Emily Canegan

As diverse as London is, Caribbean food has never reached the same levels of high gastronomy or been celebrated in the same way as, say, French or Japanese. Enter Southwark’s Antillean: London’s first fine-dining pan-Caribbean restaurant. Usually when it comes to Caribbean food there are two options: restaurant chains serving dishes loosely based on cuisine from the region or no-frills street-food stalls selling incredible grub – there’s no in between.  This restaurant is named after the beautiful islands of the Antilles, and its menu reflects the diversity of dishes found there, with influences spanning French, African and Chinese. It’s headed up by chef-patron Michael Hanbury, who wants to show people that there’s more to Caribbean food than Jamaican jerk chicken, rice and peas. His mission is to introduce global flavours and spices from the islands. Judging by the menu, I think he’s done just that.  On my Wednesday evening visit, I’m welcomed by sleek interiors and high ceilings, staples of Caribbean coastal restaurants. The place is spacious and oak beams stand out against the white. By day the place is bright and airy, by night soft lights make it cosy. The attentive staff were super friendly and knowledgeable, guiding me and my pal through the menu. We got started on a few small plates recommended by our waiter: watermelon and beetroot salad, scallop ceviche, grilled octopus with a scotch bonnet emulsion and blue swimmer crab. All of it was bright and vibrant, made up

Bottomless brunch might be old hat in London, but it’s still one we fancy strapping on once in a while. Now, though, there is an alternative to getting smashed avocado in your glass of prosecco. Endless bao. Yes: non-stop buns of deliciousness. We’re so here for it. This frankly ingenious concept has been realised at The Lucky Club, a hidden cocktail bar nestled away on Davies Street, just a stone’s throw from Bond Street tube station. And before you ask, no, it’s not a private members’ club. It’s actually an independent venue that first opened – and then promptly closed – its doors in early 2020. Its co-founder Brian Hook hopes that it will provide a ‘gentle undercurrent of positive vibes’, which is an extremely laudable aim.  Unlike the discreet location, that interior decor is LOUD. Acres of neon, velvet stools, a shouty pink bar and lots and lots of plants. It’s a major vibe. @timeoutlondon Did someone say bottomless bao? 🤩 #london #baobun #londonfood #londonlife ♬ Joro - WizKid The menu is made up of Asian small plates and cocktails, which you can scoff unlimitedly for 90 minutes. There’s a range of steamed buns on offer, from karaage chicken with pickles and lettuce, to shitake and crispy tofu with mushroom. Don’t worry if you’re not already a bao connoisseur, you’ll be brought a starter basket with every flavour so you can sample each and then discover your faves. They’ve got a decent drinks menu too, featuring kimchi Bloody Marys, Bellinis and an extensive E

Karaoke; it's a lot of fun, granted. But what about those among us, who don't deal well with the whole 'performing under pressure' thing? You know, all those eyes trained on you. What if there was a way of doing it where you weren't just singing on your tod? Luckily the fine folks at Massaoke have figured out a way to make this a reality. Massaoke is pretty much the same as normal karaoke, but... en masse. Don’t worry, you won’t have to get up on stage and perform in front of the audience (auditions for The Voice are that way, Claire). The house band, Rockstar Weekend, play the songs on stage, and on a giant screen behind them are the lyrics for you to sing along. Simple. @timeoutlondon Big rock star energy at Massaoke 🦹‍♀️ #london #karaoke #londonlife #londontiktok ♬ We Built This City - Starship It’s a sequins-and-spandex performance that will win over even the most limelight-averse among you. The supercharged event is held in Camden’s Electric Ballroom, with a different theme taking centre stage every month. October kicks off with an 80s show, followed by a 90s extravaganza in November. So you can bet your bottom dollar Queen, Bon Jovi, Madonna and Whitney will make the set list. They might even play Wonderwall if you ask really nicely. The Electric Ballroom, 184 Camden High Street, Camden Town, London, NW1 8QP Bars that let you sing your heart out Nights on the town that don’t involve singing

Not another afternoon tea. Yes, another one. The Petersham in Covent Garden is an Italian-inspired restaurant from plant-haven Petersham Nurseries. The storefront is rather unassuming – quaintly reminiscent of a quintessential French boulangerie. But inside, as you walk through to the main restaurant: plants galore. You’ll pass a towering life-size elephants made from lantana camara (a species of flowering plant native to the American tropics, duh) as you take your seat under the airy outdoor canopy. And it’s more than just decorative. Petersham Nurseries has partnered with the Elephant Family, which aims to identify mutually beneficial modes of living between Asia’s wildlife and its indigenous communities. Elephant Family work with on-the-ground conservationists, forest officials and governments to enlarge and reconnect protected areas as well as to improve the living conditions for species outside of these spaces. Their campaign Coexistence is London’s biggest environmental art campaign of 2021 and has raised more than £3m for human-wildlife coexistence projects. @timeoutlondon Eat cake, save elephants 🐘🍰 #londonfood #londonfoodie #london #afternoontea #londonlife #londontiktok #timeoutlondon ♬ love actually is all around - juliet The aptly named ‘Elephant Family Tea’ draws on Indian flavours, and comes arranged on a pretty florentine cake stand. On the savoury menu is spring pea and potato samosas, coronation chicken flatbreads, a mushroom idli, crisp pani puri do

After the last year we’ve all had, who wouldn’t want stuff their face with scones and jam on a sunny roof while necking a glass of bubbly? Course you would. Unfortunately, if you’re a bloke, on this occasion you’re out of luck.    Women-only Mayfair members’ club Allbright recently took the nan-friendly cream tea to the next level with an afternoon nosh-up featuring one of the world’s most historic champagne houses: Perrier Jouët.  Private members’ club? Why the heck would anyone fork out their hard-earned cash to join one of those, you ask? Well, friends, this collective is made for and entirely run by women. Allbright is based in a gorgeous Georgian townhouse on Maddox Street spread over five floors, so it’s a pretty chilled space for us gals to network, unwind and dine. Four flights of stairs and a lot of ‘I am very out of shape’ deep breaths later you’ll step on to the club’s roof terrace. The colour scheme screams summer: a mix of emerald greens, white wisteria, intricate floral displays and oversized parasols. Elle Woods would definitely approve.    @timeoutlondon Elle Woods would approve of this Mayfair networking space for women 💁🏼‍♀️💅 #londonfood #londonfoodspots #londonfoodie #legallyblonde #workingwomen ♬ original sound - C H E L S E Y The afternoon tea menu features classic English sweet and savoury flavours, kicking off with a smoked salmon open sandwich, followed by Montgomery’s cheddar shortbread, accompanied by pickled cucumber and qu

You know what, there's more to the Caribbean than Jamaica. Yes, those guys can lay claim to dub reggae, some elite track athletes and exceptional jerk chicken, but there's some great stuff going on, on those other islands. Case in point: Cuban sandwiches and rum cocktails. And you will soon be able to grab both at a new restaurant just behind Oxford Street.   The fine folks behind Casa Do Frango (as well as Kol and Vinegar Yard) are bringing us Bar La Rampa - London’s taste of the Caribbean. The rum-centred bar opens on National Rum Day, or August 16 to you and me. The drinks menu has been carefully curated by master mixologist Marcis Dzelzainis and features variations of Mojitos and Daiquiris including the ‘Papa Doble’, a homage to Ernest Hemingway’s drink of choice, and the ‘Jennings Cox'. Other standouts include Mango Coladas and Watermelon Daiquiris. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bar La Rampa (@larampa.london) But as everyone knows, it's not a good idea to drink on an empty stomach. Soak up all that alcohol-booze with a menu of small plates crafted by Tātā Eatery. So far we know the menu features the Cubano Sandwich - pork belly, ham, and raclette cheese, foot-long pork chicharrones and picadillo empanadas.  Every Wednesday and Saturday live music nights will transport us to Cuba through salsa-infused classics and the ‘sensuous, sun-baked sounds of Havana.’ We’re not exactly sure what that means, but after three weeks of overcast ‘summer’,

For those of you unfamiliar with the world of fabrics, Natasha Zinko is a London-based fashion designer known for her bold prints and bright colours. Her new environmentally conscious central London café, Natashkino, mixes up dessert takeaway and souvenir store, with the best bits from her collection available for sale. Presumably the desserts and designs are kept well away from each other.  Even the exterior is true to the Zinko aesthetic: a rather extra fuschia-coloured store window really stands out on a street of otherwise beige shopfronts in the heart of Mayfair. But inside is where the magic really happens. Did someone say ‘sensory overload’?    @timeoutlondon London but make it ✨kawaii✨ #vegan #london #cafe #londonlife #londonfood ♬ original sound - Sickickmusic The interior is hot pink (we’d expect nothing less) with the floor being given the neon green treatment. Foodwise, there’s an ice-cream machine, a deli-style counter, a pop-up coffee stand and a huuuuge supermarket-esque fridge full of goodies. All this accompanied by thumping teenybopper music and an LED scrolling message board to disorient you just that bit more. If you hadn’t gathered already, the vibe is very ‘cool kids.’ The menu is entirely gluten-free and in some cases dairy-free. Think matcha lattes (the real yummy stuff, not the grassy-tasting gloop from the corner shop), oreshki praline cookie ‘thingies’ and fake miso doughnuts. If you’re taking away, the goodies come packaged up in brigh

Nothing screams nostalgia more than watching Disney classics, surrounded by pals, singing your heart out to some of the most iconic music ever composed (move over Mozart!).  On Sunday (August 8) you can recreate that childhood feeling courtesy of Summer on Screen at Wembley Park. The open-air cinema will be screening the 1994 version of ‘The Lion King’ for Disney lovers far and wide to attend for the small price of £0. Yup, the screening is absolutely FREE, all you’ve gotta do is show up – no tickets required. Deckchairs will be on hand but they are available on a first come, first served basis so, to avoid any argy bargy, we’d recommend bringing your own picnic blanket. If Disney doesn’t take your fancy, there are loads of other crowdpleasers in the season, including ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’, ‘Cool Runnings’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘Paddington’. You can find the full line-up here. Wembley Park, HA9 0GG. Until Sep 5. Free. Discover London’s other outdoor cinemas. Don’t fancy sitting outside? Here are the best bricks-and-mortar cinemas in town.

‘The X Factor’ has come under some major scrutiny recently, its reputation marred by an influx of abuse allegations, and then Simon Cowell announced last week that, after 17 years, the show won’t be returning to UK TV screens. The competition, though, has produced some pretty successful talent over its lifespan (think One Direction, JLS, Olly Murs... Jedward). Now one ‘X Factor’ group are securing their immortality in honour of their tenth anniversary. Little Mix shot to fame in 2011 and, despite losing a member at the end of last year, all four of the pop group are now on display in waxwork form at Madame Tussauds. Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and the departed Jesy Nelson will be joining the likes of Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift, so it’s a pretty big deal. The figures are so eerily realistic we’re still not fully convinced that the girls aren’t just playing an extended game of freeze tag. Look who else has recently arrived at Madame Tussauds. It’s only Stormzy. Craving live music? These are the best music festivals happening in London this year.

You know how there’s been major flooding in London recently? And you know how some people are saying (rightly or wrongly) that the construction of mega basements beneath the homes of the wealthy is the cause of all that stinky sewage submerging our streets? Well, let us introduce London’s ‘iceberg hotel’ and its basement to dwarf all basements. The Londoner, a 16-storey ‘super-boutique’ hotel, due to open in Leicester Square this September, is London’s biggest hospitality launch since the start of the pandemic. Why has this uber-luxe hotel been dubbed an ‘iceberg’? The answer lies in its six-level basement – one of the deepest in the world. Like an iceberg, there’s an awful lot going on below the surface.    Photograph: Woods Bagot   The new-build boasts 350 rooms, six restaurants and bars, a cinema, a gym with a pool, a ballroom and a 24-hour private members’ club. But with rooms starting at £400 a night, it’s deffo not for the great unwashed. That said, most of the food and drink venues will be open to the public, so even if you’re not keen on forking out 400 great British pounds for an overnight stay, you can still experience the magic of, er, being underground. It’ll be like trying life as a vampire, except the only red stuff we’re after are Bloody Marys. The Londoner, 38 Leicester Square, WC2H 7DX. Book here for stays from Sep 6. Here are the best things to do in Leicester Square, chosen by a local. And these are London’s best hotels.

Well folks, it’s officially been a year. Three hundred and sixty-five days of theatre-free London. Today marks the exact date curtains were forced to close across the UK. ‘Wistful’ doesn’t even begin to describe how we’re feeling. To mark the occasion, independent not-for-profit theatre and self-described ‘world leader in creativity and entertainment’ the Old Vic has released a sweet behind-the-scenes video that rounds up everything they’ve been doing over the past year. Nice of them. While its doors have largely remained shut, the theatre’s staff have kept themselves busy. In fact, despite being physically closed, they’ve dutifully been putting on (virtual) shows, raising money for charity, supporting the community and overall – you know – just being a great bunch of people.  The five-minute clip features a monthly breakdown of their activities and shows the different ways they’ve adapted to connect with fans worldwide: workshops, podcasts, playlists, you name it. It’s a lovely watch and, although you’ll probs feel a melancholy twinge while viewing it, you’ve got to commend them for their efforts. Although It’s been a tough year for the industry, it definitely makes us feel a little warm and fuzzy inside to see everything the Old Vic’s managed to achieve. That said: we can’t wait to experience the pure, fizzling high of seeing people say dramatic stuff to each other on a stage once again verrrryyy soon. The best online culture to stream at home. Authentic ‘London themes’ to

The best part of spring? Flowers. Worst part of spring? The. Bloody. Flowers. Itchy eyes, runny nose, that incessant, open-mouthed sneeze. If the ‘season of new beginnings’ fills you with immeasurable dread and a desire to stock up on antihistamines and Kleenex, we get you pal.  Chin Chin, Soho’s cutting-edge ice-cream scientists, also get you. They want you to skip the real flowers and swap ’em out for an Instagram flower filter instead. While eating dessert. That’s right, Chin Chin’s special Easter pudding is a (checks notes) Augmented Reality Sundae. Let's start with the food: it’s a spring/summer bunny sundae. The dessert is fully vegan, featuring a rabbit made of milk jelly, perched on a coconut-and-rose ice cream, all plonked on a bed of edible chocolate-and-matcha clay. The non-food bit: once you’ve procured one of these bad boys, whip out your phone, slap on the special filter and behold! Computer-generated flowers sprout from the plate like magic. As the poet Jay Kay almost once said: this dessert... it’s virtual insanity! What’s next, hey? Robo-profiteroles? Non-fungible treats? Cyber... yoghurt? Order Chin Chin's DIY kits here. The Easter dessert launches on Fri Apr 2 and is available for takeaway from the Greek St site. The best burger meal kits available in London right now. Everything you need to book now to make the most of summer 2021.