Polka, London
Taking over from Soho’s Jamie’s, Polka is a restaurant by day and a cocktail and wine bar serving tapas, meze and antipasti by night. It offers a wide range of cocktails and wines, with its signature drink being Grey Goose vodka, lychee liqueur and a chaser of Champagne. Polka is set over two floors and has a mellow atmosphere.
- Opened: 26 August
- Owner: Jonathan Bourke
- Head chef: Earl Cameron
- Capacity: 200
- Food: Try the thyme-and-garlic-roasted pork belly with sweet potato and celeriac fondant (£9.50), or the beer-battered cod with pea purée, tartare sauce (£10.50) for lunch. In the evening, choose from international tapas or shared platters.
- Typical spend: £15 for lunch, £6 in the evening, £16.50 for a bottle of house wine
- Address: 58-59 Poland Street, W1F 7NB
- Telephone: 020 72877500
Portal Restaurant and Bar, London
This addition to Clerkenwell combines Portuguese, French and Mediterranean influences in its food. Designed by Mackay & Partners, Portal is situated in a Grade II-listed building that was formerly a paint shop. It’s made up of three main rooms – the front bar, the restaurant and the conservatory at the back. The private wine room at the back has more than 300 wines from France and Portugal.
- Opened: 18 July
- Owner: Antonio Correia
- Head chef: Ricardo Costa
- Capacity: 120
- Food: Champagne and white truffle risotto with rocket (£11.50), herb-crusted lamb rump with white bean purée and rosemary sauce (£14) and fried banana ravioli with lemon sorbet and rum and raisin sauce (£6).
- Typical spend: £27 per head for three courses excluding wine
- Address: 88 St John Street, EC1M 4EH
- Telephone: 020 7253 6950
Shanghai Blues Mezzanine Bar, London
Shanghai Blues is part of the Weng Wah Group, and its Mezzanine bar is the most recent addition to the restaurant, which opened in February. It combines dim sum with other traditional Chinese snacks and entrées, and has an extensive fine-wine list. While the upstairs bar is small, the downstairs restaurant is divided into two dining rooms and a private dining space, which holds up to 200 people.
- Opened: 16 August
- Owner: David Yiu
- Head chef: Hon Qui Feng
- Capacity: 30
- Food: The dim sum menu includes crystal prawn dumplings ha-gau (£3.50), cuttlefish with chicken pâté and crispy trimmings (£5), and home-made meat and fish balls in soup with bamboo fungus (£3.60).
- Typical spend: £4 per dim sum
- Address: 193-197 High Holborn, WC1V 7BD
- Telephone: 020 7404 1668
The Cotton Factory, Huddersfield
The Cotton Factory is set in a Grade II-listed building in the centre of Huddersfield, Yorkshire. With interiors by Ocean Design, the 10,000sq ft venue has four bars over two floors, with a members’ lounge and a late-night bar as well as an outside terrace. The food menu offers pub favourites, sandwiches and platters, while the cocktail menu comprises classics such as Long Island iced tea and mojito.
- Opened: 11 August
- Owner: Daisychain Inns
- Head chef: David Lockwood
- Capacity: 900
- Food: Chicken wings (£3.95) for starters, 8oz rump steak (£6.50) or the handmade burger (£4.95) for mains, or share a platter of bar snacks (£10 average).
- Typical spend: £24 for three courses and a bottle of wine
- Address: 50 King Street, Huddersfield, Yorkshire HD1 2QT
- Telephone: 01484 437230