Warm days arrive and everyone decides, all at once, that they deserve a seat in a leafy terrace. And rightfully so – this is the time to relish every bit of scorching sun we can get. May was a notably strong month for openings but June is giving us plenty of reasons to make our way out of the house and into Central London too.

There’s a Michelin-starred chef taking his first real swing at Italian, a New York slice shop landing in Covent Garden, and a female-only winery landing in London Bridge (with a speakeasy bar hidden in the vaults), among others. What more do you need to book a catch-up with friends or take your partner for dinner and drinks?

We’ll keep updating this list as more details land, so check back in as the month goes on.

Kinz – Notting Hill

KINZ takes its name from the Arabic word for treasure, which sets the register pretty clearly: this isn’t another Edgware Road institution or a trendy mezze-and-natural-wine situation.

It opened in the former Lloyds Bank building on Notting Hill Gate – a 1930s Sir Edward Maufe-designed space, triple-height ceilings, extended arches, the original bank vault now repurposed as a wine room – and it’s the first restaurant from Rasha Khouri Bruzzo and brothers Jad and Karim Lahoud, whose parents were both chefs and whose approach here is rooted in the kind of cooking that doesn’t get written down.

The all-day menu runs from breakfast through late dinner: egg dishes and traditional sandwiches in the morning, then mezze, house-made breads and sharing plates through the afternoon and evening. Larger plates include Lamb Kafta, Warak Enab – vine leaves and baby courgettes wrapped around fragrant rice and spiced lamb – and Fattet Aubergine, baked and layered with pine nuts, tomato, yoghurt and crisp pita.

Wine leans heavily on Lebanese producers from independent wineries, from £8 a glass, with cocktails reworked with regional ingredients. You enter through a deli stocked with house-made preserves, spice blends and olive oil – lamb and pine nut kibbehs and spinach fatayers to take home if you can’t face leaving empty-handed.

When: 1 June

Where: 50 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JD

More info: Kinz

No. Forty Nine – St. John’s Wood

From the team behind Cinder, No. Forty Nine opens this June at 49 St John’s Wood High Street – a bakery, all-day bistro and wine bar a minute’s stroll from Jake Finn’s live-fire restaurant. Leading the kitchen is Ella Williams, formerly of Hausu, Mountain and Crispin, whose cooking draws on Jamaican heritage, European technique and East Asian influence — and who has been named in Code Hospitality’s 30 Under 30 and Square Meal’s Ones to Watch.

The space runs from morning pastries (Burnt Leek, Cheddar & Marmite Swirls; Miso Butterscotch Canelé) through an all-day menu of New York-style bistro dishes with Mediterranean inflections – Crab choux buns, Tagliolini with prawns and bisque, Steak haché with five peppercorn sauce, a short 7-inch pizza menu — before transitioning into a wine bar by night, with an evolving list of Old World European bottles.

When: 2 June

Where: 49–51 St John’s Wood High Street, London NW8 7NJ

More info: nofortynine.co.uk

Zylia – Covent Garden

Zylia is the new Greek-Cypriot taverna from Athens-born chef Nick Molyviatis – ex-head chef at Kiln and co-owner of Singburi – and Cypriot hospitality operator Barry Karacostas, who brings two decades of industry experience to the table. Housed in a former Victorian boot-lace factory on Bedford Street in Covent Garden, the 50-cover space was designed by Red Deer, blending wicker chairs and traditional Cypriot tiles with stainless steel tables and green leather booths.

Charcoal grilling anchors the menu, with dishes including sheftalia, souvlaki, lamb kleftiko and whole grilled fish alongside mezze like tyrokafteri and melitzanosalata, and traditional desserts such as karidopita and galaktoboureko. The aim, in Molyviatis’s own words, is for Zylia to feel “warm, generous and full of life” – a place rooted in family recipes and the energy of the Athenian tavernas he grew up with, filtered through Karacostas’s Cypriot heritage. With pedigree like this behind the grill, it’s already one of the most exciting openings of the summer.

When: 3 June

Where: 6 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9HZ

More info: @zylia_taverna

Humble Grape – Spitalfields

Independent wine bar group Humble Grape has spent the last few years rewriting what a wine bar can be – and this June, it brings that mission to Smithfield. Its seventh London site opens right beside the market, in one of the city’s most historically loaded neighbourhoods, and it arrives with the same proposition that’s won the group a loyal following across the capital: over 500 organic, biodynamic and low-intervention wines, imported directly from small family vineyards across 26 countries, at prices that reflect that direct relationship, with no middleman markup or intimidating list.

Staff are trained to listen to what you want and find you wines you’ll enjoy – even if you’re not a self-proclaimed Master of Wine. Food-wise, there’s all the beautiful grazing bits to pair with the drinks, like cheese, charcuterie and small plates. The place seats 40 and there’s private hire on offer for special occasions.

When: 9 June

Where: 59 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9DS

More info: humblegrape.co.uk/smithfield

Lady Of The Grapes – London Bridge

Carole Bryon opened Lady of the Grapes in Covent Garden in 2018 to empower women in wine. Eight years and a loyal following later, that mission was successfully accomplished, and continues to bear fruit. Moving south of the river, Lady of the Grapes London Bridge opens on 16 June in the Menier Chocolate Factory, a Grade II-listed Victorian building steps from Borough Market, with a 60-seat bistro and 20-seat terrace on the ground floor and Forbidden Fruit, a speakeasy-style wine bar in the original vaults, below.

The kitchen is led by Matyáš Plzák, formerly of Frog by Adam Handling, Frenchie and Mãos, cooking modern French bistro dishes: Œuf Meurette with lardons and red wine sauce, poached Bresse chicken with morels and Vin Jaune, Comté soufflé with summer truffle. Like the Covent Garden location, the wine list is made of exclusively organic and natural from female producers, with 25 wines available by the glass in the bistro and 45 in Forbidden Fruit, including older vintages.

When: 16 June

Where: Menier Chocolate Factory, 53 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU

More info: @ladyofthegrapes_londonbridge

Vagabond – Soho

Vagabond Wines is bringing its self-pour wine bar experience to Soho this June, opening its biggest site yet on Carnaby’s Ganton Street. If you’ve ever spent twenty minutes paralysed in front of a wine list, this is the antidote. Over 120 wines will be available by the glass, poured via Vagabond’s signature self-serve machines, including bottles produced at the brand’s own Urban Winery in Canada Water – the UK’s largest urban winery.

Spread across two floors with a terrace for al fresco sipping, the space leans into a traditional winemaking aesthetics: a barrel-shaped central bar, a staircase framed with traditional riddling racks, and a private dining room tucked behind stainless steel wine tanks. Food comes in the form of small plates and sharing boards – think cheese, charcuterie, breads – all the right things to have alongside a glass of wine.

To celebrate the new opening, on Wednesday 24 June the venue is offering 50% off food and drink all day – noon to midnight. Walk-ins are welcome, but booking is recommended.

When: 18 June (with 50% off food and drink on 24 June)

Where: 14-16 Ganton St, Carnaby, London W1F 7BT

More info: rosinarestaurant.co.uk

Rosina – Wandsworth

The chef behind Clapham’s Michelin-starred Trinity is heading further south this summer. 20-plus years into running one of London’s best neighbourhood restaurants, Adam Byatt is opening Rosina on Bellevue Road, steps from Wandsworth Common. And this time, he’s cooking Italian. Named after his daughter Rosie, it draws on his long personal love of the country: produce, regional recipes, wines from across Italy, all handled with the lightness and precision Trinity regulars will know well.

The space seats 50 inside with 25 more on the terrace, plus a standalone bar and private dining room. Several of Byatt’s long-standing front and back of house team are joining him, which bodes well for the kind of easy, neighbourhood feel he’s built his reputation on. It will open seven days a week, lunch and dinner.

When: June (specific date TBC)

Where: 35 Bellevue Road, London SW17 7EF

More info: rosinarestaurant.co.uk

Birchwood – Covent Garden

Will Devlin – the chef-farmer behind Michelin green-starred The Small Holding in Kent – is bringing his hyper-seasonal, farm-to-table ethos to London this summer. Birchwood – The Conduit opens on Langley Street in Covent Garden on 22 June, operating as a café by day and wine bar by evening, with much of the produce travelling up from Devlin’s own farm and butchery in Kent.

Daytime brings Block Butchery sausage and egg muffins, a beef topside pastrami Reuben on rye, and a cured Kent ham and Ashmore Cheddar toastie. Come evening, the space shifts gear: Wild Farm sourdough with Hook & Son butter, house-made fennel salami and beef bresaola, braised green lentils with smoked beetroot and Blackwood feta – and, for dessert, a Kentish gypsy tart with poached gooseberries. A rooftop restaurant is slated for autumn.

When: 22 June

Where: 6 Langley Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JA.

More info: birchwood-family.com

Carmy’s – Covent Garden

New York-style pizza by the slice is coming to Covent Garden this summer. Carmy’s is the new project from Phil Chaykin, the restaurateur behind Ugly Dumpling, alongside food content duo Gerry del Guercio and Paul Delany of Bite Twice, who have built a following on social media for their honest, opinionated coverage of London’s restaurant scene. Rounding out the team are Carmela’s Pizzeria head chef Aaron Murphy and general manager Davide Paone.

The menu keeps it simple: cheese slice, pepperoni slice, and a rotating special. The dough, bake and reheat process has been specifically tuned for slice service rather than whole pies, with ingredients sourced from Italy and the UK. No reservations or dining room – just fresh-out-of-the-oven slices handed to you on a central London street.

When: June (date TBC)

Where: 1 Monmouth St, WC2H 9DA

More info: @carmysldn

Read more

May in food: The best London restaurants launching this month

April in food: London’s top new restaurants and bars to try this spring

March in food: The most anticipated restaurant launches in London