12 Seriously Good Things To Do In London This Weekend
If you’ve been waiting for a weekend worth getting excited about, this is the one. Whether you’re after a luxury picnic in a private Marylebone garden, a late-night cocktail crawl through Shoreditch, or a reason to finally make the trip to Edinburgh for the most exciting natural wine fair in Scotland, the options this weekend are endless. Here’s exactly how to spend the next two days.
Join the shared table at Spring for a celebration of seasonal cooking
This Saturday, Spring at Somerset House is hosting one of the most thoughtfully put-together suppers of the summer. The Shared Table is arriving at the restaurant for the first time this year, hosted by Spring’s Culinary Director Eleanor Henson alongside Shane Holland of Slow Food UK, for an evening built around seasonal produce, thoughtful farming and the people behind both.
Eleanor will cook a three-course menu drawing on ingredients from Fern Verrow and Heckfield Home Farm at the height of summer, with wines chosen in the spirit of Slow Food presented by Spring’s Head Sommelier throughout the evening.
Where: Lancaster Pl, London WC2R 1LA
Website: www.springrestaurant.com
Eat your way around Peckham
Peckham’s best community food weekend is back, and this year’s lineup is bigger than ever. The Peckham Weekender brings together 19 of SE15’s most beloved restaurants and hottest new openings, with every venue offering a £10 special across the three days.
From Mr. Bao and Forza Wine to Rye Lane Bagels and Taca Taco, there’s something for everyone, and every £10 special sold donates £1 directly to Peckham Pantry, a community food club supporting low income families in the area.
Where: venues across Peckham
Website: www.mrbao.com
Try this refreshing summer drink
Two of Marylebone’s most beloved neighbourhood institutions have joined forces for the summer, and the result is exactly what your coffee order has been missing. Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Trishna and The Monocle Café have collaborated on a limited-edition Iced Chai, blending fresh ginger, cardamom and cinnamon with coconut milk and a touch of sugar syrup to reimagine Trishna’s signature house chai as a cold summer drink. Available at both Trishna and The Monocle Café until 30th August, it’s well worth making a pitstop this weekend.
Where: 18 Chiltern St, London W1U 7QA / 15-17 Blandford St, London W1U 3DG
Website: www.monocle.com
Celebrate Galicia Day here
This weekend, Brindisa Tapas Richmond is transforming its riverside terrace into a Spanish fiesta for National Galicia Day. The food is the real draw, with whole Galician octopus cooked tableside and served over Koffmann’s potatoes with smoked paprika, alongside aged Txuleta Rubia Gallega sirloin with charred Padrón peppers built for sharing.
An Estrella Galicia pop-up bar will be pouring all day, with a self-pour challenge offering branded prizes and free beers for those bold enough to take it on, all set to the sound of live acoustic Spanish guitar by the Thames.
Where: 5 Whittaker Ave, Richmond TW9 1EH
Website: www.brindisa.com
Drink Your Way Around Asia at London’s Highest Hotel Bar
GŎNG Bar at Shangri-La The Shard has just launched its most ambitious cocktail menu yet, and it’s as visually stunning as the view from Level 52.
Icons of Asia takes guests on a journey across the continent through its most iconic cultural moments, presented not as a traditional drinks list but as the first edition of GŎNG Cocktail Magazine, complete with bespoke illustrations and editorial storytelling for each cocktail. Standouts include the Neon City, the Global Stage, and the Golden Orchard, a floral vodka and lychee serve arriving in a Merlion carafe as a nod to Singapore.
Where: Level 52, Shangri-La The Shard, 31 St Thomas St, London SE1 9QU
Website: www.gongbar.com
Discover London’s most interesting late-night drinks spot
If you’ve been looking for a reason to stay out late in Shoreditch, Disco Lates at Bun House is it. The drinks programme draws on Chinese herbal medicine principles, reworking traditional wellbeing ingredients into cocktails like the Osmanthus Gimlet, Shaoxing Martini and Sweet-Grass Old Fashioned.
Created in collaboration with TĀ TĀ Eatery and Circle13, the whole thing is built around six food and cocktail pairings that work together as a single composed experience. Running Thursdays to Saturdays from 10pm, it’s one of the more original things to do late night in London right now.
Where: 26-27 Lisle St, London WC2H 7BA
Website: www.bunhouse.com
Explore this exhibition at Kensington Palace
For this weekend’s cultural billing, head to Kensington Palace to explore its latest exhibition, The Last Princesses of Punjab. It tells the extraordinary story of Sophia Duleep Singh, the Punjabi princess who became one of Britain’s most prominent suffragettes, alongside five women who shaped her remarkable life.
Bringing together rarely seen objects, letters and audio-visual displays, the exhibition offers an intimate look into six lives profoundly transformed by Empire, told for the first time through the voice of British South Asian people today.
Where: Kensington Gardens, London W8 4PX
Website: www.kensingtonpalace.com
If you only do one cultural thing this weekend, make it this. The Last Princesses of Punjab is one of the most beautifully told stories I’ve encountered in a long time. I went in knowing very little about Sophia Duleep Singh and left completely captivated.
Amelia, Culture & Lifestyle Writer/Creator
Enjoy a picnic in the heart of Marylebone
If the idea of a luxury picnic in a private London garden sounds like exactly how you want to spend a summer afternoon, Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill has just made it possible.
The five-star Marylebone hotel has launched Meet Me In Marylebone, a new summer experience that gives guests access to the private gardens of Portman Square, one of central London’s rare secluded garden squares that is ordinarily reserved for residents only. Curated picnic hampers from the hotel’s Montagu Kitchen range from a classic spread at £55 for two through to a premium luxury option at £140 including charcuterie, a cheese board and a bottle of house wine, with Champagne upgrades available for those feeling celebratory.
Where: 30 Portman Square, London W1H 7BH
Website: www.hyatt.com
Discover this hidden gem swimming spot
If you’ve never heard of the Oasis Sports Centre, you’re not alone, and that’s precisely what makes it such a find. Tucked away on Endell Street in Covent Garden, this beloved local lido has a heated outdoor pool sitting at a comfortable 25 degrees, an outdoor sauna included free with your swim, and a sun terrace that makes it feel considerably further from the bustle of the West End than it actually is.
It’s one of those rare spots that Londoners in the know are fiercely protective of, and on a warm weekend it’s hard to think of a better way to spend a few hours in the city. Walk-in swims are available, so no excuses.
If you’ve never heard of the Oasis Sports Centre, you’re not alone, and that’s precisely what makes it such a find.
Where: 32 Endell St, London WC2H 9AG
Website: www.better.com
Step Into Hidden Tokyo at Flannels X on Oxford Street
Asahi Super Dry is transforming Flannels X on Oxford Street into a Tokyo-inspired world for one night only this Thursday, and it’s one of the more exciting free events to land in London this week.
Hidden Tokyo is a fully immersive cultural experience spanning art, music, fashion and interactive installations, with Japanese-inspired street food and ice-cold Asahi Super Dry flowing throughout the evening. There’s also the chance to win some seriously good prizes, including limited-edition merchandise, beauty and tech products and an all-expenses-paid trip to Japan.
Where: Flannels X, Academy House, 161–167 Oxford Street, London W1D 2JP
Website: www.asahi.com
Head to Edinburgh for Scotland’s best natural wine fair
If you’re looking for a reason to head north this weekend, Scotland’s favourite natural wine fair is returning to Edinburgh’s Michelin-starred Timberyard this Sunday for its seventh year.
Wild Wine Fair brings together 17 of the UK’s most exciting natural and biodynamic wine importers under one roof, with each supplier running their own tasting station and informal talks covering everything from climate change to the rise of English winemaking.
Guest tickets are £25 and include a glass for tasting across the full lineup, while Timberyard’s sister restaurant Montrose will be popping up for the day with smash burgers and doughnuts to keep things going. For anyone who takes their natural wine seriously, this is the one to make the trip for.
Where: Timberyard, 10 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DS
Book here
Plan your next escape to Croatia’s most exciting new hotel
If you’re still deciding where to go this summer, let us make a case for Rovinj. While most people are heading straight for Split and Hvar, this romantic Istrian town quietly makes the case for something far more special, and Hotel Monte Mulini sits right at the heart of it.
The five-star adults-only retreat has just had a major glow-up as part of its new partnership with Riva Destinations, the legendary Italian nautical brand, joining just eleven Riva properties worldwide alongside Monaco, Venice and Mallorca. With a Michelin-recommended restaurant, a Riva Aquariva speedboat for private trips through the archipelago and a pine-forest setting above the Adriatic, it’s one of the most exciting coastal escapes in Europe right now.
