LONDON – London may still be closed to international tourism, with social distancing, wearing masks and other COVID-19 safety measures still firmly entrenched, but restaurateurs, museums, retailers and mixologists from across the city are still determined to meet locals as well To show British visitors a good time.
Since the lockdown was eased in April and May, events, shows and new businesses have mushroomed across the city and there is a great momentum going on. Londoners can’t travel abroad, so this summer they’ll live it out and enjoy socially distant socializing – devouring cocktails, renting their designer clothes on Carnaby Street and soaking up the sun in Berkeley Beach Huts.
Here are a few suggestions for locals and some new places for visitors to check out once the planes from continental Europe, the US and Asia land at Heathrow, Gatwick and City Airports again.
Looks from Rotaro’s current campaign.
CARNABY CREATIVES: The online fashion rental business is heating up and going physical, with Rotaro heading to Carnaby Street this month to do a pop-up at a “zero waste” store. Founded in 2019 by Georgie Hyatt and Brooke Andrews, the platform will offer brands such as JW Anderson, House of Sunny, Stine Goya, Anouki, Materiel Tibilisi and Stand Studio. Customers can rent and reserve outfits directly in the store. Rentals start from 14 pounds to 70 pounds for four days.
The new space was realized in cooperation with the sustainability-oriented agency Futerra and will also function as an interactive educational location with statistics on the fashion industry. “We want to use the store as a space for collaboration, inspiration and education,” said Hyatt. Rotaro will also work with the online art platform Partnership Editions to curate sales displays of emerging artists, with prices starting from £ 220. Rotaro will be open for two months on June 14th at 45 Carnaby Street in Soho.
Vardo Restaurant on King’s Road in Chelsea.
LIFE IS SIMPLE: Clearpay is working with the British Fashion Council on a three-day pop-up park on King’s Road during London Fashion Week with streaming plans Catwalk shows and fashion films and offer food and drinks. Something 30 local companies will take part.
A Big screen will be placed in Duke of York Square while Cocktails, mocktails and mint ice cream (based on Clearpay’s branding) are offered. Vardo is one of the participating restaurants and invites you to eat or have a picnic.
In addition, two fashion illustrators stroll down King’s Road, capture the atmosphere and the stylish look of the shoppers and distribute their work for free. The Clearpay Quarter runs from Friday June 11th to Monday June 14th from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Bar Des Prés that just opened on Albemarle Street in London’s Mayfair.
Image courtesy of Bar Des Prés
CHANNEL CROSSING: Bar des Prés on Albemarle Street in Mayfair is Cyril Lignac’s first international outpost and the sister of his original restaurant, Saint-Germain Paris. The food is French-East Asian, with dishes like green asparagus with caramelized miso; crispy crab and avocado galette and salads with local lobster, strawberries, elderflower and fresh almonds. He also offers tuna tartare with or without caviar and satay fillet steak.
Lignac is also a master pastry chef and conjures up gianduia chocolate soufflé and pecan praline mille feuille for dessert.
Lignac said he has “always adored London, its culture, energy and lifestyle. I wanted to open a restaurant in London, of course, to spend more time there, but above all to integrate myself into the community, to discover a new way of working, a different sensitivity and a new creativity. ”The restaurant is part of a luxury center on Albemarle Street curated by real estate investor Trophaeum.
The new restaurant is at 16 Albemarle Street and its neighbors are Self-Portrait, Thom Browne, Aquazzura and Robin Birley’s private dining club and wine cellar, Oswald’s.
Lobster tortelloni from Pasta Evangelists.
Image courtesy of Pasta Evangelists
PASTA BY POST: Pasta Evangelists, a company that started out as a mail order fresh pasta company in London, has opened a restaurant in Harrods. The Italian menu is exclusively available in-store and is curated by Michele Rodelli, Pasta Evangelists’ Chief Food Officer. The focus is on regional pasta dishes from northern, southern and central Italy, with specials such as a lasagne cupcake with velouté; British asparagus parmesan cream and lobster tortelloni with lobster vine tomato butter and sauteed artichokes.
The beach huts at the Berkeley Hotel in London.
Image courtesy The Berkeley Hotel
BELGRAVIA-TO-THE-SEA: The Berkeley Hotel isn’t letting the final stages of lockdown – and an ongoing ban on international travel – stand in the way of a hot summer at the beach. The Hotel Belgravia has a pop-up called. created The Berkeley Beach Huts, inspired by the UK’s best seaside dining hotspots, including Whitstable, Southwold and Padstow.
Five rainbow-colored huts have been set up on the hotel’s terrace, the dishes like Shrimp on sourdough, baked scallops and grilled lobster. There are also seafood platters with served crab, lobster, king prawns, mussels and clams, as well as freshly peeled oysters. The hotel also relies on fish and chips and serves a classy touch grilled sea trout, sea bass and lobster, accompanied by french fries.
The wines are all British with cocktails and mocktails with names like The Diver, Mermaid Shell, Sailor Sour and Pink Pearl. The Beach Huts are open all summer at The Berkeley Hotel on Wilton Place.
Convolvulus by Gluck 1940, part of the Constance Spry exhibition at the Garden Museum in London.
Image courtesy of the garden museum
KONSTANZ GÄRTNER: London’s Garden Museum pays tribute to the famous flower decorator Constance Spry of the 20th century.
The Garden Museum on Lambeth Palace Road, across from Westminster Abbey, has exclusive access to Spry’s personal archives and displays 100 never-before-seen photographs, documents and personal items, including works by British painter Gluck, who was inspired by Spry’s wild and colorful arrangements let.
Known for her unconventional, high-low approach to floristry, Spry has had no problem mixing kale leaves, pussy willow, and hedges with more elegant and expensive blooms. During her career, Spry also opened a floristry school, home economics school, and published thirteen books.
Despite her fame as a flower artist, Spry always considered herself a gardener – the rest was secondary. “It was an unexpected combination of circumstances that led me to do something for a job that I once did just to relax, and as much as I love it, I don’t like it when the groove is too deep, ”she wrote in 1940.
Guest curator of the exhibition is floral designer Shane Connolly, who created the bouquet and wedding flowers for the Duchess of Cornwall when she married Prince Charles in 2005. Connolly was too has been named Artistic Director of the Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and is the official supplier to Queen Elizabeth.
