January is a difficult time for the hospitality industry as customers withdraw en masse to their homes or gyms for a month of penance. The rate of new restaurants opening slows as a result but there are still some great places to discover at the start of 2026.
Most of us have had our fill of meat and gravy post-Christmas and the selection below represents a range of flavours offering a contrast to all the recent festive fare. In London’s Mayfair, there is a new luxury spot for the finest seafood, as well as a restaurant offering a taste of Georgia. Melbourne welcomes a Japanese diner, while there’s a hip venue for American classics and cocktails in New York.
Whether it’s a recently opened venue or an old favourite, restaurant owners everywhere will be grateful for your custom at this time of year and what better way to lift the winter gloom than with fine food and wine? Read on to discover the most exciting new restaurants to visit this January.
The best new restaurants to visit in January 2026
Mazarine
London, UK
Coastal France is the inspiration for Mazarine, a new restaurant on Mayfair’s Hanover Square majoring in seafood and fine wine. The man behind the menu is Thierry Laborde, who trained under Alain Ducasse and previously worked at Le Gavroche and L’Oranger, so making the most of quality ingredients with classic French cooking is the approach in the kitchen. Snacks of smoked eel croquette with comté, lovage and horseradish; a ‘Croque Mazarine’ with black truffle and blue lobster; and toasted brioche with Aquitaine caviar set the tone above a section entitled ‘Caviar & Fruits de Mer’. The house specials include snails from Burgundy and a terrine of foie gras, ahead of whole Dover sole, Marseille-style salted cod and baked sea bass in a salt crust. Squid tagliatelle, crab ravioli and tuna with peppercorn sauce are amongst other main courses. The wine list opens with some of the finest names in Champagne, including Krug, Dom Perignon, Rare, Pol Roger and Perrier Jouët, followed by an extensive list of white wines from Burgundy – what else to drink with fish in Mayfair?
Open now, mazarinerestaurant.com
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Trillium
Birmingham
Trillium, in the centre of Birmingham, is chef Glynn Purnell’s latest venture. The restaurant serves sharing plates ‘inspired by modern British cooking with European influences’ alongside a wine offering overseen by Phil Innes of the wine merchant Loki. Dishes include butterflied grilled mackerel, celeriac rémoulade, apple and cider; cured chalk stream trout, carrot, mooli, ponzu and coriander; duck breast & confit leg with tomatoes in salted butter, muscovado, orange and thyme; and roast Tamworth pork chop with salsa verde and Old Winchester. There are around 40 wines available by the glass, including Krug, Trimblach Riesling, G.D. Vajra Nebbiolo, Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon and Château Cantenac-Brown, as well as an impressive list to buy by the bottle. The restaurant itself is informal and unpretentious in style, proving quality food and wine need not come with stuffiness.
Open now, trilliumrestaurant.co.uk
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Wild Cherry
New York, US
The product of a partnership between the owners of Frenchette and Le Veau D’Or and the film studio A24, Wild Cherry is a suitably hip and dramatic restaurant in the Cherry Lane Theatre that has already welcomed plenty of celebrities through its velvet-curtained entrance. The menu focuses on diner classics, adding to the David Lynch-feel from the interior design, so starters include seafood cocktail and dressed crab, while a cheeseburger, lobster club sandwich and ‘steak dinner for two’ are amongst the main courses. The restaurant’s small horseshoe bar is a great place to try a cocktail before dinner.
Open now, wildcherrynyc.com
DakaDaka
London, UK
Another restaurant for Heddon Street, already home to Sabor, Fonda and Ambassadors Clubhouse just off Regent Street, is DakaDaka, a Georgian restaurant that will also specialise in natural wine courtesy of wine director Honey Spencer. Food ‘representing Georgian traditions’ will arrive via an open fire with head chef Adrian Hernandez Farina (formerly of Humo and Chiltern Firehouse) working alongside chef patron Mitz Vora. Highlights on the menu for launch include Khinkali, the famous Georgian soup dumplings; grilled duck breast Mtsvadi with blackcurrant and tarragon; plus short rib Kharcho, a slow-cooked beef with smoked walnuts. The wine list, featuring more than 100 bottles, will feature Georgian and other European selections.
Opens 17 January, instagram.com/dakadaka.london
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Disuko
Melbourne, Australia
Disuko is a Japanese diner inspired by 1980s’ Tokyo serving grilled meats, sashimi, karaage and noodles, plus a master sushi chef’s selection of dishes at an eight-seat omakase bar. Located in Melbourne’s CBD, the venue also has a rooftop terrace and a listening bar for cocktails, wine and sake.
Open now, disuko.com.au
