UK restaurant openings 2022: places to look out for next year

It's always good to have things to look forward to.

Whether it's for a special meal out or just to stay in the know,

here's a list of exciting restaurants opening in 2022:

X by Harry Guy, Cheshire

X by Harry Guy - located inside the planned 18-room boutique hotel Wildes Chester, which will launch in conjunction with the restaurant - has been more than four years in the making, a culmination of the chef's ambitions after winning the much-coveted Roux Scholarship in 2016.

Laurence Henry's unnamed restaurant at The Island Quarter in Nottingham

The as-yet-unnamed restaurant will span three floors, and is set to open in spring next year as part of a development that will include a five-star hotel, offices and residential units at The Island Quarter in Nottingham. The restaurant will showcase Laurence's culinary style which saw him through to victory on the 2018 series of the BBC's professional cookery programme. 

Frantzén, Harrods

Announced days after his flagship restaurant made the sixth spot on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list for 2021. Björn's new restaurant will open within Harrods at the end of 2022, with the expectation that it will be another outlet showcasing the famed chef's uniquely inventive Neo-Nordic style.

MasterChef: 2020 champion Alex Webb's inaugural restaurant in London, date and exact location TBC

Little is known about Alex Webb's inaugural restaurant, but we do know it will be somewhere in London and that the chef has secured both a site and backing to do so, as well as partnering up with a manager to oversee it. When we last spoke, the chef said he hoped the restaurant will open its doors in the summer of next year featuring a menu of modern French food with his own twist.

Richard Corrigan's new Camden restaurant, name TBA, Hawley Wharf London

The restaurant's site, designed by the team behind Berlin's Soho House, will be located on the Hawley Wharf in Camden Basin, a new 580,000 square foot canalside development featuring shops, bars, restaurants, a food market and a Curzon cinema. Guests will have the choice of sitting on either one of two rooftops, with outdoor covers totalling 170. 

Boiler & Co, Bankside, London

Boiler & Co will open at a new site on Canvey Street, London in January 2022. The kitchen will be helmed by Great British Menu 2020 finalist, Kerth Gumbs.

Diners can expect to sample a taste of Kerth's Caribbean island home, Anguilla, with dishes such as the crab Johnny cakes served with scotch bonnet mayo and roe that saw him through to the Great British Menu finals. 

AngloThai, Central London, location TBC

Husband and wife duo John & Desiree Chantarasak have confirmed that they will open their first permanent
restaurant in central London early next year.

John and Desiree will open AngloThai with MJMK the London-based group of restaurants and bars. John’s half-British and half-Thai heritage has inspired a dedication to celebrating both the cooking techniques, flavours and culture of Thailand, with the seasonality of produce from the British Isles. 

Andrew and Rachel Birch's restaurant with rooms

Chef Andrew Birch is opening a new restaurant with his wife, Rachel, after leaving the Savoy Grill.

The chef kept details close to his chest in a recent interview with The Staff Canteen, promising to shed more light on the venture in the new year.

Itaku, London, Great Portland Street

Itaku is an Italian-Japanese fusion concept that will arrive on Great Portland Street in January. Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini will team up with Naples-born chef Ivan Simeoli to launch a new London venture next year. Ivan Simeoli will come on as head chef while Nicholas Medicamento will be in charge of curating the cocktail menu.

Solstice by Kenny and Abbie Atkinson

Solstice will be located a short distance away from Kenny and Abbie Atkinson's flagship, House of Tides Newcastle's only Michelin-starred restaurant.

Previously, the site was home to award-winning bistro, Violets, which sadly closed its doors in April 2020.

A more intimate space than the 60-cover House of Tides, Solstice will have just seven tables and a central kitchen, making for a more immersive guest experience. 

In an interview with The Staff Canteen, chef-owner Kenny Atkinson said he and Abbie had considered letting go of the lease on Violets due to the pandemic but decided to extend it instead and are now ready to take it in a new direction.

Cavita, Marylebone, London

Chef Adriana Cavita is set to open her debut restaurant in London Marylebone. The space will have a rustic, traditional feel, with exposed, roughly textured clay walls, plenty of greenery, and a bright smattering of colourful textiles.  The food is going to be classic Mexican, done to a high standard. 

Apricity, Mayfair, London

Apricity - meaning warmth in the winter - will be located at 68 Duke Street in Mayfair, and will launch in March 2022, following the same sustainable ethos which has come to define her style of cooking, earning her a Green Michelin star in the 2021 Guide. With a hyper-seasonal menu - of which there will be three options, à la carte, tasting and vegetarian tasting - relying on ingredients from local suppliers and small-scale farms, the restaurant will be zero-waste.

The Aubrey, The Mandarin Oriental London

The Aubrey is set to be taking over the space left by Boulud after Covid caused its permanent closure. The Mandarin Oriental over in Hong Kong already has a branch of The Aubrey and if this branch is anything like the first, it will offer high-end sushi, tempura, and flame-kissed meat and fish from a robata grill along with a broad range of cocktails. 

Lisboeta, Fitzrovia London

Announced earlier this year, Lisboeta will be a collaboration between Nuno and the restaurant group MJMK, also behind chef Santiago Lastra's modern Mexican restaurant Kol.

Opening at 30 Charlotte street in the springtime, Lisboeta, meaning 'person from Lisbon', speaks to what the restaurant is aiming to do: to bring the feel of Lisbon food and restaurant life to the UK. 

Augusto, Northgate Street, Chester

Augusto is a pizza restaurant opening in February 2022 on Northgate Street in Chester. It will be bringing the taste of Turin to the UK from the husband and wife team, Chef Valentina Aviotti and Fabrizio Gobatto, who are the owners of the Michelin plate-holding restaurant, Da Noi, on Bridge Street.

Cora, Cardiff

The restaurant, named after ex-Hedone chef Lee Skeet's daughter, will be located in the upstairs area of Café Milkwood, in the Pontcanna area of Cardiff – where the chef hosted the sell-out 40 Days, 40 Nights pop-up. It will open on the 17th of January and will seat 12 guests.

That's not all

Plus, the prospect of new things to come - if not new restaurants, new roles - for Paul Welburn, Nathan Eades, Mark Sargeant, Matt Worswick and Sean Wrest.

Do you have a new restaurant opening you'd like us to shout about? Get in touch in the comments selection below or via our social media pages @thestaffcanteen