4 Cool Areas To Bookmark For A London Daytrip
Portobello
Notting Hill – and Portobello in particular – has long been one of the capital’s destination neighbourhoods, but right now, its restaurant scene is the main reason to visit. From cool and daring new arrivals to classic spots, there are plenty to choose from. Kick things off with a visit to Layla Bakery. Loved for its coffee and delicious baked goods, the cinnamon babkas are one of its standout treats. Don’t forget to pick up a loaf of Layla’s sourdough while you’re there, plus there are pastries, sausage rolls and focaccia sandwiches.
Just off Portobello Road, Caia offers a huge list of wines from interesting and young producers alongside a seasonally changing menu of dishes cooked on an open-fire grill. Using top-of-the-line audio kit, DJs in the basement are on hand to take you anywhere from rare jazz, funk, tropical and disco right up to current hits. Gold is a neighbourhood restaurant and late-night bar that focuses on produce-led sharing plates and minimal-process cooking in wood ovens or over open flame – think nettle ravioli with sheep’s ricotta and sorrel followed by wood-roasted whole sea bream with wild oregano and capers. Contemporary boho interiors use the original shell of the building to create an edgy look, while contemporary furniture, aged metals and indoor trees soften the space to create a warm environment. Right on Portobello Road, Zephyr serves a Greek-influenced casual dining menu. Sustainable, seasonal dishes include the likes of fresh carpaccio of seabass with lemon-oil dashi and bottarga; otoro toast with cream and black caviar; and whole smoked aubergine with citrus yogurt and dukkah. Once you’re done eating, the early hours are best spent in the secretive basement bar downstairs, getting to know the ten-strong list of signature cocktails. The same space is also fun for an early evening aperitif.
Every Saturday, Portobello Road Market is laden with everything from retro furniture to vintage jewellery and antique artwork. Shops are open every day of the week, but the party gets into full swing at the weekend, when the entire market sets up with food stalls and crowds spilling out onto the streets outside almost every pub in the area. With a history dating back to the 1900s, the Electric is the epitome of luxury film watching. You’ll find no hard seats festooned with fizzy drink stains or popcorn crumbs here – instead, choose between a plush leather armchair (complete with footstool), back row sofa seats or a comfortable front row bed. If that’s not sufficient, there are cashmere blankets in case you get chilly. Both mainstream and independent films show here, plus cult classics.
On the shopping front, Couverture & Garbstore is a fashion tardis. You need a little bit of time to do it justice. What looks like a cosy local boutique opens up inside into a three-floor, open-plan period townhouse – a sophisticated but seriously accessible marketplace of wearable fashion and covetable homeware by the likes of Sharland England and Ichendorf Milano. It feels eclectic, has a softly vintage twist and you know you’re going to walk out of there with something a little different – some of our favourite brands include Rachel Comey, Dragon Diffusion and Apiece Apart. In the basement, you’ll find an eclectic edit of menswear, including its own eponymous brand. Expect cult international labels, limited-edition collaborations and exclusive products. Brands to look for include Engineered Garments, Howlin and Stepney Workers Club.
A haven for gin lovers, The Distillery is a towering, four-storey gin palace serving an eclectic range of one-of-a-kind gin blends and quirky spirits – think avocado and olive oil vodka – with many dispensed directly from hand-built barrels suspended above the main bar. For the undiluted gin experience, book in for gin making at the Ginstitute, followed by a stay in the one of The Distillery’s themed guest rooms.
Marylebone
With an array of our favourite brands and independent boutiques, Marylebone is one of London’s most popular shopping and dining destinations. Minutes from Oxford Street, it offers a huge selection of places to eat, shop and visit in a picturesque setting full of period architecture and green spaces.
Perhaps the most obvious restaurant on this list, Andre Balazs’s Chiltern Firehouse shows no signs of fading since its high-profile launch in 2014. The Marylebone hotspot – Balazs’s third site after Chateau Marmont in Hollywood and the Mercer hotel in NYC – has played host to the likes of Lindsey Lohan, Kate Moss, the Beckhams, Bill Clinton, Bradley Cooper and Alexa Chung over the years. It’s especially good for breakfast. Order the ‘Flaming Benedict’, which comes with crispy potato cakes and jalapeño hollandaise; black truffle scrambled eggs; or lobster and crab omelette for the ultimate weekend brunch.
Kol – the fine-dining restaurant from Mexican chef Santiago Lastra – won a Michelin star last year and entered the UK’s National Restaurants Awards at number 20. We like its downstairs mezcaleria, which serves more than 80 varieties of tequila and mezcal sourced from small-scale and independent distillers. The bar itself is an atmospheric, friendly spot that serves incredible cocktails and ‘antojitos’ as good as the Michelin-starred fare dished out in the restaurant upstairs. If you love Mexican food, try Cavita, a recent launch from chef Adriana Cavita. Another spot with a great cocktail bar and mezcaleria in the basement, the bar showcases the best of Mexican mezcal and tequila, where guests can choose from various flights to try out different agave-based spirits.
Across four floors of one-offs and genuine treasures, Alfies is one of the largest and longest-running arcades of its kind in the country – and is well worth a post-lunch peruse. Down the road, The Conran Shop needs no introduction. The home of considered design set up by the late Jasper Conran in the 1960s, its Marylebone store offers a well-curated blend of design classics and future collectables. If you’re on the hunt for an unusual but sure-fire hit present, its ground-floor gift shop is the place to head to.
There’s a reason Daunt Books tote bags are spotted all over the capital. With five shops in London and one in Oxford, it’s the place to go for a traditional book buying experience – and we’re a particular fan of its beautiful Marylebone site, which is always full of people taking Insta snaps of its interiors. If you’re not sure what to buy, check out its subscription service, which sends subscribers a new title every month, according to their tastes.
There are countless fashion stores along Marylebone High Street: Maje, Theory, Sandro, Rixo, Paul Smith, Ba&sh and one of MATCHESFASHION’s well-stocked bricks-and-mortar stores are just some of them. One of the area’s best independent boutiques is Kj’s Laundry, which focuses on niche, under-the-radar brands and is known for introducing new and exciting labels to the UK: think Ulla Johnson, Hope-Sthlm, Humanoid and Filippa K alongside cult favourites such as Samantha Sung, Sessun, Xirena and Masscob. We also really rate Mouki Mou on Chiltern Street, which stocks lesser-known brands mainly from Japan and the US. For menswear, look no further than Trunk Clothiers, the Chiltern Street boutique which carefully curates the very best fashion from Japan, the US and further afield – imagine Sunspel meets Octobre Editions. There are also some big names in the mix, from Anderson’s belts to Birkenstocks, as well as under-the-radar labels from around the world.
When you’ve exhausted the shops, make sure to leave time for a quick visit to the Wallace Collection. Tucked behind Oxford Street, this 18th-century townhouse contains an impressive selection of paintings, sculpture, furniture and porcelain – all shown against a backdrop of beautiful original interiors. Filled with natural light and dotted with trees and sculptures, the Wallace restaurant offers al fresco-style dining protected from both the elements and the crowds of the West End.
Bloomsbury
With the British Museum and countless galleries and universities on its doorstep, Bloomsbury has been a cultural epicentre for years. These days, it’s also home to some of the capital’s best restaurants and shops. One of our top spots in town, Noble Rot has everything you’d want from a restaurant: a seasonal menu, friendly, on-the-mark service and a buzzy atmosphere. Its wine list is extensive and wide-ranging (in terms of location and price) – the choice is so expansive that it makes sense to sample a number of glasses, rather than opt for a bottle.
As of last summer, Bloomsbury also has a new outpost of Fitzrovia's much-loved Riding House Café. Like the original, this is a lively modern brasserie with the look and feel of a members’ club. The restaurant is housed in the listed, brutalist Brunswick Centre (one of the capital’s best monuments to modernism – if it’s raining then check out what’s on at the Curzon Cinema) and serves a selection of small plates including grilled flatbread with smoked cod roe, tomato and wasabi tobiko; and earl grey cured trout with citrus kosho and sour cream. It’s not the only big-name to make the move. After ten years on Warren Street, Middle Eastern restaurant Honey & Co. has relocated to Lamb’s Conduit Street. Here, the team serves up all the classics – falafel, hummus, aubergine shawarma, chicken shish and the kitchen’s next-level cheesecake.
Another relative newcomer that’s making waves is Café Deco. Unfussy yet chic, this restaurant, bar and wine shop is all about low-key dining, along the lines of fellow current hotspot Café Cecilia. Headed up by the ultra-cool Anna Tobias and the same team as 40 Maltby Street, the café is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday and serves up dishes including confit new season garlic and goat’s curd on toast; and roast tomato and saffron quiche with salad.
Over at the grand-looking Kimpton Fitzroy, there’s a selection of places to eat and drink. Michelin-starred brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin opened Galvin Bar & Grill at the end of last year. Housed in an impressive dining room – which was once home to celeb hotspot Neptune – diners can head straight into dinner or stop off for an aperitif in Fitz’s, the hotel’s glamorous cocktail bar (the space is awash with dark-wood panelling, opulent fabrics and fringed velvet furnishings and is well worth a standalone visit). If you’re looking for somewhere to enjoy a drink in the sun, Dalloway Terrace is the place. Thanks to its indoor/outdoor concept with a retractable roof and walls, guests can enjoy the heated terrace year-round. Directly opposite is The Coral Room. Painted in striking floor-to-ceiling glossy coral, it’s a good option for afternoon tea or a martini before heading out for dinner.
Lamb’s Conduit Street is one of London’s most interesting streets. As well as The Lamb pub, you’ll find La Fromagerie. Starting life as a cheese stall run by owner Patricia, today it comprises three shops, a wholesale business and an award-winning book. Our favourite of the trio – and the one best for a date night – is located here. Dark and atmospheric, guests can choose from an array of cheeseboards, spanning French, Italian and British cheese. We’d opt for a slab of the truffled brie alongside a bottle of red.
Ask a local for their favourite spot in the area, and they’ll probably say no-frills, family friendly trattoria Ciao Bella. Also on Lamb’s Conduit Street, the restaurant opened in 1983. Serving classic Italian dishes ever since, this is one of London’s best spots for the full chequered-tablecloth-and-limoncello-shots-at-the-end-of-the-night experience. For unmissable pizzas, try Pizza Sophia, a cosy Italian restaurant offering a selection of creative toppings alongside salads and small plates: the Carbonara pizza with fior di latte, egg, pancetta, parmesan and black pepper comes highly recommended, as does the Palermo with fior di latte, tomato sauce, goat’s cheese, caramelised onion and extra virgin olive oil. For something a little higher end, book a table at Luce E Limoni. Styled with glass lamps and vintage-style chairs, this elegant space serves modern Sicilian dishes inspired by owner Fabrizio Zafarana’s homeland.
Everyone knows Bloomsbury is London’s literary hub. Not only is it home to the world-renowned publishing house Bloomsbury, it’s also the place that gave the Bloomsbury Set – the bohemian group of British artists and writers that included author Virginia Woolf and painter Vanessa Bell – their name. The best place to honour that tradition these days is Skoobs Books. Offering one of London’s broadest selections of second-hand books, the shop is piled high from floor to ceiling – and on trestle tables outside the shopfront – so it’s one of those spaces you could easily spend hours in. In fact, the shop is so well stocked, its books are often used for film and set dressing and it it's impossible to leave empty handed.
The British Museum is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection totals some 8m works and is among the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Among its most famous artefacts are the controversial Elgin’s Marbles, its selection of ancient Egyptian mummies and original sketches by Leonardo da Vinci. The British Museum is free to enter (although certain exhibitions do have an entrance fee), making it a great choice for family days out. Not far away you’ll find The Postal Museum, one of London’s hidden gems. It’s worth it just to take a ride on the Mail Rail, a train that runs through the now-deserted postal railway tunnels beneath London’s streets – tunnels so secret they were used to hide the Rosetta Stone during WWI. Other museums in and around the Bloomsbury area include The Foundling Museum, Sir John Soane’s Museum, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, plus University College London’s Grant Museum of Zoology. Anyone who loves the Natural History Museum will love this smaller collection of animal artefacts.
Hampstead
From Parisian-style baked goods and Middle Eastern cuisine to a brisk walk across one of London’s finest parks and a decent dose of science and culture, Hampstead really does have it all. Best known for its highly desirable properties (many of which are home to several members of the capital’s ‘literati’), it’s the ideal place to while away the weekend.
Head to The Coffee Cup to start your weekend right. Pouring everything from espresso all the way to herbal tea, smoothies and cocktails later in the day, the café serves up a full range of classic brunch dishes, including eggs benedict, muesli, toast and pastries. If artisanal baked goods are your thing, look no further than Euphorium, Hampstead’s answer to a Parisian-style bakery. Offering a full range of sandwiches, salads and sweet treats, the brand opened its first site in nearby Islington in 1999. The perfect weekend brunch spot, Ginger & White’s ever-changing menu includes everything from soft-boiled free-range ‘dippy’ eggs to red Leicester toasties and daily frittatas.
With a menu inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine, most of the dishes on offer at Delicatessen are designed for sharing, making them emblematic of the Middle Eastern way of dining. Based on Rosslyn Hill in the centre of Hampstead, the venue is also available to rent for a private Shabbat dinner on Friday night. Traditional dishes on offer include fattoush salad with tomato, cucumber, sumac and zaatar croutons; and stuffed romano with freekeh and beef, vegan tzatziki yoghurt, harissa oil and crunchy shallot.
The menu at 28 Church Row takes its inspiration from the best of Spanish and Italian cuisine, with small plates designed for sharing. Meanwhile, the eclectic wine list has been created with an interesting blend of classic styles and lesser-known wines. There is a private dining room available for hire, which seats 12, but otherwise it’s a walk-in only vibe. For authentic Japanese dining, look no further than family run Jin Kichi. High quality, but still affordable, you’ll find everything here from yakitori and sushi to full-flavoured noodle dishes.
Hailed by regulars as the best pizza in London, L’Antica has earned itself the nickname of Hampstead’s ‘Italian emerald’. Combining expert knowledge with the best ingredients and equipment, L’Antica is wedded to authentic Neapolitan flavours. Using caputo flour in all its bases ensures it puffs up quickly when it hits the 400°C wood oven, while the intense heat chars the pizza base, giving it a crisp look and outstanding taste. Toppings are varied, and all start with hand-crushed tomato sauce and a scattering of fior di latte mozzarella.
For a leisurely afternoon, try hunting down some of Hampstead’s famous past residents via the many blue plaques which pepper the neighbourhood. Starting with Sigmund Freud, look out for the home of James Bond creator Ian Fleming, actor and husband of Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and painter John Constable. All were Hampstead residents at one time or another.
Arguably one of the biggest reasons to pay Hampstead a visit is its famous 790-acre Heath. Home to Keats House, a lovely pergola, the famous bathing ponds and Parliament Hill viewpoint, it’s a great way to work some easy exercise into your weekend. For those on the hunt for an activity, there’s a zoo, athletics track, education centre and a lido from which to take your pick. Kenwood House is one of London’s most striking stately homes. The best news is that the beautiful interiors and world-class art collection – including Rembrandt's 'Portrait with Two Circles' – are free. Billed as the oldest pub in London, and located to the north of the Heath, The Spaniard’s Inn is an authentically British spot perfect for a cosy roast, while the extensive garden makes it ideal for sunnier afternoons.
On the hunt for unusual and interesting homewares? Family run Maud & Mabel is the place to go. Showcasing handmade pottery, jewellery and art by a selection of talented craftspeople, there’s bound to be something you can’t leave the store without. All of the shop’s items pays homage to Hampstead’s quirky, artistic and individualistic style. Cap off the weekend by dropping into the Hampstead branch of the Everyman cinema. This is the original site, opened by entrepreneur Daniel Broch when he founded the brand back in 2000, with the building itself dating back to 1933. With a wide array of mainstream, independent and classic films, as well as special events and live-satellite broadcasts, it’s got all tastes and genres covered.
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