Crossing the pond again
With restrictions gone, Americans are getting their fill of British culture
London is springing back to life. Heathrow Airport reports that March 2022 was its busiest month since the start of the pandemic, with passenger travel from North America in particular increasing by more than 60% from January 2022.
The uptick is linked to the British government’s recent elimination of coronavirus restrictions, a welcome move for many travelers eager for their fill of British culture, including once-in-a-lifetime Platinum Jubilee events, including experiences based on “Bridgerton,” the heady hit show from Netflix.
Some city stalwarts closed their doors during the pandemic. Among them: Cafe de Paris, a cabaret venue in the West End since 1924; Le Caprice in St. James’s, once a favorite spot of Princess Diana; and the physical locations of Debenham’s, the 242-yearold department store. But throughout London, other cafes and shops bustle, scads of new bars and restaurants have opened and city squares teem with everyday life. Many of the Royal Parks are ablaze in daffodils and brimming with picnickers, while live theater is back in the West End. The return of in-person events lends to the buoyancy of the Platinum Jubilee “Central Weekend” in June, when public celebrations will mark Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign.
The latest in restaurants
It’s a testament to London’s vitality that new restaurants managed to open and even thrive during the pandemic. One of the buzziest spots is Sessions Arts Club in Clerkenwell, a reimagined 18th-century courthouse where artwork and crumbling, dramatic décor lend a fanciful patina to fare from chef Florence Knight. Dishes like sea bream with parsley and eel with creme fraiche are delightfully British with whiffs of France and Italy.
Another new hit is KOL, Britain’s first Michelinstarred Mexican restaurant, where chef Santiago Lastra turns out items like pork belly carnitas with cabbage purée. On the ground level is The Mezcaleria, which serves kicky, mezcal-focused cocktails.
Vegans and meat-eaters alike might be delighted
with the restaurant Gauthier Soho’s pivot from classic French gastronomy to plant-based fine dining. One dish, rice with truffle “cream,” delivers the richness of dairy through a potato-and-lentil starch combination.
When Leroy in Shoreditch adopted rotisserie chicken takeaway as a pandemic survival maneuver, the Michelin-starred restaurant might not have imagined the side hustle would evolve into a standalone eatery. Now, Royale sells whole or half cornfed Anjou chicken, sides like leeks vinaigrette, and a hazelnut parfait dessert.
New hotels and lodging
In Covent Garden, the New York-based design
company Roman and Williams has transformed a 19th-century Magistrate’s Court into the first European Nomad Hotel. The selected art and textured materials imbue spaces with a contemporary edge and the restaurant is housed within a threestory glass atrium.
Two interconnected Georgian homes are now the 14-suite Beaverbrook Town House in Chelsea, where interiors designed by Nicola Harding offer vibrant color combinations, lively prints and tasselfringed upholstery inspired by London’s grand theaters. Hotel guests can access the leafy, residents-only Cadogan Gardens as well as enjoy “Bridgerton”-themed experiences with the sister property Beaverbrook Estate in Surrey.
Kingsland Locke has unveiled 124 sleek apartment-style rooms in East London’s Dalston neighborhood, with a coffee shop, microbrewery and kebab restaurant on the ground floor.
West End offerings
Lights are back on in the West End with blockbuster musicals like “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Six,” a modern chronicle of the fate of Henry VIII’s wives. For those seeking plays, there is “Much Ado About Nothing” at The Shakespeare Globe (through Oct. 23) and the West End openings include “The Glass Menagerie” starring Amy Adams (from May 23 to Aug. 27) and “Prima Facie” with Jodie Comer of “Killing Eve” fame (through June 18).
Museum exhibits
At the Victoria & Albert Museum, the “Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear” exhibition brings together historical and contemporary ensembles to highlight the concept of gender fluidity. Expect to see 18th-century frock coats and suits worn by the Beatles to gowns sported by the singer Harry Styles and the drag performer Bimini
Bon-Boulash (“Fashioning Masculinities” runs through November).
“Surrealism Beyond Borders” at the Tate Modern explores the global reach of the surrealist movement with works by lesser-known artists from Osaka, Japan, and Bogotá, Colombia, juxtaposed with paintings by Dali, Miro and Magritte (advance bookings are recommended; “Surrealism Beyond Borders” runs through August).
In King’s Cross, Britain’s first museum dedicated to LGBTQ individuals, Queer Britain, has opened with a display of paintings, photographs and paintings assembled by Matthew Storey, the art, design and LGBTQ history curator for Historic Royal Palaces.
The Platinum Jubilee
Britain is celebrating the Platinum Jubilee, marking Queen Elizabeth II as the first British monarch to spend 70 years on the throne, all year. But from June 2-5, events like “Trooping the Color,” a ceremonial parade featuring 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians, will be held. The parade will march from Buckingham Palace down the Mall; among the other festivities that weekend is a concert at Buckingham Palace.