The 100 best shops in London – art and culture picks

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Discover top London shops chosen by experts including James Frey

Gallery owner Steve Lazarides, 'A Million Little Pieces' author James Frey, and Time Out’s Around Town editor Sara O’Reilly on their favourite London shops.

Have your say: on Facebook | on Twitter using #bestshopslondon | in the comments below

James Frey

© Rob Greig

One-time London resident, American cult author of 'A Million Little Pieces'.

  • Other Criteria

    14 Hinde Street, London, W1U 3BG

    'Damien Hirst’s retail shop offers great prints, small paintings and books. I wish there was one in NY.' Read more about Other Criteria

  • Lutyens & Rubinstein

    21 Kensington Park Road, London, W11 2EU

    'This is a great little bookshop, whose smart owners give good recommendations. Places like this are disappearing in America.' Read more about Lutyens & Rubinstein

  • Hamleys

    Hamleys

    188-196 Regent Street, London, W1B 5BT

    'Hamleys is a heaven for little kids – as well as being very reliable for dads who travel too much and need to bring home presents for the little ones.' Read more about Hamleys

  • Rock & Sole Plaice

    47 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AJ

    'Okay, so maybe this is not a shop – but it does sell something! It is truly, truly wonderful and is the only place I go to every time I’m in London.' Read more about Rock & Sole Plaice

  • Harrods

    87-135 Brompton Road, London, SW1X 7XL

    'Big and ridiculous, Harrods is sensory overload in a shop, but always makes me laugh. Shopping there is a surreal and absurd experience but it does stock incredibly nice things that make my wife, parents and in-laws happy.' Read more about Harrods

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Steve Lazarides

© Lars Fassinger

Soho gallery owner who works with Banksy and Jamie Hewlett.

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Sara O'Reilly

© Rob Greig

Sara is Time Out’s Around Town editor, an expert on the capital’s museums, attractions and kids’ events.

  • V & A Shop

    V&A Shop

    V&A, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL

    'Curated with as much thought and flair as any exhibition, with a mix of merchandise that reflects or – in the case of the commissioned items – responds to the V&A’s collections and temporary shows (the museum opens a separate, themed mini shop for each of its big exhibitions and there’s an excellent bookshop, too). Boldly putting the shop right at the heart of the museum has made it a destination in its own right and it’s a strategy that has paid off - visitors nip in to buy a birthday present, then find it impossible to leave without dipping into the galleries. It's great for birthday and Christmas cards, arty scarves, contemporary jewellery and quirky decorative items.' Read more about V&A Shop

  • Imperial War Museum Shop

    Lambeth Road, London, SE1 6HZ

    'This is the place for war films and books, Airfix kits, authentic World War II flying jackets and earflap hats and lots of posters and cards featuring stiff upper-lip sentiments of the "keep calm and carry on" ilk.' Read more about Imperial War Museum Shop

  • Tate Modern Shop

    Bankside, London, SE1 9TG

    'I've picked this for its huge selection of art books. There’s an excellent range for kids, too, including genuinely creative activity kits and books.' Read more about Tate Modern shop

  • Few and Far

    242 Brompton Road, London, SW3 2BB

    'Priscilla Carluccio’s South Ken treasure trove of lovely things, many of which you won’t have seen anywhere else, always has inviting displays that draw you in. Sourced from around the globe, the stock includes vintage and contemporary furniture, homewares, toys, clothes, jewellery and artworks. Some things cost just a couple of quid, others thousands.'

  • Fenwick's

    Fenwick

    63 New Bond Street, London, W1A 3BS

    'Off the beaten track in department store terms, Fenwick is worth the detour, even if Bond Street shops are otherwise out of your price bracket. A particular strength are the thoughtfully designed but unshowy handbags for women who use them to carry stuff around, rather than flaunting them as accessories. Staff seem to linger, loyally, for years and they’re genuinely helpful.' Read more about Fenwick's

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Deyan Sudjic

Architecture critic and director of the Design Museum.

  • Margaret Howell

    34 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2RS

    'Margaret Howell is everything you could want from a clothes shop. Calm and relaxing with intriguing selections of books and objects, its owner is the only successful fashion designer you are likely to meet on the Northern line. The shop, with its long, top-lit space, was designed by William Russell.' Read more about Margaret Howell

  • Jasper Morrison

    Kingsland Road, London, E2 8DA

    'Getting in to this shop is like negotiating the door to a speakeasy or a particularly upmarket crack den. Alongside his own studio, it offers an insight into Morrison, one of Britain’s most cerebral product designers. He believes in subtlety, and quiet. And though he does sell a few objects that he has designed himself, in a mostly well-chosen industrial vernacular, this is anonymous design at its best.' Read more about Jasper Morrison

  • Stanfords

    12-14 Long Acre, London, WC2E 9LP

    'You can never have enough maps.' Read more about Stanfords

  • Tom Dixon Shop

    Wharf Building, Portobello Dock, London, W10 5BU

    'The property crash was London’s gain. It allowed Tom Dixon to take over what was meant to be an upmarket canalside enclave. There is the Dock Kitchen, alongside what is not quite a shop exactly, but more of a showroom. You can always find something fresh here. If it’s not Tom’s own work, then it’s the younger talents that Tom is always keen on nurturing.' Read more about Tom Dixon Shop

  • Design Museum Shop

    Shad Thames, London, SE1 2YD

    'Before I was a museum director, I was a journalist. Back then, I saw museum shops as the work of the devil. Now I know better. A museum shop has to work even harder than the rest of the museum to keep engaging visitors.' Read more about Design Museum Shop

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Christopher Woodward

Author of 'In Ruins' and director of the Garden Museum.

  • Ocean Leisure

    11-14 Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5AQ

    'I am addicted to buying goggles for open-water swimming; I am waiting for a call to see if I have, at last, got a slot for the Strait of Gibraltar swim.' Read more about Ocean Leisure

  • The Flute Music Shop

    'As soon as you step over the threshold they say, squarely, "Look, there's only flute music here." It makes me chuckle so I've ended up with quite a few flute music CDs.'

  • Selfridges

    400 Oxford Street, London, W1A 1AB

    'Whenever I have the blues, I go to the stationery department in Selfridges; only New York does stationery better.' Read more about Selfridges

  • Pen Friend

    Pen Friend

    34 Burlington Arcade, London, W1J 0QA

    'I love how the manageress talks you through the fountain pens, taking each one apart as she does so, with such light but lifelong expertise.' Read more about Pen Friend

  • Garden Museum Shop

    Lambeth Palace Road, London, SE1 7LB

    'Sophie Bradshaw, our retail buyer, and managers work with such interesting small makers and designers from across the country.' Read more about Garden Museum Shop


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