Mr & Mrs Smith

Take an appetite-honing stroll to Chelsea’s hugely impressive Ambassade de L’Ile on Old Brompton Road (+44 (0)20 7373 7774) – the second outpost of masterful Michelin-starred French chef Jean-Cristophe Ansanay-Alex. If the exclusively-priced à la carte dinner menu is a deterrent, the set lunch menus (two courses, £25; three courses, £35) are good value. Lovers of Japanese cuisine should put Zuma on Raphael Street (+44 (0)20 7584 1010) top of their list – and remember to book ahead.Head to the super-trendy gourmet Brazilian Mocotó (+44 (0)20 7225 2300), where beautiful people sip caipirinha cocktails upstairs, then fuel up on nuevo latino fare. Other good options not far from Knightsbridge Hotel include the bistros at The Pelham or The Gore, French restaurant Aubaine at 262 Brompton Road (+44 (0)20 7052 0100), and for excellent Iberian tapas, Casa Brindisa at 7–9 Exhibition Road, (+44 (0)20 7590 0008).

 Kumo (www.kumoknightsbridge.com) on neighbouring Beauchamp Place is a stylish Japanese cocktail bar that serves up sushi by expert chefs from Zuma and Nobu.

The infamous Boujis (www.boujis.com) on Thurloe Street  is where the fashionable Kensington crowd flock.

With just a short walk to South Kensington, you're close to the Royal Albert Hall, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the wonderful V&A, as well as Kensington Palace and Hyde Park (where you can also visit the Serpentine Gallery). Buckingham Palace is also eminently strollable. However, Knightsbridge’s crowning glory is its shopping; not just the headlining acts of Harrods and Harvey Nichols, but all the designer draws of Brompton Cross and Sloane Street too.