Local restaurants
For a traditional British experience, with just the right sprinkling of pomp, head to The Wolseley on Piccadilly (+44 (0)20 7499 6996) for lunch or tea, or Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill on Swallow Street (+44 (0)20 7734 4756). Slurp oysters at the marble-topped champagne bar while pianists tickle the ivories (Wednesday to Saturday evenings); or head upstairs where Richard Corrigan works his magic in the Grill restaurant. Hakkasan on Hanway Place (+44 (0)20 7927 7000) has to be the sexiest Chinese restaurant ever designed; and it was the first ever to be awarded a Michelin star. If you don’t fancy going the whole hog, the dim sum at its glossy Soho sister, Yauatcha on Broadwick Street (+44 (0)20 7494 8888), are unmissable; at least drop by for tea and cakes upstairs. Just off Regent Street, Veeraswamy (+44 (0)20 7734 1401) is the oldest Indian eatery in the capital, but it couldn’t feel more contemporary after its very modern makeover. At The Ivy on West Street (+44 (0)20 7836 4751), you can brush shoulders with gossiping showbiz legends over classic British dishes. If you’re in the mood to splurge, multi-venue Sketch on Conduit Street (+44 (0)870 777 4488) offers flashy French-fusion fantasies, brasserie fare, cocktails, or delicate patisseries in its tearoom. For more eating, drinking and dancing options, check out our London restaurant listings.
Worth getting out of bed for
Come on – this is London! You can do anything and everything. At the Haymarket Hotel, you’re surrounded by the city's leading stages, including the Theatre Royal Haymarket (www.trh.co.uk). If you haven’t booked ahead (www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk), visit the ‘tkts’ booth in Leicester Square, where boards list cut-price last-minute tickets for that day’s matinee and evening performances, from ballet to musicals. You're also very close to the Institute of Contemporary Arts, better known as the ICA (+44 (0)20 7930 0493; www.ica.org.uk) and the leafy lakeside St James's Park (www.royalparks.org.uk), where the park's wildlife officers feed the pelicans every day at 2.30pm. The Serpentine Gallery (www.serpentinegallery.org), which hosts regular events and exhibitions of cutting-edge art and sculpture, is at the far end of the park. For more destinational information, click here to read our insider guide to London.
For a full list of bars and restaurants in London, click here
