If you’re currently staring down the barrel of yet another boring cheese sandwich or leftovers lunch, your thoughts might naturally turn to what exciting things to eat and drink are just around the corner.

2022 was the year that life returned, more or less, to normal (albeit a very different ‘new’ normal) and meeting friends for brunch, lunch and dinner was firmly back on the agenda.

The cost of living crisis might have curbed our dining out plans somewhat, but birthdays and special occasions still call for a get-together over good food and a bottle of primitivo.

So as we settle into the new year, here are the new restaurant openings planned for 2023 that you need to have on your radar. From lavish pasta palaces to home-style Sri Lankan curries, add these to your diary now and start planning a year of excellent eating.

Beckford Canteen

The Beckford Group are known for their contemporary yet thoroughly inviting country inns like The Beckford Arms in Wiltshire. Now they are bringing their modern take on British cuisine to Bath city centre with Beckford Canteen, a restaurant in a former Georgian greenhouse.

Chef George Barson (of River Cottage and Viajante) will serve up tempting dishes like confit pork belly with pumpkin and quince, and monkfish with cauliflower and curried butter, while the dark oak and green colour scheme creates a calming vibe. And if the wine menu isn’t quite extensive enough for you, you can pop to the nearby Beckford Bottle Shop and choose a bottle to bring back to the restaurant.

Opening 6 January, 11 & 12 Bartlett Street, Bath, BA1 2QZ; beckfordcanteen.com

Jacuzzi

The Big Mamma Group just knows how to do restaurants well. On the back of the phenomenal success of Italian fun palaces Gloria, Circolo Popolare and Ave Mario comes their newest launch – and first in West London. And it might just be the most extra of the lot. 

Across four stories, the ‘Italian mansion’ on High Street Kensington will feature a Sicilian mezzanine with retractable roof and glitterball disco toilets in the basement. Food wise, think luxury: from caviar pizetta and lobster risotto to truffle pasta served in a 4kg wheel of pecorino. Understated this is not.

Opening 20 January, 94 Kensington High Street, London, W8 4SH; bigmammagroup.com/en

Darjeeling Express

Star of Netflix’s Chef’s Table, bestselling cookbook author and creator of arguably London’s best biryani, culinary tour de force Asma Khan is coming back to Kingly Court after closing Darjeeling Express in Covent Garden. 

Khan announced on Instagram last month that she and her all-female team will be returning to their “spiritual home” in a larger space to continue serving food inspired by her childhood in Calcutta. And we’ll be first in line for a new year feast with friends.

Opening early 2023, Kingly Court, Kingly St, Carnaby, London, W1B 5PW; darjeeling-express.com

Rambutan

Originally slated for 2022 but, as with all good things, this one will be worth the wait. Acclaimed chef and food writer Cynthia Shanmugalingam will open her debut restaurant, Rambutan, in London’s Borough Market – making use of all the brilliant produce from nearby market traders. 

Taking inspiration from her Tamil roots and summers spent cooking over fire with her family in Sri Lanka, Rambutan will serve northern Sri Lankan food, such as aged mutton rolls, spicy fish malu buns and black coconut pineapple curry, plus hoppers, dosas and rotis to mop up all the delicious sauces. With post-colonial décor and original artworks and textiles made by female Sri Lankan designers, we can’t wait to stop by.

Opening February, 10 Stoney Street, London, SE1 9AD; @rambutan_ldn

Joia

Battersea is having a bit of a moment, with the redevelopment of the iconic power station, and the restaurants are arriving in their droves. Coming in February to the 15th floor of the new art’otel London Battersea Power Station is Joia, the first London restaurant from two Michelin-starred Portuguese chef Henrique Sá Pessoa. 

The menu will features flavours from Catalonia and Portugal, with highlights including croquettes with potato and traditional Portuguese Alheira sausage, and braised Iberian pork cheek with apple and turnip puree. Throw in art deco interiors and floor-to-ceiling views over the power station and this is one restaurant worthy of a special occasion.

Opening February, art’otel London Battersea Power Station, 1 Electric Boulevard, London, SW11 8BJ; artotellondonbattersea.com

Quo Vadis

Not strictly a ‘new’ opening but Soho icon Quo Vadis is set to close next month while it undergoes renovation work to double in size. 

Promising a grander, more spacious restaurant with red Georgian sofas and a reclaimed wood floor (don’t worry, the beautiful stained-glass windows are staying), the ‘Great Dame of Dean Street’ will continue serving acclaimed chef Jeremy Lee’s simple but delicious British dishes – from smoked eel sandwiches to seasonal pies.

Reopening 8 February, 26-29 Dean Street, Soho, London, W1D 3LL; quovadissosho.co.uk

Tipo

Pasta fans should make a beeline for Tipo in Edinburgh, the third restaurant from chef Stuart Ralston, of Michelin Bib-awarded Noto. Named after the finest grade of flour in Italy, the casual dining restaurant will focus on small plates of fresh pasta and charcuterie, plus artisanal wines. 

With a cosy, welcoming vibe, there will be individual bar seats for those occasions you need a moment to yourself with a good bowl of pasta and some delicious wine (so most of the time, then).

Opening March, 110 Hanover Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4DR; @tipoedinburgh

Midland Grand Dining Room

A former Chiltern Firehouse chef plus the hotel where the Spice Girls filmed the video for Wannabe? Yes, you have our attention. 

Patrick Powell, of the aforementioned celeb magnet and more recently Allegra in Stratford, will be taking over the restaurant at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel previously occupied by Marcus Wareing’s The Gilbert Scott. Other than that, details are thin on the ground at the moment, but expect lavish interiors and some equally impressive food.

Opening spring 2023, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Road, London, NW1 2AR; @midlandgrand

Manzi’s

From the team that brought us London institutions The Wolseley and Brasserie Zédel comes a new opening several years in the making. Billed as a “seafood palace”, Manzi’s will specialise in classic fish dishes, from moules marinière to Dover sole. 

Set across two floors just off Soho Square, the underwater theme continues into the décor, which promises to feature “mermaids and mermen, whimsically nautical adornments and abundance of sea creatures”, according to Hot Dinners. If the vibe is anything like that at Brasserie Zédel, this is sure to be one to book for a celebration.

Opening May, 1 Bateman’s Buildings, Soho, London W1D 3EN; @thewolseleyhospitalitygroup

Pearly Cow

York is not short of excellent restaurants. But a new opening from the three brothers behind boutique hotel group GuestHouse, who opened the No1 York hotel in a gorgeous Grade II Listed Regency townhouse at the end of 2021, is one to watch. 

The food will focus on ‘fire’, quality meat, fish and vegetables cooked over a wood and charcoal Mibrasa grill, and ‘ice’, raw seafood and crustaceans galore. Based on the quirky interiors and excellent food served at their existing hotels, we are expecting very good things.

Opening March, York; pearlycow.co.uk 

Maya

With a team who have worked at Soho House and Petersham Nurseries, this canalside venue in Manchester is set to open in an early 20th-century warehouse building currently home to chic new hotel Leven (recently named one of Britain’s best places to stay by The Sunday Times). 

Spread across three floors, there will be a modern European brasserie at ground level, plus an elegant dining room on the lower ground floor. Interiors will merge industrial influences with art deco grandeur, while Mancunian chef Gabe Lea (of Michelin-starred Le Manoir and The French at The Midland Hotel) plans to focus on the “beauty and simplicity of exceptional produce”. We’ll be checking in for a long weekend.

Opening spring 2023, 40 Chorlton Street, Manchester, M1 3HW; @maya_mcr

AngloThai

After building up a devoted following through their pop-ups and meal kits, John and Desiree Chantarasak, the husband and wife team behind AngloThai, will open their debut restaurant in Fitzrovia this summer. AngloThai will serve Thai dishes using British ingredients to reflect chef John’s dual heritage, while natural wine expert Desiree plans to champion eclectic, sustainable wines. 

There are no details on the menu as yet but expect the likes of whiskey and soy-marinated pork skewers with roasted chilli and tamarind sauce. And after the success of the likes of Plaza Khao Gaeng and Speedboat Bar this year, it seems our appetite for Thai food is only growing.

Opening summer, Fitzrovia; anglothai.co.uk

Mollie’s Manchester

Fans of Mollie’s Motel and Diner, Soho House group’s gloriously retro American-themed venue in Oxfordshire and more recently Bristol, will be pleased to hear that a new Mollie’s will be taking over the old Granada TV studios in Manchester’s Quay Street. 

The most ambitious Mollie’s to date, it’s the group’s first city centre location, spanning an enormous 100,000sq ft. Alongside 130 rooms there will be a large diner-style restaurant serving up classic American fare (burgers, waffles and milkshakes), cocktail bar, lounge bar and deli. Oh, and Manchester’s very own Soho House and swimming pool on the top three floors.

Opening late 2023, Quay Street, Manchester, M60 9EA; mollies.com

Images: Charlie McKay; A Baxter; Eleanora Boscarelli; courtesy of restaurants