Paul Hedge worked as a postman for nine years after leaving Goldsmiths, delivering letters to galleries in St James while quizzing the staff about exhibitions. He first opened his own gallery in a derelict undertaker’s in Deptford with another Paul, Maslin. And in the interest of being anything but snooty, the Pauls ran a café to draw people in. Now inside the Tea Building along with Shoreditch House, Hales regularly places artists’ works in the collections of the Tate and New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Simple, elegant and British through and through. Everything at Lyle's is hyper-seasonal and incredibly delicious. Come at lunch if you're in the mood for a la carte, as it's tasting menu only in the evenings.

Few places combine luxury, high-street and avant-garde as well as Hostem. This shop specialises in custom-tailoring and commissions artists to create striking one-off pieces for their clients.

Upstairs through a blink-and-miss-it doorway on Redchurch Street is one of the most exciting restaurants in London. The name comes from an old English term for turbot, so it’s fitting that the flatfish is the star of the show. Inspired by the Basque Country, everything is cooked over a charcoal grill – the smoked potatoes are particularly good, but there aren’t really any misses on the Michelin-starred menu. The London Fields outpost feels marginally cooler. Either way, order the burnt cheesecake for pudding.