The smell reaches you before the menu does. Walk into Khao Bird on Brewer Street and the air is all charcoal and lime leaf, the open grill working through a room that was, until recently, Soho's last adult cinema. It is one of Soho's newest restaurant openings, and it sets the register for a genuinely strong run of 2026 arrivals.
This is not a year of timid debuts. Fire is the common thread, from Thai barbecue on Brewer Street to a pair of Spanish and Japanese siblings cooking almost everything over wood and charcoal. The cooking is confident, the rooms are designed to be looked at, and several of these places have already drawn the attention of the Michelin inspectors.
What that means for you is simple. There are tables here worth planning an evening around, at a range of prices, if you know which kitchen suits the night you want and how far ahead to book. Below is the working order of the openings that matter most, what each one does well, and where each falls short.
Which new Soho restaurants are worth booking in 2026
Three openings stand out among Soho's newest restaurants for 2026. Khao Bird on Brewer Street brings northern Thai barbecue at fair prices. Alta, just off Carnaby Street, cooks northern Spanish dishes over open fire across two floors. MOI, its Japanese sibling, pairs fire cooking with a sushi counter and a vinyl listening room.
Each rewards a different mood, and none is interchangeable with the others, which is the useful part.
Alta and MOI bring fire cooking to Soho
Alta is the larger statement. It occupies two floors of a development just off Carnaby Street, with cracked, cave-like walls and muted earth tones arranged around a theatrical open kitchen and charcoal grill. The cooking draws on the Alta Navarra region of northern Spain, executed almost entirely over a wood-fire hearth and built on premium seasonal British produce. The kitchen is led by Robbie Jameson, formerly of HUMO, and the restaurant was added to the Michelin Guide in February 2026.
MOI, Alta's Japanese sibling, is the moodier room. Fire runs through this menu too, alongside a sushi counter and a dedicated listening room lined with vinyl. Both sit at the premium end, so budget a higher spend per head than the area's casual options.
The honest caveat is setting. A development off Carnaby Street is slicker and less characterful than the older lanes of Soho, and the rooms can feel designed for the camera. The food earns the visit regardless, but book ahead, because prime weekend slots go quickly.
Khao Bird and the new wave of Soho Thai
Khao Bird is the one to lead with if you want value and energy. Head chef Luke Larsson and restaurateur Mike Palmer ran Lucky Khao pop-ups in Brighton from 2016, built a following through a year-long residency above Borough Market's Globe Tavern, and opened their first permanent site on Brewer Street in late 2025.
The cooking is northern Thai barbecue, leaning on live fire and hyper-regional Chiang Mai technique. Expect khao soi with barbecued chicken thighs, char-grilled onglet steak under a white curry sauce, prawn-laden khanom jeen and Shan barbecue meatballs. A whole sea bass tops the menu at around £25.90, which is restrained for this postcode, and much of the menu is gluten and dairy free.
Soho sharpened the team's ambition, sitting as it does near serious Thai kitchens like Kiln and Speedboat Bar. The trade-off is volume. The room keeps its pop-up energy, so it runs loud and busy, which is the point for some and a deterrent for others.
Fun fact: Khao Bird's Soho dining room occupies what was the area's last adult cinema, and the original bathroom floor is the only surviving trace of the building's former life.
How to book and what it will cost
All three take online bookings, and that is the safest route for a weekend evening. Khao Bird will often seat walk-ins at off-peak hours, though weekends fill fast across both its floors. Alta and MOI are harder to walk into at prime times, so reserve several days ahead for a good slot.
On cost, the gap is real. Khao Bird is the value option, with most plates modest and that sea bass as the ceiling. Alta and MOI are a special-occasion spend, where a full meal with drinks climbs quickly. For arriving, Khao Bird is a short walk from Piccadilly Circus station on the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines, while Alta and MOI sit steps from Oxford Circus on the Central, Victoria and Bakerloo lines. Peak demand runs Thursday to Saturday from 7pm, so an earlier or midweek booking is calmer and easier to secure.
What to order first at each table
Dishes tell you more than décor, so order with intent. At Khao Bird, start with the khao soi and the onglet over white curry, which show the kitchen at full stretch. At Alta, take whatever has just come off the fire that night, since the hearth is the whole argument. At MOI, begin at the sushi counter before moving to the grilled plates.
Pick your opening move by appetite and budget. For a lively, affordable night that still feels current, book Khao Bird on Brewer Street and order across the fire. For an occasion worth dressing for, reserve Alta or MOI near Carnaby Street and let the grill lead. The strength of this year's new Soho restaurant openings is that they are not chasing the same diner, so treat them less as a ranked list and more as a set of keys, each cut for a different door. Choose the room that matches your evening, book a day or two ahead, and Soho will do the rest.
timing dinner before a show getting into Soho by tube
