The Time Out London blog team

From a former industrial wasteland to a ravers’ paradise to north-central London’s retail therapy hot spot, Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross has rapidly evolved in the past few decades – and it’s not slowing down any time soon.  The prestigious shopping and dining area will soon welcome three new outlets: two well-known clothing brands and a local, family-run bakery. Global fashion retailer Anthropologie will open its 21st UK store in a 2,852 sq ft unit at Coal Drops Yard this May. For more adventurous types, modern outdoor clothing brand the Outsiders Store is upgrading its existing occupancy in Coal Drops Yard. The Manchester-founded brand has signed on for a further 10 years and plans to relocate to a larger 3,000 sq ft space.  Cheesecake shop La Maritxu has also signed a 10-year lease for a site on Bagley Walk. La Maritxu is famed for its San Sebastián style, authentic Basque cheesecakes, and won a Great Taste Award in 2023.   Photograph: Andrei Nekrassov / Shutterstock.com Anthropologie’s new store at Coal Drops Yard will open on May 6   Did you see that two mighty London institutions are in the final of UK Museum of the Year 2026? Plus: the Shoreditch bistro that is officially the best vegetarian restaurant in London in 2026. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight...

London is easily one of the best food cities in the world. Its seams are practically bursting with brilliant cafes, great gastropubs, swanky small plates places and bougie restaurants. Plus, the Big Smoke is now home to a grand total of 88 Michelin stars, the fifth-most of any city on the planet.  It comes as no surprise, then, that the capital is now officially home to the best restaurant in the world, according to a recent awards ceremony. Every year, Food & Wine polls more than 400 chefs, travel experts, writers and wine aficionados on their top culinary travel experiences for its Tastemakers Awards. The results are then turned over to its Global Advisory Board, which compiles lists of the best bars, hotels, airlines, cruise lines and, importantly for food fanatics, the world’s top restaurants. London’s Ikoyi, on the Strand, nabbed the international culinary crown in 2026. Named after the affluent Lagos suburb where co-founder Iré Hassan-Odukale was born, Ikoyi debuted on the London scene in 2017. In the years since, it has transitioned away from its west African concept, and now focuses on ‘spice-based cuisine’, though a handful of Nigerian-inflected dishes remain on the 14-ish course set menu. Leonie Cooper for Time Out Dining at Ikoyi will set you back a pretty penny, but, as Time Out’s food & drink editor Leonie Cooper will tell you, it’s well worth the hefty price tag.  ‘A meal at Ikoyi is an otherworldly experience,’ she says. ‘From the flavours (phenomenal) to...

Does action-packed Japanese cyberpunk dystopia sound like your kind of film? The iconic 1988 sci-fi anime Akira is back in cinemas from April 17. Digitally remastered in 4k, and with hundreds of screenings across the city, there’s really no excuse to miss it. From the mind of director Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira is set in a near-apocalyptic imagining of 2019 neo-Tokyo, following the aftermath of World War III. It follows biker-gang ringleader Kaneda tearing through neon-lit city streets, racing against his rivals, until a fateful encounter with a mysterious boy leads to the kidnapping of his best friend, Tetsuo. Kaneda will stop at nothing to get him back, and torturous military experiments and spiralling madness ensue. The film is based on Otomo’s manga masterpiece of the same name. Its influence has spanned decades, so much so that the image of Kaneda racing down the streets of neo-Tokyo was recreated in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One (2018). Tickets are selling fast (it's already sold out at BFI IMAX). But you can still catch Akira at over 30 London cinemas if you're quick, including The Garden Cinema and Regent Street Cinema, as well as chains like Picturehouse, Odeon and Vue.  Not about town? Screenings run for the next couple of months, with Prince Charles Cinema showing it through June 13. Time to rally the group chat, or try your luck and catch it a second time if once wasn't enough. You can watch the trailer and get your tickets here. The best sci-fi movies of all...