The allure of a more casual form of restaurant dining continues to go undiminished, with many of the hottest new places to eat in May representing a take on the popular bistro formula. Following the success of the original Joséphine in London’s Chelsea, the Bosi family are back with a second branch in Marylebone, serving up more of the same comforting French classics with an impressive selection of wines to match. Over in New York, a chef already proven at several other restaurants in the city is behind the menu at a new ‘café’ specialising in food inspired by the Alps.
The influence of France, Italy and Spain is clear in many of the other recent openings, including a new spot in Los Angeles from David LeFevre and a Greek restaurant that’s set to rival Agora and Oma in in Borough Market. London also welcomes a European restaurant from some of the old Leroy team in Shoreditch and an elegant small plates restaurant in South Kensington from a chef previously of River Café.
Read on to discover the most exciting new restaurants to visit this May.
The best new restaurants to visit in May 2025
Josephine Marylebone
London, UK
Joséphine, Claude and Lucy Bosi’s nostalgic take on the bouchons of Lyon, the city in which Claude was born, has become a spectacular success since it opened in Chelsea just over a year ago. To prove it, a second restaurant wearing the name is now welcoming guests in Marylebone, serving the same style of French bistro classics but with the added options of breakfast and a 16-seater terrace for al fresco eating. Starters include Camembert soufflé, garlic snails and steak tartare, while there is a fruits de mer section on the menu featuring langoustine, lobster, caviar, oysters and more. A lamb shoulder with confit garlic and flageolet beans (pictured) catches the eye as a main course to share and a ‘pomme de terre’ list on the menu is worthy of mention, offering five different ways with potato as side dishes. The ‘au metre’ wine facility makes a return for the new restaurant but there’s an excellent list of French wines for those wanting to order in the conventional way.
Open now, josephinebistro.com
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AttaGirl
Los Angeles, US
A block away from Hermosa Beach is this California-meets-The Med restaurant. Chef and experienced restaurateur David LeFevre has partnered with a protégé, Alice Mai, who previously cooked at his restaurant Fishing with Dynamite, to offer diners a mix of grilled meat and seafood, mezzes and pasta. After the breads, spreads and small plates, choices include skewers of pork belly, fillet steak or Mexican white prawns and sharing dishes of spinach pie, chicken tagine or lamb rack. A menu like this can sound safe and rather humdrum but accompaniments designed to add acid and texture promise to elevate it; interesting touches such as lemon-saffron aioli, dill vinegar, anchovy breadcrumbs, pecan dukkah and rosemary salsa verde are dotted throughout to take dishes to another level – even Basque cheescake is given a twist courtesy of Seville orange marmalade. The cocktail menu includes 10 signature serves, while an impressive wine list of around 60 bottles has appealing options from renowned US and European producers.
Open now, attagirlla.com
Pyro
London, UK
There has been an explosion of new restaurants in and around Borough Market, thanks in large part to the new Borough Yards development, and the latest is Pyro, a Greek live-fire cooking restaurant from chef Yiannis Mexis, who has previously worked at Elystan Street, The Ledbury, Petrus and Hide. Expect dips paired with flatbreads baked on the hearth, joints of lamb slow cooked over fire, grilled lobster, barbecued octopus and turbot cooked whole. The restaurant’s bar is in a large open-air garden and will be serving cocktails, influenced by Mediterranean flavours, until late. The wine list will feature bottles from indie Greek producers.
Opens 1 May, pyrorestaurant.co.uk
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Café Brume
New York, US
This new bistro in Brooklyn Heights is ‘Alpine-inspired’, so the menu takes influences from France, Italy and Switzerland, and diners can expect dishes as diverse as schnitzel, boudin blanc and spaghetti, all tied together by a theme of ‘high altitude’. The chef is Ian Anderson, who has previously worked at several much-loved restaurants in New York, and he plans to establish an in-house charcuterie to supplement the existing menu once Café Brume is established. The drinks offering focuses on wine and beer, with eight beers on draught and, in keeping with the theme, lighter ‘mountain wines’ that have the acidity to complement much of the food on offer. In the evening, the inside of the restaurant looks a little like a candlelit log cabin but some outdoor dining space is promised for the summer months.
Open now, brume.nyc
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Duchy
London, UK
Duchy is a form of rebirth for the now-closed Leroy, a Shoreditch restaurant that won and lost a Michelin star in its seven-year life before closing last year. Opening on the same site and with two Leroy alumni in charge (pictured), including chef Simon Shand, Duchy is named after the Duchy of Savoy, an historical area that ran from the southeast of France to the northwest of Italy – a major clue to the focus of the food. As well as small plates such as brown crab arancini, pork shoulder and smoked eel croquette; and asparagus with warm egg yolk and hazelnuts, there will be bigger sharing plates of côte de beouf with grilled baby gem and gorgonzola butter, plus a whole grilled red mullet with baby potatoes and beurre blanc.
Opens 8 May, duchyrestaurant.com
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Kurrypinch
Los Angeles, US
On the section of Hollywood Boulevard that runs through the Thai Town neighbourhood of LA is Kurrypinch, a new ‘modern’ Sri Lankan restaurant. On the menu are both traditional dishes, like hoppers, pilaus and curries, and those incorporating European influences, such as the coconut milk risotto with baked mahi-mahi fish. Other options include biryanis, rotis and spiced seafood. The food is accompanied by a concise list of wines and cocktails, including Micheladas.
Open now, kurrypinch.com
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The Lavery
London, UK
South Kensington does not enjoy a great reputation for restaurants, so a new venue in the area with a chef who has previously worked at the much-respected River Café and Toklas feels particularly noteworthy. The Lavery has opened in a beautiful Grade II-listed building near the Natural History Museum and is dishing up small plates influenced by the Mediterranean – Italy, in the main. The short menu of three snacks, four starters, two pasta dishes and five main courses includes scallop with cime di rapa; veal tartare; stuffed rabbit leg with Tuscan sausage; and monkfish with Alubia beans. A standalone bar area serves cocktails and the wine list is focused on bottles mainly from France, Italy and Spain.
Open now, thelavery.co.uk
