Eat & drink
CHILTERN FIREHOUSE Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes works his magic at this popular celebrity retreat (chilternfirehouse.com), which occupies a converted Victorian fire station in well-to-do Marylebone and counts princesses Eugenie and Beatrice among its recent customers. It’s busy all week but weekend brunches are especially favoured, thanks to killer champagne cocktails, crab-stuffed doughnuts and poached eggs with wasabi-spiced avocado on toast. Afterwards, pop across the road to The Monocle Cafe (cafe.monocle.com), a caffeine-fuelled offshoot of the hip magazine.
SERGE ET LE PHOQUE London isn’t short of luxurious boutique hotels and French restaurants but this swish newcomer at The Mandrake hotel (themandrake.com) in Fitzrovia stands out – it’s the first overseas iteration of Serge et le Phoque, the much-vaunted Hong Kong establishment. Expect a big dose of Gallic flair plus Asian and Mediterranean influences, with highlights including oyster with tosazu and carpaccio of wild sea bream with daikon and mango.
THE CLOVE CLUB Set in handsome Shoreditch Town Hall, this Michelin-feted eatery (thecloveclub.com) captures the cool, creative vibe of East London, with inventive tasting menus starring ingredients plucked from across the British Isles. Beavering away in the bluetiled open kitchen, chefs craft dishes such as raw Orkney scallop with truffle purée
and hot-smoked lamb ribs with mint and seaweed jelly. The burnt clementine sorbet and spiced meringue is a standout dessert.
THE HARWOOD ARMS A cut above your archetypal London boozer – it grows its own produce on the rooftop – this cosy Fulham affair close to Chelsea Football Club is the English capital’s only Michelin-starred pub (harwoodarms.com). There’s an emphasis on game, with fabulous Sunday roasts and slow-cooked deer shoulder wrapped in bacon.
DANDELYAN Tucked inside Mondrian London at Sea Containers (morganshotelgroup.com) on the south bank of the Thames, Dandelyan is run by the king of London’s thriving cocktail scene, Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan. Botanically inspired drinks such as Flower of Five (Belvedere Pink Grapefruit, passionfruit flower, leather, lemon and Bræmble Gin Liqueur) go exceedingly well with bar bites from nearby Borough Market (pulled pork belly, crisp kale and charcuterie).