Midtown sushi + London restaurants
Tuesday, Oct. 20 — Happy Tuesday! Welcome to the table.
London is one of my favorite food cities—and one I travel to often. In Sunday’s newsletter this week, I shared a mini guide to my favorite London restaurants from my most recent trip. Maybe you read it. But if you didn’t, I’m resharing it below, and the list now includes comparable Atlanta restaurants for each London restaurant. In other words, if you love Talat Market in Atlanta, for instance, put Mambow in London on your list.
✈️ I love to travel and share where I’ve been eating, so look for future mini guides from me on cities like Philadelphia, New Orleans, Mexico City, and Paris. You’ll also see restaurant travel guides from dining reporter Sarra Sedghi. And I’m hoping to convince our publisher, Keith Pepper, to do a guide to his favorite restaurants in New York City, where he lived for 20 years and still visits on the regular.
In addition to my London restaurant guide, today’s “Family Meal” features a story on the opening of JuNi in Midtown, an omakase and donburi restaurant backed by the owner of Circle Sushi in Sandy Springs. Plus, Ikara, a new fine-dining Indian restaurant at Atlantic Station, shared its recipe for the Chennai Central, a cocktail made with vodka, honey, and rasam.
⭐ It’s Michelin season again, and the French tire company will reveal its 2026 restaurant guide to the American South tomorrow night in Nashville. We’ll have the full list of Atlanta restaurants in the 2026 guide online at Rough Draft right after the ceremony, which you can watch live on Michelin’s YouTube channel, starting at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Cheers!
🍸 Beth
🎃 Emily’s Trick or Treat to Cure Crohn’s & Colitis celebrates 10 years of Halloween fun with trick-or-treating, games, arts & crafts, face painting, music, a silent auction, and more. Sandy Springs, Sat., Oct. 24, 2-4 p.m. Use code RoughDraft for $5 off. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Circle Sushi Owner Opens Omakase and Donburi Restaurant JuNi in Midtown
🍣 Japanese restaurant JuNi is now open for omakase dining at The Juniper in Midtown. Located on the corner of 12th and Juniper streets, the restaurant will also begin serving donburi (Japanese steamed rice bowls served with meat or seafood and vegetables) at the end of October.
Sandwiched between 11th and 12th streets, the block-wide site was once home to popular Midtown restaurants Joe’s on Juniper and Einstein’s. Both restaurants closed in 2021 to make way for the dual-tower residential development.
🍚 The restaurant is divided into two distinct dining spaces: a refined omakase experience upstairs (chef’s-choice tasting menu), with casual dining downstairs serving donburi for lunch and dinner.
JuNi currently offers just one omakase seating at 7 p.m. Expect between eight and 16 courses, with dishes like a bluefin tuna sashimi sampler or chawanmushi (savory egg custard) topped with uni.
🇯🇵 Read more about JuNi’s omakase and donburi menus here.
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Editor’s Pick: London Edition
💂 Every time I travel to London, I discover new-to-me restaurants. You’ll often find me frequenting restaurants in Bethnal Green and Hackney (including De Beauvoir Town) in East London; Fitzrovia, Soho, and Marylebone in the West End; and Highbury and Holloway in North London.
Check out my favorites from this latest trip to London and southeast England below, with comparable Atlanta restaurants for an easy menu and vibe check.
💯 London go-to
Brawn (Bethnal Green; pictured)
On regular rotation; Columbia Road (yes, the one with the famous Sunday flower market); hyper-seasonal cuisine; fresh-caught fish dishes; natural wine; cocktails; good for couples and groups of four; limited bar seating; reservations recommended. Atlanta counterpart: Spring.
🥰 New favorite
Goodbye Horses (De Beauvoir Town; pictured)
Now on regular rotation; Michelin Bib Gourmand; recommended by a London food-writer friend; wine and listening bar; lively yet relaxed vibe; small bites and oysters; good for couples, groups, hangs in the courtyard; reservations recommended. Atlanta counterparts: Larakin + Madeira Park + Commune.
🇲🇾 Casual dinner
Mambow (Hackney)
Michelin Bib Gourmand; Malaysian restaurant; cozy seating inside and on covered patio; get the mussels (stir-fried with pineapple and shrimp floss), ayam percik (half chicken in a spiced coconut glaze) with sambal belacan, mung bean coconut custard tart; solid wine list, tight cocktail and beer list; reservations recommended. Atlanta counterpart: Talat Market.
😘 Romantic dinner
Akub (Notting Hill)
Recommended by a London food-writer friend; named for a flowering thistle; Palestinian cuisine incorporating UK-grown ingredients; Palestinian wines; cozy, warm lighting; bread service is a must; fava bean stew; arak-cured monkfish; mujadara (rice, lentils, fried onions, sumac); reservations recommended. Atlanta counterparts: BoccaLupo + The Deer and The Dove.
🤩 Michelin-starred splurge
Chishuru (Fitzrovia)
One Michelin star; creative West African tasting menu with wine pairings; abbreviated tasting for theater ticket holders; must-order okra martini; pescatarian and vegetarian options on request; reservations necessary. Atlanta counterparts: Heritage Supper Club (now Heritage) + Avize.
➕ Bonus recs
Westerns Laundry (Highbury and Holloway; wine, small plates)
Quality Wines (Farringdon; wine, small plates, pasta)
Master Wei (Bloomsbury; Xi’an cuisine)
🍽️ Museum restaurants
The Tate Modern Restaurant (Bankside, Southwark)
Breathtaking views of the Thames, Millennium Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Victoria and Albert Museum Cafe (South Kensington)
World’s first museum restaurant; stunning Victorian-era dining room; cafeteria-style service.
Great Court Restaurant at the British Museum (Bloomsbury)
Mezzanine level; full afternoon tea; full-service restaurant and bar; reservations necessary for tea, recommended for lunch.
🧑🍳 Best Canterbury meals
The Fordwich Arms
One Michelin star; hyper-seasonal a la carte or tasting menu; polished service; deep wine list; superb martini; cozy English pub on the banks of the River Stour outside Canterbury; reservations necessary. Atlanta counterparts: Aria + Lucian.
The Goods Shed
Located inside food and goods market beside Canterbury train station; table service for dinner at night; creative dishes from local chefs using local ingredients; solid wine list; candlelit tables; casual, relaxed vibe; reservations suggested. Atlanta counterparts: Bovino After Dark + Little Bear.
🎃 Emily’s Trick or Treat to Cure Crohn’s & Colitis celebrates 10 years of Halloween fun with trick-or-treating, games, arts & crafts, face painting, music, a silent auction, and more. Sandy Springs, Sat., Oct. 24, 2-4 p.m. Use code RoughDraft for $5 off. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Cocktail Recipe From Ikara
🍹 This week, we’re sharing a recipe for the Chennai Central cocktail from Indian restaurant Ikara, which opened earlier this year at Atlantic Station.
The Chennai Central pairs vodka and honey with rasam, a tangy, peppery South Indian broth.
👉 Check out the full recipe here.
➡️ Get double the Atlanta food and dining coverage with “Family Meal,” edited by Beth McKibben, on Tuesdays at 5 p.m., and “Side Dish,” edited by Sarra Sedghi, on Thursdays at noon. Subscribe to both here.
