Rosie Hewitson

Thursday May 15: After some stormy weather at the beginning of the week, London looks set to enjoy some higher temperatures (and, judging by how much I'm sneezing, some high pollen counts to match) right into the weekend. But don’t wait til then to capitalise on it. If you can get away from your desk, we suggest whacking on some factor 30 (and take some antihistamines) and make a beeline for your nearest park with some picky bits and a good book. On the subject of good books, Fleet Street Quarter is playing host to a brand new literary festival over the rest of the week. Keep scrolling for more details.  Got a few hours to kill today? You’re in luck. London is one of the very best places on the planet to be when you find yourself with a bit of spare time.  In this city, you’re never too far away from a picturesque park, a lovely pub or a cracking cinema, and on any given day, you’ve got a wealth of world-class art shows, blockbuster theatre and top museum exhibitions to choose from if you’re twiddling your thumbs. Use your spare time wisely with our roundup of the best things happening in London today, which gets updated every single day and includes a specially selected top pick from our Things to Do Editor seven days a week. Bookmark this page, and you’ll have absolutely no excuse to be bored in London ever again! Find even more inspiration with our curated round-ups of the best things to do in London this week and weekend

Look, we love London. But even so, we can't deny that this city is devilishly good at coming up with ways to drain your bank balance, whether it's restaurants that persuade you to order an ever-expanding array of small plates, surprisingly costly pints, or shops so high-end you're scared to so much as sneeze. Still, does that mean you need money to have a good time? Absolutely not. As Time Out editors, we've become experts in finding ways to enjoy this city on a shoestring. Lots of us started out in this city as broke students, and since then we've hunted high and low for cheap things to do before payday hits. From free museums and art galleries to gorgeous parks, gratis jazz nights to balletic performances that won’t cost you a penny, you could easily fill every night of the week with free stuff to do in London (although if you’re willing to part with a few quid, there’s plenty more great stuff to do around the city for less than the price of your average Zone 1 pint). So when it comes to planning a fun day or night out in London, 'I'm too broke' just doesn't cut it as an excuse anymore. Read on for some fab, free ways to make yourself (and your bank balance) very happy indeed.  RECOMMENDED: 101 best things to do in London

It’s set to be a sunny weekend in London, which means it’s time to ignite the group chat and get some plans made. When you’re not sprawled out on the grass with a tin in hand soaking up some sweet vitamin D, London’s ever-inventive events organisers and cultural folk have plenty planned this week to fill up your diary.  Get caught up with London’s art scene by looking around the brand new Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery, which is finally open again after two years, a £85 million refurb and a major rehang of around 1000 works in the gallery’s collection of European painting. Or, head to Raven Row to see how three London artists have transformed everyday objects into sculpture, and see Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti’s works at The Barbican, where they’ll sit beside ever-changing responses from other artists.  Musical theatre fans are in for a treat as Stephen Sondheim’s unfinished final musical Here We Are plays at The National Theatre, and elsewhere on the Southbank, The Globe is back in action for the summer season, beginning with a rootin’ tootin’ Western-style take on Romeo & Juliet. There’s also a new blockbuster exhibition from the Natural History Museum to check out, all about life beyond Earth and a new literature festival on Fleet Street with a brilliant-looking line-up of author-speakers and panel talks. What’cha waiting for?  Start planning: here’s our roundup of the 25 best things to do in London in 2025 Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Londo

The sun is out, the parks are full, the beer gardens are bustling, and, despite it only being May, it really feels like summer has landed with a bang in London. When you’re not sprawled out on the grass with a tin in hand soaking up some sweet vitamin D, London’s ever-inventive events organisers and cultural folk have plenty planned this week to fill up your diary.  Get caught up with London’s art scene by looking around the brand new Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery, which is finally open again after two years, a £85 million refurb and a major rehang of around 1000 works in the gallery’s collection of European painting. Or, head to Raven Row to see how three London artists have transformed everyday objects into sculpture, and see Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti’s works at The Barbican, where they’ll sit beside ever-changing responses from other artists.  Musical theatre fans are in for a treat as Stephen Sondheim’s unfinished final musical Here We Are plays at The National Theatre, and elsewhere on the Southbank, The Globe is back in action for the summer season, beginning with a rootin’ tootin’ Western-style take on Romeo & Juliet. There’s also a new blockbuster exhibition from the Natural History Museum to check out, all about life beyond Earth and a new literature festival on Fleet Street with a brilliant-looking line-up of author-speakers and panel talks. What’cha waiting for?  Start planning: here’s our roundup of the 25 best things to do in London in 2025 Stay

Picture the scene. It’s June in London, it’s properly summer, festival season is in full swing, and you just broke up with the situationship that was weighing you down for the past six months. Feels good, doesn’t it? There are already a load of cracking events announced for June in the city, including the first edition of Lido festival (featuring Charli xcx, Massive Attack and Jamie xx), the return of London Road to the National Theatre, and the inaugural SXSW London.  Plus, the capital truly comes into its own this month: beer gardens are at their prime, the city parks are at their prettiest, the open-air theatre season gets going and eating alfresco is on the cards at some of London’s best restaurants. Plus, expect to see long queues in south west London as tennis fans line up to bag a place at the epic Wimbledon championships.  RECOMMENDED: Plan a great summer with our guide to London’s best music fests Get ahead of the pack and start planning your perfect July in London. 

If you’re into art, London is pretty damn hard to beat. From world-famous museums and landmark galleries to cutting-edge commercial spaces, local community hubs and striking public art on every other corner, this city is full of fascinating, beautiful, challenging things to look at. And that’s before you even get to the ever-changing lineup of temporary exhibitions.  In fact, some people might even go as far to say there’s too much art to see. But that’s where we come in. For decades, Time Out’s experts have been visiting and reviewing all the sculpture, painting, performance, photography and other art shows on offer. You name it, we’ve (probably, most likely) seen it. If you’re wondering what’s actually worth your time, start here. Check out the best art exhibitions in London right now, and be sure to come back weekly for the latest picks. Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Best photography exhibitions in LondonBest free exhibitions in London

Dalston may be known for its buzzing bars and thriving nightlife, but its dining-out scene is just as thrilling. The area boasts killer kebabs – thanks to several of London’s best Turkish restaurants – alongside global cuisine and tons of excellent cafés serving up mouthwatering and hangover-curing breakfasts. From Angelina (a chic Italo-Japanese mash-up) and the Little Duck Picklery (a ‘fermenting kitchen’ related to Ducksoup) to Dusty Knuckle Bakery, there's something for everyone. Try reliable old faves: Andu Café (Ethiopian, vegan and BYO) and Del 74 (a garish, grungy Mexican bar/taqueria) if you don't know where to start your culinary quest.      RECOMMENDED: The very best restaurants in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. So east London it hurts? Follow our Time Out East London WhatsApp channel for the latest news, openings and goss from the coolest bit of the capital. (Yeah, we said it.)

The future of some of London’s best day festivals may be up in the air right now, but for the moment we feel pretty damn lucky to have an abundance of world-class festivals happening on our doorsteps all throughout the summer. Forget trekking across the country to live in a field for five days. When you live in London, you can hop on the tube, and an hour later you’re listening to your favourite artists, tinny to hand, knowing that there’s a hot shower and a cosy bed waiting for you once the day is over. We Londoners love live music, so it’s no surprise that we’re absolutely spoilt for choice when summer rolls around. You’ve got festivals devoted to hip-hop, jazz, leftfield pop, disco, afrobeats, heavy rock ‘n’ roll. Whatever your taste may be, my god does London have a day festival for you. The line-ups have been coming in thick and fast over the past couple of months, which means it’s time to make some decisions about which festivals are worth your time and money. Have a scroll through our comprehensive guide – which we keep meticulously updated with all the latest line-up announcements – see what takes your fancy, and start planning a fantastic summer in 2025. But be warned, most London festivals get more expensive the later you leave it, and plenty of them will sell out long before the portaloos are installed and the stages are constructed. Grab your tickets right now if you know what’s good for ya! RECOMMENDED: ⛺ The best UK music festivals🌍 The best festivals in Europe

Whether you’re a certified gym bunny or a total newbie on a health kick, finding a new gym can be pretty daunting. Many of us have know what a bad gym experience looks like. The budget-friendly options can be smelly, overcrowded, joylessly clinical spaces where half the changing room lockers are broken and you end up queueing for machines during busy periods. But the expensive ones can be just as bad; cliquey and intimidating, with stern instructors who love to guilt-trip you if you’ve had a few days off. But we’ve done our research, and the gyms and fitness studios in this list are none of those things. Many of these venues feel more like private members’ clubs, complete with plenty of smoothie bars, DJs, lounge areas and spa facilities. But there are also some great no-frills options in the list too, for those who just want to get down to business, would prefer to pay for individual classes rather than committing to a membershiup, or are generally looking for a slightly less spenny way to work up a sweat.  Most of the venues in our list also have multiple locations across the city, so there should be one that’s convenient for you. Time to get that blood pumping! RECOMMENDED: London’s best swimming pools

May 2025: London’s always-busy social calendar starts to fill up come May, with some key sporting fixtures and the opening of the city’s outdoor cinemas and rooftop bars as the weather heats up. A whole bunch of music festivals taking place across the month, including Wide Awake, Field Day, GALA and Mighty Hoopla.  The month is book-ended by the opening of two major new culture venues, Soho Theatre Walthamstow and the V&A East Storehouse, while Tate Modern will be hosting a weekend-long party in celebration of its 25th birthday.  It’s a lot to pack in, but with not one but two bank holidays coming up, there’s plenty of free time to fill up with fun!  No matter what your vibe, tastes or interests, there is always something to do in London. Whether you want to see cutting-edge art exhibitions, iconic attractions, secret spots, world-beating theatre, stunning green spaces, it’s all here and you can probably fit all this in and more still barely feel like you’ve scratched the surface of the city. And that’s before you factor in all those historic London pubs, the latest must-visit restaurants and vibrant LGBTQ+ venues. And if you need somewhere to stay? Check out London’s best hotels or Airbnbs. This London bucket list (curated by our editors and always hotly debated in the Time Out office) is a good place to start because exploring this city can be a little daunting. There truly is something for everyone here. And if you want to know what’s happening in London, like, right now,

Now that warmer weather is officially here, London is limbering up for a sports-filled summer.  While some major sports championships only roll around every few years, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships – aka the oldest, and arguably the very best, tennis tournament in the world – has been a defining mainstay of London summers since 1877. And it’ll be back in SW19 very, very soon.  This year the tournament runs from Monday June 30, 2025 to Sunday July 13, 2025. If you missed out on Wimbledon tickets in the ballot and can’t face camping out on the street for a chance to nab day tickets, not to worry! There’s no need to make the pilgrimage to Murray Mound (fine, Henman Hill) to feel like you’re part of the Pimms-fueled action. There’ll be big screens peppered all over London showing all the Centre Court action in so much blown-up high-res glory that you might as well be court-side. And the majority of them won’t cost you a penny.  More outdoor screenings will be announced nearer the time, many of which will also have extras such as special edition cocktails, food offers and even pop-up tennis coaching. So grab yourself some M&S gins in tins – and a nice big punnet of strawberries while you’re at it – and pull up a pew at a summery screening near you.  RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to Wimbledon 2025.

Sure, summer might not technically start until June 21. But spiritually speaking, by the time the second May bank holiday rolls around, most Londoners are ditching their winter coats and switching their internal settings to summer mode. There’s at least a reasonably good chance that the sun will be out, turning the city into a bright, beautiful land of fun once more. So consider these three days off work your chance to be reunited with Summer in the City™. Make the most of them and make a beeline to one of the capital’s best beer gardens, cool off with some outdoor swimming, dine alfresco, explore London’s lush green spaces or browse one of the city’s bustling markets.  Check out our guide to the best events and things to do across London for the Bank Holiday weekend falling betweeen Saturday May 24 to Monday May 26 2025.  RECOMMENDED: Read our full guide to the bank holiday in London

Greenwich Peninsula’s free family festival Urban Village Fete returns this May, offering a stellar lineup of DJs, live music, markets, creative workshops and street food on the banks of the river Thames. Look out for headline DJ slots from 6Music’s Gilles Peterson, vinyl disco DJ Jack Hemingway and London station LOOSE.FM, find a creative new hobby at workshops on dog training, pottery making, basket weaving and mushroom growing, or drop in to cultural talks hosted by BBC Radio London’s Robert Elms, who’ll be chatting about education and AI, street style, and collective action with a host of interesting panellists. There’ll also be an Independent Traders Market with baked goods, handmade crafts, and a smörgasbord of streetfood. Be sure to check out the schedule online and register for some bookable (but free) events to be in with a shout of winning one of 130 brilliant food, fashion and entertainment prizes provided by local businesses. 

Munch your way through dishes from the great and the good of the capital’s restaurant scene at this sprawling culinary festival in the picturesque surroundings of central London’s Regent’s Park. Guy Ritchie’s gastropub Lore of the Land, Japanese-Korean joint Akira Back and masters of Pan-Pacific cuisine Los Mochis are among the restaurants peddling plates and appearing at the event for the first time this year. If you’re not in a food coma by the end, there’ll also be kitchen masterclasses, chef talks and tastings to get involved with. Our advice? Have some Rennies on hand. 

We all know a diva who loves to make her birthday into a month-long series of events featuring several different locations and multiple guestlists. And Dalston Superstore is that kind of diva. The legendary LGBTQ+ club on Kingsland High Street might have already celebrated its sweet sixteen with a huge party earlier in the month, but it’ll also be hosting a massive daytime party round the corner in Gillett Square over the late May bank holiday. It’s a free entry affair (she’s a generous queen!) featuring a secret line-up that will no doubt feature the great and the good of east London’s queer party scene. Category is: queer excellence, all day long! Guarantee entry by reserving your ticket here.   

A quarter of a century ago, Tate Modern opened its doors for the very first time. In the intervening years, it’s become a bastion of modern art in the UK, continuously hosting thought-provoking, eye-opening exhibitions and supporting artists from around the world. It would be remiss, then, not to celebrate such an icon’s birthday and, luckily, the celebrations are going to be plentiful. Across one long weekend in May, the institution will mark its anniversary with a series of workshops, talks, tours, free experiences, live music performances, DJ sets and food and drink offers.  Witness live tarot reading as part of Meschac Gaba’s ‘Museum of Contemporary African Art’ exhibition, or watch a specially commissioned performance by Abbas Zahedi in ‘Gathering Ground’, which explores ecological crisis and social justice. Over in the Tanks, Lawrence Lek will build a near future shaped by sentient AI using live gameplay and cinematic footage, while Marîa Magdalena Campos-Pons will lead a new performance responding to the history and architecture of the Tate Modern’s former power station shell. There’ll be some blasts from the past, too, like Louise Bourgeois’ giant bronze spider ‘Maman’, which once greeted visitors when the gallery first opened in 2000. A new trail of 25 key works will take art lovers through the Tate’s collection and introduce them to important pieces by renowned stars like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalî, plus artists with less household name status, such as Outi Piesk

Roll up ageing ravers, curious young clubbers and anyone who just fancies hitting a dance floor and still being home in time for Emmerdale. This hour-long virtual reality experience promises to transport you back to the height of the Acid House era during 1989’s Summer of Love. Having premiered at the London Film Festival back in 2022, the hour-long experience takes over the The Pit at the Barbican for ten weeks this summer. The handiwork of filmmaker Darren Emerson and is soundtracked by some of the era’s biggest bangers, from Joey Beltram’s ‘Energy Flash’ to Orbital’s ‘Chime’. Sadly, there’s no discount for anyone old enough to remember Shoom. 

Fifteen years after it was first mooted, Soho Theatre’s Walthamstow outpost finally opened in the spring of 2025. The 970-seater venue takes over a former Granada Cinema built in 1930 and closed in 2003, restoring the Grade II-listed property to its former glory with a £30 million building project. Like the original Dean Street venue, there will be a focus on comedy in the programming, with visitors also promised an annual panto, film screenings, theatre and community-focused education projects. 

An expansive pub on the corner of Clissold Park, sporting a huge beer garden that gets sun throughout the day and fills up with sports fans on sunny weekends. On the bar you’ll find a solid mixture of local craft beers and commercial brews, while the kitchen serves up solid pizzas and a small menu of snacks and sharing platters, with a decent roast on Sundays.

London’s current infatuation with all things agave has spawned dozens of new bars specialising in the Mexican spirits du jour. But while you might find more extensive collections of tequila and mezcal elsewhere, few agave-focused bars can match the sophistication of this elegant Latin American-themed spot in the Grade II-listed former Police Station that now houses the NoMad hotel.  There’s an old-school gentleman’s club kind of grandeur to this low-lit space, decked out in dark wood booths, green leather seating, an imposing marble-topped bar and walls covered in vibrant photographs taken on the streets of London and Southern California. On the menu, you’ll find a seasonally-changing menu of half a dozen takes on the margarita, plus six bar classics and another dozen or so drinks categorised as ‘refreshing’ or ‘spirit forward’. Most cocktails are agave-based, but the menu also incorporates a host of trendy ingredients from across the globe, from yuzu and white miso to pandan and cachaça. And for beer drinkers, there’s the hotel’s own Mexican Sour, a collaboration with King’s Cross-based brewery Two Tribes. Alongside this, the bar serves up a solid menu of mostly Mexican bar snacks; zingy guac is served with a hefty pile of crunchy tortilla chips, creamy prawn croquettes come topped with salty, umami shavings of bonito and churros are accompanied by thick chocolate sauce and fudgey dulce de leche crema.  Order this On our visit, the star of the show was a chocolate mole marga

Austin’s music, film and media festival SXSW is renowned across the world for being the place to discover the next big thing. In previous years, superstars like Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Chappell Roan have all given early performances at the Texas event, while the likes of Steven Spielberg, Barack Obama and Malala Yousafzai have appeared at the conference arm of the festival. And now, following the festival’s expansion into Sydney, the week-long, multi-venue event is coming to London for the first time.  The inaugural SXSW London will take over various venues around Shoreditch – including Shoreditch Town Hall, XOYO and the Village Underground – over a week in June, and the line-up is absolutely massive. Conference attendees can take their pick from 420 talks and panels delving into the most pressing issues across business and tech, with keynotes delivered by everyone from actor Idris Elba, comedian Katherine Ryan and footballing legend Cesc Fàbregas to the CEOs of massive companies like OnlyFans, Monzo and Twitch. The film festival will feature 250 film screenings, including a whole bunch of international premieres, cutting edge ‘Expanded Reality’ work and debut screenings of some huge new TV shows.  And then there’s the music festival, featuring headline sets from Tems, Mabel, Sasha Keable Alice Glass and Nao, alongside more than 500 gigs. These featuring a whole bunch of emerging talents across just about every genre of music you can imagine, and tipped for success by mus

If you tend to find swanky gyms and personal training a bit intimidating, The Foundry’s community-focused atmosphere might be the solution to your anxieties. Founded in Vauxhall in 2016, the small company prides itself on being able to deliver a friendlier, more personal experience than large chains. Core to the gym’s approach is access to small group personal training, delivered in 50-minute sessions with a maximum of six attendees. Promoting teamwork and togetherness over competition, the gyms motto is ‘no mirrors, no posers, no egos’, and these sessions are friendly and encouraging.  Memberships cost between £300 and £500 a month, depending on how much personal training you want (choose from 1, 2, 3 or unlimited sessions per week) with sessions taking place every hourly to enable you to fit them around a busy schedule. Members also get unlimited access to fitness classes designed to complement their personal training, with two kinds of sessions available; cardio focused ‘Sweat’ classes, and ‘Hybrid’ ones combining movement and strength training.  Keen to see what it’s all about? The Foundry offers a discounted 21 day challenge for newcomers so you can suss out whether it’d be a good fit for you before committing to a longer membership. 

Outdoor spaces are big business come summer, and this seasonal pop-up between Waterloo and Westminster bridges is one of the biggest and best in London. Returning for its summer season from Thursday April 17, it boasting lovely views over the Thames and an eclectic programme of entertainment encompassing drag shows, DJs, live performances and themed club nights. What’s on at Between the Bridges? This summer’s events programme includes plenty of tried-and-tested favourites, from Barrioke with EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson (Friday May 9) and Taylor-themed party Swiftoggedon (Sunday May 25) to the Old Dirty Brasstards performing Abba (Friday June 6), Motown-themed immersive dining experience Soul Supper (various dates) and weekly bottomless brunches themed around everything from Whitney Houston to Dirty Dancing.  There’s plenty of free entertainment on too, including after-work drinks on Thursdays soundtracked by old-school hip hop and RnB from resident DJs, Friday night’s Dock Discos featuring contemporary house and disco tunes, and Guilty Pleasures featuring nostalgic 90s and noughties pop bangers every Saturday evening.  What food vendors are at Between the Bridges? The South Bank has long been a hub of great street food, and this year Time Out is getting in on the act, partnering with Between the Bridges to launch Time Out Eat Street, a mini food market featuring some of our favourite street food vendors from around the city, as selected by our Food & Drink Editor, Leoni

Head to Canary Wharf for a bit of shopping over the next few months and you may well be greeted by a slightly unusual site; a magnificent blue whale leaping out from the water on Wood Wharf. Crafted from masses of plastic waste collected from Hawaiian beaches, the spectacular four-storey-tall sculpture was inspired by the shocking fact that, pound for pound, there is more plastic waste swimming in the world’s oceans than there are whales; 150 million tonnes of the stuff. To highlight just how much of a problem plastic waste is, NYC-based design firm StudioKCA worked with the Hawaii Wildlife Fund to collect plastic litter and turn it into the 11-metre sculpture. Alongside recycled plastic, the sculpture incorporates recycled steel and a low-carbon concrete base incorporating spent coffee grounds sourced from the area’s bars and cafes. The clever installation is the latest addition to a series of more than 100 artworks featured around Canary Wharf in the UK’s largest free-to-visit public art collection, which includes pieces from the likes of Camille Walala, Henry Moore and Helaine Blumenfeld. For more information on the many artworks in the neighbourhood, visitors can download Canary Wharf’s Art Map, which is also available on the Bloomberg Connects app. 

How did you celebrate your 25th birthday? If I recall correctly, mine involved half a dozen pints, a couple of shots, a drunk Maccies on the night bus home and a monumental hangover the next day.  But the Tate Modern is a hell of a lot more sophisticated that I was at 25, and its quarter-century celebration this weekend knocks my little pub gathering out the park. Featuring four days of free workshops, talks, participatory performances, live music and late night DJ sets, the massive weekender starts tomorrow, and the gallery has just announced yet more cool stuff happening across the weekend.  Alongside already-announced DJ line-ups curated by some amazing London crews and collectives the gallery has revealed two huge headliners. Friday’s late opening spotlights south London’s vibrant creative communities, and will feature a headline set from The xx member turned solo artist Romy, who will be taking to the decks for a 2-hour DJ set from 10pm-midnight, with earlier sets curated by the likes of Peckham listening bar Jumbi and British Caribbean festival Radiate.  Saturday night’s festivities will see the gallery taken over by yet more cutting-edge artists and collectives, including a rare London set by Afrobeats station Cultur FM in the Tanks, featuring a headline set from BBC Radio 1 DJ Jaguar. Other DJs throughout the evening have been curated by South Asian creative collective Daytimers, female-fronted Peckham station foundation.fm, Afro-Caribbean LGBTQ+party Queer Bruk and a

Opened in 1992 in an old branch of Barclays bank, Camden’s Jazz Cafe has long since established itself as a legendary London music venue. Over the years, the 450-capacity spot has played host to some truly iconic acts from the world of jazz and soul music, including D’Angelo, Bobby Womack, Gil Scott-Heron, Pharoah Sanders and local legend Amy Winehouse. The venue’s inaugural Jazz Cafe Festival was a hit last summer, and will return to Peckham’s Burgess Park this August. We’re therefore expecting big things from the Jazz Cafe’s new project, which was announced this week. Jazz Cafe owner the Columbo Group has been granted planning permission to transform a disused theatre into an east London outpost for the Camden institution. Built in 1896, Stratford High Street’s Rex Theatre has gone through multiple iterations over its 130-year history, initially hosting theatre and opera before being converted into a cinema in 1933, a bingo hall in 1969 and later a nightclub. After being repossessed by Newham Council in 2013, the building has been largely vacant since, but will finally reopen as Jazz Cafe East after the council accepted a bid for the venue.  Operating since 2006, the Jazz Cafe group owns several other major London venues alongside the OG Jazz Cafe, including nightclubs XOYO and Phonox, music venue chain The Blues Kitchen and north London pubs The Parakeet and The Old Queen’s Head. The business’s foray into Stratford has been enthusiastically welcomed by the local community

May is turning out to be a big month for famous singers turning their attentions towards visual art. Just days after Mr Robbie Williams opened an exhibition of his ‘radically honest’ art at Mayfair tourist hotspot the Moco Museum, some guy called Bob Dylan is exhibiting his paintings at Bond Street’s Halcyon Gallery.  Opening on Friday May 9, Point Blank will feature 97 original paintings on paper, created between 2021 and 2022 and based on quick sketches that were then painted over.  The isn’t the first time the 84-year-old Nobel Prize-winning songwriter has swapped his guitar for some paintbrushes; Dylan has been working with the gallery for almost two decades, having staged several previous exhibitions at the space, including 2021’s Deep Focus, a series of works mostly created during the 2020 lockdown. The freewheelin’ musician – who was recently introduced to a new generation of fans via Oscar-nominated biopic A Complete Unknown – has also been the subject of several international exhibitions, including a major 2019 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai. Speaking of the latest show, Halycon Gallery founder Paul Green said, ‘It is nearly 18 years since Halcyon first started working with Bob Dylan and it has been an extraordinary experience to watch this cultural icon develop into such a critically revered and important visual artist so closely. This latest body of paintings feels like a more intimate connection to the artist than in any of his previous work

If you’ve seen the American Crime Story series on his assassination, you’ll know something of the story of Gianni Versace, the socialite, businessman and fashion designer who founded one of Italy’s most respected luxury fashion houses.  Born in Calabria in 1946, Versace worked in his family’s tailor shop before moving to Milan to establish his eponymous label in 1978. Over the following two decades, he became one of the fashion industry’s most powerful and influential figures before his untimely death in 1997, dressing everyone from Liz Hurley, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss to Princess Diana, Elton John and George Michael.  Some of those iconic looks will feature in a major retrospective of the designer arriving in London this summer. Opening at The Arches in London Bridge on Wednesday July 16, Gianni Versace Retrospective will feature over 450 items, including original garments and accessories, personal sketches, interviews and photographs, many of which have never been displayed in the UK before now.  Photograph: Gianni Versace Retrospective Central to the exhibition is a vibrant chronology of looks charting showcasing Versace’s craftsmanship, innovation and immediately recognisable aesthetic across 21 collections, from Spring/Summer 1988 to Autumn/Winter 1997-98, the last show before Versace was murdered in 1997. Amongst there pieces on display will be examples of the designer’s most iconic motifs, from daring designs referencing bondage, to the opulent baroque-inspired p

It’s crunch time in the Champions League, and the eyes of north London will be on Paris tomorrow evening (Wednesday May 7), as Mikel Arteta’s plucky young Gunners travel to the Parc des Princes for the second leg of their semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain. Arsenal will need to overcome a one goal deficit if they want to make it their first European final since 2009. An underwhelming first leg performance at the Emirates saw the north Londoners go 1-0 down early in the fixture to a goal from Ousmane Dembélé.  Many local fans will be heading to the boozers and beer gardens of north London to watch Rice, Saka and Ødegaard battle it out for a place in the final, due to take place in Munich at the end of the month. Looking for a lively atmosphere in which to catch all the nail-biting action? Look no further than our roundup of London’s best Gooner pubs. RECOMMENDED: London’s best football pubs. The Drayton Park A bar stool at the Drayton is basically as close as you can get to pitchside without a ticket. You can see the stadium from the window, and you’ll certainly hear the roar from inside if the home team score. This place has a pretty strict home crowd only policy, and predictably gets insanely busy before kick-off, before quieting down as the lucky ticket-holders head inside.  66 Drayton Park, N5 1ND The Tollington Arms Another lively spot within shouting distance of the stadium itself, the Tolly also attracts a huge pre-match crowd that spills out into the fenced off po

May is a landmark month for the capital’s key cultural institutions. Alongside the opening of Soho Theatre Walthamstow and Tate Modern’s huge 25th birthday celebrations, the month sees the opening of another major new venue, the V&A East Storehouse, in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.  The purpose-built space housing over half a million artefacts from the V&A archives is due to open at the end of the month. It just announced further details of its inaugural displays and some of its first events, alongside sharing the first pictures from inside the building. V&A East promises to be ‘a new kind of museum experience’ offering visitors an insight into the workings of a major museum, letting them explore how objects are curated, acquired and cared for. Alongside storage space for over 1,000 individual archives, 250,000 objects and 350,000 library books, the space’s central Weston Collections Hall features over 100 mini displays that have been hacked into the ends of its storage units.  Further details of the artefacts that will feature in these displays have just been revealed. Highlights include works by Hew Locke and Zaha Hadid, a model of the London 2012 Olympic cauldron designed by Thomas Heatherwick and several new aquisitions, from the likes of Cameroonian designer Imane Ayissi, Lebanese-French artist Najla El Zein, and London-based Zimbabwean ceramicist Xanthe Somers. One particular highlight is the 11-metre-wide stage cloth Pablo Picasso designed for the Ballets Russes’ 1924

iAle, London! Cinco de Mayo is back for another year. If you weren’t aware, May 5 commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over France at the 1862 Battle of Puebla (not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day on September 16). More than 160 years later, it remains a major day in the Mexican calendar and is the ultimate opportunity to relish in the best of the country’s culture and heritage, in case you needed an excuse.  So, this early May bank holiday, be prepared for more tacos and tequila than you can shake a maraca at, and then some. These are some of the best Cinco de Mayo events happening across the city this month. Keep an eye out for special May 5 deals at our favourite Mexican restaurants, too.  RECOMMENDED 🌵 The best mezcal bars in London Cinco de Mayo at the Standard Ascend to the 10th floor of the Standard for a 48-hour fiesta. Sweeties will be hosting a Cinco de Mayo soiree in collaboration with famous Parisian taqueria Candelaria, promising DJs and ‘bar classics with a twist’, then celebrations will continue into next day at Decimo’s boozy brunch with an offering of the tequila-based ‘Bloody Maria’ to soothe the hangover. Once that banging headache has passed, head back across the corridor to Sweeties to do it all over again.  10 Argyle Street, WC1H 8EG. May 2-3. Book online here.    Hackney Church Cinco de Mayo Fiesta Sounds of salsa, bachata and reggaeton will be floating out of the arches of Hackney Church Brewery from noon till midnight for Mexico’s b

Fabric is one of London’s most famous and respected nightlife venues, drawing in crowds of ravers from all over the world, so it kind of makes sense that the venue is staging an event in partnership with another of London’s most iconic tourist attractions on its latest event: the British Museum.  Yeah, really. Having already staged music events at tourist attractions including St Paul’s Cathedral, the London Coliseum and The View From The Shard, the city’s most famous club is taking up residency at its most famous museum for a one-off evening off ambient music on Friday May 2.  The world-renowned museum’s majestic Reading Room, Room 17 – home of the ancient Lycian Nereid Monument – and the museum’s China and South Asia gallery will be the backdrop for a truly memorable ‘sonic experience’ that hopes to highlight electronic music’s relevance as a contemporary art form. Headlining the Friday night festivities will be A Guy Called Gerald, the Mancunian dance music legend behind 1989 hit ‘Voodoo Ray’, whose work was instrumental in sparking the acid house movement. Also on the line-up is vinyl selector and fabric resident Anna Wall, whose sets traverse dub techno, acid and classic house, and NIGHT manoeuvres, a new collaborative project from DJ and producer ABSOLUTE and London Grammar’s Dot Major, which promises to be a genre-bending journey through UK bass, dubstep and leftfield techno. Fancy raving among some ancient ruins? The unmissable event is free, but you’ll to reserve a

It’s been years in the making, but the wait is finally over! IKEA’s massive new Oxford Street store opens its doors tomorrow (Thursday May 1), just in time for any May bank holiday DIY projects you’ve got planned this weekend. Housed inside the Grade II-listed former Topshop flagship at 214 Oxford Street, the 5,800-square-metre IKEA store is the biggest new arrival on London’s most famous shopping street in years, and opens after a major renovations to the historic building, just shy of a decade after the project was first mooted. Planning a trip to the Swedish flatpack mecca? Here’s everything you need to know about IKEA Oxford Street, from the features and services offered across the store to some sneak previews of how it looks.  Full list of shop features at IKEA Oxford Street IKEA’s new city centre opening will offer both the ‘traditional IKEA experience’ that shoppers know and love (meatballs and throw cushions) alongside some brand-new areas and services. These include: The IKEA Showroom  Getting into an unreasonably heated argument with your significant other while browsing your way through a series of pretend kitchens is a core IKEA experience, with ‘roomsets’ inspired by local living situations central to every IKEA store around the world. At IKEA Oxford Street, the experience has been taken one step further, with spaces and roomsets co-created with real people based on their own homes in the capital. Londoners can get inspired by real life solutions to some of the

Since it was founded back in 2009, Capital FM’s Summertime Ball has been a major fixture in London’s jam-packed summer festival calendar, with recent iterations seeing the likes of Kylie Minogue, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Sabrina Carpenter and Ed Sheeran performing sets filled with chart-toppers in front of a packed out Wembley Stadium.  So we’re thrilled to hear news of the 2025 lineup for the long-standing summer tradition, which is returning in June. Following announcement that the Capital FM-helmed event will be returning (it was announced on Friday April 25), yesterday and this morning (Monday April 28 and Tuesday April 29) we’ve had both batches of names on the lineup. And, fair warning, it’s looking huge.  None other than Mariah Carey will be leading the bill this year with Will Smith & DJ Jazzy Jeff, while also on the lineup are the likes of Tate McRae, Myles Smith, JADE, Benson Boone, KSI, Lola Young, Busted vs McFly and Rita Ora. See, we told you the lineup was massive. Capital FM’s breakfast show trio (Jordan North, Chris Stark and Siân Welby) will once again be at the helm. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 edition of Capital Summertime Ball, as well as the full lineup.  RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London to book for 2025. When is Capital’s Summertime Ball 2025? This summer’s edition of the Summertime Ball takes place on Sunday June 15, in the same slot as it has been for the previous few years.  Where is Capital’s Summertime Ball t

Huge news for anyone who has had the misfortune of having to schlep back from IKEA Wembley on public transport with a Kallax shelving unit, a Tjusig shoe rack, two houseplants, and a giant blue Frakta bag full of ‘kitchen bits’; Sweden’s blue-and-yellow flatpack mecca is finally opening its Oxford Street store this week.  Taking over the former Topshop flagship at 214 Oxford Street, the city centre outpost will offer the ‘traditional IKEA experience’ that we Brits all know and love, with three floors of showrooms, a market space stocking more than 3,500 items of bargain homeware and, of course, a 130-seater Swedish deli where you can unwind after your inevitable wardrobe-induced argument over meatballs with lingonberry jam and those iconic 75p hot dogs.  When is Oxford Street IKEA opening? IKEA announced this morning that the Oxford Street store will open tomorrow, Thursday May 1 2025. This follows the closure of the ‘Hus of Frakta’ pop-up, which celebrated the brand’s famous blue carrier bags and was installed on the building’s ground floor since last November. Photograph: Rosie Hewitson for Time Out What does Oxford Street IKEA look like inside? Here are a few exclusive preview snaps of what the multi-storey shop looks like inside.  Photograph: IKEA Photograph: IKEA Photograph: IKEA What’s inside the new IKEA? From the brand’s iconic showroom to its Swedish deli, expect several IKEA favourites at the Oxford Street store. However, there will also be new, exclusive-t

If you’ve spent any time at all on social media in recent months, you’ve probably heard of ‘Dubai chocolate’. Inspired by the Middle Eastern dessert knafeh and created by Dubai chocolatier Fix Dessert, the decadent chocolate costs around £15 per bar, and features a vibrant green mixture of shredded filo pastry (or kataifi) and pistachio butter encased in milk chocolate. Apparently, it’s really, really good. So good that it’s been making waves on TikTok since at least last May. But in recent weeks, the viral sweet treat has really exploded in popularity, with dozens of TikTokers flocking to the platform to post their honest reviews, share attempts to recreate the chocolate bar from scratch or put a ‘Dubai chocolate’ spin on everything from brownies to tiramisu. So popular is the trend that it’s apparently causing a global uptick in holiday bookings, at least according to one luxury holiday site, Destination2, which has seen a 38 percent increase in Dubai bookings compared to the same time last year. Unsurprisingly, the original ‘Can’t Get Knafeh Of It’ bars by Fix Dessert are almost impossible to get your hands on, even if you happen to be making a trip to the UAE. But a trend this massive of course inspires copycats. From major supermarket chains to indie chocolatiers, here are a bunch of London businesses peddling ‘Dubai chocolate’ treats that you can try for yourself, ranked from most to least expensive. The 8 best places for Dubai chocolate in London Photograph: courtesy