Upping the ante: Four of the best new restaurant openings around the world
Our pick of the best new openings, from a one-stop shop in central London to tastes of Mexico in Paris and the seaside in the city.
1.
Corner Shop 180
London
British entrepreneur Nick Jones can’t get a table at his own restaurant. “It’s a good problem to have,” he tells Monocle at Corner Shop 180. As we queue, a customer recognises him and offers some unsolicited praise. “Great job,” he says of the space off London’s The Strand. “Thank God for that,” says Jones. The restaurateur is humble about what he has achieved since stepping down as the CEO of membership club Soho House in 2022, though he remains a stakeholder.
Part of designer Alex Eagle’s new development 180 Quarter, the venture is designed to be a one-stop shop. “It’s a café, bakery, grocery store and wine bar,” says Jones over a plate of herby rotisserie chicken, a roasted slab of pumpkin and crispy kale (we get a table eventually). “There’s even a gelateria.” But at Corner Shop 180, there’s no real delineation between the spaces. “We don’t have arrows directing you because I believe that a bit of chaos is a good thing,” says Jones.
Hybrid and multi-hyphenated hospitality “concepts” might be in vogue but Jones’s thinking is more practical. “I have never liked the idea of creating something that’s closed in the evenings or on weekends. In a city like London, it doesn’t make sense.”
By day, a tidy stream of commuters and well-heeled thirtysomethings come for patisseries handmade in-house by Populations Bakery. By night, locals and residents of the development’s 115 apartments drop by for a glass of wine, picking up some fresh pesto, a red lentil dhal or a puff pastry pie for dinner.
Come 2026, guests of the nearby 90-key St Clement Hotel will be able to follow suit. “I envisage this as the place where people come to find the last 20 per cent of their groceries and have a bite to eat while they’re at it,” says Jones, who works with about 30 global suppliers. So are there reasons to be optimistic about the capital’s dining scene? “Ignore the naysayers,” says Jones. “Londoners are still obsessed with eating out.”
7 Arundel Street, WC2
2.
Universal Bakehouse
Kuala Lumpur
In The Campus Ampang, Kuala Lumpur’s lively former school-turned-mall, Universal Bakehouse is churning out freshly baked pastries with an Asian twist. Here you’ll find everything from crusty sourdough loaves and coconut and mango choux buns to jalapeño minced beef tartines to red-bean-and-sesame twists.
“We want the community to feel like Universal Bakehouse is part of their daily ritual,” says co-founder Marcus Low. For the interiors, Low took inspiration from the original building’s academic facilities to create an old-school cafeteria atmosphere. Patrons are invited to dine in the semi-outdoor seating area that merges with The Campus’s open corridors. This sense of place is reflected in the bakery’s bold signage that hangs over the entrance, a nod to the street-level charm of traditional Malaysian coffeehouses.
universalbakehouse.my
3.
Tarántula
Paris
Chef Emmanuel Peña, owner of Parisian cantina Tarántula, doesn’t mince his words when it comes to Mexican cooking. “I wanted to open a restaurant without all the Frida Kahlo décor, piñatas, skulls and bursts of folklore,” he tells Monocle. “So many places claim to be Mexican but most of them don’t even use good ingredients.”
After spending more than a decade running the first taqueria in Paris, Peña levelled up with Tarántula, offering a refined take on his culinary roots. Housed in a former 1960s bistro, the space blends vintage Parisian charm (think red-and-white tiled floors and time-worn wooden tables) with a moody Mexican taverna vibe. Dim lighting and a carefully curated soundtrack set the tone, while the deceptively simple menu combines French seasonal produce with bold doses of acid and spice.
His favourite dish? “Honestly, just the grilled onion. It’s such a simple dish but the flavours are complex. People always ask what’s in the ‘sauce’ and they’re surprised when I tell them—it’s just burnt chillies with lime juice and garlic and a grilled roscoff onion.”
13 Bis Rue Keller, 75011
4.
Ultramarinos Demar
Mexico City
Mexico City is known for its long lunches – you might sit down at 14.00 and not look at the bill until four hours later. Opened by chef Lucho Martínez, who runs a string of restaurants in the capital, Ultramarinos Demar is a seafood spot that connects Mexico City with his Veracruz roots. Inside a dining space of sea-foam-green tiles, matching marbled tabletops and terrazzo floors, waiters dash around in white jackets and black ties. “I have always been inspired by old-style restaurants here,” says Martínez. The menu has everything from clam chowder to tuna tostadas – it’s like a favourite beachside restaurant but in the heart of the city.
demar.rest
