A problem with trends in the restaurant world is that many new openings can feel extremely similar, as restaurateurs stick to a successful formula. French bistros, for example, are, for many great reasons, currently proving popular but with a result that the interiors and menus in these restaurants can seem relatively homogenous.
In that respect, June is an energising month for new restaurants, as some particularly individual places have appeared in London, including a grand restaurant in Covent Garden serving some inventive and excellent dishes in a luxury dining room with a difference. A Ukrainian restaurant in Notting Hill is serving up flavours you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in the capital, while an all-day bakery and restaurant in Camberwell also feels like a break from the norm.
Outside of London, Leeds welcomes back a stalwart of the city’s dining scene, a summer residency in Ibiza is offering guests sunset views with seafood cooked over coals, and there’s an homage to French cuisine in New York.
Read on to discover the most exciting new restaurants to visit this June.
The best new restaurants to visit in June 2025
Town
London, UK
It’s only been a few weeks but Town has already become one of the hottest new restaurant openings in London this year. The most immediately striking aspect is the interior, which constitutes a bold and refreshing alternative to the lovely-but-ubiquitous dark greens, wood panelling and beige linens of the capital’s numerous new bistros. North End Design is the agency behind the aesthetic, creating an individual dining room that feels rather like a futuristic interpretation of the 1970s. There is substance behind the style; chef Stevie Parle has created an inventive menu led by a love of the best seasonal ingredients, while Kevin Armstrong, owner of arguably London’s best cocktail bar Satan’s Whiskers, has developed a short but impressive cocktail list. The menu begins with small snacks and all come recommended: fried sage leaves with honey and chilli; a plate of pickles and ferments; beef fat crisps with smoked trout caviar and slices of Coombeshead’s cured Mangalitsa pork shoulder are all excellent. A gilda of soused mackerel with pickled chilli, cucumber and shiso is destined to be shortlisted as a contender for best new dish of 2025. Dishes then get more sizeable but no less desirable, with a beautifully cooked Scottish scallop complemented by a smoked chilli butter; crudo; duck and Amarone pasta; pork with onions, burnt apple sauce and mustard (pictured); lobster with lardo and a selection of three steaks. Merlin Ramos is the knowledgable head of wine, overseeing a list that mixes interesting, lesser-known bottles with a range of bigger names, including the likes of Biondi-Santi, Felton Road, Flaccianello and Ata Rangi. Private dining rooms to host wine dinners and a listening bar are planned for downstairs.
Open now, town.restaurant
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Fedora
New York, US
After permanent closure in 2020 due to the pandemic, Fedora in the West Village has reopened under new ownership – namely the team behind local wine bar St. Jardim. The results is a candlelit bistro serving a reassuringly concise menu designed by chef Monty Forrest, with starters including sweetbreads with mushrooms and sherry; and pierogies with spring alliums and peas. Chicken Cordon Bleu and black bass Provençale are amongst the mains on offer, as well as a rump steak. As is fitting given the cuisine, the wine list majors on France, with a good selection of grower Champagnes complementing bottles from some of the big names across famous regions in the rest of the country.
Open now, fedoranewyork.com
Hello JoJo
London, UK
At a glance, it could be tempting to dismiss Hello JoJo as a bakery that pretends, as an afterthought, to be a restaurant in the evening, but that would be unfair; its daily transformation as day turns to night heralds the arrival of an impressive selection of interesting, finely cooked dishes. The ‘warm ripple bread’ is as good as you’d expect from a bakery, coming to the table warm from the oven with thin layers of wild garlic woven through light, pillowy dough – it’s even better when accompanied by the dish of artichoke cream. Lamb sausages with bone marrow shallots and sour apples is another highlight but the summery plate of grilled chicken with smoky tomatoes and Guindilla peppers (pictured) steals the show; a perfectly moist, flavourful dish of chicken is a rare thing and this is one of those. The food at Hello JoJo balances umami and acid nicely, meaning the menu majors on comfort food that doesn’t get too heavy. A short list of drinks is focused on natural wines but there is the odd exception, like a sparkling wine from Westwell that’s available by the glass, should you wish to stay more traditional. This a great spot for a casual but high-quality dinner if you live in or around Camberwell in south London.
Open now, hellojojo.co.uk
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Emba
Leeds, UK
Chef Liz Cottam made her name on the Leeds restaurant scene with the now-closed restaurants Home and The Owl. She is back with a new concept, in the space where The Owl was on the canal, called Emba, a ‘gastrobar’ offering the same bold flavours as her previous venues but in a more casual form. Small plates include grilled scallops, smoked yuzu and honey; and bone marrow, butter and parsley, while monkfish tail, curried coconut and lime; lamb rack chop, onion aioli and mint; and grilled prawns, chicken fat butter and hot sauce are among the bigger dishes. A set menu is available for £75 and you can also drop in and order a dish or two as a snack to accompany a glass from a ‘constantly evolving’ list of wines and cocktails.
Open now, emba.bar
Sino
London, UK
Sino is a neighbourhood restaurant in Notting Hill from Polina Sychova and Eugene Korolev that is intended to ‘celebrate Ukrainian culture and gastronomy’. Korolev is the chef, arriving in the UK having fought in the war against Russia for just over a year in 2022 and bringing most of the team from his now-closed restaurant in Dnipro with him. His dishes include cherry-glazed BBQ catfish; pork belly with blackened beetroot, smoked dry pear and pickled walnut; and vareniky, dumplings containing ox tail in a spicy beef broth and mushroom garum. The wine list includes names from established regions in France, Spain and Italy, plus those from Georgia and Ukraine; a sparkling Chardonnay from the latter is available by the glass and makes a great aperitif. Mixologist Ana Reznik, once of A Bar with Shapes for a Name, has created a cocktail list that takes inspiration from Ukrainian dishes – the Apple Bun, for example, is a blend of vodka, butter and dulche de leche distillates, apple juice and cream soda in homage to the traditional dessert. The small 30-cover dining room features decor, lighting and crockery from the Ukraine too.
Open now, sinorestaurant.co.uk
Nela Ibiza
Ibiza, Spain
It’s difficult not to be excited by the prospect of al fresco dining opportunities as summer arrives, and where better to enjoy the sunshine than at a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean in a quieter part of Ibiza? Nela, a restaurant first founded in Amsterdam by chefs Hari Shetty and Ori Geller, has now been brought to the Balearics via a summer residency at the 7Pines Resort. There will be raw and cured seafood alongside Nela’s signature live-fire cooking, which will haul sea bass, lobster and more over the coals. A third outpost of Nela will open in London this autumn, so this Ibiza pop-up is an opportunity to get a feel for the cuisine in significantly warmer climes.
Open now, nelarestaurant.com
