chop House

Opened: November

Star dish: Bone marrow naan

It’s a simple concept but a mighty clever one: take the best, meatiest elements of a British chop house and layer them with the spices of Indian tandoor cooking. The canny crew at Ennismore, also behind hip hotel group The Hoxton, have done just that — and added plenty of fluffy, warm-from-the-tandoor naans to soak it all up. What’s not to love?

16. El Pastόr

El Pastόr

Opened: December

Star dish: Al pastόr tacos

The Hart brothers, who are behind epic tapas group Barrafina, have turned their attentions to Mexican food for this latest opening — and it looks set to shake up the food scene. The signature, and namesake, dish is the al pastor, which is based on a lamb shawarma kebab and was introduced to Mexico City in the fifties during a period when high numbers of Lebanese emigrated there. It comes with small chunks of caramelised pineapple, finely sliced onions and chopped coriander.

Visit standard.co.uk/restaurants for the latest news and reviews from London’s food scene.

Follow Ben Norum on Twitter @BenNorum

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