London's new micro hoods
There is a patch of Mayfair, the crossroads of South Audley Street and Mount Street and a block or two around it, that has stealthily become its own kind of twinkly tiny town. A place where tripping no more than a few steps finds the next fix. You could spend all day pottering around the junction, not running out of things to do (so long as you have deep pockets). This is the 15-minute city revised and condensed until it becomes the 15-second village.
At Farm Shop, the corner store/deli, warm hazelnut chocolatines and crisp almond croissants are wheeled out for breakfast under the striped awnings, jars of pickles and ferments, wild garlic chutneys and chilli jams fill brown paper shopping bags, a regular crew of locals come early to stake out the daily sandwich specials or put in a rotisserie order on the Chicken Line whilst viewing the Royal Drawing School sketches on the walls. Across at The Audley pub, at 12 on the dot, pints are poured at the bar under Phyllida Barlow’s colour block kaleidoscope ceiling. Upstairs lobster lunches fly out of the kitchen at Mount Street Restaurant under the beady eye of Lucien Freud’s Self Portrait.
This elevated artsy gathering of feasting spots is the miniature master plan of gallerists Ivan and Manuela Wirth. A few doors down, the wonderful red brick Thomas Goode showroom (once home to the most expensive and exquisite fine china cups and saucers) is now covered with Hauser & Wirth hoardings as the Wirth’s newest gallery comes together. The floors above are rumoured to become their first serviced apartments from which the incoming owners will presumably be able to ring over to Mount Street for room service. It is a turbo-luxe revival that has put this rather old school part of the postcode back on the current map.
Over in Belgravia, Anya Hindmarch reimagined pretty Pont Street in the wake of shops being left empty during Covid. The Anya Village is a playful blast of silliness with its googly eyed coffees and cupcakes in the café and on the egg cups and candles next door in Anya Life, the delicious sweetshop of rainbow colours in the Labelled Shop, monogramming and embossing mania in The Bespoke Shop, towers of tonal handbags in The Collection Shop, and at this time of year, the most festive Santa’s Grotto in all London. You’d have to be a total spoilsport not to see the fun in it all.
Notting Hill of course had its finger on this pulse early on with these little fiefdoms. Minimalist Japanese-vibes coffee shop KURO opened on pretty Hillgate Street in 2021, pouring single origin long blacks and tip top Uji ceremonial matcha teas. When the owners looked for sākuro pastries to serve alongside and couldn’t find anything good enough, the KURO Bakery was launched. When the bakery needed more kitchen space, along came KURO Eatery, all within spitting distance. Innkeepers of the moment Public House Group have staked their claim on the W11/W10/W9 borders with turbo pubs The Pelican and The Hero, and newest sibling Canteen 310. This lo-fi space is currently the most sought-after lunch table in this part of London, which is no surprise given its pedigree and the fact that it has a pair of ex-River Café chefs at the helm.
And at the mothership, Ruth Rogers’s patch of Hammersmith riverside has evolved around its courtyard. The original River Café - the best Italian in the capital - spawned a shop (no one can say no to one of those cookbooks). And now the shop has spawned a café, The River Café Café, same supreme plates of food, same waxy paper table cloths, but walk in. Wonderful for wfh locals who can now swing by for piles of prosciutto and tagliatelle al limone without months of pre-planning.
It would be so easy for the cluster hubs to feel like overkill, but instead they feel like small but mighty empires, tapping into their hood, and its people, reviving quiet streets, making the most of these experiential moments. Like pop ups that have become micro mainstays. And there’s optimism and joy in that.
Issy von Simson
Still strongly tethered to her hometown London, Issy certainly knows what’s groovy in the UK capital. But, lucky for us, her knowledge extends far beyond the reaches of Zone 6. Perpetually drawn to the coast – the brinier the better when it comes to the air – Issy is our go-to for seaside getaways. Opinionated and organised, she’s pretty much our ideal travel companion; you know you’re going to get a perfectly planned trip when Issy’s in charge. So, follow her tips and do as Issy does. You’ll end up in the most gloriously unexpected of places.
