New London restaurant and bar openings, February 2013 - Telegraph.co.uk

B.Y.O.C., Covent Garden
Londoners have a new way to drink this month, with the opening of B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Cocktails) on 28 Bedfordbury Street in Covent Garden on February 6. The concept proceeds as follows: You bring an alcoholic beverage of your choice, be it spirit, wine or beer, and a well-trained bartender wielding a vintage Italian drinks trolley will come your way and concoct a tipple based on your preferences. Places in the small drinking den must be booked in advance and there's a charge of £20 per person to exploit the bartender's knowledge and the contents of his non-alcoholic drinks trolley. Tables are subject to a two-hour turnaround time.

Balthazar London, Covent Garden
Perhaps the most hyped restaurant opening this month is that of Balthazar London. The first British incarnation of the New York restaurant, it will be housed in the old Theatre Museum in Covent Garden and, like its American compatriot, will serve bistro food in a brasserie-style setting. As in New York, it will also have a boulangerie housed next door and all the restaurant's bakery goods will be prepared there. The exact opening date is yet to be confirmed but the restaurant is expected to be fully operational by the end of the month; the boulangerie is already open.

Ravinder Bhogal, the City
Chef Ravinder Bhogal takes up a one-month residency at the recently opened South Place Hotel by Liverpool Street this February, hosting the Fork Me, Spoon Me supperclub at the property on each Saturday of the month. The experimental menu, which includes dishes such as 'prawn toast scotch egg with banana ketchup' and 'Turkish delight semifreddo with pistachio crisps', will be changed weekly and costs £65 per person.

Café de Mort, central London
London diners have been subjected to so many mediocre pop-up restaurants over the last few years, but this month's brief opening of Café de Mort should pique interest through its novel concept and charitable motives. Taking bookings for February 26 and 27 only, the pop-up serves a tasting menu composed of dishes that can be deadly if not prepared properly - such as fugu. While organisers presumably don't want anyone to expire as a result of their dining experience, it's hoped the evening will encourage participants to think about death. The event is raising awareness for Remember A Charity, a consortium of some 140 charities that wants to encourage the public to leave a donation to good causes in their wills.