The great network of mews – the cobbled old London streets that thread their way between the grand streets of central London, housing the horses and carriages of the ‘ton’ have long since been converted to characterful, often brightly coloured residences. The last two active mews stables in the city can both be found on Bathurst Mews. You can rent a pony and be taken out for a ride around the park, or wander down the very pretty arched Hyde Park Gardens Mews through which the horses clop back and forth on their way to the park throughout the day. 

The beautiful new flagship of the small Mexican chain is all colour and style. Hundreds of curved and brightly coloured pendants light this large open space, its oversized plants, curved mustard banquettes and brightly coloured woven chair backs to a banging soundtrack and excellent margaritas. But the star is the food – light, bright and fragrant small plates inspired by Mexican market food are made from sustainable ingredients create an altogether joyful experience at reasonable prices. 

Known as ‘greasy spoons’ the old London cafes (known fondly as ‘caffs’) have these days been replaced for the most part by barista coffee joints across the city, with their accompanying sourdough and fancy cake offering. Yet Sheila’s hangs on to its origins, offering its all day fry-up (eggs, bacon, tomato, fried bread, mushrooms, baked beans in various combinations) with mugs of strong tea and no espresso machine in sight. On arrival, a plastic photograph of a plate loaded with Full English is slapped onto your (sometimes shared) table and from there on in, you are treated to a classic caff experience.