Oh London (11411 Olive) has landed at No. 13 on Yelp’s Best New Restaurants of 2026 list, a 25-restaurant compendium that it publishes annually. The owners are Raj and Shweta Pandey, the husband-and-wife team behind Black Salt in Chesterfield.
Raj Pandey tells SLM that the recognition is “a testament to chef Pushwinder [Kumar], chef Ayush, our entire team, and especially the St. Louis community that welcomed us, supported us, and gave us the opportunity to create something special.”
The only other Missouri restaurant on this year’s list is Kansas City’s 1587 Prime, which ranked No. 6. The steakhouse was co-founded by Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce; its name is a mashup of their jersey numbers, 15 and 87. No Missouri restaurants appeared on Yelp’s 2025 list.
The Methodology
Courtesy of YelpCourtesy of Yelp
Brenae Leary, Yelp’s director of communications, explained the selection methodology: “To determine the Best New Restaurants of 2026, we identified full-service restaurants that opened after January 1, 2025, then ranked those spots using a combination of factors—including the total volume and ratings of reviews. All businesses on the list have a passing health score (when available). Finally, we consulted with our Community Managers to zero in on what spots Yelpers were loving.”
At the same time, Oh London’s Yelp rating is 3.7 out of 5 stars, a relatively modest score for the country’s No. 13 best new restaurant, with many of the other honorees averaging 4.3. In Oh London’s case, some of the lower marks came from guests during its early days, though they continue to factor into the restaurant’s overall score. Yelp’s published methodology does not specify how its ranking factors are weighted, but Leary says the process goes beyond the star rating.
“Our methodology is fine-tuned by our data science team, and we take many factors into account in our ranking,” she explains. Those considerations include geographic diversity and owner-operated establishments, with the team using its own formula to evaluate businesses. “The broader test,” Leary adds, “is whether a restaurant lives up to the hype and has endeared itself to the community.”
The Concept
In its write-up, Yelp highlights the British charm of the spacious Creve Coeur restaurant and lounge, where two chefs serve British pub favorites, American comfort dishes, and global specials. Menu examples that Yelpers cited include “divine and flaky” panko-crusted fish and chips, bangers and mash, butter chicken curry, and “some of the best-ever” chicken tikka masala.
Yelp also recognizes Oh London’s Sunday jazz brunch, featuring an all-you-can-eat buffet, carving station, made-to-order omelets, and bottomless mimosas. Live music, happy hours, and themed pop-culture events—including a “Love Island” watch party—round out the offerings.
The restaurant occupies the former Reserve Restaurant & Lounge space, and Granite City Food & Brewery prior to that. Spanning more than 11,000 square feet, the restaurant features a large bar, multiple dining areas, and a private event room.
The Owners & the Future
Courtesy of Black SaltCourtesy of Black Salt
Raj and Shweta Pandey
The Pandeys, along with business partner Sanjiv Shekhar, opened the original Black Salt in Chesterfield in 2023, followed by a Creve Coeur location in January 2025, which has since closed. Oh London expanded the team’s focus beyond Indian cuisine to encompass American and British dishes along with other international influences, all under the same roof.
The ambitions extend beyond the restaurant itself. In SLM’s opening preview, Raj Pandey described Oh London as a potential foundation for additional locations and a packaged-food line. “We see this as more than a restaurant,” he said at the time.
A few months later, his team launched Black Salt Foods, a line of ready-to-serve Indian dishes briefly sold in the deli sections of select Dierbergs markets. The products served as a commercial proof of concept for TAPS (turmeric assisted pressure sterilization), a high-pressure processing technology designed to preserve fresh foods for more than a year without preservatives while retaining taste, texture, and nutrition. It became the basis for TAPS Global, co-founded by Pandey and led by entrepreneur General John Michel, who serves as CEO.
Regarding future plans, Pandey tells SLM that he’s “working toward opening a very distinctive, upscale Indian restaurant in the Clayton area, targeted for the fall of 2028.” The vision is to create an elegant dining experience featuring unique dishes, flavors, and presentations not commonly available in the St. Louis market. The restaurant is still in the early planning stages.
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