Central London restaurant news: 22 August 2026

A better week for W1 than the last one. Two Michelin stars moved into Mayfair for a temporary run, a small dessert chain took a site on one of Marylebone's busiest pedestrian stretches, and a Mayfair success story crossed into Soho on a six-month lease. All three have dates attached.

A Wong moves into Mandarin Oriental Mayfair

Andrew Wong's two-Michelin-starred restaurant began a residency at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair on 18 August, serving its tasting menu exclusively in the evenings. From 26 August the residency adds a lunch service at the chef's table, a shorter daytime version of the same idea.

The move is temporary. The Pimlico dining room that made A Wong's name is closed while it is refurbished, and the team has said it expects to be back there from late September. For anyone who has spent the last few years failing to get a Wilton Road booking, a six-week window in a Hanover Square hotel is the easiest access the restaurant has offered in some time.

Source: Mandarin Oriental, Mayfair.

Humble Crumble opens on James Street

Humble Crumble opened its fourth London site at 28 James Street in Marylebone on 18 August, a few steps from Bond Street station and the St Christopher's Place entrance. The format is unchanged from the Borough Market original: crumble built to order, plus matcha and sodas, with outdoor seating and a takeaway counter.

Opening day carried the usual promotional apparatus, half-price crumbles and a prize wheel, which tells you roughly what the queue looked like. The more interesting point is the site itself: James Street is one of the few genuinely busy pedestrian stretches in W1 where a dessert counter can trade all day rather than only after dinner.

Source: Hot Dinners.

Czer takes a Soho site for six months

Czer, which built its following on Caesar wraps from a Mayfair counter, opened a second site at 87 Brewer Street in Soho on 22 August. It is a six-month residency rather than a permanent lease, which is becoming the standard way a small operator tests a Soho pitch without committing to the rent that comes with one.

Brewer Street has had a busy year of short-term arrivals, and the pattern is worth watching: residencies that trade well tend to convert, and the ones that do not vacate quietly before the winter rates bill.

Source: Hot Dinners.

For more on the area, start from our guide to where to eat in W1 and the Michelin-starred restaurants of W1.