The Devonshire

Proof that the hype machine still has the capacity to surprise, the most feted London opening of recent times is not a silly small-plate extravaganza or a Michelin-bait temple to haute cuisine, it’s a pub in Piccadilly Circus. You might not have thought that pints of Guinness plus steak and chips equals a formula to get critics and diners frothing at the mouth, but here we are. With his distinctive mop of hair and an aversion to nonsense, Oisin Rogers is like an Irish landlord out of a Martin McDonagh film, presiding over the thirsty mayhem in the pub downstairs. Upstairs, Heston Blumenthal veteran Ashley Palmer-Watts stokes the Josper. If you can get in, it’s marvellous, but you probably can’t.

Instead: in the frenzy of hype, it’s easy to forget that 50m down the road from The Devonshire is Hawksmoor Air Street, where you can get an impeccable steak in a lovely room, without having to dodge hordes of pint-fetishists.

Bouchon Racine

Henry Harris’ tribute to the bouchons of Lyon is a room above a pub in Farringdon, where he and his front-of-house maestro Dave Strauss dole out beautiful French bistro classics including rabbit in mustard sauce, onglet with a Roquefort sauce and crème caramel. While its diminutive size gives it a cosy atmosphere, it also makes it impossible to get in. But if you can finagle one of those white-clothed table, it’s absolutely worth it.

Instead: Dom Handy’s Bistro Freddie and Claude Bosi’s Josephine are cut from a similar cloth. Neither has escaped the hype machine but they’re a bit more relaxed than the above. In Farringdon, Café du Marché has been maintaining bistro standards unfussily since 1986.

Mountain

After the all-conquering Brat, Welsh wizard Tomos Parry’s next restaurant was never going to open unnoticed – particularly after he decided to plonk it right in the middle of Soho. Mountain is bustly, busy and loud, with an open-plan kitchen, bar and dining room filled with diligent Instagram followers trying not to get lobster sauce on their white shirts. If you want outsized flavours, generous martinis and a general aura of hipness, Mountain won’t disappoint, but some might argue that its finest quality is that it has freed up space at Brat…

Instead: Brat!

The Dover

New York bores have long complained that for all the improvement in London’s restaurants, we still lag on vibes: places – like the Waverly Inn or Corner Bar – where you can head for a burger and a martini in a glamorous (read: plush but dimly lit) environment. One answer is The Dover, which prides itself on ‘Italian dishes with New York attitude’, owned by Martin Kuczmarski, who spent most of his career at Soho House. Judging by its popularity, it seems the bores were right: ‘vibes in the dark’ is exactly what London was missing.

Instead: Try The Plimsoll in Finsbury Park, a restaurant in a pub where you can have a burger and a martini surrounded by the jeunesse dorée of North-East London.

Arlington

If the Devonshire is the most feted venue at the moment, Jeremy King is by a yard London’s most feted restaurateur. Given his name, it is fitting that he has been treated like a monarch in exile since he was ousted from his Corbin & King group a few years ago. Now he’s back with a flurry of new openings; Dine Hard with a Vengeance, if you will. First is Arlington, his reopened Caprice which is reassuringly akin to the original in most respects. King’s priority has always been experience rather than fine dining, and it works. It is already booked for a thousand years, with diners flocking for fish and chips, nostalgia and – most importantly – to be glad-handed by the man himself.

Instead: don’t worry, there is plenty more King to come. He will be taking over Simpsons-in-the-Strand as well as launching The Park, just off Holland Park.

Crisp W6

After years of doughy Neapolitan supremacy, Crisp W6 has swung pizza fervour back towards New York-style crisp-based pizzas – hundreds of which Carl McCluskey slings out to the hordes now making a pilgrimage to The Chancellors in Hammersmith. Can any pizza be good enough to queue for several hours after an hour on the Piccadilly line? Possibly not – although the Vecna with pepperoni, parmesan, burrata and hot honey is very, very good.

Instead: Alley Cats, over in Marylebone, has recently arrived as competition in the crispy pizza space. For squishier, Neapolitan-style pizza, try 50 Kalo di Ciro Salvo on Northumberland Avenue.

Supernova

The most frenzied burger opening of late has been Supernova, a French import that has an almost comically minimalist design and menu, an austere, sci-fi white interior and just two burgers on the menu. They’re both smash-style. No burger is worth queuing for, except possibly one in McDonalds at midnight, so despite a tasty patty the overall experience proves that hype can eclipse substance.

Instead: Bake Street, in Stoke Newington, was there long before Supernova and will be there long after. The owner, Feroz Gajia, has a rare palate and obsessive focus on quality – and it shows.