Ed Cunningham

London is full of perfect pizza. The finest of fast foods, this delicious staple has been elevated far beyond its humble roots by great Italian restaurants in London, pop-ups, street food vendors and pub residencies, and we know just where to find these world-class wonders, because we’ve been eating our way across London in order to discover the best. Whether it’s delivered in a cardboard box or served in a swish restaurant, excellent pizza is hard to beat. Browse our list of the best pizza places in town and try not to drool on your screen. Recent additions to the Top 20 include some nifty kitchen residencies; Dough Hands at the Spurstowe Arms and Old Nun’s Head, Bing Bong Pizza at You Call The Shots in Hackney, Little Earthquakes at the Railway Tavern in Dalston, Lenny’s Apizza at The Bedford Tavern in Finsbury Park and Short Road Pizza at the William The Fourth in Leyton and Three Colts in Bethnal Green. You can find Ace Pizza at the Pembury Tavern in Hackney Downs, but they have also opened their first standalone parlour in Victoria Park. Try also; Spring Street Pizza in Borough for pizza with a Michelin-starred chefs touch or Carmela’s on Upper Street for a cosy slice. RECOMMENDED: The finest fish and chips in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Need a fun restaurant for your birthday dinner, or a classy dining spot for a celebration? In London, you've loads of great options to dine in style, no matter if you're a party of two or 20. Here's our pick of the best restaurants in London where you can dine in a group. It's all here: spaces big, small, cheap and fancy. Now let the planning commence.  RECOMMENDED: The most romantic restaurants in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.  

Every week, a frankly silly amount of brilliant new restaurants, cafés and street food joints arrive in London. Which makes whittling down a shortlist of the best newbies a serious challenge. But here it is. The 20 very best new restaurants in the capital, ranked in order of greatness and deliciousness. All of them have opened in the past year and been visited by our hungry critics. So go forth and take inspo from this list, which is updated regularly. Check in often to find out what we really rate on the London restaurant scene. And look here for all the info about the best new openings in September.  August 2025: New additions include perfect pizza at Ace in Victoria Park, new school Vietnamese at Lai Rai in Peckham, plush Roman pasta at Lupa in Highbury, modern surf and turf at Island in King's Cross, yet more pizza at Elephant in Clapton, ultra elite Asian cuisine at Shanghai Me in Mayfair, riverside dining at Canal in Westbourne Park, and a new home for Thai legend Singburi in Shoreditch. Hungry yet? Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best restaurants in London. The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest reviews: we’re serving it all on our London restaurants WhatsApp channel. Follow us now to tuck in.

 Imagine a properly good walk and you're probably thinking of rolling hills, mountains, forests and a rustic country pub for a celebratory pint at the end. And although you won't find that exact formula in London, you can come pretty damn close. This city is full of surprisingly peaceful, rural-feeling and very pretty corners where you can immerse yourself in nature for a few hours – without ever being more than half an hour away from a decent macchiato or a TfL station. Here are some walks that are perfect for enjoying solo, or with a gang who are equally ready to discover London's hidden wild side. Wear some sensible(ish) shoes, check the weather forecast, and make evening plans where you can show off the virtuous glow that only comes from exercising in the great outdoors. If London’s not cutting it at the moment, why not check out our properly good list of walks near (but not in) the capital? And if trees are your thing, here’s a load of walk suggestions that take in some of the best woodland around the city. RECOMMENDED: 📍 The best things to do in London

There’s nothing quite like a proper London pub. Maybe we’re old romantics, but old school boozers are the beating heart of this city. After many evenings of tipsy research, we’ve done the impossible and ranked the 50 best pubs in London.  The pubs on this list are heavy with the powerful whiff of history – though that just might be the sticky carpets – and throbbing with heart, soul and community charm.  How did we decide what made the final 50? With a scary amount of the UK’s pubs closing by the week, we wanted to highlight some of this city’s less well-known and independent inns. The pubs included here are places where you’ll not only get perfect pints, but pickled eggs, epic karaoke nights and intense darts sessions. There’s no gatekeeping here at Time Out and these spots are where old-school regulars rub shoulders with the new wave of pintspeople, from Clapton to Catford, via Walthamstow, Woolwich, Peckham and more. Want cosy and convivial? You’ve come to the right place.  Of course, in a city with well over 3,000 pubs, not everything can make the cut. If you’re looking for pubs with fancy food, you’ll find them in our list of the best gastropubs in London. Wondering where London’s most legendary drinking dens are? They’re all in this list of London’s most historic pubs. Cheers. RECOMMENDED: These are the best pubs in Soho. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor, and has spent an impressive amount of time drinking in London's many pubs. She even used to

Europe is not lacking in jaw-dropping beauty. Its home to seven Wonders of the World, for one thing, as well as 34 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – and even that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the incredible things you can find across the continent. But even if we can’t list every single beautiful place in Europe, we can list our favourites. To put together this list, we asked our editorial staff team and travel writers based all over Europe for the most beautiful things they’d ever seen on their travels. The result? Stories of taking boats out on Germany’s hidden lakes, climbing up to vast sand dunes in France, afternoons spent strolling Art Nouveau streets in Latvia and childhoods spent clambering over jagged stones in Ireland. From solitary islands to well-trodden walking routes, here are the most beautiful places in Europe, picked by us. 📍 RECOMMENDED: Our ultimate guide to destinations in Europe Ella Doyle is Time Out’s guides editor. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

Need a place to stay in London? We’re here to make it easy for you. Every year, a wealth of new hotels open in the capital – a testament to the fact that London remains one of the most desirable places to visit in the world. That can, however, make it rather tricky to decide which hotel to choose. But worry not: we have slept our way across the city and hand-picked our favourites, to bring you this ultimate list of London hotels, from Mayfair to Shoreditch, and from budget to blowout (butler included).  Newcomers to our list include the all-new July in Victoria, apartment-hotels which opened in July 2025, and eco-hotel 1 Hotel Mayfair, as well as a few old classics we’ve re-reviewed just for good measure (hint: The Dorchester is just about as great as we remembered). We’ve got a brand-new number one too, but we won’t give that one away just yet. For everything from genuine good value stays to all-out, Zone 1 luxury, you’ll find something on this list for every kind of trip. Superb bars, great architecture, world-class hospitality and the opportunity to have a home-from-home in the best city in the world await you – here are the best hotels in London.  🏘️ Looking for even more options? Check out our list of the best Airbnbs in London Which area is best to stay in London? It’s not just the range of hotels that’s so impressive – you’re also spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a neighbourhood to stay in London. The city is made up of a sprawling network of dynamic neighb

Brazilian carnivals are among the planet’s greatest cultural celebrations, extravagant feasts of vibrant colour, showing off raucous local music with dazzling performances. But the country’s appetite for vast musical events goes far beyond the city carnivals of Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo. While technically not a carnival, which takes place at a different time of year and bears different characteristics, Parintins Folklore Festival is one of Brazil’s liveliest and most extraordinary events – and it is held in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Taking place on an island in the middle of the Amazon river, Parintins is accessible only by plane or boat. Despite that extreme remoteness, Parintins’ festival has developed a prized reputation within Brazil for its celebration of Amazonian culture, its bold, spectacular performances and its fierce, city-splitting rivalry.  A social divide, and an intense rivalry Parintins Festival is, at its core, a competition between two teams. Over three nights performances retell a folkloric story through song and dance called Bumba Meu Boi, a legend of a resurrected ox, and at the end a winner is declared by judges. While Brazil’s carnivals typically mark the start of Lent in the Christian calendar, Parintins Festival is grounded in the heritage, traditions and folklore of the indigenous communities of the Brazilian Amazon.  With me so far? Great. Now, take whatever you’ve envisioned and up the stakes massively. Parintins Folklore Fes

August 2025 update: There's new songs being added to karaoke machines on a regular basis, so we see it as our duty to keep this list bang up to date. Our latest additions include a modern British classic from Lola Young, as well as the bounciest anthem to emerge over the past 12 months from Blackpink's Rosé and Bruno Mars. Whether you’ve got the voice of an angel or you’re totally tone deaf, karaoke unites us all. But heed our warning: choosing the right song is crucial (aka, don’t opt for that Whitney Houston tune if you haven’t the range. And if you don't have good enough flow, steer clear of rapping. Kapeesh?) So we thought we’d help out a little bit. In our list of the best karaoke songs ever, we’ve got everyone from Adele to Toto, and from Frank Sinatra to Ricky Martin. There's even recent singalongs from Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. Something for everyone. So down that shot, grab that mic and take to the stage. Your audience awaits you. Here are the best karaoke songs ever.  RECOMMENDED:❤️ The best love songs☀️ The best summer songs🎉 The best party songs🕺 The best albums of 2025 so far  

The humble brunch is perhaps one of the greatest inventions of the modern age. Breakfast is too early to really get stuck into, while eating eggs and downing buckets of coffee at lunchtime seems odd. Brunch, then, is the one true morning-ish meal, especially if it incorporates pancakes, bacon and those aforementioned eggs. Or you can enjoy a totally vegan take on proceedings at LD's at The Black Heart. London is particularly well stocked with places to indulge in the famous breakfast/lunch hybrid – one of the latest additions to this list is FKA Black Axe Mangal in Highbury, (don’t forgot to order a pig cheek and prune donut). Let us guide you to the best restaurants for a fabulous brunch, from a traditional full English to innovative twists on the majestic meal, such as a bacon bao brunch or fried eggs on chilli-cheese crumpets.  RECOMMENDED: Like unlimited fizz with your fry-up? Here are the best bottomless brunches in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. July 2025: We've removed some of the staler options to give you only the finest brunches in London for this summer. Make the most of the warmer weather by bagging a table on the terrace at somewhere like The Laundry in Brixton, or enjoy the great outdoors at Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park. Try Lolo in Bermondsey if you want a Spanish take on brunch. Hate the heat and would rather sulk in the dark like a massive goth? Then it's off to

Amsterdam is one of the world’s best cities, no doubt about it. Every wander down a cobbled street will take you somewhere exciting, whether you're a foodie, curious about the Red Light District, or in the mood to party for 24 hours straight. And as a tourism capital, it’s no surpise that it’s overrun with exceptional places to stay, from 18th-century canalside mansions to converted bridge keepers’ houses and seriously high-grade establishments.  So if you’re looking for a tip-top place to bed down after a day of exploring the city’s best museums, attractions and coffee shops, you’ve come to the right place. From the city centre through to De Negen Straatjes, here are the best hotels in Amsterdam right now. Updated January 2025: We re-reviewed Amsterdam’s five-star Conservatorium Hotel to see if it’s up-to-scratch (spoiler: it is). See where we ranked it below! RECOMMENDED:🏠 The best Airbnbs in Amsterdam🌳 Where to stay in Amsterdam 📍 The best things to do in Amsterdam🍴 The best restaurants in Amsterdam🎀 The best boutique hotels in Amsterdam Ella Doyle and Grace Beard are Time Out’s travel editors. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by experts. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

Once upon a time, the only reason to grab a bite at King’s Cross was if you were waiting for your train. But this once-grimy post-industrial area has undergone an enormous regeneration, and these days it’s packed with fine restaurants. Be it the lofty, warehouse-sized joints around Granary Square, the trendy cafés in Coal Drops Yard or the hip little spots around lower Pentonville, and a selection of Cantonese cult classics, there’s something for all tastes (and budgets, high or low). Check out our list of the best. RECOMMENDED: These are the best pubs in King’s Cross. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. 

A country home amid gargantuan piles of slate, Plas Weunydd sits atop a hill overlooking not just an old industrial town but the vast landscape of Snowdonia National Park. Needless to say, the hotel is all about its location: the location on a map, sure (it’s pretty much at the dead-centre of Snowdonia and surrounded by all manner of outdoorsy activities) but also its topographical location, with views galore.  For my visit to Plas Weunydd, the approach by car saw me wind my way past the hills and valleys of the national park, through old mining town Blaenau Ffestiniog and most of the way up a not-unsteep hill. The hotel is perched near the top, at the same turning as much-hyped adventure attraction Zip World and a mountain-biking course.  Why stay at Plas Weunydd? If you’re in Snowdonia for an adventure or outdoorsy holiday (and this is very much a region famous for that), Plas Weunydd is extraordinarily well-located. Hiking, cycling, mountain biking, zip-wiring and more is almost literally on your doorstep – as previously mentioned, Zip World is across the road – while countless mountains, waterfalls, lakes or rivers in Snowdonia National Park are no more than a half-hour drive away.  The building itself was built in 1870 as the home of John Whitehead Greaves, the founder of nearby Llechwed Quarry. It was turned into a hotel in 2021, and it relaunched in April 2025 following further refurbishment. Plas Weunydd prides itself on being an adventure holiday base, but also for b

Prince Durairaj and Glen Leeson are good at this by now. Excellent, in fact. The pair have put together a small chain of top Indian eateries; Islington’s Tamil Prince and Tamil Crown, and the first Tamila in Clapham. Fourth time around with Tamila King’s Cross, the experience is more refined than ever. London’s second Tamila is at the other end of Caledonian Road from the Tamil Prince, and, like the Clapham edition, isn’t a ‘desi pub’ but a curry house for fast, casual dining and with an all-day menu. Without the loveable musk of an ex-pub, the space is much airier and restaurant-y, while the service is sharper and more attentive. Food-over-booze indicators don’t get much more obvious than Tamila’s massive interior window directly into the kitchen.  The dhal flashed all sorts of vegetables across your tongue, while paneer butter masala was creamy and mightily generous Our drinks flew out at an impressive pace. A bold harbinger of the strong, spiced flavours to come, the gunpowder margarita, boasting masala dust for salt and earthy smokiness, was sumptuous. The paloma had grapefruity sweetness but a proper, heaped dash of ginger that lingered powerfully.  Tamila’s dishes verge on the more generous side of ‘small plates’. On platters so spotless and shiny they’re genuinely mirrors, come miraculously un-greasy onion bhajis, each one just more than a mouthful of prickly, salty crackle. Retaining integral crispiness beneath dollops of mint chutney, one gets the impression that th

If you’re a history buff (particularly a pottery history buff), the surroundings of this DoubleTree alone will be enough to have you in awe. The hotel is attached to Etruria Hall, a neo-classical Grade II-listed structure once home to Josiah Wedgwood – renowned industrialist and the founder of Wedgwood, one of the world’s most famous pottery companies.  Etruria Hall is no longer a stately home but an events venue, and since the 1980s it’s been attached to a hotel. In 2020 that hotel opened as a Hilton, specifically of the DoubleTree brand – yet despite being part of an all-conquering global chain, it’s maintained plenty of character. Beyond the obvious (the in-house restaurant is called Josiah), the corridors and rooms come lined with nods to local heritage; bottle oven skylines, Stoke dialect phrases, that sort of stuff.  Stoke-on-Trent’s DoubleTree, therefore, not only occupies a special historical site but makes sure you fully aware just how special it is. But it’s also a comfortable, well-kitted-out place to stay. I stayed in a king guest room that was extraordinarily spacious and flawlessly clean, with a sprawling, comfortable bed, fast wi-fi, effective blackout curtains and a practical bathroom.  The staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more helpful, the common areas were bright and welcoming, and there was a very sleek indoor pool and leisure centre. There’s on-site parking, too.  Given the building’s age, some of Stoke’s DoubleTree is understandably rough around the

When Stoke’s Hilton Garden Inn opened in 2020 it was the city’s first and only Hilton. Admittedly it didn’t hold that title for long (the DoubleTree in Etruria was rebranded a month or so later) but you get the sense that this was a statement opening. A terracotta titan towering over Hanley, this Hilton Garden Inn cost £20 million and is part of the wider redevelopment of Smithfield – a mixed-use quarter named after the area’s old bottle works. Given it’s getting on for half a decade old, Stoke’s Hilton Garden Inn still looks and feels shimmeringly new. Sure, stepping into the lobby feels very much like stepping into any new-ish Hilton, anywhere, but this one is exceptionally well-kempt, making it very much a slick, shiny beacon of modern comfort.  I stayed in a ‘king room’ up on the sixth floor, a tidy and well-proportioned space with plenty of light and a bunch of amenities tidily packed in. The décor was pared back, minimalist(ish) and very much of-this-decade, and the room’s simplicity made it feel bigger. Stoke touches on the walls (images of pottery ovens and so on) reminded you where you were – as did my view, stretching out westwards towards Etruria, Burslem and Shelton. The rest was very much as one might expect of a somewhat new Hilton. The mattress was supple, the pillows and duvet ideally sink-in-able; the shower worked as required, accompanied by fragrant Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries and the flashy touch of an anti-steam mirror. The room was well insulated for so

Down the cavernous halls of Whitehall’s Old War Offices, surrounded by opulent Michelin-starred restaurants and the supremely swish Raffles hotel, lies Kioku Sake Bar – less blindingly flashy, sure, but just as high-calibre. The street-level accompaniment to Kioku’s top-floor, five-star sushi restaurant has the effortless style and homely hideaway calm of a Japanese listening bar, prim décor and lines of hundreds of sake bottles sitting beneath immaculately balanced light. And Kioku’s substance more than matches its style. There are over 140 sakes on offer, each affectionately described, plus a trim list of sake cocktails and a refined menu of innovative, Japanese-infused small plates. The drinks and food are entirely different to those of the upstairs restaurant Kioku By Endo, making the bar very much worth a separate visit.  Order this The Daikon Gibson suspends itself entirely on the front of your tongue, with silky and potent Ginjo sake ‘vermouth’ and tangy pickled daikon combining with clean Roku gin and yuzu tang. Kioku’s cocktails all exude a sense of craft – and this does even more so. Time Out tip Make the most of Kioku’s formidable sake collection and the bar’s in-house sake sommelier to explore the tipple. Discover how the vessel material affects each sake, get a taste of the many, many different styles and regional varieties – and find a new favourite.

Stepping into the atrium of The Conservatorium, it’s immediately obvious that this is a very special hotel indeed. Rich red brickwork meets sharp glass angles, heritage details fit snugly among silky modern luxury; from the fittings and furniture to the architecture, wherever you look something catches your eye. The Conservatorium’s sense of occasion is tied to the building’s history. Many of its cavernous halls date back to 1897, when it was built as a bank. In the 1980s it became a conservatoire, then it was reconfigured into a hotel by starchitect Piero Lissoni in the 2000s. It opened as a founding member of the luxurious Set Collection in 2011. The Conservatorium’s rooms, appropriately for a hotel inhabiting a building of many previous lives, vary massively – yet they share plenty of common ground. Whether one is in the basic ‘deluxe room’ or the three-floor, roof terrace-boasting ‘I Love Amsterdam’ suite, well-proportioned rooms boast plush beds, spacious bathrooms, bountiful storage and thoughtful, refined décor. My room was a ‘royal duplex suite’, with elegant double-height windows looking out onto the humming trams and cafés of Van Baerlestraat. The essentials – bed, space, storage, bathroom, toiletries – were all faultless. Little touches of Dutch-ness (decorative clogs, a Van Gogh coffee table book, Delftware ceramic plates) were unsubtle but still tasteful, restrained. Beyond the room, breakfast (served in the Lounge) was high-calibre and the staff were as helpful

What comes to mind when you think of a treehouse? Woodlice, splinters, cold – yes, probably all those things. But treehouses are also secluded and peaceful, dwellings a few feet up in the air that feel that bit away from the rabble below and closer to nature. And a treehouse, crucially, is all yours.  The treehouses of TreeDwellers in Cornbury, northeast Cotswolds, are treehouses in a spiritual sense. No, they aren’t up trees (nor do they even touch them), but they’re surrounded by them, sitting an impressive height above the forest floor. TreeDwellers takes the idea of a treehouse – as something special, private, embedded in nature – and turns it into a luxurious experience genuinely unlike anything, anywhere else. Pulling up to a TreeDwellers dwelling (a TreeDwelling?) has a supreme sense of occasion. This is the sort of architectural magnificence you thumb through in glossy mags, lustfully dreaming of one day giving it all up for. Handsomely curved tubes are perched atop stilts; inside is all sleek, clean wood and floor-to-ceiling windows, each and every convenience slotted in with impossible neatness. It’s all so stunning that you could easily be satisfied with the design and that alone, left gawping at it for days on end. But these treehouses aren’t just flashy façades: they’re comfortable and practical, too. You check-in with slick door-code entry, the heating is underfloor and toasty on your toes, everything you could possibly need is on a tablet (or on hand from delig

On the face of it, Portobello’s neat, proper Holy Carrot and Dalston’s fire-worshipping feast ACME Fire Cult share little common ground. ACME is roaring and showy, as much a swaggering religion as a restaurant; Carrot is prim as a perfume shop, soft clay surroundings fronting a menu that is plant-forward, ‘root to peel’ and sustainable.  But there’s a clear link between the two – namely Daniel Watkins. The ex-ACME founder is now executive chef at the first permanent home of Holy Carrot (previously known for its supper clubs and Knightsbridge residency), and brings his ‘fire and ferment’ ethos across the capital from one neighbourhood of cool to another.  More than just Holy Carrot’s first proper restaurant, it’s also a Watkins-helmed reboot – and it has plenty of his signature punch. From the off, the pre-starter ‘snacks’ offer a studied but unshowy sort of tastiness. Pillowy insides dramatically burst out of crisp ‘honey’ drenched Jerusalem artichokes; one couldn’t help but mop up the warming chilli ragu with ultralight koji bread. Two cold ‘smalls’ followed suit, both intricately flavoured: each mouthful of the smoked beetroot breathing freshness, each spoonful of the stracciatella with persimmon and bitter leaves with deftly measured amount of creamy tang and gentle crunch. This is innovation of a dependable, not reckless, sort Imprinted upon my memory the most, however, was one of Holy Carrot’s ‘larges’: the crispy celeriac with pickle butter. I know what you’re thinking

The Nobu brand, in a word? Dependable. Nobu Matsuhisa’s Japan-via-USA restaurant empire both draws celebrities and is a celebrity itself, but it’s best regarded for its high-quality dining: nearly 30 years after it opened, Nobu’s Park Lane spot remains one of London’s best places for sushi. These days Nobu isn’t just a restaurant chain but a hotel brand too, with two outposts in London. The Shoreditch one, which opened in 2017, was the first of these – not just London’s first Nobu hotel (since followed by Nobu Portman Square in Marylebone) but the first in all of Europe. The greatest compliment one can pay to this place is that the dependability of the Nobu name transfers seamlessly from restaurant to hotel. This is a sleek and comfortable choice, a beacon of minimalist taste in the midst of Shoreditch’s gaudy pick-me bars and tech-bro co-working spaces. Nobu as a chain is Nippon-by-’Murica, and its hotels are too – Japanese style meets American comfort and convenience. From the front Nobu Shoreditch resembles a Pacific battleship, from the side it’s a hillside Kyoto villa. And inside the hotel offers plenty of that same cultural middle ground: polished black wood, sleek furniture and a tea set in every room, but also huge plasma TVs, delightful staff and an in-house spa.  All aided, of course, by housing a Nobu restaurant, the chain’s third in London. You know exactly the deal here: a spoiled-rich clientele, sure, but also generous portions, attentive service (I did exceptio

If you plonked a point on a map denoting Stuttgart’s absolute centre, I’m fairly certain it’d be directly right on top of the EmiLu. Or it may as well be. Dead opposite the city’s Rathaus (town hall) and a few steps from Königstrasse (Stuttgart’s main shopping street), EmiLu is within easy walking distance of most city-centre sights. Just a couple of years old (it opened in 2022), EmiLu occupies an old mid-century city government building and gets its name by combining the names of its co-owner (Petra Luise Bräutigam) and her daughter (Emilia). A self-professed ‘design hotel’, it boasts 90 ‘unique and special’ rooms that range reasonably in price per night from €85 to €200 (£72 to £170). So, the good: EmiLu, with its focus on individual, tasteful design, is a handsome and neat establishment. The chic reception is kitted out with dark wooden furnishings, while the rooms are airy and uncluttered. Cuboid furniture and crisply-shaped décor work well with bare-material walls; an open shower-room (with a curtain) and a mini-bar cut into the corner wall fit the minimal, trendy vibe. In another positive, my room looked out over the atmospheric street below (with floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony) but also boasted exceptional sound insulation – an entire crowd of football fans in the space outside were reduced to noiseless silhouettes. Elsewhere, EmiLu’s staff are delightful, the rooftop space is great for taking in Stuttgart’s skyline and the ‘fitness area’ is remarkably well-eq

Over the years, London has done a fabulous job of finding new uses for its many, many historically fascinating buildings. The Bankside Power Station is now the Tate Modern. Churchill’s Old War Office is a hotel and apartments. County Hall houses restaurants, an aquarium and That Shrek Thing. Another of those retrofits is the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, a Grade II-listed building which dates back to the 1820s and was once the Ministry of Defence’s old library. Sitting at an address best known for also housing the original headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the building has been a hotel for a while – though was spruced up a few years ago with a £75 million revamp.  Admittedly, the words ‘Scotland Yard’ do not exactly scream ‘mega-luxe five-star hotel stay’, but… maybe they could? This 151-room Hyatt is as deeply, thoroughly refined as hotels in this city get.  Each step of a stay at Great Scotland Yard is virtually faultless. The neat rooms are full of light, with floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies looking out over the turrets, towers and courtyards of the Palace of Whitehall. Full of modestly luxurious conveniences (like Chromecast TVs and fancy Japanese Toto loos), the rooms are also of a satisfyingly comfortable size: neither small and cluttered nor massive and awkwardly empty.  Beyond the rooms, Great Scotland Yard is far from a copy-paste Hyatt. Playing into the history of the building and address, the doors are slathered in a deep and polished police blue. The fo

If you’ve ever spent time in Leeds, you’ll know the Queens Hotel. Quite literally on top of (part of) the Yorkshire city’s train station, it’s an art deco concrete titan and inarguably the city’s most famous hotel. Dating back to the 1930s, the Queens was the first British hotel to have air con and ensuite bathrooms in every room, and over the years it’s welcomed the likes of Cary Grant and Nelson Mandela. While the Queens could easily rest on its historical prestige, in recent years it’s attempted to keep with the times and undergone a vast refurb. A whopping £16 million has been pumped into bringing the place back up to snuff, glamming it up with communal areas, a huge new dining venue and more rooms. How does all that sprucing up actually feel? In short, pretty damn good. The moment you step into the Queens’ lobby, with its endearingly gauche décor and genially raucous ambiance, you get a proper sense of occasion that feels appropriate for somewhere so stacked with history. The Queens might have been hauled into the 21st century, but it embraces its historical glamour – and the refurb certainly hasn’t sucked out any of its soul. The Queens is entirely decked out in stuff that harks back to the art deco 1930s – and what isn’t from the Queens’ original period (or directly linked to it, like the hallways’ historic photographs) is tastefully matched. The Queens balances modern polish and historical character in a caring, detailed sort of way, ensuring all additions – everythin

Coldplay have officially landed in London. Chris Martin and co’s record-breaking 10-night residency at Wembley Stadium kicked off last weekend, with two shows on Friday and Saturday, and continued on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. This current run of dates will mark the end of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour, which has been travelling the globe since 2022. The band’s first few Wembley dates were packed with action, boasting everything from Oasis covers to more Jumbotron fever (this time with a proposal) and an appearance from Simon Pegg. Chris Martin thanked the crowd for ‘letting us come home at last’, also revealing that the current residency will likely be Coldplay’s final shows in the capital for several years. But what have Coldplay actually played in London so far? Here’s the lowdown on the songs that have been performed by the band in the capital. RECOMMENDED: 🎶 The ultimate guide to Coldplay at Wembley Stadium.⛔️ Wembley Stadium bag policy for Coldplay shows.🏟️ The seating plan at Wembley for Coldplay.🚝 How to get to Coldplay at Wembley Stadium. 🛍️ Where to buy Coldplay merch in London for the Music of the Spheres tour. Full Coldplay setlists for Wembley Stadium shows in London Coldplay setlist on Friday August 22 According to Setlist.fm, this was Coldplay’s setlist on night one at Wembley. Higher Power Adventure of a Lifetime Paradise The Scientist Viva la Vida Hymn for the Weekend Trouble Charlie Brown Yellow Human Heart People of the Pride Clocks WE PR

Fans of Poundland will know all too well that it’s hardly even Poundland anymore. Gone are the days when you knew exactly how much everything costs – you’ve got to check the labels to make sure you’re not being charged a fiver. Despite that, there is still one thing it appears you can get for just a quid: the shop itself. That’s not a joke. Earlier this summer the entirety of Poundland was sold by its owners Pepco to a US investment company called Gordon Brothers (which used to own Laura Ashley) for a ‘nominal fee’ of a single pound. The low cost is not quite the deal that it appears at face value – it could cost the new owners up to £100 million to get the brand back on its feet. Following the sale a huge restructuring was announced and, this week (on August 26), the plan was approved. Dozens of stores are set to close (68 in total) by the end of 2025, and further Poundlands could shut as a result of the brand seeking rent reductions and lease expirations. Before the closures, Poundland employed over 16,000 people across 792 branches in the UK and Ireland.  Pepco maintains that this does not mean that it’s the end of Poundland, stating that it ‘remains a key player in UK discount retail, with millions of customers annually and a well-loved brand and proposition’, and adding that this is simply a move to ‘[simplify] the group and [focus] on our successful Pepco business.’ Poundland managing director Barry Williams said of the closures: ‘It’s no secret that we have much work t

Olivia Dean’s second studio album and the follow-up to 2023’s Messy arrives next month. Dean’s sophomore, titled The Art of Loving, will be out September 26. To mark the release, the previous Time Out cover star has announced a tour of some of Britain’s biggest music venues – and this week she’s just added several new dates.  Dean will be touring Europe next spring as part of her The Art of Loving Live tour, and included are four confirmed dates in the UK. She’ll be playing London, Manchester and Glasgow in what will be her biggest UK headline tour so far. Keen to see the Mercury Prize nominee live and performing hits like ‘The Hardest Part’, ‘Dive’, ‘Nice to Each Other’ and ‘Ok Love You Bye’? Here’s what you need to know about getting tickets for Olivia Dean on tour next year. When is Olivia Dean going on tour in the UK? Dean will be on tour from April 23 to June 20 2026, though her UK dates will be specifically April 24 to May 2. What tour dates have been confirmed so far? Here are the dates confirmed for The Art of Loving Live tour. After the initial four-show announcement, another four gigs have been added to the tour. April 22 2026 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro (added date) April 23 2026 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro April 25 2026 – Manchester, Co-op Live April 26 2026 – Manchester, Co-op Live (added date) April 29 2026 – London, O2 Arena April 30 2026 – London, O2 Arena May 1 2026 – London, O2 Arena (added date) May 2 2026 – London, O2 Arena (added date) When do tickets go on sale? Gen

Way back in 2023 Time Out covered the news that legendarily juicy American chicken shop brand Chick-fil-A would be opening restaurants in the UK. The chain operates more than 3,000 sites in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico – and its UK restaurants will be its only ones outside North America. Last October we found out exactly where Chick-fil-A’s first five UK restaurants will be, and now we have more details. They’ll all open across the next two years, and be part of a plan to invest more than $100 million (£75.43 million) into its UK market over the next decade. So, without further ado, the new Chick-fil-A branches in the UK will be in… Belfast, Leeds, Liverpool and London.  Belfast was the first British city to receive a Chick-fil-A branch, with the restaurant opening in January 2025. The Northern Irish capital now has two outposts of the chicken chain, and next up is Leeds. The Yorkshire city will get a Chick-fil-A this autumn, and the new restaurant will create between 70 and 120 local jobs. Devoted Chick-fil-A fans will know that these upcoming branches aren’t the first time the chain has tried to break into the British market. Back in 2019 it opened in Reading, though that restaurant was shut down LGBTQ+ campaigners. A second opened in Aviemore in Scotland, though that also only ran for three months until January 2020. Activists objected to the chain’s founders' support for Christian groups opposed to same-sex marriage – though Chick-fil-A has apparently since cut funding

Coldplay are doing something no band has ever done before: reaching double digits for the number of appearances at London’s Wembley Stadium in a single tour. That’s right, the group is at Wembley Stadium for 10 nights. That’s more of a mini-residency than a leg of a tour – and it’s officially underway. Chris Martin and co got going in northwest London over the weekend with two massive shows.  Coldplay’s mammoth Music of the Spheres world tour has been running since early 2022. Over the course of Coldplay’s Wembley gigs, nearly one million people will be treated to their signature showmanship. Getting excited to see Coldplay? Of course you are. There are just a few things you need to know before heading to see Coldplay at Wembley Stadium, from timings and the setlist to last-minute ticket availability – here’s all the info you might need. When are Coldplay playing Wembley Stadium? Coldplay’s first night at Wembley was on Friday, August 22. From there, they will play shows across the end of August and start of September. Here are the band’s 10 shows listed out Friday August 22 Saturday August 23 Tuesday August 26 Wednesday August 27 Saturday August 30 Sunday August 31 Wednesday September 3 Thursday September 4 Sunday September 7 Monday September 8 What time do doors open? Doors will open at Wembley at 5pm, with the first support act starting at 6pm. What time will Coldplay come on stage? Expect the band to take to the stage at around 8.15pm.  What’s the seating plan? Here’s t

And just like that, London’s recent, blissfully strike-free period on the tube is coming to an end. Today (August 21) the RMT union has announced a week-long period of industrial action on the capital’s transport network, starting in the first week of September.  RMT staff will strike over a range of reasons, including pay demands, shift patterns and apparent failures to honour previous agreements. What’s more is that it won’t just be the tube that’ll be hit by strikes: DLR workers will also walk out as part of a separate dispute.  Worried about getting around London during the strikes? Here’s everything you need to know about the industrial action planned on tube and DLR services over the coming weeks.  RECOMMENDED:🛞 London bus routes will be hit by strikes in August and September 2025: full list of routes and strike dates.🛤️ When are the next UK-wide train strikes? What you need to know about bank holiday industrial action. When are the next tube strikes? London Underground strikes Strike action will begin on September 5, with different workers striking on different days. Here’s the lowdown on who is going on strike and when.  Friday September 5 to Sunday September 7 – depot operational control managers at Ruislip will walk out from 6pm on September 5 to 5.59pm on September 7. Sunday September 7 – track access controllers, London Underground control centre, power/control and ERU members will strike from 12.01am to 11.59pm. Monday September 8 – all fleet (except enginee

The UK boasts countless breathtaking hikes and walking trails (find Time Out’s picks of the best ones here), but all too often the start and/or end points of those treks are only accessible by car. For those of us that can’t or don’t want to drive, we’re stuck either walking a long way to an already-lengthy-hike or relying on dodgy rural public transport. In other words, a ranking of the UK’s best hikes that are also accessible by train sounds like a very valuable thing indeed – and that’s what has just been published by outdoor retailer Blacks. The company’s researchers ranked trails by taking into account factors like popularity (in terms of Google Search volume), quality (judged by AllTrails reviews) and distance from the nearest train station. Top spot was awarded to the Seven Sisters Cliff Walk, which runs between Eastbourne and Seaford in East Sussex. Offering views of some of the UK’s most dramatic cliffs and the rolling greenery of the South Downs National Park, this out-and-back trail totals 33 kilometres. Both Eastbourne and Seaford have train stations, and you can find the route’s AllTrails guide here. Second place in Blacks’ list went to the Mam Tor Circular walk in the Peak District. The view-tastic Derbyshire trail boasts an impressive 4.8 score on AllTrails, and you can start it at the village of Hope – which has a rail stop on the line between Manchester and Sheffield. The bronze medal went to the Box Hill Circular, an eight-mile walk in Surrey. Box Hill is on

The 2025 edition of Victoria Park’s All Points East will wrap up with a very special set indeed. None other than indie legends the Maccabees will be reuniting to headline the final day of the festival on Sunday August 24. Orlando Weeks, Hugo White and co won’t just be reuniting in Victoria Park, they’ll also be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of final Maccabees album Marks To Prove It. Festivalgoers can no doubt expect a career-spanning set, featuring hits like ‘Toothpaste Kisses’, ‘Pelican’ and ‘First Love’. What’s more is that the Maccabees are headlining a festival day packed with exciting indie and pop talent. The likes of CMAT, Bombay Bicycle Club, Nilüfer Yanya, Black Country, New Road and Everything Everything are all also on the bill. From set times and the festival map to last minute tickets, here’s everything you need to know about the Maccabees’ headline day at All Points East 2025. RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London. When are the Maccabees playing All Points East? The ’00s and early ’10s indie legends are in east London on Sunday August 24 2025. Where is All Points East festival? All Points East is taking place at Victoria Park in east London. What time do gates open? Gates open at 2pm for general sale ticketholders. Those with Primary Entry, VIP Garden and VIP Garden + VIP Pit tickets can get in from around 1pm. Box office closes at 8pm, and last entry is 8.30pm. What time will the Maccabees come on stage? The band are set to take to the East Sta

All Points East 2025 kicked off last weekend with huge headlining sets from Cleo Sol, Sault and Chronixx on Friday and Chase & Status on Saturday. Next up is Edinburgh DJ and producer Barry Can’t Swim, who’ll top an exciting bill of (mostly) electronic music in Victoria Park on Friday August 22. Joshua Spence Mainnie will be joined in east London by the likes of electro-pop group Confidence Man, London’s very own Shygirl and legendary duo Orbital. Expect to hear BCS hits like ‘How It Feels’, ‘Still Riding’ and ‘Sunsleeper’ on the East Stage. Heading to All Points East for Barry Can’t Swim? Here’s everything you need to know about the day festival event, from timings and the full lineup to the weather forecast. RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London. When is Barry Can’t Swim playing All Points East? Barry’s APE day is on Friday August 22 2025. What time do gates open? Gates open for general sale ticketholders at 3pm. If you have a Primary Entry, VIP Garden or VIP Garden + VIP Pit ticket, you’ll get entry from 2pm. What time will Barry Can’t Swim come on stage? The main act is expected on All Points East’s East Stage at 9.25pm. Full lineup and stage times Below are all the stage splits and timings for Barry Can’t Swim at All Points East 2025. East Stage Zach Why? – 3pm-3.45pm ATRIP – 3.45pm-4.30pm salute presents True Vision – 5pm-6pm Shygirl – 6.30pm-7.15pm Confidence Man – 7.45pm-8.45pm Barry Can’t Swim – 9.25pm-10.55pm West Stage SHEE – 3.30pm-4.25pm Leon Vynehal

So far (and touch wood), 2025 has been blissfully free of train strikes. A long-running dispute between the government and the ASLEF and RMT unions ended last year, putting a stop to years of industrial action. But now we have an update – train strikes are coming back to Britain over the coming weeks.  This week the RMT has announced strikes dates for over the August Bank Holiday weekend on CrossCountry services. The union has cited a ‘breakdown in industrial relations’ as the reason for the walk-out, though there are a number of disagreements between the union and operator ranging from pay to catering.  As for nationwide strikes? Following the last bout of ASLEF strikes in May 2024 – quite some time ago, at this point, and which saw train drivers at 16 operators across the UK walk out over three days – no further action has been called for British train services.  Here’s everything you need to know about upcoming industrial action on the UK’s rail network.  RECOMMENDED: Everything you need to know about London tube strike dates. When are the next train strike dates?  RMT members at CrossCountry will walk out on Saturday August 23 and Monday August 25. On top of that, RMT staff won’t scan tickets on trains from Sunday August 24.  On a nationwide level, there are no future strikes planned for now.  What train lines will be affected?  CrossCountry services will only be impacted by the confirmed upcoming strikes. CrossCountry, as its name suggests, runs services that span the UK

We’re officially one week out from gates opening at the 2025 edition of Reading and Leeds festivals. The legendary duo will return, as always, over the August Bank Holiday with hundreds of thousands of festivalgoers heading to Bramham Park and Little John’s Farm. This year’s R+L will be headlined by some of the biggest names in global pop. Chappell Roan, Hozier, Bring Me The Horizon and Travis Scott are top of the poster, while sub-headliners include Bloc Party, AJ Tracey, Becky Hill and Trippie Redd. Off to Reading and Leeds next week, but not sure who to see outside of the fests’ biggest names? The rest of the lineup is packed with people worth your ears. Headliners (and sub-headliners) aside, here are a few others not to miss at R+L 2025. RECOMMENDED:⛺️ Time Out’s ultimate guide to Reading and Leeds 2025: set times, banned items and what you need to know.🎸 The best music festivals in the UK.📺 How to watch Reading and Leeds 2025 on TV and streaming. 5 great bands and performers to see at Reading and Leeds 2025 Jasmine.4.T Image: Reading and Leeds Bristol’s Jasmine.4.T (Jasmine Cruickshank) is simply an extraordinary songwriter. Her 2025 debut album You Are the Morning (which was produced by indie supergroup boygenius) is an excellent showcase of musical storytelling, in turns hopeful and devastating, and just as much about friendship and romance as it is about isolation. Reading: Friday August 22, 2.40pm, Festival Republic Stage Leeds: Saturday August 23, 2.15pm, Festi

The 2025 edition of Reading and Leeds Festival kicks off this week. You’re familiar with the lineup, you’ve checked out some underrated acts to see, you’ve noted major changes to both festivals’ campsites: now it’s time to make sure you’ve packed the right stuff. Chappell Roan, Hozier, Bring Me The Horizon and Travis Scott will headline Bramham Park and Little John’s Farm over the August bank holiday weekend. If you’re heading to either of the fests, there’s stuff you need to know about what you’re allowed to bring into the festival, and what you’re not. There are two distinctions to note when it comes to R+L’s bag policy: items you’re not allowed into the festival at all, and stuff you can bring into the campsites but not the entertainment arenas. Here’s what you need to know. RECOMMENDED:⛺️ Time Out’s ultimate guide to Reading and Leeds 2025: set times, banned items and what you need to know.🎸 The best music festivals in the UK.📺 How to watch Reading and Leeds 2025 on TV and streaming. Banned items at Reading and Leeds Festival 2025 Items banned from the festival site The following items are not allowed at all at R+L. Aerosols (over 250ml) Air horns/megaphones Animals (except registered hearing or guide dogs) Any goods for unauthorised trading with unauthorised festival logos Any item that could be considered for use as a weapon, including oversized lighters or any item which may cause danger, offence or disruption to any other person Balloons Blow torches Professional