Central London Dining News: July 2026

The first half of July has brought a small run of arrivals across W1. A Fitzrovia stalwart has opened a second dining room in Marylebone, a Marrakech hotel has taken over a Soho rooftop for the summer, and a Broadway name has landed for a short comedy run off Walker's Court. Here is what is new in the neighbourhood this fortnight.

Picture opens a second restaurant in Marylebone

Picture, the small-plates restaurant that has run on Great Titchfield Street in Fitzrovia since 2013, has opened its second site in Marylebone. The new dining room at 19 New Cavendish Street began trading on 11 July, following a soft-launch week from 4 to 9 July that offered half-price food.

The 45-seat room keeps the format that built the original's reputation: a daily changing carte of British seasonal dishes alongside a six-course tasting menu at both lunch and dinner, priced at around 39 pounds and roughly in line with the Fitzrovia branch. Read the details on Hot Dinners.

El Fenn takes over a Soho rooftop for the summer

Broadwick Soho has handed Flute, its top-floor bar, to El Fenn, the Marrakech hotel co-owned by Vanessa Branson, for a residency that runs through to 31 August. The terrace has been dressed in El Fenn's stripes and hanging lanterns, and the kitchen is serving Moroccan plates including batbout with smoked aubergine zaalouk, crisp lamb briouats and charcoal-grilled octopus, alongside cocktails such as the Marrakech Negroni.

Beyond the food and drink, the season carries a cultural programme: a rotating line-up of DJs playing North African sounds, a series of art talks, and a photography exhibition titled Between Rooftops from two Marrakech-based artists. Full details are on the Broadwick Soho site.

Laura Benanti brings a solo comedy to Soho

Underbelly Boulevard on Walker's Court is staging Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, a strictly limited two-week run of the Tony Award winner's one-woman show from 14 to 26 July. Benanti, best known for her Broadway roles, blends stand-up, storytelling and original songs into a set on motherhood, people-pleasing and getting older.

It is a return for the show, which sold out its previous London dates, and the run sits neatly alongside a Soho evening of food and drinks. Tickets and times are listed at Underbelly Boulevard Soho.

For more on the area, start from The W1 London homepage, or read our guides to Soho and Marylebone.