Mr & Mrs Smith

Refuel after a hard day’s shopping, on well-presented Modern British and European dishes at the Fifth Floor in destination department store Harvey Nichols on Knightsbridge (020 7235 5250). Gourmets will love the daily-changing set menu in the pretty white interior of Clarke’s on Kensington Church Street (020 7221 9225). Long-time favourite with ladies who lunch, San Lorenzo on Beauchamp Place (020 7584 1074) is Italian, cosy and surprisingly low-key. Lovers of Japanese cuisine should put Zuma on Raphael Street (020 7584 1010) top of their list; book ahead. Lonsdale House on Lonsdale Road (020 7727 4080) is a stylish backdrop for elegant tapas-sized dishes and incredible cocktails. Pétrus at the Berkeley on Wilton Place (020 7235 1200), for Marcus Wareing’s exceptional French cuisine. 

Boujis on Thurloe Street (020 7584 6678) is a bijou bar where the fashionable flock. Book a private party at Apartment 195 on King’s Road (020 7351 5195), a sexy nocturnal lounge bar in a listed building. Kensington Roof Gardens on Kensington High Street (020 7937 7994) boasts a restaurant, a club and an acre and a half of tropical greenery.

Late March Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race (www.theboatrace.org). Mid-April London Marathon (www.london-marathon.co.uk). Late May Chelsea Flower Show (www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea). Late June Wimbledon LTC (www.wimbledon.org). July-September The Proms (www.bbc.co.uk/proms). August bank holiday Notting Hill Carnival. September Open House Weekend (www.londonopenhouse.org). Mid-October–early November The London Film Festival (www.lff.org.uk). 5 November Bonfire Night, aka Guy Fawkes.