What's new? Middle Eastern flair and Wagyu fire comes to London

This week serves up bold new opening announcements and big moves shaking up the London food scene.

Noreen

Marylebone’s dining scene is set to welcome a fresh new addition this June with the arrival of Noreen, a Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant opening in St. Christopher’s Place.

Open daily for lunch and dinner, Noreen takes its culinary cues from across the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant, offering an authentic yet modern take on the region’s rich food culture.

The menu celebrates bold, enduring flavours through a vibrant selection of dishes such as shareable mezzes, freshly baked flatbreads from the traditional tannour oven, flame-grilled meats from the Minqala, and slow-cooked classics steeped in regional heritage.

For dessert, guests can look forward to Middle Eastern favourites like kunafa, dates, and pistachio-laced sweets.

Noreen also brings innovation to its drinks offering. The cocktail menu, developed in collaboration with the acclaimed Mr Lyan Studio, features both alcoholic and alcohol-free creations that highlight regional ingredients such as Arak, hibiscus, za’atar, black lime, and tahini. 

At the helm is head chef Mehdi Hani, whose Syrian and Lebanese roots, combined with experience at Harrods and The Dorchester, shape a menu that reimagines traditional dishes with skill and reverence.

Ryan Chetiyawardana said: “We’ve always loved introducing guests to new flavours and doing so regardless of whether they are in an alcoholic or non-alcoholic form. After learning more about the rich histories and diverse cultures of the Middle East, and discovering the incredible ingredients found across the region, we were excited to introduce these to Londoners in some new forms through cocktails.”

Carcass Club

On Tuesday, June 3, Flat Iron will bring its celebrated Carcass Club to Cambridge for the very first time, giving local steak lovers a unique opportunity to experience one of the most exclusive cuts of beef the restaurant has to offer.

Carcass Club is a series of one-off events that shine a spotlight on exceptional beef, butchered in-house at Flat Iron’s Covent Garden location and served at select restaurants. The Cambridge edition will be hosted by Flat Iron’s head of beef, Fred Smith, and will focus on the brand’s own Wagyu - a passion project over ten years in the making.

More than a decade ago, Flat Iron set out to rear its own cattle, free from the financial pressures typically faced by farmers. After years of raising native and rare breeds, the team decided to concentrate on one breed that could deliver unmatched flavour and quality: Wagyu. The result is a herd reared in Thirsk under the care of third-generation farmer Charles Ashbridge, who shares Flat Iron’s commitment to producing extraordinary beef.

Fred said: “I believe that Wagyu genetics — with their natural propensity to produce marbled meat — and the fine pastures of Charles’s Yorkshire farm combine to produce beef of remarkable quality. It feels incredibly special to share Wagyu from our own herd with Flat Iron guests in Cambridge.”

Flat Iron’s Carcass Club will take place on Tuesday 3rd June from 5pm at Flat Iron Cambridge. Walk-ins only.

ALTA

A new culinary arrival is set to bring the flavours of the Basque country to the heart of Soho this summer, as ALTA opens its doors in Kingly Court. The latest project from chef Rob Roy Cameron, ALTA will pay homage to the regional cuisine of northern Spain, blending open-fire cooking with top-quality British produce in an informal setting.

ALTA draws inspiration from the area’s rich gastronomic traditions. The menu will feature sharing plates and dishes from the grill, with techniques such as escabeche used to highlight the simplicity and depth of flavour in seasonal British ingredients.

Guests can expect produce from small-scale farms and producers, including Iberico pork raised in Shropshire by chef Brett Graham, dairy cow from the Lake District, and seafood from the South West coast.

The menu will span small and medium plates including Cornish mussels with grilled bread, wood-fired courgette with pumpkin seed Romesco, and razor clams in white escabeche, alongside hearty grill options such as 38-day aged beef sirloin and turbot head. Desserts will carry on the Spanish influence with dishes such as Basque cheesecake with escabeche strawberries and chocolate mousse with smoked olive oil meringue.

Located just off Carnaby Street, ALTA will take over Kingly Court’s largest restaurant space, covering 5,591 sq ft. It marks the second opening from MAD Restaurants, founded by Artem Login, following the launch of MOI in Wardour Street, set for July 2025. Both restaurants will be overseen by MAD’s Executive Chef, Andy Cook.

KUDU

After eight successful years in Peckham, Kudu Collective, the acclaimed South African-inspired restaurant group from husband-and-wife team Amy Corbin and Patrick Williams, is set to open a new chapter in Marylebone this September. The move will bring all three of the group’s distinctive dining concepts together under one roof for the first time, offering a fresh evolution of Kudu’s much-loved identity.

The new location, on Moxon Street, will carry forward the group’s signature style - seasonally led European cooking with bold South African influences. A refreshed menu will introduce new dishes while celebrating standout favourites from across the group’s portfolio, including open-fire specialities from Kudu Grill and iconic plates from the original Kudu Restaurant.

Patrick Williams will remain at the helm as chef patron.

Amy Corbin said: “We’re incredibly grateful to the Peckham and Nunhead community for helping shape Kudu into what it is today. We hope our loyal guests will join us for one final hurrah before the move and follow us on this exciting new journey in Marylebone.”

Patrick added: “Bringing Kudu to central London is a dream come true. While Peckham and Nunhead will always be home to us, this new site—with a larger kitchen and space to grow—opens up incredible possibilities to celebrate and share our South African-inspired cuisine with even more guests.”

Kudu’s new Marylebone restaurant will open in September, with the Peckham and Nunhead locations remaining open until early August.