I think I've found the perfect bookshop café

Is it me or are the trees browning a lot earlier than last year? I’m keeping my eyes peeled for that perfect autumn red before a trip to Winkworth Arboretum.

Last week was the first time I felt settled on my feet after a whirlwind late summer end with events and travels. I tasted and wrote about my experience at Legado (coming soon), saw Lady Gaga at The o2 (still struggling to find the words) and got back into my regular Third Space routine (my NYC trip back in September did way too much damage).

This week, I’m visiting Lagana and Punk Royale. All that whilst slowly chipping away at B-Side 2.0… 🤫

Little is done to reinvent the wheel at Carbone, but why would you when you can just add steroids to American-Italian classics? Well, that depends on who you ask… Still, the Rat Pack atmosphere and knock-out service will certainly impress. And if you’re scouting for the next undiscovered face, the team at Carbone make the dream casting call.

St. JOHN’s new bakery has made home beside the London Review Bookshop, one of the most beloved independent bookstores sitting in the heart of academia - Bloomsbury. Mornings mean flaky croissants, Eccles cakes and still-warm madeleines; later there are simple sandwiches, seasonal tarts and a short list of wines and snacks for evening events. A compact garden terrace behind the shop offers a rare, quiet pause.

Bloomsbury | Now Open

Alta opens with a menu built on fire and precision: whole turbot on the bone, slow-roasted lamb, grilled green peppers. The cooking is refined yet simple, letting seasonal produce and Basque influences take the lead. A relaxed room upstairs and a street-level counter keep the mood informal.

Kingly Court, Carnaby | Now Open

Rosi lands at The Beaumont with head chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen steering a kitchen defined by seasonal clarity - think wet mackerel with wild garlic, lamb with ramps and elderflower, strawberries with olive oil ice cream. The room is light, calm, elegant - soft-pastel tiles, blond wood, a row of windows flooding it with Mayfair sunlight.

The Beaumont Hotel, Mayfair | Now Open

Fink’s has opened in Clissold House, reinventing the former council café as a three-part bakery and dining outpost for Stokey locals. The Kiosk handles grab-and-go staples downstairs; the Pink Room fills with cakes, sandwiches and seasonal bites; the Dining Room upstairs offers fuller plates like giant rosti with cavolo nero and poached eggs, or sausage sarnies on house Shokupan.

Clissold House, Stoke Newington | Noe Open

Il Bambino Club arrives at The Hoxton under the Paris Society group - the team behind some of Paris’s most polished dining rooms, but with more substance than a Big Mamma Group. Expect silky stracciatella on focaccia, truffled tagliatelle and a crisp veal Milanese, with late-night spritzes served in a room that feels more clubby than chaotic.

The Hoxton, Shoreditch | Now Open