The very best of London 2010
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By Time Out editors
Updated: Tue Feb 2 2010 -
London has more exciting things to see and do than any other city in the world - but what are its tip-top, incomparable, utterly unmissable highlights? Find out here, as we reveal which of London's bars, restaurants, clubs, museums, art galleries, landmarks and activities that make life in the capital such a joy
Food and drink | Museums and attractions | Nightlife | Shops | EntertainmentBest food and drink
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Bar: Mark's Bar
66-70 Brewer Street, Soho, W1F 9UP
This basement bar, downstairs from the equally modish British restaurant Hix, is the sort of place a visitor unfamiliar with the area would imagine demi-monde Soho to be stuffed with – clubby, stylish, vivacious and just on the right side of cool. It benefits by sitting happily between two worlds – the moneyed society folk who might otherwise patronise places like The Wolseley of an evening, and a more self-consciously bohemian, artsy crowd. Despite the seemingly unlikely clientele cocktail, this is a brilliant bar, helped by an outstanding drinks list and the highly professional bar staff, led by Nick Strangeway. Read more
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Restaurant: Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley
The Berkeley, Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RL
In 1998, ITV’s ‘Boiling Point’ introduced a talented and ambitious chef called Gordon Ramsay. And now, more than a decade later, his former protégé Marcus Wareing has taken over the mantle of London’s best. Although Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester was recently awarded three Michelin stars (Wareing has a ‘mere’ two), we’re sticking with Ramsay’s former best chum. For our money (if only we could afford to eat there regularly), Wareing’s masterly execution of extra-special-occasion haute cuisine is impossible to better. Read more
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Café: Lantana
13 Charlotte Place, Fitzrovia, W1T 1SN
Of all the new-wave Antipodean coffee houses percolating their way through London (Nude, Flat White et al), it seems this funky, laid-back and busy Fitzrovia café does it better than most – Time Out readers voted it ‘Best New Café’ in our most recent Eating & Drinking Awards. It achieved this accolade by doing what it does simply, and by always doing it well – consistently perfect coffees (from Monmouth), imaginative salads and sandwiches and dainty cakes. Skip the countless Costas and Starbucks and head somewhere that adds something unquantifiable to London’s café scene. Read more
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Cheap eats: Busaba Eathai
22 Store Street, Fitzrovia, WC1E 7DS
The ideal budget restaurant should, of course, be cheap. But what if it was also beautifully designed, fashionably chic and served vibrant food that thrilled the palate? Busaba Eathai somehow manages all this. Its menu of creative Thai dishes is the real deal, not the watered-down versions you find in so many of London’s Thai caffs. Several years old and now a growing chain, Busaba somehow maintains standards and low prices that others can only marvel at. Read more
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Soho lunch haunt: Yalla Yalla
1 Green's Court, Soho, W1F 0HA
This little Lebanese in Soho is included here not so much for the – admittedly excellent – food, but simply because it’s a beautiful addition to Soho. Seating less than two dozen people, with a striking black and yellow façade, it’s the ideal place for a convivial lunchtime rendezvous. Read more
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Food hall: Selfridges
400 Oxford St, London, W1A 1AB
Who are the most significant Americans in London history? Dr Crippen? Wallis Simpson? For food lovers, there can only be one. No, not Ronald McDonald, but Harry Gordon Selfridge. He set up his store in 1909, and its food hall now houses the capital’s best collection of chocolate, cheese, honey, ham, sausages, spices and spirits in the city. There are small outlets that may offer more esoteric treats, but Selfridges’s food hall is inspirational. From Belgian chocolate to Albarragena jamón ibérico to civet coffee, it brings out the gourmand in every Londoner. Read more
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Turkish food shop: Yasir Halim
495 Green Lanes, N4 1AL, 020 8340 8090
The strip of Green Lanes between Manor House and Turnpike Lane tubes is home to a brilliant mix of ethnic groups – particularly Turkish – which makes for a wealth of culinary delights. Try Yasir Halim, the big and delicious food shop where you can pick up everything from top-notch fruit ’n’ veg to freshly baked Turkish bread (plus a sheep’s head, should you need one).
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Cabaret: Bistrotheque
23-27 Wadeson St, E2 9DR
A modish bar and restaurant serving bistro food, Bistrotheque doubles up as an inspiring cabaret space. Jonny Woo’s collective of drag stars works from here, gay burlesque bear troupe Bearlesque met in the back room and The Lipsinkers (miming drag queens) have become a favourite. Read more
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3 comments
gesy the word are tooo gay blaaaaaaaaaaaadddd....they should close down and let miimiim mine hold place
DAVID HOYLES "LICKING WOUNDS"at the royal vauxhall tavern is the most academic and cutting edge variety show you will ever have the immense pleasure of seeing in your entire cultural experiences,david is not a performer for the faint hearted or those that want to see mary poppins on ice, he is a postmodernist socialist comic with very strong political views,someone who'd look good in a strait jacket in other words David is an endangered species we need to preserve him from extinction.
Didn't an earlier version of this article mention a lovely stationery/paper and pencils shop with 2 London locations that children would enjoy? I can't seem to find it now . . . . Help?!