OUR LONDON EDIT: THE PLACES WE ACTUALLY GO
London is a city everyone thinks they already know, us included. We live here. We've walked these streets a thousand times over. And yet it still manages to surprise us: a new bakery that becomes an obsession overnight, a bar hidden beneath a restaurant we've been going to for years, a museum wing we somehow hadn't found until last month.
This is our edit. Not the ten places every list recommends, but the ones we actually keep going back to: for dinner, for a coffee that gets the morning started properly, for an afternoon spent trying not to buy everything in a vintage shop and failing anyway.
ELEVATED VIBES
THE MAINE MAYFAIR
Best saved for late evening, when the room is at its most theatrical and the live music is in full swing. The food here is genuinely excellent, but do not, under any circumstances, skip dessert, because dessert is where the show really starts. Order the soft centre cookie (nothing like what the name suggests, and all the better for it) and the tarte tatin. Both are non-negotiable.
SESSIONS ARTS CLUB
SESSIONS ARTS CLUB
Housed in the old judges' dining room of a Grade II-listed former courthouse in Clerkenwell, this is one of the most beautiful rooms in London to eat in. Candlelight, soaring columns, peeling plaster left exactly as it should be. The cooking matches the room: vibrant, unfussy, flavour-led, with small and large plates.
ZEPHYR
In Notting Hill, and about as close as London gets to a Greek island without the flight. Beautiful decor, genuinely fresh ingredients, and Greek food given a modern Western twist. The kind of place that makes you forget, briefly, that you're not somewhere much further south.
CASUAL EATS
CANTEEN
Also in Notting Hill, from the same team as The Pelican. Seasonal menu, sharing plates, Italian food with a modern edge, and an atmosphere that's hard to bottle. Do not skip dessert here either: the chocolate mousse is off the menu officially, which just means you have to know to ask for it. Consider this your sign.
BERENJAK
A Persian restaurant, and a proper one if meat is your thing. The one thing you cannot leave without ordering is the hummus, which is, without exaggeration, the best hummus in London.
CARMEL
Tucked into Queen's Park, relaxed and unfussy, doing Eastern Mediterranean food with real care. The kind of neighbourhood spot you wish was in your own neighbourhood.
MATCHA & COFFEE
MATCHADO
Four locations across London, and every one of them gets the matcha genuinely right, none of the usual wateriness. Get a little Japanese sweet treat alongside it while you're there.
ABUELO
Australian-Argentinian brunch menus, specialty coffee, and interiors that lean 1970s in the best way. Covent Garden and Marylebone both do double duty: coffee and brunch by day, wine bar once the sun goes down. Architect-owned, and it shows in every detail of the room.
OMOTESANDO KOFFEE
Japanese simplicity, transplanted to central London. Minimal, precise, and exactly as good as the original.
AFTERNOON SWEETS
LAYLA BAKERY
In Notting Hill, all bread and sweet pastries in a minimalist Scandinavian space. The kind of bakery that trusts a few things done properly over a case crowded with options: good sourdough, good butter-heavy bakes, nothing shouting for attention.
CORNER SHOP
At 180 The Strand, part bakery, part cafe, part fancy grocery store, part wine bar. The kind of place where you go in for one very specific thing and leave with flowers, a bottle of wine, and a very good pastry you didn't know you needed. Thoroughly instagrammable, and thoroughly worth it anyway.
DON'T TELL DAD
In Queen's Park, and famous for one thing above all: the cinnamon buns, finished with cream on top. The rest of the pastry case is just as unbelievable, but the buns are why you're really there.
DRINKS
THE PELICAN
Definitely one of the coolest pubs in London, with a modern edge to it. In Notting Hill, full of stylish people, and genuinely great for people watching. Locally brewed beer, a classic British menu, and exactly the kind of place you linger in far longer than planned.
NAKED AND FAMOUS
The opposite of a view bar, and just as good. Tucked down a back alley near Ebisu, it's small, intimate, and feels like a discovery. The cocktails are inventive and the atmosphere is exactly what you want from a late evening in Tokyo.
THE DREAMERY
Between Islington and Dalston, in De Beauvoir. Is there anything better than ice cream and wine together? Unexpected, but it really works. The space is tiny and intimate, with a beautifully colourful, playful ceiling, and the gelato ranges from delicious sorbets to chocolate with olive oil. If it's too crowded, cross the road to Goodbye Horses, a great wine bar with food as well, full of young, on-trend energy.
TO VISIT
V&A
Great for art in every form, from sculpture to photography, with temporary exhibitions that are always worth building a day around. Schiaparelli is on now, and it's a must for anyone who loves fashion as much as we do. If you've already done the main museum, head to V&A East Storehouse, where you can watch how the museum actually restores and stores its artefacts. A completely different kind of museum experience, and a genuinely fun one.
THADDAEUS ROPAC
Housed in Ely House in Mayfair, a five-floor 18th-century mansion that was once the London residence of the Bishop of Ely. Founded in 1983, with galleries now across Paris, Salzburg and Seoul as well as London.
ELECTRIC CINEMA
One of London's oldest cinemas, in Notting Hill, with interiors as beautiful as the films themselves. Leather armchairs, sofas at the back, a drink brought to your seat. It makes even a mediocre film feel like an occasion.
RICHMOND PARK
Combine with a walk around Richmond itself, all cute cafes and riverside charm. The park is enormous, genuinely good for a proper walk, and home to herds of deer that make the whole thing feel much further from London than it actually is.
STORES
FOUND AND VISION
Ducie's favourite for years, and the place for hidden gems. Loads of designer pieces, one-off finds, and the kind of stock that rewards patience. In Notting Hill, naturally.
RAINBOW NEWS
The place to get magazines from around the world, also in Notting Hill. A small, simple pleasure, and one of our favourite ways to spend twenty minutes.
PERFUMER H
A handful of locations around central London, all built around one vision: the olfactory landscapes of British perfumer Lyn Harris. No trend-chasing, no seasonal collections, just scents that feel considered rather than manufactured. Go in with no plan and let the counter staff steer you.
ANNA + NINA
In Marylebone, with homeware and jewellery and the sort of pieces that make a genuinely great gift for someone else (or, let's be honest, for yourself).
A final note on area: you may have noticed that a lot of this list lives in Notting Hill. That's not an accident. It's West London, it's where Ducie grew up, and it's where Ducie herself started out at Portobello Market twenty years ago.It has always felt like home, and it always will.
Start there. See where the day takes you.
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