Chelsea's new 'creative quarter'

Some days you get a little jaded and reminisce about cosy autumn and then you get a grayscale day and remember to never take the green trees and blue skies for granted again. The nights are getting darker earlier and the heat is getting more mellow. Now more than ever, it’s the best time to savour every moment. I spent my Sunday mountain biking at Swinley Forest and even though I’m a little sunburnt it was the perfect killer workout without being trapped at the gym on your day off. The little things.

I caught William Sitwell’s one-star takedown of The Chalk Freehouse in The Telegraph and couldn’t help but pause. I’d just spent a Friday evening there, and the experience couldn’t have been more different. Some critics seem to hunt for grievances; this review is written in defence of a pub that deserves better.

Soho House is ready to go private again, following a $2.7 billion deal led by hotel group MCR that will see it return to private ownership and delist by late 2025. Shares briefly rose on the news. Alongside MCR’s CEO, actor‑investor Ashton Kutcher will join its board. The leadership says this shift will let them focus on growth and innovation - without the strain of the public market.

New Forms has opened on Chelsea Manor Street, part of The Gaumont’s £235 million development positioned as a new ‘creative quarter’ at King’s Road. From the team behind Next Door Records, it’s both hi-fi bar and vinyl café, built around a high-fidelity sound system, heritage records and a menu of coffee, wine and cocktails. Alongside BookBar and Art Play, it signals a push to bring art, music and community back into Chelsea. By day it works as a relaxed café; by night, a music-led bar with room for events and collaborations. This month they’re hosting a run of DJs - this week’s sets come from Marcelina Wick, Thom Parris, and Penzik & Burns.

The Salusbury has returned to Queen’s Park with a new team at the helm - Gareth Cooper of Broadwick Live, Alex Payne with recent success in Cotswolds pubs and hotels, and chef Tarryn Bingle, whose cooking background spans La Trompette, The Pem and Arbutus. The dining room leans ambitious without tipping into formality: Dorset crab cacio e pepe, beef tartare with smoked bone marrow cream, a custard tart with just the right wobble. For a quicker stop, there’s a bar menu of Parmesan churros, Scotch eggs and pints at the counter. True to the owners’ musical pasts, they promise a programme of impromptu nights and a touch of mischief - Queen’s Park’s answer to Soho’s Devonshire spirit.