Whether you're a grandmaster in the making or someone who still forgets which way the knight moves, Trafalgar Square is the place to be this July.

The UK's biggest chess event, ChessFest, is returning to central London for another free day celebrating one of the world's oldest and most addictive board games. Taking place from 12pm until 7pm on the 12th of July, the annual festival is expected to welcome around 20,000 visitors for a packed programme of live matches, giant chess boards, lessons and family-friendly activities.

Now in its sixth year, ChessFest has grown into one of London's most unique summer events, transforming Trafalgar Square into a giant open-air chess club where complete beginners, casual players and seasoned competitors can all get involved.

If you've always fancied learning the game properly, professional chess coaches and some of the UK's top players will be offering free lessons for both children and adults throughout the day. More experienced players can test themselves against England internationals, including British champions Mickey Adams and Gawain Jones, during a series of simultaneous exhibitions where one grandmaster takes on dozens of opponents at once.

Visitors will also be able to challenge top players to speed chess, with prizes available for anyone who manages to earn a win or even a draw.

Elsewhere, there'll be blindfold chess demonstrations, giant speed chess matches projected onto a huge 12 x 7-metre screen and live links to ChessFest events taking place around the country.

For many visitors, though, the standout attraction will be the famous living chess set.

Featuring 32 costumed actors bringing famous games to life, the performances combine theatre, history and live commentary from Grandmaster Chris Ward and event host Owen Williams. This year's theme is wildlife, meaning you'll see everything from kingfishers and queen bees to butterflies and hedgehogs taking the place of traditional chess pieces in a delightfully bonkers retelling of classic matches.

The 2026 festival also celebrates a major milestone in chess history: the 175th anniversary of the legendary Immortal Game.

Played in London in 1851 by German master Adolf Anderssen, the match became famous after he sensationally sacrificed both rooks and his queen before delivering a stunning checkmate, creating what many still consider the greatest attacking game ever played. Fittingly, it took place just a short walk from Trafalgar Square at Simpson's-in-the-Strand, one of the capital's most historic chess venues.

Whether you're looking to improve your opening, challenge a grandmaster or simply enjoy one of London's most unusual free events, ChessFest promises a day that's anything but stale.

ChessFest takes over Trafalgar Square from 12pm to 7pm on the 12th of July, with all activities completely free to take part in.

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Battersea Power Station has had the glow-up of all glow-ups way back when, going from power station to power house of a station, complete with shops, cinemas, bars, restaurants, and flat blocks that look like they belong in Dubai. Come Christmastime, the space transforms into a mini wonderland, with the markets, ice rink etcetera. Now, its outdoor riverside is getting a revamp for summer, hosting pop-ups, exhibitions, and even an open-air cinema.

The first part of the plan is the arrival of an exciting new funfair. Electric Summer is set to take over the Power Station Park as well as the Coaching Jetty that runs adjacent to the site. The fair will be tumbling into London from 29th July until 31st August, perfect for summer holidays as well as adults who want to indulge their inner child, and by that we obviously mean beating their mates at the dodgems.

The fair will have all the bells and whistles, with rides, a big wheel, dodgems, and boardwalk games. The central attraction will be the huge roller rink (normal, not iced), which will be welcoming to skaters of all skill levels. As well as late-night skating sessions which will run on Thursday evenings, the rink will have a whole programme of lessons and sessions to help people build their confidence on four wheels, kids’ classes, first timers, and even a silent disco on Saturdays to help bring the spirit of a 70s rave firmly back into 2026.

If you’re wondering how the big jetty comes into the fairground plans, unfortunately it won’t be transforming into a log flume or logrolling race. Instead it will become a relaxed waterside bar and eatery where you can refuel on a quick sandwich or get some Dutch courage after sorely losing a game of petanque. There will also be a rooftop terrace and a Boardwalk Bar where you can also refresh.

This is just the start of the potential plans for the jetty on the banks of the Thames at Battersea Power Station, which has submitted a proposal to extend its licence, allowing it to keep hosting events into 2028. As well as the funfair, if approved, the jetty will be able to continue being used for art installations, live music, markets, events, exhibitions, and even an open-air cinema and sports screenings. Everyman on the Canal just got a competitor.

Whilst we’ll have to wait for news (aka approval) on the further activities and events at the Power Station’s jetty, the funfair is already gearing up for its summer residency. It will be open daily from 10am-10pm, accepting walk-ins for most of the rides and games available, but if you’re desperate to lock in a skate session or a particular activity, it’s worth perusing their website and booking in.

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Peckham has long been a miniature foodie capital, thanks to its Afro-Caribbean, West African, and South Asian culture, it has been a longstanding hub of great grub. So much so that sometimes it feels like you need to spend a whole week there doing a long and rather filling restaurant crawl. Thanks to the Peckham Weekender heading to the area in July, you can fill your stomach without emptying the bank – and it’s all for a good cause. Well, a better cause than making your stomach happy.

The Peckham Weekender is a three day shindig that takes over the area across July, running from 24th until 26th, with some of the area's best restaurants getting involved. It will bring together 19 of SE15’s best restaurants for a weekend of £10 specials. It's like some kind of loophole in doing good without actually having to do anything taxing, like a beach clean up or tutorting without knowing what you're meant to be teaching. The Peckham Weekender is all about supporting the Peckham Pantry, a local food bank style initiative which supports local residents to have access to affordable fruit veg, and pantry staples.

Some of the city’s most talked about spots will be serving up special dishes at a reduced price. The participating restaurants will be dishing up an exclusive £10 plate where £1 from each dish sold will be donated to Peckham Pantry. Hot spots like Forza wine, Connie’s (which just got named one of the best pizzerias in EUROPE), and Nola are all getting involved, preparing special, exclusive dishes.

Participating venues include:

• MR Bao
• Lai Rai
• Forza Wine
• Peckham Cellars
• Nola
• Rye Lane Bagels
• Taca Taco
• Bà BA
• 081 Peckham
• Kruk
• Connie’s
• Ganapati
• Maiz
• Bara
• Cöödie
• En Root
• Janda Diner
• Shorty’s
• Rice Paddy

It’s not just foodie spots getting involved, with a couple of bars also dishing up some special serves like the Pantry Paloma at Shorty’s bar.

There’s no official entry or tickets for the Peckham Weekender, just rock up to your chosen featured restaurant (or restaurantS) of choice and try out their charity special. Win win.

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The latest version of the 50 top bars in Europe has been published. And while London doesn’t claim the top spot, it does have the most picks of any city in the list.

London’s best bar is that found in Mayfair’s The Connaught hotel, giving you some idea as to the criterai for 50 Best’s list — which is published by food and drink specialist William Reed.

It reached number 10 in the ranking this year. London’s other picks include Satan’s Whiskers at number 11, a completely different kind of vibey cocktail bar found nearby Bethnal Green.

London also inhabits number 12 of 50 with Tayer + Elementary near Old Street. This one has picked up a lot of heat on socials but is currently closed thanks to a nearby fire — one in the same building. Keep an eye on the bar’s social for the latest on when it may be opening back up.

Waltz sits at number 23. It offers walk-in seats at the bar, plus table reservations. Waltz incorporates Japanese inspirations, and has won multiple awards since its 2025 opening. You’ll find Waltz nearby Shoreditch High Street station.

Heading back to Mayfair, Kwant is found at number 40. It’s a stone’s throw from Green Park, and comes from Erik Lorincz, who worked for a decade at The Savoy.

Our penultimate pick is the Soho branch of Three Sheets — the follow-up to a cocktail bar of the same name in Dalston. It serves classic and more imaginitive cocktails alongside small plates, including a fancy “chip butty” and oysters. Three Sheets lands at number 41.

The last London pick from 50 Best is found in the Rosewood hotel. It’s High Holborn’s Scarfes Bar. This is a fun place considering its luxe surroudnings, and has a “heroes & villains” themed cocktail menu — just don’t enter expecting a cheap night.

So which bar topped the list? That honour went to Line in Athens. And the city commanded the two top spots, with The Bar in Front of the Bar coming in at number two.

Still, Athens “only” has five spots on the list, while London can stay smug with a full seven entries this year.

Check out the full list over at 50 Best.

• This new app shows you a map of every hidden set menu across London’s best restaurants – including Michelin starred spots for less than £30

Pizza is a staple and available pretty much everywhere for Brits. However, there is a big difference between your supermarket trolley addition and a proper thin but doughy base, cheese pull, and proper marinara sauce. Luckily, you don’t have to start Googling Easyjet flights to Naples to get the real thing, as a couple of London spots have made the coveted list for Best Pizza in Europe, including stealing the number one spot. Like stealing candy from a baby, stealing mozzarella from Italy…

Maybe having the best job in the world, the officials over at 50 Top Pizza Europa 2026 have recently announced the rankings for the best restaurants on the continent for a slice of the good stuff, looking at hundreds of spots from traditional Italian eateries to French walk-ups and London joints.

Napoli on the Road came in the number one spot for the third year running. The west London spot started life as a food truck that popped up at food markets across the UK, growing to have three joints across the big smoke. The group’s original spot opened up over in Chiswick in 2019, going on to open another in Richmond and a more central one in Soho. It’s not the first award the restaurant has scooped up, and ranking this highly means it has automatically qualified for the 100 Best Pizzerias in the World award, which will be unveiled on 15th September.

50 Kalo also made it on the list, clinching the fourth spot. The central pizzeria has a pretty impressive pedigree, originally starting in Naples in 2014 fishing up delicious traditional pizzas. It moved over and opened up a UK offering in July 2018 and has been the recipient of plenty of awards and accolades since. The restaurant’s founder, Circo Salvo, is a bit of a pizza connoisseur/legend, having studied the links between dough and hydration, using science to back his cheffing. The result is pretty stunning pizza.

The next London spot to make the list was L’Antica Pizzeria, which landed in the 28th spot. It’s a Hampstead joint which opened up five years ago by Italian duo Luca de Vita and Alessandro Betti. Since then, it has been serving up its signature pizzas made with 36-hour fermented dough in its Neapolitan-made wood oven for a mouthwatering charred base.

The final London joint to make the list was Connie’s Pizzeria, which came in spot 48. A Peckham local, Connie’s Pizzeria (named after the founder's wife, #goals), is the brainchild of 081 Pizzeria founder Andrea Ascitui. It only opened up at the beginning of 2026, so it’s pretty incredible that it’s already made the European ranking. You may have heard of it as the city’s first ‘Bri-talian’ pizzeria, blending London-style pizza with Italian soul. It has a fairly simple menu with all the delicious staples you’d want from “the kind of local pizzeria you wish was on your street”.

If staying up until silly am to watch England’s triumphant win has left you seriously hungry, or you’re seeing all the gorgeous pictures of people sipping on Aperol Spritz and feeling left out, it turns out you don’t need to head to the Mamma Mia Motherland to get your Italian fix; you can just stay in the city.

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Eating out in London can often feel like you need to take out a mortgage or skip rent for the month just to afford somewhere a bit special. And whilst there are plenty of dining deals to be found, sometimes you want to enjoy more than one course, eaten at a normal time without having to only order one specific dish and no drinks and be a rising Gemini born on a Sunday in order to qualify for said deal. Bring back dining freedom, eh?

Luckily, set menus are the patron saint of getting a taste of some of the city’s best restaurants for a fraction of the price. And this new app makes it easy to find them.

Actually, finding a set menu can feel more like an Indiana Jones-style crusade as you search the depths of websites, TripAdvisor, and Reddit threads, trying to decipher if one is offered. Luckily, there’s a new app which will keep track and do all the sleuthing for you. Called All Set London, the app maps out all of the city’s set menus, even highlighting the Michelin-starred spots so you can find the best spots easily.

You can use different filters in the app to toggle factors like location, price, and days available to find the best one for you and your dining companions. There are a whole load of different cuisines to choose from too, as you’d expect from London’s foodie scene. Currently, there are 120 restaurants featured, although most of them are concentrated around central London. If users know of a set menu that isn’t currently listed, they can submit a recommendation for All Set London’s team to ratify. More restaurants are being added every week, slowly building up a map of places around wider London boroughs like Hackney and Brixton.

Haute cuisine highlights

If you’re wondering what sort of fare is on offer via All Set London, there’s Clerkenwell’s Luca with two courses for £34, Marylebone’s Trishna with two courses for £25, Chez Bruce in Wandsworth for £40.50, and Mauro Colagreco at Raffles in Whitehall for £50. And those are just some of the Michelin-starred places. Kokum in East Dulwich offers three courses for £25, Camden institution Frederick’s with a two-course £30 offering, Blanchette in Soho for £19.50, Noble Rot for £28, and the cheeky £15 set lunch at the gorgeous Brunswick House. Basically, half the restaurants on your notes app bucket list are featured, making a dinner out feel a lot less like an indulgence.

As All Set London points out, finding set menus is often harder than it sounds, as they’re often not listed on restaurant websites and missed by AI search results, which is why they built the app. All easily found in one place. The app is super easy to use, with options like ‘Near Me’, ‘Available Now’ and ‘Prix Fixe’ on the homepage so you can shortcut to find exactly what you need.

You can download the app for free via the App Store or head to their website and Instagram to find out more.

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England's World Cup campaign continues this weekend as Thomas Tuchel's side take on Mexico in the Round of 16, with a place in the quarter-finals on the line.

After edging past DR Congo 2-1 to reach the knockout stages, England now face one of their toughest tests of the tournament. The only downside for supporters back home is the kick-off time, with the match getting underway at 1am BST on Monday the 6th of July.

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While pubs and bars can stay open later if they have the appropriate licensing or council permission in place, not every venue will be screening the game. If you're planning to watch alongside fellow England fans, it's worth booking ahead as many places are taking reservations for the late-night fixture.

From giant fan zones and dedicated sports bars to pubs staying open into the early hours, here are some of the best places in London to watch England vs Mexico.

TOCA Social, The O2

Football-themed entertainment venue TOCA Social is showing England's clash with Mexico at its Greenwich home. While it's best known for its interactive football games, the venue also transforms into a lively sports bar on major matchdays, complete with large screens, cocktails, sharing platters and plenty of seating. It's a great option if you're planning to make a full night of it before the early morning kick-off.

BOXPARK (Croydon, Shoreditch and Wembley)

BOXPARK's venues in Croydon, Shoreditch and Wembley have become some of London's go-to destinations during major football tournaments, and England's last 16 clash with Mexico is no exception.

Expect giant screens, buzzing fan zones, street food from a range of independent traders and plenty of bars serving drinks into the night. Tickets and advance bookings are recommended, especially given the unusual 1am kick-off.

Box (Piccadilly)

Located in the heart of the West End, Box Piccadilly has built a reputation as one of London's best sports bars thanks to its wall-to-wall screens and lively matchday atmosphere.

England's showdown with Mexico will be shown live into the early hours, with food, cocktails and beers available throughout the night. Booking ahead is recommended as tables are expected to fill quickly.

Hope & Anchor (Brixton)

Another south London favourite opening specifically for England vs Mexico, the Hope & Anchor is taking advance bookings for the overnight screening. With more than 20 indoor and outdoor screens, it's one of the biggest sports pubs in the area and is known for its lively football atmosphere. If you want to watch the game surrounded by fellow England fans, this should be high on your list.

Long Arm Brewery & Tap Room (Shoreditch)

Located inside Montcalm Royal London House in Finsbury Square, Long Arm Brewery & Tap Room will be screening every England match throughout the tournament.

The venue combines fresh craft beer brewed on site with large screens and a relaxed atmosphere, making it a great option if you want something a little different from the traditional sports pub. Food and drinks will be available throughout the evening as fans settle in for another late-night fixture.

Arcade (Battersea, Covent Garden and Tottenham Court Road)

For those who'd rather pair the football with dinner, Arcade is showing England vs Mexico across its Battersea Power Station, Covent Garden and Tottenham Court Road venues.

The food hall brings together kitchens serving everything from burgers and pizza to Thai and Indian dishes, alongside a well-stocked cocktail menu. Large screens throughout the venues mean you can catch every minute without sacrificing your dinner plans.

Rae's Summer Sports Lounge

Formerly known as Omeara, Rae's Summer Sports Lounge at The Lowline near London Bridge is showing every England match throughout the tournament, including the last 16 clash against Mexico.

The venue will feature more than eight large screens, DJs before and after the match, six beers on tap and premium cocktails, plus plenty of food options from The Lowline's traders. Doors open from 10pm, giving fans plenty of time to settle in before the 1am kick-off. Next door is one of our favourite London pizza spots too — Spring Street Pizza.

• The BIG London gig list 2026: Your guide to this year's very best shows, festivals and concerts

The peak of British comedy comes in the form of a heatwave, someone snapping a pic of their (slightly shitty) local beach and captioning it “Costa Del [insert crumbling beachside town here].” One London bar has taken inspiration from this, turning a concrete jungle into a tropical (?) destination with a beachside twist.

Costa del Croydon is officially returning for 2026. The urban beach first debuted in 2024 in the borough’s Centrale and Whitgift Centre car park, swapping smog for sand and giving the city a beachy makeover. Grab your bucket and spade as the rooftop beach will be back in the capital from August 7th, running until the beginning of September.

The words “Croydon” and “beach” may not be a natural fit; however, the multi-storey space will be transformed with splash zones, mini go-karts, trampolines, as well as a large chill-out area for the kind of beachside relaxation you’d expect. There will be two bookable sessions running per day, helping keep the number of people zonked out on a beanbag relatively chilled.

Whilst this may sound like an event for kids galore, this year, the organisers have introduced first-of-its-kind adult-only sessions. Dubbed ‘Beach Club’, the sessions are a series of after-hours events just for adults. They’ll be taking place on Thursday evenings (when else), welcoming in the hordes of post-work punters who are gasping for a pint. As the kids head home, the party will get going with music, DJs, live entertainment, and all the food and drink you’d want (not covered in sand, that is). There will be a different theme featured each week, including drag-hosted lip sync battles, paint and sip sessions, as well as music ranging from pop classics to garage.

Thanks to the rooftop’s, well, sky-high location, there will be plenty of golden hour light to snap some pics in, killer views during the day, and gorgeous sunsets over the city in the evenings. Perfect for anyone who used up all their annual leave in Q1 and is now mourning the loss of three nights firmly seated in a beachside resort in the Med.

Entry to the rooftop beach is free, although booking tickets is recommended to make sure you get a space, as only a few walk-ins are accepted daily. You can pre-book via the website from July 31st.

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As London melted in June’s boiling-point heatwave and Soho’s pub regulars spilled out onto the streets like soggy chips from a deep fat fryer, finding a cool, dark corner among the brain-melting madness became an almost Darwinian challenge.

Find the shade. Find a drink. Survive.

A good thing, then, that we were booked into one of Soho’s coolest — both literally and figuratively — cocktail bars, Kamara, to be whisked away from the hustle, bustle and burns of the climate end times.

Perched above Brother Marcus on Poland Street, this Eastern Mediterranean-inspired cocktail bar takes familiar classics and rebuilds them using Greek spirits, house-made ferments and ingredients that would be just as at home on a tasting menu as behind a bar.

WHERE IS IT?

You'll find Kamara above Brother Marcus on Poland Street, a five-minute walk from Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road stations. It's tucked into the former home of the Blind Pig, but the mood couldn't be more different.

Instead of old-school speakeasy theatrics, Kamara leans into warm terracotta tones, bronze detailing, cave-like ceilings and shelves filled with handcrafted Cretan pottery. It's intimate without feeling cramped — as if Yoda had decided on building a human-sized extension on his cosy little home — polished without becoming intimidating. Behind a nondescript door leading to stairs up from the Soho pavements, it’s a welcome escape from Soho's usual sensory overload.

WHAT'S SPECIAL?

Building a mood for your tastebuds. Dimly lit, affording intimacy and privacy with its seductive seating, Kamara sets a scene for your tastebuds that lets the flavours do the talking. It’s an inventive menu, where every cocktail starts with a recognisable classic before taking a sharp detour into the Eastern Mediterranean.

The team, led by Group Bar Manager Marco Luisetto and General Manager Zinio Fernandes, make many of their own spirits, ferments and infusions in-house, often ageing ingredients in traditional clay amphorae. Greek spirits and unusual distillations run through the menu, but it’s never forced or gimmicky. Kamara isn’t here to weird you out with ingredients you’ve never heard of — if they’re part of a mix, it’s because they genuinely improve the drink.

WHAT'S NEW?

There’s an all-new menu for the summer at Kamara, with a “focus on process, provenance and flavour development, reinterpreting classic drinks through Eastern Mediterranean ingredients and techniques.” The intent remains the same — Greek-influenced sips — but there’s some fresh options for those that have delighted at Kamara previously. We tried the best of the bunch, as we’ll get to in a moment.

WHO SHOULD YOU BRING?

Though we visited with a friend, this is definitely a date spot first and foremost, as the snuggling couples around us defying the heat outside attested to. The lighting is flattering, the music sits in conversation territory and the service strikes that sweet spot between knowledgeable and approachable. Equally, it's an excellent place to start a longer Soho evening with friends before moving elsewhere, although there's every chance you'll end up staying for another round.

WHAT SHOULD YOU WEAR?

Trainers won't raise eyebrows, but this is somewhere people have generally made an effort. Think fashionable rather than formal. You'll fit right in wearing your nicest overshirt and clean kicks — though the fact you’re almost certainly going to be coming here for a date means you’ll more want to match your partner’s lead than anything else here.

WHAT WILL YOU PAY?

Cocktails sit between £13 and £15, firmly in line with premium Soho pricing. Add a couple of small plates from the Brother Marcus-inspired food menu and you're looking at around £45-60 per person for a relaxed evening. It's not cheap, but given the level of technique on display, it feels fair.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DRINK?

There are some go-to classics on the revised Kamara menu (Martinis, Negronis, Old Fashioneds) but skip the temptation to play it safe and dive into the unique pours created here for the real experience.

The standout was Shiso + Mint, Kamara's take on a Gin Smash. Hendrick's provides the familiar backbone, but pickled cucumber, shiso, basil and freshly grated horseradish transform it into something zippily fresh. Quaffable rather than deeply herbal, it disappears alarmingly quickly.

Tomato + Cucumber reimagines a Martini as something savoury and crystalline. Tomato water gives it remarkable clarity, while pickled cucumber, caper leaf and sea salt create a drink both delicate and deep.

The biggest surprise was Bread + Butter, an Old Fashioned featuring Kamara's own burnt butter spirit alongside Michter's bourbon. Toasted bread, mahleb and cardamom leaf could easily have become overwhelming, but the balance is superb. Rich, nutty and gently spiced, it's comfort food in cocktail form.

Finally, Lemon Verbena + Gooseberries might be the crowd-pleaser of the four. A Margarita built around tequila, tsipouro and Naxos kitron liqueur, it delivers bright citrus before tart gooseberries and fragrant lemon verbena keep everything feeling wonderfully fresh. It's recognisably a Margarita, but a twist all Kamaras own.

The staff deserve plenty of credit too. Rather than simply dropping drinks onto the table, they're keen to explain the ingredients and guide you towards flavours you'll actually enjoy, making an unfamiliar menu feel immediately accessible.

And they’re attentive in all the right ways — I nipped to the toilet to find my drink briefly missing. The reason? They’d popped it back into the freezer to keep it icy-cool on one of the hottest days of the year. A very classy touch.

WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT?

It’s all about the booze at Kamara, but small plate serves are well realised and take their delicious cues from the bar’s sibling restaurant. The food offering borrows heavily from Brother Marcus, with a concise menu of elevated mezze designed to complement the cocktails. If you're ordering blind, let the staff steer you towards the taramasalata, crispy calamari or fried chicken – they're among the dishes most often recommended alongside the drinks.

GET ON THE GUESTLIST?

Looking east rather than chasing whatever London's latest drinks trend happens to be, Kamara is a real hidden gem in the heart of Soho.

The cocktails are ambitious without being inaccessible, the room feels sexily languid and the service is warm and careful. If you're after another Espresso Martini, there are hundreds of places that will happily oblige. If you want to taste what London's cocktail scene is capable of when it starts borrowing from the Mediterranean instead of Manhattan, Kamara should be at the top of your list.

Kamara can be found at 58 Poland St, London W1F 7NR. Reservations are recommended, particularly on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, and can be made through OpenTable.

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Coughlans bakery, which operates a host of sites across the South including bakeries in Croydon, Beckenham and Addiscombe, has announced it has gone into voluntary liquidation.

The announcement was made on the chain’s Instagram feed, inciting a public outcry as well as a response from bakery backer Romesh Ranganathan and a handful of his comedy contemporaries.

Coughlans Bakery director Sean Coughlan explained the move in a video statement, saying the liquidation would allow the chain to pay its suppliers, where waiting longer could see them left in limbo.

“It’s with the heaviest of hearts that I’m bringing you the news that sadly we at Coughlans Bakery are closing our doors today for the last time,” Coughlan wrote.

“The last 2 months with the fuel prices from the war, new NI charges & higher rates are costing us an extra £20k per week, this has affected us more than we could have ever imagined which is so devastating as March was a fantastic month, as was a lot of last year with our growth with new stores.”

A local institution

Coughlans Bakery was established in 1937, by Sean Coughlan’s grandfather.

It made happier headlines back in 2024 when comedian Romesh Ranganathan became a backer of the business, having long been a fan of its largely plant-based menu.

As well as vegan sausage rolls and wellingtons, the bakery produced vegan chicken sandwiches, vegan-friendly loaves and pasties.

“Gutted isn't the word,” Ranganathan posted in response to the bakery’s news. He can be seen across the bakery’s previous social posts, including getting involved with actually making some of the bakery’s items.

“Our lovely little Coughlans bakery has ceased trading,” says Coughlan.

“Up until March everything was going really swimmingly…. But then literally on the 1st April our extra National Insurance payments that had been put on us from the government [came in], obviously the wages increase… but the rates have absolutely smashed local businesses and local retail.”

He went on to explain how increases in the cost of fuel and ingredients factored into these events, alongside poor trade during the recent heat wave.

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The June additions to the Michelin Guide have been published, with three brand new restaurants in London on the list — including one that won't break the bank.

Covent Garden, Mayfair and Notting Hill are home to the new picks, Burro, Mazarine and Taq.

Burro is an Italian restaurant whose menu changes daily. But you can expect hand-made pasta dishes, antipasti and a handful of meat/fish plates.

It opened in March 2026, and is headed by Conor Gadd, who was previously head chef at Trullo.

But earlier this year he told restaurantsonline the plan wasn’t just to copy-paste Trullo.

“Once I realised that opening another Trullo would be to dilute that I shut the idea down pretty quickly,” says Gadd.

"What it did make me realise was that sense of place and belonging can be replicated in a slightly different format."

Whatever he’s doing, it seems to be working.

Burro is found on Floral Court, nearby London’s tourist hotspot heart.

Next up is Mazarine, a French seafood restaurant based in Mayfair. On the ever-changing menu you’ll find caviar of various grades —pricey enough to induce sweating — alongside langoustines and oysters.

Its head chef is Thierry Laborde, previously known for Mayfair’s La Petite Maison. Mazarine opened in November 2025.

Mazarine lives at 22 Hanover Square, off of Regent Street.

The affordable option

But it's this final newcomer, with menu prices just about anyone can afford, that's caught our interest the most. Our last addition is Taq, which is blissfully a lot less high faluting and serious than the other two. Yep, even though it’s based in Notting Hill.

Taq is a Mexican restaurant that serves veggie tacos for a fiver. That’s more like it.

Fish, carnitas, beef and chicken are also part of the taco menu. And quesadillas and toastadas are on offer too, alongside snack plates like Escabeche pickles. Yes please.

Taq is a reworking of the old space on the site, Taqueria, under head chef Eduardo Yishima. The idea is to bring it back up to speed with the standards of London’s 2026 taco scene. It opened in May 2026 and is found at 141 Westbourne Grove.

• Three London restaurants were added to the Michelin Guide in May, including Thai barbecue and Mexican seafood

Ever been somewhere that promises to be a secret garden or an oasis in the city, only to get there and realise their definition of both consists solely of some outdoor furniture and a slightly sad looking festoon lighting?

*Pause as everyone collectively raises their hands*.

Well, The Mandrake Hotel’s Jurema terrace puts your flimsy balcony furniture and sad potted houseplant to shame, with a sprawling, multi-storey terrace tucked inwards away from the busyness of Soho, and an urban jungle to stare at whilst you sip.

And if the outdoors isn’t your thing (namely, you have hayfever or a distaste for other people) or you get hungry, then the hotel offers up Yopo Zaytoun, a quiet, polished restaurant which serves up a taste of the Levant with the lightest of touches.

WHERE IS IT?

Both the bar and the restaurant are tucked inside The Mandrake Hotel, just off Oxford Street in central London. It’s easily accessible whether you’re meeting friends scattered across the city or are looking for somewhere to pop into after work.

WHAT’S SPECIAL?

The terrace is the wow factor here; nestled in the terrace, you’ll be surrounded by tall wooden, slatted walls which give the impression that you’re posting snaps from an Indonesian bar or some kind of secluded, rainforest retreat rather than a bar in central London. Yopo’s restaurant is not to be overlooked either, though, with a quiet, classy spin on Middle Eastern-inspired fare.

WHAT'S NEW?

Yopo has entered Spring/Summer 26 with a brand new, refreshed menu; rooted in the traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean, it has reimagined traditional dishes, leaning into the soul of the Levant.

WHO SHOULD YOU BRING?

London is one of those places where you can turn up to most places with any mix of friends / companions / acquaintances, and be alright. It’s the little black dress of cultural cities. Which is a long-winded way of saying you can come with whoever to Jurema and Yopo. It’s a mix of couples, friends, and a few work colleagues, depending on what time of day you’re heading there. It’s quiet enough to be able to actually hear your dining companion (see earlier on hidden oasis), so it’s a decent place to actually have a natter, without being devoid of a buzzy atmosphere.

WHAT SHOULD YOU WEAR?

It’s not the most casual spot given it’s central London and a classy hotel. However, your post-work threads won’t be out of place. Jeans won’t get sniffed at, but we’d recommend leaving the sliders at home, or rather, in your hotel room.

WHAT WILL YOU PAY?

A round of cocktails will set you back around £40 if you're ordering off their St Germain cocktail menu. We went up for a cocktail each on the terrace to enjoy the cooling summer evening and gawk at the leafery which we’d definitely recommend – the cocktails that is, the gawking is optional.

Heading down to Yopo, you’ll find a mix of dips, platters, and sides, with an average meal setting you back around £60 per person. To leave you feeling decently filled, you’ll probably want to get a mix of small plates and dips to start, with a meaty or fishy large plate and two sides between two of you.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DRINK?

The cocktails are great, and if you're in the mood to splurge it's fun to try out a couple. However, if you're heading straight to Yopo, you can skip them and go for a glass of wine instead.

As you’d expect from a restaurant with this calibre of hotel attached to it, there’s a pretty great wine list attached. It’s carefully curated to not overwhelm you with choices or long French terminology. There’s a thoughtful handful of different wines – red, white, rosès – which will pair well with whatever dishes you opt for. But if you’ve got any uncertainties about what exactly to pick you can always chat to the waiters who are happy to advise.

THREE MUST TRY DISHES?

It may have helped that we were absolutely starving upon arrival, but even if we weren’t, the dishes at Yopo would be gobbled in minutes. I’m not exactly sure what the average speed of eating is for a course at Yopo, but if we were anything to go by, it was cartoon character-esuqe.

The sharing platter may have all the components that you could find on Ocado (hummus, baba ghanoush, tzatziki, flatbread), but it is without a doubt worth it. In fact, it will ruin all supermarket dips and picky bits for the foreseeable. The baba ghanoush is smoky and grilled like the whole thing has been slowly flame-grilled, tasting more like a whole meal rather than an entree. Similarly, the tzatziki is almost enough to rival anything you'd find in a Greek taverna, bringing the garlicky, creamy, cucumbery freshness to centre stage.

When it comes to the large plates, the two we’d recommend are the Slow-roasted aubergine (with miso, sesame, and pomegranate) and the Braised beef short rib (with saffron couscous, parsley, and shallot salad). The former captures all the smoky seductiveness of the baba ganoush but in a show-stopping main form. It's topped with a sprinkle of pomegranate and a popped nut crunch, which elevates it from veg to main.

The beef has all the melt-in-the-mouth tenderness without losing any of the punchiness you'd want from a short rib. The couscous is pleasantly surprising, subtly complementing the richness of the beef without being too fragrant to distract you. Both mains are light – not in a 'not-enough-on-the-plate' but more in a 'you-won't-be-rolling-out-of-there' kind of feeling. Also, you'll have room for dessert, which is always a win.

GET ON THE GUESTLIST?

One of the main things that's good about Jurema and Yopo Zaytoun is that they ain't going anywhere. Unlike trendy pop-ups or short-lived chef residencies, The Mandrake Hotel's terrace bar and restaurant consistently offer great food, good drinks, and a great setting. It's the kind of place you'll want to be in the know about to have in your back pocket for when you're at a loss for where to go. Worth a visit for sure, even if it's just to sip on a glass of wine whilst feeling like the city is a million miles away as opposed to a couple of feet.

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If there’s one thing that’s been firmly established about Gen Z, it’s that they ain’t drinking. And that they’re lazy, refusing to work, and putting the rest of the country in economic fragility, if you’re reading right-wing news sites, that is. Here to meet the needs of the nation, Holland and Barrett is opening a London boozer with a twist – a healthy twist that is, swapping traditional pints for pull-ups.

Taking the phrase ‘watering hole’ quite literally, the first-of-its-kind pub will be helping Londoners recharge with electrolytes on tap, for once getting punters to leave the pub more hydrated than they arrived. Called The Wellness Tap, the pub is heading to Clerkenwell in July, helping to provide a restorative alternative to your weekday rager.

Just because it’s a wellness pub doesn’t mean it won’t be recognisable as a good old drinkers' den. Visitors can enjoy free drinks and snacks with pints of electrolytes whilst DJ sets, pub quizzes, and expert-led talks keep them entertained across the evening. The interactive pub quizzes will be taking place throughout the day, with the talks happening at lunchtime (1.15pm) and early evening (6pm). There is even the chance to walk away with some luxurious wellness prizes too, which will put your round of shots at your local to shame.

The only catch is that the pub itself is only staying in the capital for two days, on 9th and 10th July. It's combining Brits’ love of going to the pub with the equally big love of not having a hangover at work and having to smile through Linda’s constant small talk and pungent egg sandwich the following day. The idea is that Londoners can power through that summer slump when your social calendar is packed, but FOMO keeps you RSVP-ing to more and more social events.

You will need to book tickets for a spot at the pub (Covid flashbacks much?), but tickets are free; it’s just to secure you and your mates a guaranteed spot. After all, we all know how packed a pub can get.

You can book tickets here.

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Supporting England usually involves a lucky shirt, a pre-match pint and telling everyone "it's coming home" with increasingly misplaced confidence mixed with doubt. One pub chain wants fans to go just a little bit further.

BOX Sports Bar has announced what might be the most ridiculous World Cup promotion of the summer, offering a year's worth of free pints to anyone willing to legally change their name to Harry Kane.

The offer launched after England secured their place in the World Cup knockout stages and will remain open until the Three Lions are either dumped out of the tournament or lift the trophy themselves.

Anyone brave or thirsty enough to complete the paperwork before then will receive vouchers for one free pint every week until July 2027 across BOX venues nationwide. That's 52 pints in total, which suddenly makes the admin feel a little more worthwhile.

According to BOX Brand and Marketing Manager Tom Mayer-Jones: "Harry Kane has delivered for England time and time again, and we wanted to celebrate that in true BOX style. If fans think England are going all the way, now's the time to prove your commitment."

The promotion is available at BOX venues across London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham, meaning Londoners have as much chance as anyone of waking up next week answering to England's record goalscorer.

Of course, before you rush off to the Deed Poll office, it's probably worth remembering that changing your legal name isn't quite as easy to undo as changing your fantasy football team. You'll also have some explaining to do at work and probably to your mum.

If keeping your existing identity sounds preferable, BOX will still be showing every World Cup match live throughout the tournament. Fans can expect giant HD screens, stadium-style sound, DJs for England games and plenty of food and drink deals, including sharing platters, burgers, pizzas, beer steins and cocktail packages.

There'll also be a Fantasy Football league running throughout the tournament with weekly prizes for those who'd rather compete with their football knowledge than their birth certificate.

If England do end up lifting the World Cup and you happen to bump into several Harry Kanes celebrating with free pints next summer, at least you'll know how it happened.

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Finally, the group stage is done, and now the real World Cup begins. England's reward for topping Group L is a Round of 32 clash with DR Congo, kicking off at 5pm on Wednesday the 1st of July.

It's an awkward start time that means thousands of fans will be making a beeline from the office straight to the pub, but that's all part of the fun. If Thomas Tuchel's side are going to keep their World Cup dream alive, you'll want to be somewhere with a decent atmosphere.

As ever, London's biggest football venues have gone all in for the occasion, with giant screens, fan zones and plenty of pre-match pints on offer. You might notice one or two familiar names missing from this list. That's because some of the capital's biggest World Cup destinations, including Flat Iron Square, have already sold out for England's knockout opener.

If you haven't locked in your plans yet, don't panic. These are the best places still worth booking, or getting to early, for England v DR Congo.

TOCA Social (The O2 and Westfield White City)

If you want to lean into the football theme, TOCA Social is an easy shout. The interactive football venue is screening England's World Cup Round of 32 clash against DR Congo at both its O2 and Westfield White City locations, with doors opening from 3pm to give you plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere before the 5pm kick-off.

Every ticket includes a free drink from the standard menu if you arrive before 4pm, plus there's a match-day happy hour running in the two hours before kick-off. Just bear in mind that this is a ticket-only event, so you won't be able to rock up on the day, and the football games themselves aren't included with your screening ticket.

BOXPARK (Wembley, Camden, Croydon and Shoreditch)

BOXPARK is once again going all out for England's World Cup campaign, with screenings taking place across its Wembley, Camden, Croydon and Shoreditch venues. If you're after atmosphere, this is about as close as you'll get without hopping on a plane, with giant screens, hundreds of fellow England fans and plenty of food and drink to keep you going through the knockout drama.

Tickets are required for entry, with doors opening from 2pm ahead of the 5pm kick-off and last entry at 4pm. With 14 independent street food traders on site, it's also one of the better options if your group can't agree on what to eat before kick-off.

Greenwood, Victoria

If you're looking for somewhere central, Greenwood is hard to beat. Just a couple of minutes from Victoria Station, it's an easy option for anyone escaping the office before England's 5pm kick-off. With more than 30 HD screens spread across two floors, plus a huge 150-inch LED video wall, you won't have to worry about missing a moment of the action.

The atmosphere is firmly geared towards live sport, but Greenwood also scores highly on the food front. Think chicken wings, burgers and stone-baked pizzas alongside a solid drinks menu, while the spacious terrace is ideal if you fancy making an afternoon of it before heading inside for kick-off. It's one of the strongest all-round options in central London for watching England's World Cup knockout clash with DR Congo.

Tank & Paddle, Bishopsgate

For City workers who'd rather skip the mad dash across London, Tank & Paddle Bishopsgate is a solid shout. Just a short walk from Liverpool Street, it's screening England's World Cup Round of 32 clash against DR Congo with both seated table bookings and standing tickets available, depending on how you like to watch your football.

The venue is spread across two floors, serving up stone-baked pizzas that stretch up to a yard long alongside fresh tank beer brewed by Meantime. There's also shuffleboard and classic board games if you fancy arriving early and making an afternoon of it before kick-off.

Belushi's (London Bridge and Shepherd's Bush)

Belushi's has been showing international football for donkeys, so it knows exactly what fans want on matchday. Both its London Bridge and Shepherd's Bush venues are screening England's World Cup Round of 32 clash, promising huge screens, booming commentary and the sort of atmosphere that starts building well before kick-off.

The London Bridge venue is the standout, with multiple floors packed full of TVs and projector screens, plus The Dugout, a dedicated viewing area for fans who want to be right in the middle of the action. If you're heading out with a bigger group, you can also book one of the semi-private caves or booths with their own screens. Throw in burgers, wings, loaded fries, craft beer and cocktails, and it's an easy choice for anyone wanting a proper sports bar experience.

Belleville Brewing Co., Wandsworth Common

If you'd rather swap the packed sports bars for something a little more laid back, Belleville Brewing Co.'s taproom near Wandsworth Common is a great alternative. The South West London brewery is showing England's World Cup Round of 32 clash with full match commentary across all of its screens, while extending its opening hours for the tournament.

As you'd expect from a working brewery, the beer is the main attraction, with fresh American-style craft brews pouring straight from the source and special World Cup beers often available at discounted prices during England matches. Tables are available to reserve for groups, but the best viewing spots are first come, first served, so it's worth arriving early if you want the pick of the seats.

Bar Kick at The Shoreditch Arms, Shoreditch

Fresh from a revamp, Bar Kick at The Shoreditch Arms is one of East London's strongest options for catching England's World Cup Round of 32 clash. Head downstairs and you'll find six giant screens showing all the action, with the venue able to screen multiple games at once, although England will undoubtedly be taking centre stage on Wednesday evening.

Expect a lively sports bar atmosphere, classic pub grub and a solid drinks menu to fuel the knockout nerves. If you're based around Liverpool Street or Shoreditch, it's an easy after-work option that delivers exactly what you want from a big tournament screening without trying to reinvent the wheel.

The Volley, Old Street

The Volley was created with one simple idea: combine excellent beer with excellent football. Located just off Old Street, the independent sports bar has quickly become a favourite among fans who care as much about what's in their pint as what's happening on the pitch.

It's showing England's World Cup Round of 32 clash with DR Congo on its screens, but there's one thing to bear in mind. The venue is walk-ins only, so if you want to secure a spot for the 5pm kick-off, you'll need to get there early. For those who do, expect quality craft beer, a lively football crowd and one of the better matchday atmospheres in East London.

Pub on the Park, London Fields

If you're after a lively East London pub rather than a dedicated fan zone, Pub on the Park should be high on your list. Overlooking London Fields, the popular boozer has 12 screens dotted throughout the venue, making it one of the area's best places to catch England's World Cup Round of 32 clash with DR Congo.

There's one catch, though: England games are walk-ins only. Given the demand, the pub is expecting a packed house, so you'll need to arrive well before the 5 pm kick-off if you want any chance of grabbing a table. If you do end up spilling onto the pavement, at least they've got takeaway pints to soften the blow.

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Tickets for what might be this year’s most important historical exhibition in London go on sale this week, but you’d better be quick as we expect them to sell fast.

We’re talking about the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum.

Tickets go on sale from Wednesday 1st July at 10am, while the show itself begins on 10^th September.

Members can book already, while non-members will pay £33 for an adult ticket. This one is not cheap. The initial batch of tickets sold will cover from September to December 2026 dates. Tickets for January and up until the exhibition’s closure in July 2027 will be available later in the year.

The British Museum recommends you sign up for a ticketing account before Wednesday. And we do too. Tickets will be linked to a timed slot, so it’s also a good idea to think about exactly when you’ll be able to attend.

The exhibition marks the first time the Bayeux Tapestry has returned to England since it was produced not long after the Normam Conquest, in 1066. Previously it was on display at the Bayeux Museum in Normandy. And it’s only the third time the tapestry has been moved out since it was made. In exchange for the loan, which made headlines for its sheer riskiness, France got a loan of both a selection of Sutton Hoo treasures and an ancient Lewis chessmen set of chess pieces from the UK.

The BBC will broadcast a new documentary on the tapestry and its journey from France to London to celebrate the exhibition, closer to the show’s opening, and it will be on iPlayer after the fact too.

“This documentary will help tell the story of the exhibition and why the Bayeux Tapestry has captured so many imaginations for centuries,” says Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the British Museum.

“The arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry in the UK is truly historic. Hosting this extraordinary artefact at the British Museum will offer many hundreds of thousands an opportunity of a lifetime.”

The Bayeux Tapestry is roughly 70m long and visually depicts the story of the Norman Conquest, including 1066’s Battle of Hastings.

• London just got a whacky new mini golf exhibition fully designed by female artists

Coffee is essential to Londoners, if the queues outside Pret are anything to go by. Things you can rely on are: delays on at least one tube route, stressed commuters tutting about said transport, and at least 5000 people casually sipping from a takeaway coffee cup at any given moment. As a result, there are plenty of lovely coffee spots and takeaway hatches serving up a wide range of caffeinated goods to help you make it through your boring board meetings.

One London spot has been crowned the best of the best, not just in the capital, not just in the UK, but in the whole world. Rosslyn, an independent coffee shop in London’s Square Mile, has been named as the best in London and among the best in Europe by Europe’s 100 Best Coffee Shops.

Rosslyn was ranked 12th in Europe and number one in England, beating more than 5,300 other coffee shops and judged by a panel of 250 professionals. It was one of only four UK cafes to reach the continental top 20.

The list brings together the most highly regarded cafes across the continent, judging them on their performance across four different categories. The categories are: quality, consistency, hospitality, and contribution to the wider coffee community. Rosslyn just missed the top 10, landing in 12th place, but this made it the highest-ranking London spot. Glasgow’s Ottoman Coffee House was the only UK spot that made it into the top 10, landing in 6th spot.

Rosslyn was set up in 2018 with nine stores all set up within London’s Square Mile: Queen Victoria Street (the original), London Wall, Tower 42, Cannon Street, Royal Exchange, Leadenhall Market, Fenchurch St Station, Ludgate Circus, and Liverpool St Station. It’s a veritable Monopoly-esque set-up. One of its founders said they’re “not chasing scale for its own sake” but instead “want to make its corner of London a little bit better”.

Given Londoners' reliance on love for coffee, it’s not surprising that a couple of other London roasteries made the top 100. Moonstruck Cafe in Nine Elms was ranked 18th, and Oma Coffee Roaster in central London also (just) made the list at 94th place.

Other UK entries that made the list included Birch Coffee in the Isle of Skye which came in 15th place, Falmouth’s Dark Pony (39th place), Lean to Coffee, a small coffee shop also on Isle of Skye which came in 73rd place, Aberdeen’s Figment Coffee (85th), Kapow Coffee in Leeds (89th), and Saints of Mokha in Leicester was the final UK entry in 98th place, which celebrates coffee’s origins in Yeman.

Being named within the top 100 in Europe means Rosslyn now qualifies for and can enter The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops, which get listed in March 2027. For everyday Londoners, that just means they might have another reason to feel smug about the city that they live in. And feel a tiny bit better about shelling out £5 for a flat white.

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Crazy golf circuits are usually attached to some kind of arcade, playpark, or fairground and frequented generally by either kids or people on awkard first dates. Whilst London often has a unique spin on the ordinary this latest exhibition stroke game is unlike any rounds you will have putted before.

A new exhibition in Battersea is changing up that MO of crazy golf, inviting visitors to play a slightly different came which will take each putter through a journey back in time to learn more about the origin of the game.

Called The Art of Mini Golf the exhibition is currently running at Battersea Arts Centre throughout June and July. It’s the first time the exhibition has touched down on UK soil, after debuting in Melbourne earlier in the year. The exhibition has been created by Grace Herbert from Rising Melbourne, who has curated leading artists for the course. Each of the nine artists is responsible for putting their own creative spin on a traditional crazy golf hole.

Like a normal circuit, the exhibition features nine holes which are called ‘golf hole artworks’ where players are encouraged to step onto and play with the art, sort of like an immersive exhibition only with putters. At one of the holes, you can get your fortgune told, at another you can navigate surreal penvironemnts all set up via complex projection which will throw you off balance as you try and shoot your shot. At another yu might find yourself opposite a huge and haunting version of a fairground attraction, or trying to put a square ball. The whackiest of them all? Probably the faux strap-on animal tail that you’ll swap out your putter for at one of the holes.

Kaylene Whiskey’s course is designed with pop icons woven through Anangu culture, with Atlanta rapper BKTHERULA has teamed up with sound artist Kate Miller to make swamp flowers bloom whilst you try to score. Basically each mini course is absolutely bananas in the coolest and possibly most fun way which will leave normal mini golf a bit of a letdown.

The rebellious twist on mini golf is an hommage to the game’s rootes, as the game itself was originally invented by 19th century Scottish women who were banned from ‘real’ courses but refused to sit on the sidelines. So basically attending the exhibition is a feminist act.

The Art of Mini Golf, the playable exhibition is running until 26th July so you may want to hurry if you’re keen to try it out. Tickets are on sale with off peak entry costing £15, most standard times (i.e. post 6pm) a fraction higher at £20, and the most expensive at £25.

You can buy tickets here, and find the exhibition at Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TN.

A meat festival takes over London's Tobacco Dock this summer — the aptly-named Meatopia — and the full line-up of chefs set to fling food over fire has been announced.

There are absolutely loads of chefs on the roster: 80-plus of them.

Just picking a few from the list, there’s Adriana Cavita from Cavita, Anton Vasyliev of Chelsea Grill, Ellen Parr from Lucky & Joy, Jeff Marris from Bodeans, Jack Macrae of Mondo Sando and Luke Larsson of Khao Bird, which was recently added to the Michelin Guide.

You can browse through the full Meatopia line-up over at the festival website.

Meatopia takes place from 3rd to 6th September at Tobacco Dock, and you buy tickets for a specific day. The price varies by day but, at the time of writing, they start at £28.65 for the Thursday 4-10pm session, rising to £53 for the 12-10pm Saturday session.

These prices may change, as Meatopia uses a tiered ticketing system.

There’s also a MeatBucks currency system in place, and it’s the “only way to buy food” at the fest. Each vendor serves just one dish, and each one costs a single MeatBuck. You can get a four pack of 4 MeatBucks for £30, or they can be bought on-site on the day. It’s a cashless festival, though, so be sure to bring a card or a phone setup with wireless payments.

Not all of the chefs will be cooking each day, of course. Metaopia’s organisers say you can expect “20-30” each day.

More than just meat

A second drop of chefs was just announced, with the first load having been teased back in April.

What’s still to be announced is the music line-up. For previous Meatopias this has been announced around six weeks before the event itself, suggesting we may hear more in late July or early August.

Last year were got brass bands, DJs and even a mariachi covers band. There’s more to do than just eat at Meatopia.

However, it’s not necessarily going to be the best event for the veggies out there. “Meatopia is probably not great for vegetarians or vegans, though everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the music, bars, demos and atmosphere,” reads the festival website.

Meatopia has been around since 2013 and now takes place in both London and Glasgow, which held a fest earlier this month from 12th to 14th June.

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Whether you were a train obsessed kid or just someone who really appreciates just how speedily you can get across London thanks to the tube, everyone has a soft spot for travel in some way. London Transport Museum celebrates this universal if slightly nerdy love, and the quiet cornerstone of London’s museum scene is set to have a little glow up for its 50th birthday.

Sort of like a more wholesome version of a midlife crisis, the London Transport Museum is set to undergo a ‘once-in-a-generation’ revamp for its 50th birthday. Nestled over in Covent Garden, the project will reimagine the museum, and modernise the Grade II listed building with a dramatic new entrance which opens directly onto Covent Garden’s Piazza, with an additional 500 square metres of space for improved galleries and learning experiences.

The museum is riding a bit of a high at the moment, having welcome around 450,000 visitors last year alone – the highest annual total since it opened in 1980. Clearly, we’re all just as excited by engineering.

As well as the physical change up to the front of the Museum the project wil also introduce some serious environmental upgrades to make the whole place more sustainable. Call it the Attenborough effect.

The big attraction though will obviously be the exhibitions. Dubbed LTM50, the central experience will tell the story of how transport shaped one of the world’s greatest cities - and how London continues to lead the way in design, engineering, creativity and urban innovation. Visitors will begin to see new experiences, upgraded visitor facilities and public-facing changes, building towards a major relaunch and anniversary celebration in 2030.

London’s Transport Commissioner Andy Lord, addressed the new plans saying: ‘For more than 200 years, London’s public transport has shaped the capital and improved people’s lives in so many ways, from the world’s first underground railway to the iconic red bus, Oyster card and the Elizabeth line." He added that London has "always led the way" with the city's public transport being "key to its economic growth and recovery", even if it doesn't feel like it when you look at just how much you pay out to TFL every week.

Luckily, the museum will be staying open and continuing to welcome in visitors whilst the upgrades are happening, and is open daily from 10am-6pm for anyone who wants to learn a little more about the history behind their commute.

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One of the greatest tragedies of the cost of living and victim of the cruel London nightlife death knell was Soho’s iconic G-A-Y bar. The queer venue closed nine months, after 22 years in operation. Now, the site is set to be home to an ambitious new queer club, Coven: Headquarters.

Taking over the space on 30 Compton Street, Coven: Headquarters will be set over a whopping five stories and proudly claims that it will be a space for every letter of LGBTQIA.

Coven: Headquarters started life as a club night in Hackney Wick in 2025, started by Matthew Jacobs Morgan. Luckily and perhaps unsurprisingly, the night was seriously popular and its Soho run will be its first permanent home.

Whilst Coven is set to be a new era (qu-era) for the site, it aims to honour the legacy of the venue’s former inhabitant, with nods and touches to G-A-Y throughout the building. In the main room, you can find an an antique fountain sitting centrally, filled with books on queer history. There’s also a couple of accessories brought over from the club night’s original Hackney Wick venue, like the battered shell mirror on one of the upper floors.

As well as the classic nightclub style evenings with a roster of rotating DJs, there is also live music and cabaret evenings. The club will also have a schedule of themed nights including Afrobeats and techno. However, it’s not solely an evening raver gig, with Coven open during the daytime too. You’ll find a cafe and community hub with plenty of space for people who are looking for somewhere to work. And if you need a quick break from tapping away at your laptop and need to find some inspiration, why not pop over to the in house tarot reader who also works in the space from 5pm till late. A personalised prophecy whilst you party is something we can get on board with.

With legendary shoes to fill, Coven: Headquarters opened up at the former club earlier this week. Jeremy Joseph who founded G-A-Y cited financial pressures (read: rising rent costs) as the reason for its closure, and the site went on sale in 2025 with a rent of £410,000 per year. Joseph also criticised Soho saying it had “lost its vibrancy”. However, the former site’s sister venue Heaven nightclub is still operating as normal.

As part of the venue announcement, he said: “We as queers can make space for each other in a cardboard box – but luckily, we now have a five-storey building with a W1 postcode…Spaces where people can come together safely, joyfully and truthfully matter more than ever."

It’s sort of a full circle moment for Morgan who said on Instagram that “This building [G-A-Y] was the first gay bar I ever went to”, and is now bringing his legendary club night to the Soho institution, and injecting a little bit of queer joy back into the dying nightlife.

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Does anyone else have one of those nebulous spaces in your house / garden that you always look at with a mug in hand, turn to your partner and go "You know we could put a [insert ambitious idea that you’ll never get round to] here?".

Well, Stratford has the same problem / opportunity depending on if you’re a pessimist or a millionaire. A new plan has been put forward which would turn the old Coach Park into a pretty groovy new destination.

The site has drawn a fair bit of attention already, especially back in 2019 when the Madison Square Garden company submitted plans to turn it into a huge music venue in the style of a massive orb like the Vegas Sphere. For some unknown reason, these plans were rejected back in 2023, meaning Big Ben no longer needs to worry about being literally overshadowed. Now, a new proposal has been submitted which would see the old coach park get transformed into a huge entertainment destination.

• Wait… is Stratford finally cool? 8 places that prove it really is

The plans come from Stratford Park LTD who have proposed to turn the plot into a new food and culture venue, as part of a redevelopment which will build a new ‘cultural and artistic identity for the area’.

The plans sound pretty impressive, meaning this isn’t going to be your average in and out food court with a couple of floating tables. The plans propose having a whole complex with street food stalls, a market, a basketball court, a gallery, a skate park, and a performance venue. Perfect for anyone whose wanted to eat copious amounts and then give yourself indigestion, then polish it off with watch a bit of theatre.

It's also planned to have an eco zone, a mirror pool, and a wellness area for relaxation as well as additional space for even more outdoor activities. Apparently, all the attractions would be made from recycled shipping containers, and upcycled London buses which are already part of the site. Well, it is East London after all.

If it comes to life, the site would be open from 10am until 1am daily which isn’t exactly surprising given the sheer amount you can do there. The idea is that the space would become a whole new area in its own right — sort of like Battersea Power Station’s glow up from defunct to definitely on the hit list. Plans suggest that may include ‘shared living’ housing aimed at 26-45 year olds, a hotel, education and training facilities, an outdoor square and exhibition spaces, indoor galleries, music and theatre venues and a food market.

Ambitious, then, but it’s not a done deal yet — the plans were submitted in early March and Newham Council is expected to give their feedback in July.

• One of London’s biggest train stations is set to get a major foodie update

Usually the idea of eating in a train station means grabbing a to-go wrap from some kind of supermarket chain, and maybe a tinny if you’re feeling fancy and calling it a day. London however always seems to do things with a little more oomph, and one major station’s foodie offerings is no different.

Market Place is already fairly well established in London, having opened its fifth site at the end of last year in Leicester Square. Each outpost is essentially a foodhall-style venue, with lots of different traders all under one roof, with long communal seating stretching in between each stall. So far, the group has sites over in Harrow, Vauxhall, Peckham, and St Paul’s – now, they’re heading to Victoria. Specifically, Victoria Station.

The new opening will be Market Place’s first foray into station dining, and it's set to span a whopping 5,000 square feet, housing 10 different food and drink stalls. In between these stalls, there will be room for around 200 diners. Would it be a British train station without some kind of watering hole where people can get merrily smashed before a long journey and drink away the probably-four-hour delay? Luckily at the centre of the complex there will be a fully stocked bar with cocktails and craft beers.

So far, we don’t know what exact foodie stands will be featured in the new Market Place, although it's likely it will be a mix of smaller traders with a huge mix of global cuisines as per their other locations. Hide & Greek, Momo Thai, Pasta Factory, and Duck Shed are just a few of the current vendors across the London sites, whilst Bread Ahead, and Crumble Mania deliver the sweet stuff.

If you’re going to set up another giant foodhall, heading to one of London’s busiest stations isn’t a bad shout. London Victoria Station sees around 156,000+ passengers pass through its rail station every day, at least half of whom are clamming for a sandwich (probably).

"Victoria is one of London’s most exciting and fast evolving districts, making it the perfect home for our newest Market Place Food Hall venue," said Blake Henderson, managing director for Market Place Food Hall.

"We’re creating far more than a place to eat, we’re building a destination where people can discover incredible food, watch live sports, meet friends, celebrate occasions and be part of a thriving local community."

Market Place Foodhall is set to open up in Autumn of 2026 at Victoria Station.

• A dedicated Guinness saloon is heading to London inside one of the city’s oldest bars

If there’s one thing that Netflix’s House of Guinness proved is that James Norton can really do an Irish accent. And also that Brits are just giddy for Guinness. In fact, it’s as common a sight on London streets as it is in Dublin now — you truly know you’re in the heart of the city when you walk down any Soho street and see a string of white shirt-wearing, black-stuff-drinking lads piled out on the pavement.

So all in all it’s not exactly surprising that a dedicated Guinness saloon is set to open up in Covent Garden this summer.

Swapping the rootin-tootin’ kind of saloon for a more suave sippers kind of old-time saloon bar, the spot will be setting up shop inside the new site, Mr Fogg’s Market Tavern. It was announced earlier in the year that a new opening from Mr Fogg’s would be taking over the historic wine bar inside Covent Garden Market, The Crusting Pipe. The new Mr Fogg’s spot will open up on July 20th, making it the 11th spot from the group. Unlike the more eccentric spots from the brand whose bars are styled in the eccentric manner of Jules Verne’s character from Around the World in 80 days, this spot will be designed to look more like a traditional Victorian pub.

The venue itself is a little like a labyrinth with different rooms and corridors spanning across the space, all connected by the original brickwork arches, making it feel like you’ve time travelled back to Ye Olde England, but with better style and working toilets. One of said rooms is going to be The Guinness Saloon, an entire bar purely dedicated to serving up Guinness.

In a fun twist and a gimmick we can truly get behind, the recipient of every 1000th Guinness pint poured will have their smiling face hung up via picture on the wall, like a drinker’s hall of glory. As well as being immortalised in a London drinker, to sweeten the deal and coax a smile out of reluctant models, there’s a free round of drinks on offer with the accolade.

To keep track of exactly who is the lucky 1,000th pint swigger, the machine the Guinness will be poured from will count the number of drinks sold since its opening, digitally displaying the number so everyone can keep track without any need for VAR. If you happen to be the 10,000th recipient, you’ll get something even better: a full expenses paid trip to the St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin. That certainly calls for a Guinness.

It’s certainly on brand for Mr Fogg’s whose other venues include Mr Fogg’s Pawnbrokers (our regular Shortlist Pub Corner haunt), Mr Fogg’s Hat Tavern, and Mr Fogg’s City Tavern which opened up recently in Broadgate Circle.

You can find the new Mr Fogg’s Market Tavern at The Piazza, 27 The Market, WC2E 8RD next month.

• Clerkenwell Ebi Wines wine bar announces opening date — and it's next month

Remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Of course you do. Remember when Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo would grab their favourite dish, a New York pizza? And remember how delicious those animated slices looked, and wishing you could wrap your tastebuds around them?

Borough’s Spring Street Pizza remembers, and it’s brought that perfect slice to life.

The Little Italy-inspired restaurant, tucked away beneath the railway arches of Borough, has become one of London's most sought-after pizza destinations, serving enormous New York-style pies to crowds of diners. With Michelin-star pedigree in the kitchen, it’s a must-visit spot for any self-respecting, pizza-loving Londoner.

WHERE IS IT?

You'll find Spring Street Pizza in Borough, a short walk from Borough Underground station and within easy reach of London Bridge. Set beneath railway arches, the space combines exposed brick, industrial details and an open kitchen where diners can watch pizzas being stretched, topped and fired throughout service.

Outside seating spills onto the pavement during warmer weather, while inside there's a constant hum of conversation, clinking glasses and the occasional gasp as another enormous 18-inch pizza lands on a neighbouring table.

WHAT'S SPECIAL?

London isn't short of pizza restaurants, but Spring Street Pizza is chasing a very specific dream: bringing authentic New York-style pizza culture to the capital.

The restaurant's oversized pizzas arrive with the characteristic thin base and crisp underside you'd expect from a proper NYC pie, while ingredients lean heavily into Italian-American comfort food territory.

That focus on doing one thing exceptionally well gives Spring Street Pizza its edge, and it’s masterminded by a true pro: Michelin-star chef, Tom Kemble, formerly of The Pass and Bonhams. And so there’s the craft and care with ingredients you’d expect from the top-tier of the culinary world, but presented in as laid-back a fashion as you’d hope from a humble pizzeria. It’s the best of both worlds.

It’s worth noting that the Spring Street Pizza restaurant doesn’t have to be your only destination to enjoy the pies on offer — sat right next door to Rae’s (formerly the O’Meara venue), you can have a slice at the bar there, and even order to the nearby retro-gaming bar Four Quarters, too.

WHO SHOULD YOU BRING?

Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t love pizza? All are welcome at Spring Street, and walk-ins are happily accommodated too. But this is very much a friends-first restaurant.

The atmosphere is relaxed, chatty and youthful, making it ideal for group dinners, post-work catch-ups or weekend gatherings where nobody wants to spend three hours discussing wine pairings.

Dates would work too, particularly if both parties appreciate good pizza over white tablecloths. Families can easily fit in, although the evening crowd tends to skew younger. It's a lively spot without being overwhelming and busy without feeling chaotic.

Most importantly, it's somewhere built around sharing. Unless you’re a true pizza fiend, an 18-incher demands company. If you’re hoping for clean plates, bring mates.

WHAT SHOULD YOU WEAR?

Whatever you wore to get there. Spring Street Pizza is comfortably casual. Trainers, jeans, T-shirts and overshirts dominate the dining room. Nobody is trying too hard and nobody expects you to either.

This isn't a place for suits, ties or dressing up for the sake of it. The focus is firmly on eating well and having a good time.

WHAT WILL YOU PAY?

Spring Street Pizza is definitely on the affordable end of the scale for a night dining out, especially with a Michelin-botherer in the kitchen. Pizzas start at £24 for a simple Marinara, rising to £36 for fancier options like the Fennel Sausage fest. It’s not a huge menu, and we’d recommend getting a half-and-half pie to try out a little more of what’s on offer (a £2 top up fee on the price of the most expensive half.)

When one pizza can comfortably feed two hungry diners, you can get some drinks and starters and come away with change from a £50 note.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DRINK?

The cocktail list sticks to crowd-pleasers and executes them well.

The Negroni arrived exactly as it should: bitter, boozy and balanced, with gin, Campari and sweet vermouth working in harmony.

Meanwhile, the Venetian — combining Select Aperitivo, prosecco and soda — proved lighter, brighter and ideal for easing into the meal.

Both fit the restaurant's Italian-American identity perfectly — if you're coming for pizza, starting with one of these feels like the right move.

MUST-TRY DISHES

Whatever you order at Spring Street, you’re in for a treat — the base underpinning all of the pies is truly excellent, a perfect balance between crisp bite and satisfying stretch. The phrase “this is a life changing pizza” was thrown around by my dining partner, and it’d be difficult to argue otherwise. Alongside some Perello Manzanilla olive openers, we tucked away:

Fried Breadcrumbed Mozzarella Sticks (£8)

Spring Street's sticks arrive golden and crunchy, paired with house marinara sauce, hot honey and a snowfall of 22-month parmesan. The contrast between molten cheese, sweet honey and savoury parmesan makes them dangerously moreish.

New Yorker Pizza (£34, 18-inch)

One half of our enormous pizza featured the restaurant's signature New Yorker combination of San Marzano tomato, fior di latte mozzarella, pepperoni, Pecorino Romano and hot honey. The pepperoni curls crisped beautifully, while the honey added just enough sweetness to cut through the richness, a hint of heat keeping things interesting. It's exactly the kind of pizza that explains why New York-style pies have such devoted fans, and the don’t-miss highlight of the menu.

Fennel Sausage Pizza (£36, 18-inch)

The second half showcased pork and fennel sausage alongside scamorza, Pecorino Romano, friarielli, Calabrian chilli flakes and guindilla pepper salsa. Where the New Yorker leans comforting and familiar, this one delivers greater, earthy complexity. The fennel notes, smoky cheese and gentle chilli warmth create a pizza that's packed with flavour, but not so heavy as to enter roast-dinner-on-a-pizza territory. Those two made for a great duo in a half-and-half, and we’d certainly recommend ordering a similar combo.

Tiramisu (£8)

Ending with tiramisu felt obligatory (if a little bit excessive after the very-filling pizza), but it still managed to impress. Mascarpone mousse layered with Marsala-soaked savoiardi and bourbon coffee brought together richness, bitterness and sweetness in all the right proportions. Light enough not to finish you off, indulgent enough to justify every calorie.

Honourable mention: The dips (£6.50 for 3)

The best in the business. Green Goddess has a light basil pesto freshness, Confit Garlic Aioli is perky and zingy, while the Jalapenos & Sour Cream dip adds some kick that cheese-covered crust. Try them all, you won't regret it.

GET ON THE GUESTLIST?

Spring Street Pizza gets two licked-clean thumbs up from Shortlist. The pizzas are excellent, the atmosphere is lively and friendly and we left instantly planning our next visit. It isn't trying to be London's fanciest pizza restaurant, but its slices would put meals three times the cost to shame. Michelangelo would be proud.

Spring Street Pizza is found at Arch 32, Southwark Quarter, Southwark St, London SE1 1TE, and is open Tuesday to Sunday. Reservations can be made through OpenTable, but walk-ins and takeaway are accommodated, too.

• Can you become a wine expert in 2 hours? We put a quick-fire tasting session with the pros to the test (and get 5 expert tips)

A new wine bar is coming to central London next month as Ebi Wines announces it is to open up shop on 15th July.

Ebi Wines will live at 5a Rosebery Avenue, nearby Farringdon tube station. It's named after "a Japanese colour name of grapes."

It’s notable as the venture of Raku Oda, who was previously Assistant Head Sommelier at Heston Blumenthal’s three-Michelin-star The Fat Duck in Bray.

Oda posted a farewell message to The Fat Duck team on social media just a few days ago, suggesting the Ebi Wines founder is now putting all of his time into this new venture.

But this isn’t the start of Ebi Wines. It has already held wine tastings and pop-up events at Teto Studio in Islington, before announcing these new venue plans in April.

Ebi Wines will be open Wednesday to Saturday from 5pm to 10:30pm and on Sundays, which will see it serve from 3pm to 9:30pm.

Takeaway too?

A recent commercial listing for the site suggests it’s a 452 square feet space — Ebi Wines is going be intimate, as the venue’s own recent work-in-progress Instagram posts suggest.

The site was previously home to another wine bar, one called Emanuelle.

It opened in 2023 and was a 24-cover venue, giving us some idea as to how many of us may be able to cram into Ebi Wines next month.

The Ebi Wines website is a bare-bones affair at present, but does describe the business as a “wine bar + shop” suggesting it could be as useful for preparing for a dinner party as heading out for a glass or two,.

Wines that have featured in previous tastings under the Ebi Wines banner include the Pieropan 2023 Soave Classico La Rocca, which tends to sell for up to £40 a bottle, and the £80-a-go Mullinueaux Granite Syrah. This is unlikely to be the place for cheap plonk.

• Can you become a wine expert in 2 hours? We put a quick-fire tasting session with the pros to the test (and get 5 expert tips)

A couple of weeks ago we gave you the nod about greater London’s foodie Burger Fest, and the full list of the festival’s big UK Burger Championship winners has now been announced.

7bone Burger Co. won Burger Fest’s best burger award and, sorry Londoners, this place only has restaurants outside of the capital.

It has locations in Brighton, Reading, Southampton and elsewhere, and is known for its 40-day “dry aged’ burger patties. It also serves chicken burgers and wings, and plant-based options.

Plymouth’s Zephyr burgers claimed the second-place prize, while Please Sir! One Bite came third. It has locations in Broadstairs, Whitstable and Canterbury.

It’s a complete change-up this year. At 2025’s Burger Fest the three winners were Meatcastles, Black Bear Burger and Strip Club Street Food.

There was also a separate award for the best chicken burger of the show, which went to Chicken George Jnr., with restaurants in Bedford and Hitchin.

The Critics award went to Smiths of Bourbon, based in Cheltenham, while Dash Burger picked up the Industry Award and Baps Belfast the Traders award.

Burger Fest 2026 was held between 12th and 14th July at Richmond Athletic Ground, and saw upwards of 20 burger traders compete in the UK Burger Championships.

As part of the deal, the burger brands had to offer at least one burger capped at £10 — although there were predictably plenty of more elaborate (and massive) ones that went well above that.

The UK has a bustling burger scene, and these awards fill out the picture of the must-not-miss burgers out there established a few months ago with the National Burger Awards.

7bone was among those celebrated at that awards, as were a host of London-based establishments.

One name that repeatedly appears on these lists is Bleecker, which did not compete at Burger Fest 2026.

Another that did, though, was Black Bear Burger. It sits at number two on the recently-revealed World’s 101 Best Burgers, and runs a few spots cross London, including in Brixton, Shoreditch and Camden.

• 5 tips to cook the perfect smash burger I learned at London’s biggest BBQ festival

Thanks to Emily in Paris, everyone is far more familiar with the coveted guide La Liste. It’s essentially a guide of the coolest and most chic tastemakers and eateries across the world. There are literally a staggering number of awards and accolades being dished out for London’s many restaurants, bakeries, and bars but you know that if the French rate it, it’s got to be seriously distinguished. One brilliant London bakery has been listed in the 2026 edition, marking it as one of the finest in the world, and it’s nestled in one of the city's oldest arcades.

Le Café by Nicolas Rouzard has been selected as one of the spots on La (uber prestigious) Liste. La Liste gives out annual accolades across eleven different pastry-related categories – collecting the crème de la crème of croissants, cronuts, and cracking patisserie. Le Café which is located inside Piccadilly’s gorgeous Burlington Arcade clinched the title of Pastry & Bakery Opening of the Year, proving that maybe London can compete with calorific perfection of French viennoiserie – albeit if there’s a French chef at the helm.

Nicolas Rouzard was previously the executive pastry chef at bougie London hotel The Connaught, serving up perfect pastries inside the Mayfair jaunt. He’s known for his fruit-focused pastries, with every creation crafted with a “profound respect for French culinary traditions”.

Le Cafe marks his first solo adventure, opening up in January of 2026 serving up high-end pastries, stunning savoury brioches, and dessert-inspired coffees. Things like classic croissants and more adventurous Pineapple Banana Upside Down Cake pastries are on the menu, apprently inspired by Rouzard’s childhood, bringing French soul and culture to the cafe. As well as the expected petit dejuner, the cafe also serves up lunch and cocktails so you can euromaxx without leaving London.

Le Cafe was awarded the title alongside two other notable spots which included Maison Devoille in Dubai and Blue Box Cafe in Tokyo.

La Liste was founded in 2015 and has featured more than 35,000 restaurants, 7,00 hotels, and 3,00 pastry and bakeries across more than 200 countries. Alongside Le Café, winners included Garuharu in Seoul, Melbourne’s Madeleine de Proust of Hyoju park for Pastry Talent of the Year Award, and Pierre Hermé Paris in Singapore. Another London spot that made the list was Jacqueline at The Chancery Rosewood which won World’s Best Afternoon Tea Award.

You can find out more about La Liste’s 2026 Pastry Awards here.

• London Museum gets November opening date - and some surprising night-time plans

Soon the Barbican centre won’t be the only real reason to alight at the Barbican tube station, with the London Museum set to open soon.

The London Museum’s new Smithfield Market location will open on 28th November, joining the current London Docklands museum.

It inhabits a space that used to be part of Smithfield Market, which has spent the last few years going through a major renovation and all-round rethink.

The museum will of course focus on London and its history, reaching right back to Roman times. You’ll be able to check out a floor mosaic and fresco, which have been uncovered after 2000 years.

In what the London Museum is calling a “world first” you can also watch tube trains pass by through a massive 6m-long window.

It’s planned to be much more than just a staid museum too, with a “day to night” programme of events in the Our Time section of the museum. The Fabric nightclub, Punchdrunk Enrichment theatre company and Morley’s chicken are all on the list of planned partnerships.

There are places to eat and drink too, while a monthly “dinner club” will begin from January 2027.

If this is all starting to sound nothing like a museum, the London Museum in Smithfield Market will have 13 “anchor displays” that feature “snapshots" representing iconic aspects and areas of London.

A big part of the initial focus on the London Museum will be on food, though. Its first wave of “guest editors” include food writers Ruby Tandoh and Jonathan Nunn, who are helping to steer the London Tastes section of the museum. It’s all about the “intersections of food and social change” in the global food city that is London, and will run from the museum’s opening to August 2027.

If you can’t wait for the new London Museum to open, you can visit the Docklands museum at West India Quay. It’s free to enter, and features all sorts of historic exhibits with a focus on the docks, trade during the time of empire and World War 2.

• Two London museums have been announced as finalists for the Museum of the Year prize

London has spent the last few years turning just about everything into an immersive experience. We've had immersive theatre, immersive art galleries, immersive Van Gogh, immersive dinosaurs and more immersive versions of The Great Gatsby than anyone could reasonably ask for.

A new exhibition called TIMEWALK is heading to London this July, promising to take visitors on a journey through some of humanity's most influential civilisations, from the world's earliest known temple complex to the pyramids of Ancient Egypt and the giant stone heads of Easter Island.

Unlike your average museum visit, the idea isn't to stand behind a rope reading information panels. The goal is to make you feel like you've actually stepped into these ancient worlds.

Opening at Immerse LDN at the Excel Waterfront, TIMEWALK has been designed as a fully immersive walk-through experience that uses large-scale visuals, surround sound, cinematic storytelling and interactive environments to bring thousands of years of human history back to life.

The journey begins at Göbeklitepe, the extraordinary archaeological site in modern-day Turkey that's widely considered one of the oldest known temple complexes on Earth. Dating back more than 11,000 years, it predates Stonehenge by several millennia and has fundamentally changed our understanding of when organised human civilisation began.

From there, visitors move through a series of ancient cultures that helped shape the world as we know it.

Expect to pass through the mighty city gates of Babylon, explore the beliefs and rituals of Ancient Egypt, discover how the Maya civilisation used mathematics and astronomy to understand the cosmos, and learn about the cultural significance of the famous Moai statues on Rapa Nui.

The exhibition's creators say they've deliberately moved away from presenting these civilisations as collections of dusty artefacts and ruined buildings. Instead, TIMEWALK aims to recreate them as living places full of people, movement and stories.

That means visitors might find themselves sailing along the Nile at sunset, wandering through bustling ancient streets or standing beneath monuments recreated at full scale.

It's a concept that feels increasingly popular as museums and cultural institutions look for new ways to engage audiences who have grown up expecting experiences rather than information. Whether you're a history buff or someone whose knowledge of ancient civilisations begins and ends with whatever happened in The Mummy, the idea is to make the past feel immediate and accessible.

The exhibition comes from DEM Museums, the team behind the award-winning Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum and Ephesus Experience Museum, both of which use immersive technology to reinterpret major historical sites for modern audiences.

According to DEM chief executive Eda Bildiricioglu, the goal is to tell the story of civilisation through a contemporary lens while remaining rooted in archaeological research.

A 25-language audio guide will also be available, helping visitors navigate what is essentially a globe-spanning journey through thousands of years of human development.

TIMEWALK is the latest addition to Immerse LDN, the growing entertainment district that's become one of London's biggest homes for large-scale immersive experiences. The venue says it has already welcomed more than 1.7 million visitors since launching, and TIMEWALK looks set to be one of its most ambitious projects yet.

Because while we've all seen ancient history in books, documentaries and museums, it's not every day you get the chance to walk through it.

TIMEWALK opens in July 2026 at Immerse LDN, Excel Waterfront. Tickets start from £28.50 for adults and £22.70 for children.

• Drinks by the Dram just launched a Whisky Library – and it’s a book lover’s (boozy) dream

London has plenty of fantastic nights out, but nothing hits that cultured-but-cool mark quite like a jazz-fusion evening. Even cooler if it’s one of those elusive, pop-up style events which deals exclusively in residencies. Soul Mama was one of these nights, bringing jazz, soul, gospel, reggae and more from emerging artists and touring stars to bring the best of live music to London’s streets. Now it’s heading to its first ever permanent site.

Founded by musician and broadcaster YolanDa Brown OBE DL, Soul Mama originally started in the ground floor of the Gantry hotel in Stratford, as a brief musical residency. Now, the unrivalled music night is heading to its first permanent site over in Islington.

Continuing its tradition of being iconic, Soul Mama has already teased the lineup for its inaugural season; this year, Soul Mama Islington will feature performances from the likes of Omar, Susan Carol, Mica Paris, Etana, Citrus Sun and Avery*Sunshine alongside Najee, Brit Funk Association, Ray Gelato & the Giants and Syd Lawrence Orchestra. Alongside the live music, comedy and spoken word, Soul Mama Islington will host its famous Motown, Gospel Choir and Afrobeats live brunches.

The space itself spans a chunky 3600 square footage, with floor to ceiling windows which offer up views over Chapel Market. The venue has a 150-person capacity, starting as a spacious restaurant during the day, and transforming into its signature, intimate live music venue by night. The food is heavily inspired by the music, fusing tastes of Africa, the Caribbean, and South America; it will be serving up small plates like Braised Lamb, a Jerk Wing Pit which offers a delectable roulette wheel of flavours from fiery Scotch Bonnet and Mango to smoky Rum BBQ. Bigger plates like Coconut Curry Chicken and Argentinian Smoke Gaucho Jerk Chicken are on offer.

YolanDa Brown OBE DL is possibly one of the most accomplished people around, not only bringing Soul Mama to life, but is also a saxophinist, broadcaster, two time MOBO winner, and chairs the BRIT Awards and Mercury Prize. Talking about the new venue, she said it “will be a real joy to bring more music, culture and connection to such a vibrant and spirited destination. Islington is about to get even more soul”.

Soul Mamma Islington is located at 21 Parkfield Street, N1 0PS, with a second location in Stratford also in the works, expected to open in August 2026. You can book tickets for the performances here.

• Cult creamy faves Hackney Gelato have teamed up with this London bar for boozy milkshake style cocktails

Drinks companies have been working real alchemy recently, turning those slightly wacky dreams you have (like a swimming pool but it’s lemonade instead of water) into reality. First it was Peroni’s sculpture on Southbank which dispensed actual pints, then the Italian inspired fresco mural which had beer flowing from it, now we have a tequila-only vending machine.

Patron has teamed up with London club 77 to launch the PATRÓN Tequila Lounge and it comes with the UK’s first-ever PATRON El Alto vending machine. The new experience will dispense 5cl bottles of PATRON El Alto, PATRÓN Silver, PATRÓN Reposado and PATRÓN XO Cafe, so there is plenty to choose from. The idea is that you can have a mini taste test of the spirit in a more fun way than being brought little glasses on a tray.

The new lounge itself is an immersive space that brings together two classics: live music venues and tequila. Whilst headlines may be screaming that late-night venues in the capital are on the brink of extinction, Marylebone’s 77 is bringing classy raving back to the forefront. The lounge is perched on the second floor of the building, with a custom mural donning the walls, and a panoramic view stretching out past the dance floor (if you can see through it past all the bodies trying to dance in time to the beat).

Kicking off on 19th June, the lounge is opening up with a headliner that’s just as exciting as adorable miniature, individual tequila bottles. London artist Nafe Smallz will be performing a DJ set, with tickets available to the public to come down and party.

77 will have plenty of events running across summer, with Meloko performing on Saturday 20th, house music masters Luch & Omri on 4th July, and TeeDee bringing the bassline on 10th July. Unlike your bog-standard

Like all vending machines, you’ll be looking longingly at the price before eventually tapping your card against a reader that took you a couple of tries to successfully locate. PATRÓN'S vending offering looks as though it won’t be any different, with the tequila minis set to retail at £60 – although that looks as though that's for the full quartet, not per 5cl bottle.

• Drinks by the Dram just launched a Whisky Library – and it’s a book lover’s (boozy) dream

I could smell the smoke as I approached Twickenham stadium as it towered over the surrounding houses. The scent of low and slow meat filled the air, tantalising passers-by, and setting the taste-buds on a recon mission for some deftly-charred meats.

Fume is not only London’s largest BBQ festival, but it’s the biggest in Europe, hosted this year over a long weekend in the shadow of the home of rugby. The annual event features 30 of the best barbecue pit masters the world has to offer, and is spearheaded by social foodie phenomenon Eating With Tod.

Fortunately, I was heading to where the smoked meats were being cooked and, as it turned out, I learned a thing or two just in time for BBQ season.

Hosted at the Pit Boss stand, I met East London-born Jack Rowbottom, who runs Jack’s Meat Shack in Sudbury, Suffolk. He’d prepared melt-in-your-mouth, 12 hour smoked Wagyu brisket on the Austin XL wood pellet grill, and four hour smoked honey, butter and coffee ribs — and we were along not only to taste it, but to get a master class from one of the best in the business, too.

While the meat shone, I’m now considering investing in the Austin XL. As someone who loves low and slow meats, but doesn’t have the fire skill or patience to tend to a wood-burning fire for hours on end, this could be the answer:

Once I’d finished gawping at the grills, Jack had me making a smash burger while imparting his top tips for your smashed patties and BBQs this summer.

5 top tips for perfect smash burgers

1. Embrace the fat

Jack says “fatty mince is key. Go to the supermarket and look for something with 20% fat. Some supermarket chains do 25%, but I think you lose a bit of flavour with that, so 20% would be my goal.”

He mentions beef is his go-to, but you can try other meat. “Pork can work quite nicely, but you need the fat content there.”

You can also use leaner meat - Jack suggests turkey or chicken thigh mince, ideally something with a line of fat running through it - but you’ll need to season the cooking surface with fat to help the flavour. He recommends Spanish avocado oil, as it has a high smoke point. You’ll want to watch the heat, and don’t cook leaner meat as high as it’ll dry out.

2. Don’t get greedy

I was presented with a 100g ball of 20% fat rib cap beef mince to cook my smash burger. No other ingredients, no binders, just pure beef. And you don’t want much more mince than that per burger, as Jack explained.

“I would go no bigger than 125g, because then you lose the thinness of the smashed patty.” Stick to his recommended weights and “the thinner, crispier and quicker your smash burger will cook.”

3. Hot and flat

When it comes to preparing your smash burger cooking surface, Jack notes you need a “nice hot, flat surface”.

I cooked my smash burger on the Pit Boss Griddle, but you can just as easily do one at home “with a cast iron pan or something that can conduct the heat really well. Stainless steel pans work nicely, [as does] carbon steel.”

4. No touching!

Patience is key when making the perfect smash burger, so don’t be tempted to move the meat around too much.

“The key is to let the ball of meat sit, render a bit of fat out of it, then press it nice and flat (we’re talking millimetres thin) against the surface”. And don’t press it more than once. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper then “don’t touch it”, Jack tells me as I close the lid of the griddle. “You want the meat to form a reaction, a bit of a caramelisation, and then it will release naturally from the surface.”

Once it’s ready, flip it, add salt, pepper and cheese to the top and cover again to allow it to steam. As Jack says, it’s “really simple. It’s a quick process.”

If you don’t have one of the best BBQs with a lid, you can instead use a frying pan with a lid, or a burger cloche, to trap in the heat while the patty cooks.

5. Have everything ready

And finally, once your smashed patty is ready, you’ll want to plate it up as soon as possible and tuck in. Jack says “have everything ready, have all your sides and bits and pieces done so you don’t have to run around, get your cheese out the wrap and all that.”

Lightly toast your burger buns next to the burger as it’s finishing off, allowing the bread to soak up some of the fat and gain structural integrity, ready to hold the burger and any other sauces and toppings you want to add.

3 top BBQ tips for your summer cookouts

After tasting Jack’s work, I wasn’t letting him out of my sight until I’d got his advice on how I can elevate all the other elements of my BBQ this summer. Thankfully, he was more than happy to oblige. Here are his key points to consider.

1. Master two zone cooking

“Whatever you’re cooking on, have half the grill hot and half the grill not hot” Jack tells me. “That way you have a zone to roast, and a zone to grill.”

I’m certainly guilty of firing up the barbecue and just letting the heat rip across the whole surface, which tends to deliver varying results.

As Jack explains, with two zones “you have a safe zone - so if you’re doing something really fatty like sausages, and cooking them directly over the charcoal for 20 minutes, the fat is going to drip down and you’ll get flames and char - you want to control it. Start them off on the indirect side, close the lid, let them slowly come up to temperature.”

This will get your perfectly cooked meats, instead of the British summertime classic of burnt on the outside and raw in the middle.

2. Know your temperatures

Purely eyeballing your meat on the grill isn’t enough to achieve the perfect cook though, even if you are practising the two zone cooking approach.

“Invest in an instant read thermometer, that way you know your meat is safe to eat, you can nail a perfect steak. If you want it medium, how do you know it’s medium? The temperature.”

It’s a simple, yet effective tip, and with food thermometers starting at less than £10, it’s also an affordable investment.

3. BBQs are more than just the meat

“Don’t overcomplicate things, meat is really simple to cook” Jack says. “Sometimes it’s the sides that make a BBQ. Look at sauces, look at doing things you wouldn’t normally think to do on a BBQ. Do a dessert, do your starters, do a bit of fish.

“Desserts are really nice, because fruit takes on smoke really nicely. It becomes nice and jammy.” And I can attest to that, as I also tried a cocktail infused with pineapple Jack had smoked.

When it comes to cooking outside, Jack concludes “anything you can do in your oven you can do on your BBQ outside, especially if it has a lid.”

• Cult creamy faves Hackney Gelato have teamed up with this London bar for boozy milkshake style cocktails

We have a PSA for the South London dwellers — an unmissable foodie location has opened up in Dulwich-slash-Peckham.

This is Banook Bagels, which recently opened its first proper high street bricks-n-mortar location nearby East Dulwich.

It began with a soft launch of sorts on 5th June, with only part of the menu available. But should — with any luck — be getting up to full speed about now.

You’ll find Banook Bagels at 40 East Dulwich Road, caught between Dulwich Village and Peckham. It sits at the site of the old Papa Johns Pizza, although as the recent signage renovations reveal, way back it was also home to the M & M Boyes draper in the late 19th century.

But back to the bagels. Banook Bagels was founded during the covid lockdowns by Ashley Mah and David Dalrymple. After beginning as a hobby, it began supplying some Peckham sandwich spots.

Before this new Dulwich location, Banook Bagels operated out of an industrial estate between Peckham and Bermondsey. Despite that, its bagels would sell out — available for collection or delivery back then.

Step up to the new Banook Bagels spot and you can pick up either plain bagels or bagel sandwiches, with fillings including various flavours of cream cheese, fish and chicken.

Bagel styles include, rosemary and salt, cinnamon raisin, seeded, poppy, “everything”, plain and —the one we want to try — jalapeño cheddar.

For a better idea of what to expect, check out the recent review of the place by the East Dulwich and Other Tasty Bites substack. One key takeaway: it gets busy.

“I pitched up on a sunny Saturday around 11.30am and the queue snaked out to the bus stop in the road,” Bruce Dessau writes.

Banook Bagels typically offers online pre-orders, but these have been disabled for now amid the chaos of the new site launch.

You can try out Banook Bagels for yourself from Wednesday to Sunday. Firmly an early doors and lunch time spot, it’s open from 8am to 3:30pm on weekdays, from 8:30am to 3:30pm on weekends.

• National Restaurant Awards crowns best places to eat in London

Black Bear Burger is one of the finest burger-flingers in the capital, and you have a chance — for today only — to try out its wares for free.

The burger chain will give away 900 burgers today, 17th June, as part of its World Cup celebrations. England does, after all, play its first match tonight at 9pm.

Here’s how it works. 100 burgers will be given away at each of Black Bear Burger’s nine London locations. And it’s first-come, first served. There’s no competition, no social media entry involved. You just turn up and hope for the best.

As such, you’re going to need to school up on the various opening times of the London Black Bear Burger establishments. Here’s the list:

• Brixton - 5pm
• Camden - 12pm
• Canary Wharf (Cargo Market Hall) - 11:30am
• Exmouth Market - 12pm
• Oxford Circus (Market Halls) - 11:30am
• Paddington (Market Halls) - 11:30am
• Shoreditch BOXPARK - 12pm
• Victoria (Market Halls) - 11:30am
• Westfield - 12pm

How early should you turn up? How busy will it be? We have no idea. Black Bear Burger’s Instagram posts on the matter have not gone full-on viral. But there’s no telling what corners of the internet the news will have spread to by now.

One other point to note: you have no choice of burger here. The freebies are all Black Bear Burger’s Double Miso Bacon burger.

However, this is the tweaked version of the Miso Bacon burger that won Black Bear Burger the Burger of the Year award at the National Burger Awards 2025.

Need more proof the burger is worth trying? Black Bear Burger was also crowned the number two burger spot in the world, sitting behind London’s Bleecker Burger on the recently announced World's 101 Best Burger Places list for 2026.

If you’ll be visiting with a veggie, or someone who doesn’t fancy beef, Black Bear Burger does offer something else — it just won’t be free. There’s a vegan burger for £11.50 and a couple of chicken options including on-trend Hot Honey chicken (£13).

This burger giveaway is part of a promotional partnership with Snapchat, but it doesn’t sound like you’re be forced to post on the network before being served up your Double Miso delight.

The actual subject of all this fuss takes place at 9pm, when the England football team play against Croatia and will give us an idea of what sort of World Cup we can look forward to in the coming weeks.

• National Restaurant Awards crowns best places to eat in London

The best pubs in the whole of the UK have been announced — at least the best according to the National Pub & Bar Awards.

Our big London winner is The George, in Fitzrovia’s Great Portland Street. It’s part of the Ardent Group, and hosts all sorts including traditional Irish music nights, pub quizzes and World Cup screenings.

You can also bag a roast there on Sundays, or with a bit of notice you can go all-out with a feasting menu. There’s a beef wellington feast at £100 per person, beef rib for £70 or a vegetarian feast (leek, potato and brie pithivier) for £55 a person.

These require 72-hour notice for the kitchen, and are for a minimum of four diners.

The George is a special pub, no doubt. But it didn’t win the National Pub & Bar Awards’s “best pub in the UK” award.

That went to The Gunton Arms in Norfolk, set within a scenic estate near Cromer.

A second London pub also won an award, but this one may get a few eyes rolling. Soho tourist trap and social media sensation The Devonshire won the Industry’s Choice Award — and to be fair to this perennial busy spot, it does have a proper restaurant within its walls. It’s not all just about the pub’s supposed top-tier Guinness pints.

The Somers Town Coffee House in Euston and The French House in Soho also picked up the second and third spots in the Industry’s Choice top 10, followed by The Red Lion & Sun in Highgate.

Here’s the full top 10, and those regional favourites highlighted by the National Pub & Bar Awards 2026.

• National Pub & Bar of the Year: The Gunton Arms
• London Pub & Bar of the Year: The George, Fitzrovia
• East Midlands Pub & Bar of the Year: The Tollemache Arms
• East of England Pub & Bar of the Year: The Gunton Arms
• North East Pub & Bar of the Year: The Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman's Rest
• North West Pub & Bar of the Year: Church Inn, Mobberley
• Northern Ireland Pub & Bar of the Year: Guildhall Taphouse
• North Scotland Pub & Bar of the Year: The Ferry Inn, Isle of Skye
• South Scotland Pub & Bar of the Year: The Noble, Glasgow
• South East Pub & Bar of the Year: The Mason’s Arms, Clanfield
• South West Pub & Bar of the Year: The Bath Arms, Warminster
• Wales Pub & Bar of the Year: George III, Dolgellau
• West Midlands Pub & Bar of the Year: The Bull’s Head, Craswall
• Yorkshire and the Humber Pub & Bar of the Year: The Woolly Sheep Inn, Skipton
• Industry’s Choice Award: The Devonshire, Soho
• Pub Group of the Year: Caledonian Heritable 
• Bar Group of the Year: Albert’s Schloss
• The Tyrrells Tyrrellbly Good Taste Award: The Welldiggers Arms, Petworth

And here are the industry choice winners:

1. The Devonshire, Soho
2. The Somers Town Coffee House, Euston
3. The French House, Soho
4. The Red Lion & Sun, Highgate
5. The Mason's Arms, Clanfield
6. The Gunton Arms, Norfolk
7. The Sportsman, Seasalter
8. The Bull, Charlbury
9. The White Horse, Brancaster Staithe
10. The Woolpack, Slad

• The UK’s top 50 Gastropubs have been announced – and 11 London spots made the list

• The BIG London gig list 2026: Your guide to this year's very best shows, festivals and concerts

One of the buzziest roads in South London is set to become pedestrianised over the weekends this summer.

Northcote Road, which sits right by Clapham Junction station, will become pedestrianised each Saturday and Sunday from 11th July. And we’ll get to enjoy those al fresco European vibes until 30th August.

A slew of bars and restaurants sit along Northcote Road, including Osteria Antica Bologna, The Ivy, The Red Setter, Buenosera and Al Gusto.

The plans should make this stretch of Clapham a much more vibey space, and cars will be barred each Saturday and Sunday from 6am to 10pm. Buses will be redirected too.

The timing of this pedestrianised season coincides with the Northcote Road SW11 Summer Festival, on 12th July. As well as being just the second day of a car-free street, this festival will add live music, a dog show and a giant screen displaying the Wimbledon finals — which take place that day.

This isn’t the first time Northcote Road has been pedestrianised. Cars were first shown the door in July 2020, seeing restaurant tables spill out into the road for slightly off-kilter al fresco dining vibes — the road is a little wider and less scenic than you might have in mind for such outdoors eating and drinking.

Northcote Road’s pedestrian season returned in 2021 and 2022, but was axed for the 2023 summer season despite a bit of public outcry in late 2022, when the council announced the scheme would not return.

A petition to see it come back attracted upwards of 5000 signatures, but the pedestrianisation was deemed too pricey — its cancellation reportedly freed up somewhere in the ballpark of £2.5 million for the council.

But, hey, it’s back. And it will make this part of Battersea/Clapham much more of an attractive destination this summer in our book.

“We are delighted to bring back the weekend pedestrianisation over the summer, supporting local businesses while once again transforming Northcote Road into a destination for both residents and visitors,” says councillor Tom Pridham.

It’s not the only bit of recent pedestrianisation news either. Plans are also afoot to make Oxford Street a pedestrian zone, or at least part of it, by summer’s end. It’s a scheme backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who has said he wants to turn the area — whose wide pavements can be nightmarishly busy at times — into a “pedestrian plaza.”

• 10 places to watch the 2026 World Cup in London (even if you’re not an England fan...)

• The BIG London gig list 2026: Your guide to this year's very best shows, festivals and concerts

Almost six months since announcing its move to a fresh venue, we finally have a date for the opening of the new Darjeeling Express.

The much-loved London restaurant will open at 36-40 Rupert Street in Soho on 22nd June.

It has jumped around London over the last few years, most recently closing up shop up in Soho’s Kingly Court in early 2026.

The new space is a substantial 130-cover restaurant, spread across around 5600 square feet. Previously it was home to Horvada and Long Chim, the restaurant and bar combo that each took a floor of the building before the company went into liquidation last year.

Darjeeling Express serves an Indian menu, and for once your mains actually include a serving of pilau rice. Items on the afternoon a la carte include methi chicken, slow-cooked mutton and Saag Paneer.

Alternatively, you can try the Lazeez Feast, where you pick two curries, a rice and dessert for the table — at £75 a head. It includes a bunch of sides as well as your picks, including paratha and tamarind dal.

A Dining Car £35-a-head menu is available for the pre-theatre crowd too. That gets you a main with pilau rice and paratha, as well as a dessert of your choice.

Darjeeling Express is found in the Michelin Guide, but is yet to pick up a star.

It comes from restauranteur and foodie icon Asma Khan. Darjeeling Express originally opened in 2017, and has operated since, aside from a relatively brief closure in 2020 during the pandemic.

Darjeeling Express runs an all-female kitchen. Back in 2024, the BBC called it “the only all-female Indian kitchen in the world.” We'll take their word for it.

If you want to hear more about Asthma Khan’s outlook and career, check our episode 141 of the Off Menu Podcast, which saw her appear as guest.

• This London foodie spot has just been crowned the best in the world

Flying Goose, the Thai brand behind those distinctive green-capped bottles that seem to live in every kitchen cupboard these days, has opened a ten-day pop-up dedicated entirely to the spicy stuff. The brand is bringing together 30 different Sriracha flavours under one roof for the first time.

Called the SuperGoose Collection, the pop-up gathers some of Flying Goose's rarest, most sought-after and hardest-to-find bottles in one place. For ten days, they're all sitting together on a shelf in Soho, London.

Alongside the classic Original Sriracha, visitors can get their hands on flavours including Sriracha Ghost Chilli, Sriracha Coconut, Sriracha Yuzu, Sriracha Gochujang and various mayo-infused concoctions designed to make beige food less beige.

A chef flown over from Thailand will be cooking throughout the event, serving dishes that show off the sauces in their natural habitat rather than forcing visitors into the sort of chilli-tasting challenge that ends with someone regretting their life choices. There's also exclusive merchandise, an immersive content space and one mystery sauce that's being kept secret until opening night.

The giveaways are decent, too. The first 50 people through the door each day will walk away with a free bottle of Flying Goose sauce, with a different flavour featured every day. So turning up early could save you a trip to the condiment aisle later on.

If free hot sauce isn't enough incentive, visitors can also enter a competition to win a trip to Thailand. Three lucky winners will bag return flights to Bangkok, stays in Bangkok and Koh Samui, a tour of Flying Goose's factory and a week of activities in Thailand. All you need to do is visit the pop-up, post on social media and tag the brand.

The SuperGoose Collection is running at 59 Greek Street in Soho until the 20th of June. Entry is free, doors are open from 10am until 7pm each day and, fair warning, you'll probably leave craving something spicy.

• Apple and London's Metropolitan Police have a new plan to make stolen iPhones useless

For most footballers, a World Cup final is the biggest game they'll ever play. For Sir Geoff Hurst, it became something much bigger than that.

The former England striker remains the only player ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final and go on to win, a feat that helped secure England's one and only World Cup triumph back in 1966. Sixty years on, that afternoon at Wembley still looms large over English football, revisited every time another tournament rolls around and another generation dares to dream that this may be the year.

Now, as England prepares for another shot at the big one, Hurst is teaming up with The Ivy Collection to launch its limited-edition 1966 menu, a World Cup-inspired lunch offering celebrating the year that changed English football forever.

Ahead of the tournament, we caught up with the England legend to talk heritage, penalty pressure, Harry Kane's chances of claiming the Golden Boot and why he believes England could still be lifting the trophy this summer.

Becoming part of football history

For Hurst, his place in football history is less about medals and memories and more about belonging to something bigger than yourself.

"Heritage is about pride and being part of something that lives far beyond your own career," he says. "It's knowing that what you did on the pitch becomes part of the nation's memory."

That feeling has only grown as the decades have passed. What happened at Wembley in 1966 has transcended British football, becoming a cultural touchstone that continues to shape how England supporters view every major tournament that follows.

Looking back, Hurst says he never imagined the final would take on such significance. "In some ways it's strange," he says. "You're just focused on the game. It's only afterwards that you realise what it has come to mean to people. It's a privilege."

The qualities that would still thrive today

Football has changed dramatically since England's World Cup-winning side lifted the trophy, but Hurst believes some qualities never go out of fashion.

"Our teamwork and resilience," he says when asked what elements of the '66 squad would translate into the modern game. "What made us successful was how well we worked as a unit and supported each other."

It's that collective spirit that stands out most when he reflects on the squad. "I miss the team dearly," he adds.

While tactics, technology and athleticism have evolved, Hurst believes the emotional side of football remains remarkably consistent.

"The pressure of big moments," he says. "Penalty shootouts will always feel the same, no matter the year or event. They're scary and thrilling."

Why the World Cup magic hasn't disappeared

Football's relationship with fans looks very different in 2026 than it did in 1966. Players live under constant scrutiny; every moment is analysed online, and supporters can follow every detail of a tournament from their phones.

Yet Hurst believes the essence of the World Cup remains untouched. "It's changed, but mostly for the better."

"Fans are closer to the action than ever before, but the excitement of a World Cup and what it means still feels exactly the same."

As another England squad prepares to shoulder the expectations that come with representing the country on football's biggest stage, Hurst's advice is simple.

Geoff stressed its importance, stating, "Enjoy it, first and foremost, because it can go quickly."

"Stay grounded, stay together as a group and don't lose sight of what got you there in the first place."

It's advice that comes from experience. Few people understand the aftermath of World Cup success better than a man defined by it.

Why England should believe

Few people understand the unique pressure that comes with representing England at a World Cup. Every generation carries the weight of expectation, the constant comparisons and the lingering question of whether they can achieve what Hurst's side managed in 1966.

Yet despite six decades of near misses, his belief in England remains undimmed.

"England have a very good chance," he says.

It's a measured assessment rather than blind optimism. Hurst expects France and Spain to be among the leading contenders, with Portugal his choice as dark horses, but he sees enough quality in the current squad to mount a serious challenge.

"At least the semi-finals," he says. "Anything beyond that and you're in the final and anything can happen."

• Best football books: brilliant books about the beautiful game

Burger fan? You’ll have to travel to a place you might not expect this weekend for one of the biggest burger events of the year: Richmond.

Burger Fest is taking over Richmond Athletic Ground from 12-14th June, and is a celebration of all things burger that features the wares of some of the best burger-makers in the country.

It will also see the UK Burger Championships take place, and there will of course be plenty of places to pick up a drink — including beers and cocktails — as well as burgers.

Even the most hungry can only sample so many burgers, but standard burger prices are capped at £10 max during the show.

Tickets for Burger Fest are currently on their third release, and who you’re coming with will determine which day you should pick.

There are four sessions. 4pm to 10pm slots on Friday and Saturday are for adults only. 10am to 3pm on Friday and the 12pm to 6pm Sunday sessions are family-friendly affairs.

And at the time of writing, adult tickets will set you back between £16.50 and £19.80, varying slightly based on the session you pick. Under 11s pay just £1.10 while those aged 11 to 17 pay £8.80 for entry.

Last year’s Burger Fest winner was MeatCastles, which is returning to defend its title. But there are plenty more burger-makers coming for the win, including:

• 7Bone
• Babble Hove
• Baggio Burger
• Baps Belfast
• Black Bear Burger
• Bun & Sum
• Bun X
• Chicken George x The Rib Man
• Clucking Oinks
• Dash Burger
• Dom’s Subs x Jupiter Burger
• Gurt Wings
• Hills BBQ
• Meatcastles
• Meatstop
• Please Sir One Bite
• Smash & Slide
• Smith’s of Bourton
• Strip Club Street Food
• Zephyr Burgers

One other we’d advise not missing is Black Bear Burger, which won the 2025 National Burger Awards top accolade for its miso bacon burger. The celebrated burger flingers are bringing out their Black Bear Burger Miso 2.0 for the weekend only, too.

2025’s Burger Fest took place in Signature Brew, Blackhorse Road, so this year should have a whole lot more space. Burger Fest claims it’s the “biggest burger festival” in the UK.

You’d have to travel a good long way to sample plenty of the participants usually, too. Zephyr Burgers is based in Plymouth, for example, while Clucking Oinks is from York. Suddenly Richmond doesn’t seem so far away.

• Cult creamy faves Hackney Gelato have teamed up with this London bar for boozy milkshake style cocktails

The National Restaurant Awards has crowned the top 100 restaurants in the UK, and not only are 50+ based in London, the winner is too.

This year’s overall winner is Bouchon Racine, a French bistro based in Farringdon. Its menu comes from chef Henry Harris, and this spot was number five last year.

Bouchon Racine opened in 2022, and lives above the Three Compasses pub. It’s right by Farringdon station.

While the restaurant was added to the Michelin Guide in 2023, it is yet to be awarded a coveted Michelin star. But this latest gong won’t make it any easier to get a reservation at the place. It also only takes reservations 30 days in advance.

The menu changes daily, but the sample menu and an old interview with chef Harris offer an idea of what to expect.

“Indulgent and comforting, butter is without a doubt my favourite ingredient,” Harris told Food and Travel.

“It enriches dishes, protects other ingredients and lengthens flavour. When we opened Bouchon Racine I thought, I’m really going to cut back on it. That lasted about a week.”

Dishes listed on the sample menu include grilled veal chop (with butter), orzo with wild mushrooms and herbs, and confit de canard with braised mogettes.

Bouchon Racine kicks The Ritz off the top spot. That oh-so-famous, two-Michelin-star Mayfair restaurant now shares the number two spot with Somerset's Osip.

Other London restaurants in the National Restaurant Awards top 10 include Dorian, The Ledbury, Mountain, Trinity and Legado.

There were other notable awards handed out on the night too. Shoreditch’s Legado won the Opening of the Year award, while the infamous-to-some The Devonshire won Gastropub of the Year.

Planque was also the “highest climber” of the year, reaching number 11 on the top 100 list, after charting at the 91th position in 2025, 96th in 2024.

Here’s the full 100-strong roll-call from the 2026 Restaurant of the Year awards:

1. Bouchon Racine
2. Osip/The Ritz
3. Dorian
4. The Ledbury
5. Moor Hall
6. Ynyshir
7. Mountain
8. Trinity
9. Woven by Adam Smith
10. Legado
11. Planque
12. Dongnae
13. JÖRO
14. AngloThai
15. Impala
16. Opheem
17. Row on 5
18. The Devonshire
19. Humble Chicken
20. Camille
21. Kiln
22. Restaurant 22
23. Forest Side
24. Ikoyi
25. Timberyard
26. Restaurant Mýse
27. BiBi
28. Grace & Savour
29. Skof
30. Wildflowers
31. A Wong
32. Wilson's
33. Lyla
34. L'Enclume
35. The Kinneuchar Inn
36. The Dover
37. Erst
38. Restaurant Pine
39. Higher Ground
40. Henrock
41. One Club Row
42. Solstice
43. Perilla
44. The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant
45. Vraic
46. Da Terra
47. The Angel at Hetton
48. Kitchen Table
49. The Kitchin
50. Brat
51. Dogstar
52. Kol
53. Sabor
54. Tollington’s
55. Simpson's in The Strand
56. Miga
57. Lilibet’s
58. The Sportsman
59. Frog by Adam Handling
60. Maré by Rafael Cagali
61. The French House
62. The Cottage in the Wood
63. Brawn
64. Kudu
65. The Palmerston
66. Bonheur by Matt Abé
67. Winsome
68. Briar
69. Osteria Vibrato
70. Dalla
71. The Black Swan Oldstead
72. 40 Maltby Street
73. OMA
74. Updown Farmhouse
75. The Cocochine
76. Paul Ainsworth at No 6
77. Chishuru
78. The Star Inn
79. Restaurant St Barts
80. Restaurant Interlude
81. The Kerfield Arms
82. Restaurant Sat Bains
83. Bavette
84. The Seahorse
85. The Quality Chop House
86. Chez Bruce
87. Core by Clare Smyth
88. The Fat Badger
89. Fallow
90. The Muddlers Club
91. Shwen Shwen
92. Trivet
93. Inver
94. Ambassadors Clubhouse
95. Teal by Sally Abé
96. St. JOHN
97. Luca
98. Upstairs by Tom Sheppard
99. Motorino
100. Tiella by Dara Klein

• Cult creamy faves Hackney Gelato have teamed up with this London bar for boozy milkshake style cocktails

It’s a World Cup summer, which means we once again unite as a nation in the hope that England's men's team can finally end the years of hurt. It’s also that time to get weirdly invested in the fortunes of underdog nations or seeing whether Messi still has the legs to guide Argentina to a fourth World Cup.

If you’re not wedded to seeing how the team with the three lions on their shirt progresses, and quite like the idea of watching Brazil in a sea of yellow, we’ve picked 10 spots around the capital where you can watch the World Cup with supporters from other nations competing to beat England to that Jules Rimet trophy...

1. The Garden Vauxhall

6 South Lambeth Place, Vauxhall, SW8 1SP
Whether you’re hoping Mexico is the co-host to go the furthest in the competition or you want to join London’s contingent of Ecuadorian supporters, The Garden Vauxhall is giving its beer garden a full Latino makeover. Along with showing live matches (including the early morning kick-off ones), there’ll be Latino street food to soak up cocktails with, and DJs on hand to amp up the celebrations when Neymar scores a worldie. It’s also worth mentioning that there are areas to take cover if the British summer does its usual and rain interrupts play.

2. Nordic Bar

25 Newman St, London W1T 1PN
The clue is in the name. This is a place to join Norwegian and Swedish supporters, with the Fitzrovia spot just a few minutes walk from Tottenham Court Road station. The Nordic Bar invites you to watch the World Cup like a viking with bookings and walk-ins welcomed. You can look forward to enjoying a pint of Thor’s Piss Lager, dining on Swedish meatballs and swapping a pint glass for a viking horn. Doors will remain open at 2am to cover any games kicking off later in the evening too.

3. Gold Coast Bar & Restaurant

224 Portland Rd, London SE25 4QB
Head south of the river and you’ll find a place where Ghana’s World Cup hopes are the priority. You can knock back a bottle of Ghanian beer and it won’t take long for that food aroma to hit you and have you grabbing a menu. Tuck into some nyma choma or some yam balls. Gold Coast is offering entry packages for the World Cup, which gets you some food, your first drink and entry. There’ll also be DJs and giveaways to get you in the mood to get behind the Black Stars this summer.

4. A Toca

341 Wandsworth Rd, London SW8 2JH
This restaurant is roughly ten minutes walk from Stockwell or Nine Elms underground stations and one for the Portugal fans, and maybe the Cape Verde ones as well. You can fill up on Francesinhas, grilled meat or tackle the tapas menu, then slump back and take in the action on the big screens. You will need to book a table to secure your viewing and eating spot.

5. Tia Maria

126 S Lambeth Rd, London SW8 1RB
Pull on something yellow and make your way to South Lambeth to the Brazilian bar and restaurant known for its live music (that does like to stick on the football as well). The food and drink menu has everything from Fejioda to Caipirinhas and aims to give you a bit of Brazil — minus the weather, sadly, and definitely the beaches. If you like your drinking or eating spots lively and want to get swept up in the sights and sounds of the nation that’s lifted that trophy five times already, this is a place to be.

6. De Hems

11 Macclesfield Street, W1D 5BW
One of the most iconic images of any World Cup is when the Orange Army makes it to the tournament. Expect a flood of orange to descend on this Dutch cafe and bar just a short walk from Covent Garden underground station. You’ll need to book a spot with confirmed viewings of the Netherlands’ three group stage matches. There’s an extensive drinks menu and plenty of small plates and larger ones to tuck into here as well. It might also be a spot to find Curaçao supporters as this will be the Dutch Caribbean island’s first ever World Cup appearance.

7. The Maple Leaf

41 Maiden Ln, London WC2E 7LJ
Canada is co-hosting this year’s tournament, so if you want to join fellow Canadians and root for the team nicknamed the Canucks, this is the best-known Canadian-themed bar in London. There’s poutine on the menu, you can sip on Canadian beers and get distracted by the sports memorabilia as you wander to the toilets. They’ve got 14 screens to stare and shout at, so you should have no problem finding a prime spot to watch the action.

8. Munich Cricket Club

Tower Hill location - 9 Crutched Friars, London EC3N 2AR
Don’t be confused by cricket in the name, as the Bavarian-themed Bierkeller is a hot spot for German Bundesliga football action and will also be a place to see how the national side fare. All of Germany's matches will be shown here letting you sink steins of beer, and feast on bratwursts with offers available if you’ve turned up in a big group. Along with its Tower Hill location, you can also have a Germanfest at Munich Cricket Club locations at Canary Wharf and Victoria.

9. The Volley

211 Old St, London EC1V 9NR
The East London pub dedicated to football has become a hub for French domestic football viewing and should be a prime spot to watch Mbappe and company try and make it to the final... and be on the right side of the result this time. There’s plenty of screens dotted around including private ones, craft beers aplenty and unlike most pubs, it takes its pre-match and half-time grub a little more seriously.

10. Club 360

Unit 10, The High Cross Centre, Fountayne Rd, London N15 4QN
Scottish scran spot Auld Hag is hosting a World Cup fan zone for the Tartan Army where all three of Scotland’s group games will be shown. They’ve got a license until 6am if you want to keep drinking through the night and there’ll also be plenty of food including Auld Hag’s morning rolls and pies. It’s a ticketed event if you want to join the Tartan Army and you’ll need to get to Club 360 in North London, which is about a five minute walk from Tottenham Hale station.

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If Glastonbury isn't quite your thing and you'd rather spend a festival weekend stuffing your face with hot-sauce covered poultry than standing in a muddy field, London Wing Fest has you covered.

Returning to the London Stadium from the 24th to the 26th of July, the self-proclaimed world's largest chicken wing festival is gearing up for its biggest event yet. More than 500,000 wings will be served across the three-day celebration, with 50 traders descending on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to compete for some of the most coveted awards in wing culture.

Now in its 12th year, Wing Fest has evolved from a niche food event into one of London's most unusual summer festivals. At its heart are the World Chicken Wing Awards, where restaurants, street food vendors and BBQ teams battle for titles including Best Buffalo Wing, Best BBQ Wing and Best Wild Wing.

Among those competing this year are returning Wing Fest favourites Poor Boys and Mexican Seoul, alongside newcomers Mollis, the Nottingham restaurant from the Michelin-starred team behind Alchemilla. They'll be joined by established names including FOWL, Peck Peck, Gurt Wings and El Pollote.

Away from the food, organisers have packed the schedule with live music, DJs, axe throwing, fairground rides, arcade games and bourbon masterclasses. The Beavertown Stage will host everything from garage and drum and bass to blues, jazz and rock, while the Chicken Shed Stage will feature live-fire cooking demonstrations and BBQ masterclasses.

For anyone who enjoys making questionable life decisions in public, the infamous Lava Wing Challenge is also returning. This year's version features what organisers claim is the hottest sauce in Wing Fest history, measuring more than 15 million Scoville units.

Participants who survive the ordeal will be competing for a £500 cash prize, although the real reward is probably keeping their taste buds intact.

Meanwhile, the festival's legendary wing-eating competition will once again see competitors attempt to consume eye-watering numbers of wings in the shortest possible time, all in pursuit of wing-eating glory.

Tickets are on sale now, with prices starting from £33. Standard and Early Entry tickets include access to all live entertainment, competitions, rides and games, along with a Wing Fest trucker hat. VIP guests will also get access to exclusive food offerings from Wingmans and Big Kid Ice Cream that won't be available elsewhere on site.

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Who doesn’t love a food market? Any kind of market, really. Supermarket, Farmer’s Market, Craft Market – there’s no bad option, like potatoes. One of the UK’s markets really is the King of all the markets; it’s the eye in the artisan jewelled crown of the striped gazebo awnings – and now it’s been recognised as the best in the world. None other than London’s little (okay, huge) old Borough Market.

The latest accolade for the city to scoop up comes courtesy of Food & Wine magazine, who have been compiling its annual Global Tastemakers Awards – and they really know their stuff. The experts have rounded up the world’s best markets for food and drink through proper testing and thorough research (no, they’re not hiring at the moment, I checked). Little London did preeeeetty well, with the brilliant Borough Market coming in the top spot.

Despite London and the rest of the UK having plenty of other scrumptious spots to curtail any gnawing hunger, Borough Market was the only UK spot to make the top 10. Borough Market was marked out as “London’s oldest surviving food market”, with a delicious 1,000-year history when it was established at the foot of London Bridge. Food&Wine complimented the market, calling it “just as vibrant as ever” and “Though it has become a popular tourist destination, the market is still a favourite of local chefs and restaurateurs, not to mention regular Londoners. To avoid the crowds, visit on weekday mornings before the lunch rush.”.

Yes, they've been known to sell strawberries with some melted chocolate for a whopping £9.50 (hey, cost of living, who can blame them), however, the market is home to some of the most mouthwatering and TikTok not-so-secret-gems you could hope for. As the panel pointed out, the market has more than 100 stalls, stands, restaurants, bars, and shops that sell everything from fine British cheeses to Persian stews, Jamaican sauces, and sustainable Cypriot street food. Agora is one of our personal top favourites, serving up Greek food good enough to make you temporarily forget you're in your 30-minute lunch break in the rain and not chalky cliff away from a dazzling azure sea cove. And the cheese. Borough Market triggers some kind of Pavlovian response where suddenly all we can think about is cheese. Even if you don't want to spend a fair whack on food, it's worth making a detour through the market if you're nearby and casually pretending to be surprised by the artisan olive-wood boards of samples that are dotted around. Follow us for more life hacks...

The top 10 markets for food and drink (according to the Global Tastemakers Awards)

1. Borough Market, London
2. Chatuchak Market, Bangkok
3. Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, Lyon
4. Mercado de la Merced, Mexico City
5. Marché couvert des Enfants Rouges, Paris
6. Mercat de la Boqueria, Barcelona
7. Granville Island Public Market, Vancouver
8. Nishiki Market, Kyoto
9. Vucciria, Palermo
10. Viktualienmarkt, Munich

You can have a look at Food & Wine’s full findings here.

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For many Londoners, a trip to Vue Finchley Road is simply part of the furniture. Nestled inside the O2 Centre, it's long been one of North London's go-to cinemas for everything from Marvel blockbusters and horror hits to live sport and theatre screenings. Now it's about to get a significant upgrade.

Vue has begun work on a major refurbishment of the venue, with all 12 screens set to receive improvements alongside a complete refresh of the cinema's retail and foyer spaces. The project will be carried out in phases over the coming months, allowing the cinema to remain open throughout while individual screens are temporarily taken offline.

The first phase of work sees six screens close as they're fitted with Laser by Barco projection technology, which promises brighter images, sharper visuals and improved contrast. Dolby sound systems will also be installed, helping create a more immersive cinema experience whether you're watching the latest action blockbuster or settling in for an arthouse release.

Perhaps the biggest change for regular visitors, however, will be the seating. The upgraded auditoriums will feature Vue's premium Lux and Ultra Lux recliner seats, bringing the sort of comfort usually reserved for the chain's flagship locations.

Ultra Lux is Vue's top-tier offering, featuring fully reclining seats, additional personal space, storage compartments for coats and bags, individual comfort controls and even built-in drink coolers. It's the sort of seat designed to make three-hour epics feel considerably less daunting.

The refurbishment isn't limited to the screens themselves. Later phases will see the foyer transformed into Vue Your Way, the chain's new self-service retail concept. Designed to streamline the pre-film experience, it allows guests to scan tickets, customise snack bundles and check out via self-service tills, with staff on hand to help where needed.

While cinema operators continue looking for ways to tempt audiences away from streaming services and back into theatres, premium experiences have become an increasingly important battleground. Recliners, laser projection and upgraded sound systems are quickly becoming the standard at modern multiplexes, and Vue's investment in Finchley Road suggests it sees the venue as a key part of its London portfolio going forward.

The cinema will remain open throughout the refurbishment, with screens reopening in stages as work progresses. When the project is completed later this year, North London film fans can expect a significantly more luxurious place to catch the latest big-screen releases.

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With another huge summer of football just around the corner, brands are inevitably scrambling for ways to attach themselves to the beautiful game. Some wheel out former players for a quick advert, others stick a football on the packaging and call it a day. Ocado, however, has gone a step further by recruiting Harry Redknapp to deliver a full-blown dressing room team talk to its drivers.

The online supermarket has unveiled a new campaign built around limited-edition Half-Time Delivery bundles, designed for football fans who can't bear the thought of missing a goal while making a snack run.

According to Ocado's research, 69% of Brits have missed an iconic football moment after leaving the room at exactly the wrong time, which feels entirely believable if you've ever watched your team score while you're halfway through opening a packet of crisps in the kitchen.

To launch the service, Redknapp has been drafted in to put Ocado's delivery drivers through their paces. The campaign video sees the former Tottenham, Portsmouth and West Ham manager arrive at a training ground before delivering one of his trademark motivational speeches, complete with references to former players and the sort of old-school football wisdom that made him one of the game's most entertaining personalities.

The bundles themselves are built around tournament-inspired food and drink. The Best of British package includes staples such as pork pies, sausage rolls and tea, while the Host Nation Hotlist leans into North American flavours with tacos and sweet treats. There's also a Global Flavours bundle featuring snacks and dishes inspired by countries including Spain, France, Japan and Australia.

The hook is that the bundles are delivered specifically during half-time, meaning fans can restock without risking missing a decisive goal, controversial VAR check or inevitable social media meltdown.

It's a smart idea because it taps into something every football fan recognises. Nobody wants to be the person who misses the biggest moment of the match because they decided to put the kettle on. And while the chances of Harry Redknapp personally arriving at your front door remain slim, the campaign at least captures the chaotic energy of tournament football better than most.

The Half-Time Delivery bundles will be available in London and Manchester on the 17th of June, 23rd of June and 27th of June, with spaces strictly limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

For everyone else, Ocado's wider football-themed Fan Zone will be stocked with all the snacks, drinks and last-minute essentials required for a summer spent shouting at the television.

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London is basically another word for culture at this point – it got named the best city in the whole world for culture just this year, thanks to its plethora of museums, galleries, theatres, comedy nights, music venues and cool free stuff that is pretty much constantly on. And whilst Croydon might not immediately spring to mind when you say both ‘London’ and ‘culture’, its latest exhibition might just prove the stereotype wrong.

Called Art on Our Doorstep: Croydon’s Contemporary Art Fair, the festival is a three-day celebration of the borough’s vibrant visual arts sector. Kicking off on 12th June and running until 14th, the festival will showcase contemporary works by 29 Croydonian artists, spanning every medium from photography to textiles and everything you’d see referenced on Art Attack.

The Whigift Centre will become a large-scale pop-up gallery to house the majority of works by the featured artists, but a wider programme of open studio tours will run alongside the gallery, featuring hands-on workshops, creative activities, and live music for the public to get involved with.

Spanning painting, photography, textiles, ceramics and mixed media, the fair highlights the breadth of artistic talent rooted in the borough. The exhibiting artists were selected through an open call in partnership with Turf Projects.

Visitors will encounter work by artists such as Agata Nowak, whose clay and print‑based practice centres on community connection; Ameena Rojee, an internationally exhibited Croydon photographer exploring our relationship with the natural world; and Georgia McKenzie, whose oil paintings draw on portraiture and realism. Other featured artists include Helen Holmes, José Rafael Mendes, Marcia John, Sharon Flowers and Skye Baker, reflecting the diversity of Croydon’s creative landscape.

The pinnacle of the weekend will be the big public reveal of the festival’s main feature, titled the Croydon Masterpiece. It’s a series of four large-scale artworks by award-winning Rachel Gadsden, who has used collaging artwork from over 200 local participants.

The event forms part of the wider Art On Your Doorstep programme, which has bright meticulous reproductions of 30 iconic National Gallery paintings to public spaces across Croydon until 5 July.

You can find the Art On Our Doorstep: Croydon’s Contemporary Art Fair at Whitgift Centre, Turf Studios and Croydon North End, CR0 1LP from 12th-14th June.

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London is full of incredible places to drink beer, whether a historic pub or a funky craft focused bar with a vast selection. But little can beat the pleasure of drinking amazing beer at source, next to the vessels it was brewed in. Sitting in view of the brewing tanks, on a wooden bench with the brewery’s latest special, has become a favourite way to while away a Saturday afternoon for many. Whether you’re a fan of juice-bomb New England style IPAs, crispy lagers or massive imperial stouts, the brewery tap rooms of London have something for you. For this list, we teamed up with London-based beer expert and writer Will Hawkes. He is the author of London Beer City, a newsletter devoted to the city’s pubs and breweries. You can sign up here.

Will Hawkes Selects:

The Kernel

The Kernel is London’s most important independent brewery, having kickstarted the city’s craft-beer movement back in 2009. One of the reasons why they’ve been so successful is they’ve always done things their own way. Founder Evin O’Riordain is a singular figure, apparently unmoved by the vagaries of fashion, but with a commitment to quality and equality that contrasts sharply with some of his erstwhile competitors.

It’s no surprise then, that the Kernel’s taproom is so unique. It’s a modern, almost Scandinavian space where Japanese comfort food (Gyoza, Udon, etc) shares top billing with The Kernel’s beers. There’s exposed pipework, a concrete floor, pine furniture and plenty of space. Taproom general manager Mauritz Borg is amongst the best in the business too.

Find it at 32 Spa Road, Dockley Estate, SE16 3AG

Eko

Copeland Park, Peckham’s self-described ‘cultural quarter’, has got a lot going on. There are film production companies, rooftop bars, artists of many persuasions, vegan cafes, Balkan food and a hugely popular annual hot sauce festival – to name just a few.

Perhaps my favourite spot though, is Eko Brewery’s taproom. Founded in 2018 by husband and wife duo Anthony and Helena Adedipe, Eko is a modern brewery with a difference: there’s a focus here on African ingredients and techniques which makes for a refreshing change. Appropriate, too, in this most West African of London neighbourhoods.

Find it at Unit 2A-2, 133 Copeland Park, Copeland Road, SE15 3SN.

Five Points

Five Points has become a fixture of East London life, most notably here and at the pub they run, the magnificent Pembury Tavern. It’s a brewery that has a number of pots on the boil, from a craft-defying (and very popular) Best Bitter to more mod-ish styles. The key unifying factor, as with all the best breweries, is drinkability. This approachability defines their taproom too. It is an expansive space, taking in a cosy front room next to Mare Street, a mezzanine area, a large partially covered yard and BBQ food.

Find it at 61 Mare Street, Hackney, London, E8 4RG.

Saint Monday

Andreas Akerlund and Anselm Chatwin, the duo behind pub group Graceland, are steeped in London hospitality. They’ve clocked up decades of experience at the rockface, running pubs as renowned as Stoke Newington’s Axe and the Black Heart in Camden. It’s the latter that feels most akin to this brewpub in London Fields. Both gents are metal fanatics, and this place is as much about music as beer. Opened in 2023 when Graceland acquired the site and the brewing equipment from Carlsberg (for a relative song), it’s a delightful space. The pale ales and IPAs are particularly good.

Find it at 4 Warburton Road, E8 3RR.

Pillars Brewery

The best lager brewery in London? It could well be. Walthamstow’s Pillars was founded in 2016 and since then they’ve gradually established a reputation for quality, all the while expanding their range. My favourite is the delightfully crisp Pilsner, but you can’t really go wrong.

When it comes to taproom options – you’ve got two choices. There’s the official taproom and Malt Haus, a space dedicated to not only high-quality beer but whiskey too, a few doors down. The latter maybe has the edge since it’s open an extra two days a week.

Find it at Unit 2, Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall St, London E17 9HQ

Shortlist selects

Howling Hops Brewery and Tank Bar

After starting out brewing in the basement of legendary Mare Street pub the Cock Tavern, Howling Hops moved to its current site in 2015, becoming London’s first and only tank bar. As you enter their stripped back and industrial space, you’re greeted by a line of shiny stainless steel fermentation tanks where the beer is finished, right behind the bar – it doesn’t get fresher than that! The beer line-up is regularly changing and offers something for most tastes.

Find it at Unit 9A Queen's Yard, White Post Lane, Hackney Wick, E9 5EN

Bullfinch Brewery

Started from the kitchen of former travelling sound engineer and enthusiastic home brewer Ryan Mclean – Bullfinch Brewery now operates from a railway arch in Herne Hill. The tap room is a sociable space, rooted in the local community, offering up the brewery’s bang fresh beer, including favourites such as their 4.2% session pale Rascal. With a line-up completed by specials and a rotating selection of guest beers – there’s much to recommend this south London spot.

Find it at Arch 886, Rosendale Road, Herne Hill, London, SE24 9EH

Signature Brew

Located on the Black Horse Beer Mile, Signature Brew was founded by a brewer and a musician and has always been about bringing together the two worlds. The core beers have names like Studio Lager and Roadie IPA, while artists often collaborate on specials. The tap room is a spacious affair and often has punters spilling outside on nice days. They of course run regular live music events and also play host to some amazing street food vendors.

Find it at Unit 15, Blackhorse Lane, E17 5QJ.

Gipsy Hill Brewing

Session IPA Hepcat, from South London brewing stalwarts Gipsy Hill has become a firm favourite among discerning London drinkers and the rest of their range is excellent too. Their tap room, which is located opposite their main production brewery, opens from Wednesday to Sunday and is a bustling and lively space for enjoying top quality beer. They don’t have an in-house kitchen, but they partner with Yard Sale Pizza, who will deliver directly to your table.

Find it at Unit 5, 160 Hamilton Road, Norwood. SE27 9SF

Pretty Decent

Originally founded in Forest Gate, where they maintain a taproom, Pretty Decent moved their main production to the current site in 2022. Located conveniently around the corner from Signature Brew on the Black Horse Beer Mile, their tap room is a lively space offering their core beers and specials. You will also find one of the most hilarious beer names in London at Pretty Decent, in the form of their session IPA ‘I Could Get Better At T*sco For A Quid’. Expect top-notch beer and a fine atmosphere at this excellent addition to the London beer scene.

Find it at Unit 10, Uplands Business Park, Blackhorse Lane, E17 5QJ

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Burger King and Pringles are back with another gloriously unnecessary food mash-up, and this one might be their best yet.

Landing in Burger King restaurants across the UK from the 9th of June, the new Pringles Sour Cream & Onion Chicken Fries take one of the chain'smore interesting menu items and coat it in the unmistakable flavour of arguably Pringles' greatest crisp.

For anyone unfamiliar with the cult of Chicken Fries, they're exactly what they sound like: strips of 100% chicken breast shaped like chips, wrapped in a crispy coating and served in a box that's become a fast-food icon in its own right. They've disappeared and returned from menus so many times over the years that each comeback now feels like a mini event.

This latest version sees them dusted with Pringles' Sour Cream & Onion seasoning, combining that tangy, savoury flavour with the crunchy coating of the Chicken Fries. It's the sort of collaboration that sounds completely ridiculous until you realise you immediately want to try it.

If you're too impatient to wait until the nationwide launch, Burger King is hosting a one-day giveaway in London this week. On the 4th of June, the chain's Tottenham Hale branch will host what it's calling the Crumb Exchange, giving away free portions of the new Chicken Fries before anyone else can buy them.

The catch is that you'll need to bring along an empty large tube of Pringles Sour Cream & Onion. Hand it over between midday and 4pm and you'll receive a free nine-piece portion of the new Chicken Fries while stocks last. It's a fairly niche form of currency, admittedly, but probably one of the few occasions where hanging onto an empty crisp tube might actually pay off.

The collaboration follows a growing trend of brands turning crisp flavours into full menu items, but this one feels like a particularly natural fit. Sour Cream & Onion has long been one of Pringles' most recognisable flavours, while Chicken Fries remain one of Burger King's most popular snacks. Put the two together and you've essentially created the fast-food equivalent of emptying a tube of Pringles during a football match.

The new Chicken Fries launch nationwide on the 9th of June and will be available in restaurants, through the Burger King app, via click and collect and on delivery platforms.

Like most fast-food collaborations these days, they're only sticking around for a limited time, so anyone curious should probably get involved before they disappear back into the fast-food vault.

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