Spare a thought for the lonesome loft. Crammed with junk, coated in dust and crying out for attention, who’d want to be the loftiest room of the house? Not us. And really, can we even call it a room? We’ll add a lack of identity to our list, then.
But with a few caveats in place – your loft should be at least 2.2 metres tall at its highest point to make it convertible and accommodating to even the tallest person – you can turn this dejected, rejected space into somewhere everyone wants to spend time.
If you’re looking for a New Year’s project that will breathe new life, vigour and personality into your property, then it’s time to look upwards. No, not to the Big Man In The Sky, silly, but to your loft. Let’s make things practical and possible; for inspiration beyond storage, here are 8 loft conversion ideas for the new year.
A Secluded, Productivity-Positive Home Office
Five years since COVID changed the way we work, possibly forever, and the number one priority in so many homes across the country still remains the same; to eke out some extra room for a dedicated home office.
We’ve all felt the oppressive noise of, well, anything intruding on our Zoom conferences and client consultations, and to have somewhere domestically set apart from the hustle and bustle of the home would be ideal. The dream. Heaven.
Should your loft be of the requisite height, then converting it to a home office is a great idea. You’re going to need some natural light in there to make your office habitable and productive, and a skylight is the obvious choice here. Aside from that, a desk at the right height, your trusty laptop or desktop, and a WiFi booster or multiroom WiFi system (signal rarely reaches to the loft) are the essentials.
Yep, we appreciate the irony of suggesting this after we’ve encouraged you to set up WiFi and a laptop in your loft, but we’re just throwing some ideas around and seeing what sticks, right? So, conversely, why not dedicate your loft space into a space for reflection, contemplation and escape from the tyranny of tech. You know it makes sense.
Embrace the lack of internet signal the higher you climb as a blessing, and instead convert the loft into a simple, cosy space where you can recharge, relax, read, take some time for yourself to meditate, and forget about the world outside and below. Install a comfy sofa or simpler still, some beanbags, as well as a couple of lamps and scented candles, and breathe. We think everyone deserves a bit of that kind of escapism.
A Hobby Haven
It’s the dream of so many, from midlife crisee to reclusive teen hobbyist, from esoteric interests enthusiast to semi-professional side-hustler… To have a whole room devoted to their hobby or passion, to really get stuck into it without interruption from the outside world.
So, if you have a loft ripe for renovation, consider allocating it to the hobbies of the house. This could be a music room, complete with piano, guitar and recording equipment, which can be conveniently, easily soundproofed using standard loft insulation. Or, an art studio dedicated to encouraging creativity, with an easel, paints and brushes in place. Imagine the pieces you could conceive in your own devoted space free from interruption.
Of course, the way you approach this room will differ depending on whether you’re planning a loft conversion in the city or in the countryside, and how you go about soundproofing is as much reliant on external factors as it is on the noise you’re making within.
Can’t decide on just one use for your loft? You’re not alone. Increasingly, homeowners are opting to keep things versatile, creating a multi-purpose flex space that can adapt to the household’s changing needs.
Think a home office that doubles as a guest room with a sofa bed, or a reading nook that moonlights as a yoga studio. The key is smart, adaptable furniture: fold-away desks, modular seating and clever storage that keeps the space uncluttered and ready to shift purpose at a moment’s notice.
According to NEO Lofts, the majority of loft conversions fall under permitted development rights, meaning you won’t need planning permission provided you stay within certain limits. That said, it’s always worth checking with your local authority before starting work, particularly if you live in a conservation area or a listed building.
A flex space also future-proofs your investment; as life evolves, so can the room. What starts as a nursery could become a teenager’s study den, then eventually a peaceful retreat for empty nesters. The loft, it turns out, might just be the most adaptable room in the house.
A Bathroom
A spacious, dedicated bathroom which focuses on the fun rather than the functional is so many homeowner’s idea of luxury, don’t you think? If you have a loft which you’re keen to convert, then perhaps it’s destiny that you turn yours into a bathroom.
We’d implore you not to hold back on the sense of luxury here, as it won’t be your home’s primary bathroom. Without wishing to be vulgar, the main bodily functions will naturally be occurring in the more easily accessible bathroom on a lower floor, which grants you the perfect excuse to make the loft bathroom a space of pampering and indulgence.
If you’re wondering how to channel this desire to make your loft based bathroom somewhere you really want to spend time, check out our tips on the IDEAL items to add luxury to your bathroom.
A Guestroom
With the emphasis on room, here. Since no guest wants to feel as if they’ve been shoehorned into the smallest space possible as an afterthought, it’s essential that you endeavour to maximise the space and make the most out of tricky corners if you’re going to convert your loft into a guestroom. That’s not to say it’s not possible in a compact area, although it is important to check first if there’s room for a bed.
Of course, it’s essential you evaluate the size of your loft to see if it can fully accommodate a double bed and a bit of furniture. There’s little point a guest room that estate agents would charitably describe as ‘cosy’, and that you’ll never use because of its small size.
To maximise space in the guestroom, so visitors don’t feel like they’re constantly under threat from banged heads or stubbed toes, consider a small mezzanine area, which could cover some of the storage demands of the new room.
Also make sure you opt for brighter shades – white for the walls is ideal – in the decor of your loft conversion, to give the illusion of space. On a similar theme, make sure natural light is taken full advantage of, fitting windows and skylights into the curvature of the roof.
Alternatively, to eke out more space and give guests the opportunity to, you know, actually stand up straight, consider a dormer loft conversion, a structural extension that projects vertically from the plane of a sloping roof, creating additional floor space and headroom within the loft space.
In an era where health and wellbeing are paramount, having a personal space to exercise can be a game-changer. Transforming your loft into a fitness studio or home gym offers a convenient and private area to focus on your health goals.
Ensure the floor is reinforced to support heavy equipment and consider installing mirrors to create a spacious gym-like atmosphere. Rubber flooring can absorb impact and reduce noise, while adequate ventilation will keep the area fresh. Whether it’s for yoga, weightlifting, or cardio workouts, a loft gym can be tailored to suit any fitness regime.
A Children’s Playroom & Learning Zone
For families with young children, a loft can become a magical playroom and educational space. By converting your loft into a child-friendly zone, you can provide a safe and stimulating environment for play and learning. Incorporate bright colours, interactive play mats, and educational toys to encourage creativity and development.
Built-in storage solutions can keep the space tidy, while a comfortable seating area allows for storytime or relaxation. Safety is paramount, of course, so ensure that windows are secure and furniture is anchored. This conversion not only gives children their own special place but also helps to keep the rest of the house clutter-free.
The Bottom Line
Though the storage solutions gifted by having a roomy loft are certainly welcome, if you’re keen to expand the spaciousness of your home and potentially add value without actually building outwards, converting your loft is a smart move.
It’s often said that the kitchen is the heart of the home, but when it’s cluttered, disorganised and dirty, that ticker is in some serious danger of cardiac arrest.
If you’re hoping to better organise your home kitchen, it’s from the professional cooking world that we could all learn a thing or two. There, the kitchen beats in a robust, reliable rhythm. Follow their lead, and you might even elevate your cooking to Michelin starred level in the process!
At the very least, you’ll dramatically reduce food waste and your weekly shop spend. With that in mind, here are 9 professional chef’s tips for a better organised kitchen at home.
Invest In Several Sizes Of Airtight Container
This first tip is also the most essentialand seemingly so simple when you spell it out. Yet, domestic kitchen fridges and cupboards are reliably, regrettably brimming with a ragtag bunch of mismatched containers and ill-fitting lids, none of which slot together tightly and few of which keep ingredients properly fresh as a result.
Do yourself – and your kitchen – a favour and invest in several sizes of plastic, airtight container with corresponding lids. One litre and two litre, as well as the traditional takeaway size, are industry standards.
Transfer All Ingredients Into Those Containers
Then, you can box up ingredients – raw, cooked, prepped, dry, spices, seasonings, grains, nuts, seeds…the lot – in such a way that everything slots into your fridge, freezer, cupboards and pantry tightly and with ease.
This helps you have a better organised kitchen at home for three key reasons. Firstly, you’re saving loads of space in your fridge, freezer and cupboard because boxes of the same size are designed to slot flat and flush on top of each other. Secondly, by having the correct airtight lids for each box, you’ll ensure your ingredients stay fresh for longer, saving you money and stopping you from wasting food.
Finally, such a system makes labelling your food items and ingredients easy, thus providing a visual inventory of everything you’ve got in the fridge and your kitchen cupboards whenever you care to look.
Speaking of labelling those containers, simply buy a roll of white tape, cutting a piece off neatly whenever you need to write a new label. On that label, you should detail the food item, the date you bought it and the ingredient’s expiry date. Then, when you peer into your fridge looking for dinner inspiration, you’ll know exactly what’s fresh, what’s abundant and what needs using up.
Ideally, you’ll stick a magnetic whiteboard on your fridge, enabling you to detail a weekly menu using up what’s inside. Making use of a weekly meal plan can keep you organised, and ensure your kitchen cupboards are always well stocked and that you’re minimising food waste, too.
A First In, Last Out (FIFO) system is a simple way to remember that food you bought first also needs to be consumed first. Your diligent labelling, listing and meal planning will help you stick to this principle.
Consolidate Regularly
Should levels of a particular ingredient be depleting in their box, transfer everything into a new sized tub that corresponds to the amount you have left. Then, you can instantly recognise what ingredients are running low and what you still have in abundance, as well as save as much storage space as possible. Speaking of which…
Turn Dead Space Into Storage Space
Professional kitchens are storage obsessed. Each night ends in a whirlwind of consolidating, reboxing and relabelling, throwing out what’s off and finding room for what’s good. This is all in the name of real estate.
If you’re a keen home cook, then you’ll also know that space is king; the more marmalades, chutneys, breads, cakes, sauces and stocks you endeavour to be homemade, the more space you’ll need to store them in.
Fortunately, the kitchen tends to have a lot of dead space ripe for exploiting. Install corner carousels and pull out racks, fix some hooks and hang utensils against the back wall, and invest in stackable pots and pans to maximise space.
Particularly neat are spice racks that you can mount on the inside of your kitchen cupboard doors, creating a whole new shelving set-up where there was only wasted space before.
Make Sure Your Most Used Items Are Easy To Reach
Though clutter is the enemy of good kitchen flow, there is sometimes a danger of things going the opposite way, and having a kitchen that is too tidy.
Yep, you heard us right. When everything is stored away in cupboards, it can be a pain to rummage through them, especially to find everyday items. Professional kitchens, on the other hand, rely on economy of movement – everything necessary should be easy to see and close to hand.
So, keep items that you use daily – such as salt, pepper, olive oil, a frying pan, a saucepan – out at all times, either on some open plan shelving (in the case of your seasonings) or hanging on a hook close to your stovetop (for pans). Easy!
Keep Yourself As Clean As Your Kitchen
Organisation isn’t just about your cupboards and countertops; it extends to you, the cook, too. After all, there’s little point in maintaining a sparkling clean kitchen if you’re traipsing flour, oil splatters and raw meat juices around the place on your clothes.
Professional chefs understand that personal cleanliness is fundamental to kitchen hygiene. That’s why they change into fresh whites at the start of every shift. At home, you can adopt a similar principle by investing in quality kitchen aprons fitted for female and male chefs; a properly fitting apron that sits comfortably on your frame is one you’ll actually bother to put on.
Keep your apron hanging on a hook near the kitchen entrance, making it the first thing you reach for before you start cooking. Wash it regularly (at least weekly if you’re cooking daily), and consider having a couple in rotation. It’s a small habit that keeps mess contained, protects your clothes, and stops you from unconsciously wiping your hands on your jeans mid-prep. Your washing machine will thank you, too.
Have A Waste & Recycling System
One important feature of an organised kitchen is a good recycling system. We don’t have to tell you twice that we are in the middle of a climate crisis. Indeed, we’re in the middle of a climate crisis, yet Good Housekeeping reports that “recycling figures from last year showed that only 45% of waste made it into our recycling bins”.
Recycling your household and kitchen waste (the stuff that you can’t find an edible use for) is one of the easiest things you can do to help the environment, preventing it from ending up in the ocean and landfill. A good recycling system is one that allows you to dispose of your waste and recycling with ease.
There are plenty of attractive, efficient kitchen recycling bins that won’t look rubbish (pun intended) in your kitchen. Some firm favourites include the Colter Double Recycling Pedal Bin from Made, and John Lewis’ 3 Section Recycling Pedal Bin.
Or, you can opt for a built-in, mounted, swing-out or pull-out bin, hidden away from sight in a kitchen drawer or kitchen cabinet.
Make Clever Use Of Leftovers & Waste
You should also endeavour to make use of any leftover ingredients and potential food waste, turning it into something delicious for your next meal. What could be better organised than that?
Here are some stats to hammer home the crushing monotony of life; a third of Brits wash their clothes three to four times a week and, in their lifetime, will do approximately 13,000 loads of laundry. That’s a lot of washing.
When it comes to laundry, we often operate on autopilot, following the same routine we’ve always done. However, despite our best intentions, we might be unwittingly mistreating both our garments and our washing machines in several ways. For something we’re doing so often, we should really know how to do it right.
We’re here to help with that. Here’s a look at some of the most prevalent laundry faux pas you might be making…
Overloading The Washing Machine
From trying to tackle your never-ending pile of washing to saving money on energy bills, it can be tempting to stuff the washing machine to reduce the number of loads. But did you know that overloading can prevent clothes from being properly, thoroughly cleaned and rinsed? Yep, it makes sense once you think about it – all that dirty water just doesn’t have room to escape if you overload your washing machine.
Exceeding the capacity of your washing machine (and no, capacity isn’t simply how many clothes you can stuff into the drum – it’s the weight it can take) also puts extra strain on the machine as your washing machine won’t be able to spin properly with such a heavy load, which can lead to breakdowns.
Oh, and because it hasn’t spun to its full potential, your clothes will likely be sopping wet at the end of the cycle, which means a) you’ll probably spin it again, and b) your clothes will be wetter coming out, leading to them smelling of mildew, which brings us to our next point…
Overburdening Your Clothes Horse
Picture this: You’re on the bus and smell something a little rancid, that’s not unlike the smell of urine. Have you just sat in a fox pee you wonder? They are known for riding buses after all. You sniff again to try and figure out where the smell is and realise it’s you – the bad smell is coming from the jumper you just put on, fresh out of the wash.
Because we live in the UK, most of us have to dry our clothes indoors. But if your clothes smell bad after they’ve been washed, hung and dried, you’re doing something wrong.
We’re all guilty of overloading our clothes horse with wet laundry. Really, it’s something we should stop doing. Good air circulation is essential for effective drying; without it, clothes can take much longer to dry and will likely develop a musty, unpleasant odour. To prevent this, hang items separately and ensure there’s enough space between them for air to flow freely. If you’re short on space, it’s better to dry clothes in batches rather than risk the dreaded smell.
Over Reliance On The Dryer
The convenience of using a tumble dryer is undeniable. However, frequent use can be harsh on your clothes, leading to fading and the breakdown of fabric. Moreover, drying clothes at too high a temperature can cause shrinkage and fabric damage.
When it’s sunny, embrace the British virtue of making the most of the good weather by drying your clothes outside. Though winter is only just creeping in, now is the still ideal time to invest in a rotary washing line, clothes airer or a regular, old washing line. Not using the tumble dryer so often will extend the life of your clothes, it’s also more energy-efficient and kinder to the environment.
Doing Laundry Too Often
Washing clothes after every wear is not always necessary and can contribute to premature ageing – that is apart from underwear and socks – if you’re not washing those after every wear, you should have a word with yourself.
Of course, the frequency with which you should put on a wash can vary greatly depending on the type of clothing, the material it’s made from, how much you sweat, and the activities you do while wearing them. Some clothes experts suggest washing your denim only once a month, for instance.
As a rule of thumb, unless the item is visibly dirty or smells, it’s often possible to wear it multiple times before it needs a wash. This approach is not only better for your clothes and wallet but also reduces water and energy consumption.
Incorrect Temperature Selection
Using the right temperature is crucial for effective washing without damaging fabrics. Hot water can set stains and shrink certain materials, while cold water might not always do the trick for heavy soiling. Always check the care label and err on the side of caution with a cooler wash; modern detergents are formulated to work well at lower temperatures.
Misjudging Detergent Quantity
More detergent does not equate to cleaner clothes. In fact, using too much can leave residue on your garments and in your machine, which can attract dirt and cause wear. Measure detergent according to the instructions and consider the hardness of your water supply when determining the right amount.
Overlooking Washing Machine Maintenance
Repeat after us; ‘a clean machine means clean clothes’. Just like any other appliance, your washing machine requires regular maintenance. This includes cleaning the detergent drawer, door seals, and running a service wash (a hot wash without any clothes) to clear out any built-up residue. Neglecting this can lead to unpleasant odours and reduced efficiency.
And if your machine is making unusual noises, not draining properly, or leaving clothes smelling musty even after a service wash, it might be time to call in a professional. Laundry equipment specialists like PDS Solutions can diagnose issues that aren’t obvious to the untrained eye – sometimes a repair is more cost-effective than replacing the whole unit.
Excessive Fabric Softener Use
Fabric softener can make your clothes feel softer and smell nicer, but it’s not suitable for all types of fabric. For example, using fabric softener on sportswear and other moisture-wicking fabrics is a no-no as it can diminish their ability to manage moisture during physical activities. It shouldn’t be used on silk either. The material of silk is delicate and fabric softeners can leave a residue that may dull the silk’s sheen and diminish its natural softness.
With all fabrics, too much build up of softener over time can reduce the fabric’s absorbency and breathability. Why is this bad? Well, absorbency keeps us comfortable – if you’re wearing a cotton dress in the height of summer, the cotton should be able to absorb your sweat and bring it to the surface, which in turn means the fabric can dry out. However, if the cotton has a buildup of fabric softener on it, this process can’t happen.
Also, because layers of fabric conditioner can build up over time on clothes, it means that smells get trapped in the fabric. And this means bad smelling clothes. Use the stuff sparingly and consider skipping it altogether for some items.
Failing To Separate Clothes
Remember that episode of Friends – The One With The East German Laundry Detergent – when Rachel gets bummed out when she discovers that a red sock got caught up in her white laundry and has turned everything pink? Well, that episode taught us all to be super careful when separating our laundry. If you don’t separate your clothes properly, then you need to watch this episode.
Mixing colours, fabrics, and levels of soiling can lead to dye transfer, damage to delicate items, and inadequate cleaning. Always sort your laundry to maintain the integrity and appearance of your clothes.
Not Utilising Dry Cleaning Services
Certain items, particularly those made from delicate fabrics or featuring intricate details, require professional care. Attempting to wash these at home can lead to disaster. Recognise when it’s worth investing in dry cleaning to preserve the life of special garments.
Improper Stain Treatment
Stains should be treated as soon as possible for the best chance of removal. However, different stains require different treatments, and using the wrong method can set the stain permanently. Always research the best approach for the type of stain and fabric before proceeding.
Leaving items in pockets can cause havoc in the wash, from ink stains to damaged garments and even the machine itself. Always check pockets before washing.
Ignoring Care Labels
Those little labels inside your clothes are there for a reason. They provide essential information on how to care for the garment. Ignoring them can lead to shrinkage, colour bleeding, or fabric damage.
Each cycle on your washing machine is designed for different types of laundry. Using an intensive wash for all your clothes can cause unnecessary wear, while a delicate cycle might not clean heavily soiled items effectively. Match the cycle to the load for optimal results.
The Bottom Line
Laundry may seem straightforward, but these common missteps can compromise the cleanliness and longevity of your clothes. By adjusting your laundry habits, you can ensure that your garments remain in pristine condition for as long as possible. And sometimes, amongst the crippling mundanity of life, that’s all you can wish for.
There’s a particular kind of smugness that comes with watching the airport chaos unfold from the comfort of your gate, boarding pass in hand, coffee going cold because you’ve had time to buy one. Frequent flyers move differently. They don’t run. They don’t panic. They’ve simply figured out what the rest of us are still learning the hard way.
You know the type. They’re the ones gliding past the check-in queue with nothing but a carry-on and a vague air of superiority. They’re already through security while you’re still fumbling with your belt and apologising to the person behind you. They seem to know something you don’t, and frankly, it’s irritating.
The good news? Their secrets aren’t actually secrets. They’re habits, hacks and a healthy dose of paying attention. Here’s how to borrow from the frequent-flyer playbook and glide through the airport smoothly and speedily.
Book The First Flight Of The Day
It’s not glamorous, but the 6am departure is the frequent flyer’s best friend. Aircraft are already at the gate from the night before, meaning fewer delays caused by knock-on disruption. Security is quieter, staff are fresher and the chances of your flight leaving on time are statistically higher. Yes, the alarm hurts. But so does spending four hours in a terminal because your 2pm flight got pushed to 6pm.
Choose The Security Lane Nobody Else Does
When faced with multiple security lanes, go against the country’s traffic flow. Research published in Human Factors found that people instinctively drift in the direction they’re used to driving: Americans veer right, while British travellers tend toward the left. At UK airports, that means the rightmost lane is often quieter. Flying from the US or continental Europe? Head left. It’s a small edge, but frequent flyers collect small edges.
Learn To Read The Airport
Modern airports have become remarkably good at communicating with passengers, if you’re actually paying attention. Airport digital signage solutions now display real-time updates on security wait times, gate changes and boarding status across terminals. Frequent flyers keep half an eye on these screens rather than relying solely on their phones, which can lag behind live updates. That 30-second head start on a gate change can be the difference between a stroll and a sprint.
Get Fast Track Without Flying Business
You don’t need a premium ticket to skip the security queue. Many UK airports sell fast track security passes for around £5 to £7 if you book in advance online, often for a fraction of what you’d pay at the airport. Some travel credit cards include fast track as a perk, and certain airline loyalty programmes offer it at lower tiers than you might expect. The time saved, particularly during peak hours, makes this one of the best value purchases in travel.
Know Exactly Where Your Gate Is Before You Clear Security
Every terminal has gates that are a two-minute walk and gates that require a small expedition. At Heathrow, for instance, the difference between an A gate and a C gate can be 20 minutes on foot at Terminal 5. Check your airline’s app or the airport website for gate information as soon as it’s assigned, and look up the terminal map before you land if you’re connecting. Frequent flyers never assume proximity.
Use Social Media When Things Go Wrong
When flights get cancelled, the customer service desk becomes a scrum. Phone lines clog. The airline app crashes. But here’s what frequent flyers know: a polite, direct message to the airline’s X or Facebook account often gets a faster response than any of those options. Social media teams tend to be well-staffed, responsive and empowered to rebook. Have your booking reference ready and be specific about what you need.
Pay For Lounge Access (Even In Economy)
You don’t need status or a business class ticket to use an airport lounge. Priority Pass memberships pop up on deal sites regularly, and sites like Lounge Pass and No1 Lounges sell day passes directly for most major UK airports, typically for £25 to £35.
Here’s the thing: once you’re in, food and drinks are usually free, including beer, wine and spirits in most lounges. When a soggy Pret sandwich and a pint at the terminal bar would set you back £20 anyway, the maths starts to make sense. You also get comfortable seating, wifi that actually works and, during delays, staff who can help rebook you without the scrum at the gate.
Learn The Flat Tyre Rule
Most major airlines operate an unofficial policy known as the flat tyre rule: if you arrive at the airport early for your flight, they’ll often put you on an earlier departure at no extra charge, space permitting. It’s not guaranteed and it’s rarely advertised, but a polite request at the check-in desk or gate can sometimes get you home hours ahead of schedule. Frequent flyers always check for earlier options, particularly on busy domestic routes.
Sit Near The Back On Short Flights
Conventional wisdom says to sit near the front for a faster exit (and that the back isn’t the place to be, but that’s a discussion for another time), but on smaller aircraft with rear stairs or buses to the terminal, the back rows often deplane first. On certain budget carriers this is standard practice. Check your aircraft type and deplaning method before automatically selecting row 2.
Build In A Buffer (But Not Too Much)
The anxious traveller arrives three hours early and spends two of them bored. The overconfident traveller arrives one hour early and spends it sweating through security. Frequent flyers know their airports and adjust accordingly. For domestic flights from familiar airports, 90 minutes is often plenty. For international departures or airports you don’t know well, two hours gives you breathing room without wasting your morning.
The Bottom Line
The frequent flyer’s airport advantage isn’t about status or lounge access. It’s about preparation, attention and knowing that small efficiencies compound into a genuinely less stressful experience. None of this requires elite membership or insider connections. It just requires treating the airport like a system to be understood rather than an obstacle to be endured.
Scotland’s central belt is having something of a moment. Halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, in a part of Scotland more associated with heavy industry than heritage tourism, something unexpected has happened; Falkirk has reinvented itself.
The canals that once carried coal and iron now host the world’s only rotating boat lift. A field beside the M9 is home to two 30-metre steel horse heads that have become one of the country’s most photographed landmarks. And a whisky distillery that lay silent for three decades has risen from near-demolition to win the top prize at San Francisco’s World Spirits Competition.
It’s a strange and compelling combination, and it makes for a very good day out. Here’s how to spend a perfect 24 hours in Falkirk.
Morning: The Kelpies & Helix Park
The Kelpies appear on the horizon before you reach them, their steel heads catching the light above the flat farmland east of Falkirk. Up close, they’re even more arresting. Sculptor Andy Scott’s 30-metre horse heads, named after the shape-shifting water spirits of Scottish folklore, weigh 300 tonnes each and took four years to build.
They’re free to visit at any time, but a guided tour gets you inside one of the structures, standing in the steel ribcage while your guide explains how 928 individual cladding panels were shaped and fitted. Tours run throughout the day from The Helix Visitor Centre, starting at 10:30am and lasting around 25 minutes. Tickets start at £7, and two children go free with every paying adult.
The surrounding Helix Park stretches across 350 hectares, with a lagoon, adventure playground, and 27km of paths threading through woodland and wetland. If you arrive early, it’s worth a wander before your tour slot. The Visitor Centre opens at 9am, has decent coffee, and parking is free.
Ten minutes west by car, on the outskirts of Camelon, sits The Falkirk Wheel. When Scottish Canals needed to reconnect the Forth & Clyde Canal to the Union Canal 35 metres above, they could have built locks. Instead, they commissioned a rotating boat lift that looks like a vast steel claw rising from the water. It opened in 2002 and remains the only structure of its kind in the world.
The boat trip takes about an hour. You board at the basin, rise in the gondola (using, famously, no more energy than it takes to boil eight kettles), cruise along the aqueduct at the top, pass through the Roughcastle tunnel, then descend again. It’s genuinely thrilling in a quiet, canal-boat sort of way, and the engineering is mesmerising to watch. Adults pay £17.50, children aged 5-15 are £9.50, and under-5s go free. Book ahead in summer. If you’d rather stay on dry land, the Visitor Centre is free and offers a good vantage point. Parking is £4. Note that boat trips pause for annual maintenance from 6 January to 17 February 2026.
By now you’ll have earned lunch, and Finnegans on Vicar Street is the place to get it. The café occupies a handsome Grade B listed former post office in Falkirk town centre, all high ceilings and original features. It opened in 2018 and won Central Region Café of the Year within eight months.
The kitchen sources eggs from Egglicious Farm, meat from Browns Butchers, and bread from Oliphants Bakers, all local. The scrambled eggs have a following, and the steak pie could fuel you through a Highland winter. It closes mid-afternoon, so don’t dawdle at the Wheel.
Or, if you’d rather take a pit stop at your hotel (or, more bleakly, in your car) before a busy afternoon, you’ll find perhaps the widest range of Falkirk takeaways on Scoffable, offering local delivery options for many of the town’s best spots.
Afternoon: Rosebank Distillery
Walk off lunch along the Forth & Clyde Canal towpath and within 20 minutes you’ll reach Rosebank Distillery, its Victorian red brick façade facing the water. This is one of whisky’s great resurrection stories. Rosebank was known as the ‘King of the Lowlands’ for its light, floral triple-distilled spirit, but it fell silent in 1993 when its owners decided there were too many distilleries in Scotland. The buildings were sold, the stills were stolen for scrap copper, and the site was earmarked for flats. Then, in 2017, Ian Macleod Distillers stepped in.
The restoration took four years. Original features were preserved where possible, the chimney was repaired, and new stills were built to the exact specifications of the 1840s originals. The distillery reopened to visitors in June 2024, and just last month its 31 Year Old expression had won Best in Show at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
The Reawakening Tour (£25, 90 minutes) takes you through the stillhouse and finishes with tastings of Glengoyne and Tamdhu single malts plus Rosebank’s new make spirit. Drivers can request a takeaway pack. For those who want to taste the old stock, the Rekindled tour (£95) includes a dram of rare aged Rosebank, while the three-hour Revered experience (£300) is for serious collectors. Parking is free.
Late Afternoon: Callendar House & Park
Wind down at Callendar House, a 14th-century mansion set in 170 acres of parkland on the eastern edge of town. Entry is free. The house has hosted Mary Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell, and Bonnie Prince Charlie at various points in its long history, and today contains a working Georgian kitchen where costumed interpreters demonstrate 19th-century cooking techniques, plus an exhibition on the Antonine Wall, a section of which runs through the grounds. The wall, built by the Romans in 142 AD, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The tearoom does a good afternoon tea in the Drawing Room if you’ve room for it, or you can simply walk the grounds: woodland trails, an arboretum, a small loch, and a Roman-themed play area for children. The house is open Wednesday to Monday, 10am-5pm, and closed Tuesdays.
For dinner, Behind The Wall on Melville Street has been part of Falkirk’s social fabric since 1985 and celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025. It’s a sprawling place, three bars and a restaurant spread across multiple rooms, with a beer garden out back and live music most weekends. The menu leans American, the whisky selection is deep, and it’s directly opposite Falkirk Grahamston station if you’re travelling by train.
For something more refined, the Scottish Steakhouse at Macdonald Inchyra Hotel holds an AA rosette and serves Scottish beef aged for at least 21 days. The hotel also has a spa with a 20-metre pool, which might appeal after all that walking.
If You Have More Time: The Dunmore Pineapple
Should you have a car and a taste for the eccentric, the Dunmore Pineapple is worth the detour. Built in 1761 for the Earl of Dunmore, this 14-metre stone pineapple crowns a summerhouse in the walled gardens of what was once Dunmore Park. It was voted Scotland’s most bizarre building in 1995, and nothing has come close since. The grounds are free to visit, open dawn to dusk, though there are no facilities. The Pineapple itself can be rented as holiday accommodation through the Landmark Trust, should you wish to sleep inside a giant piece of fruit.
Where To Stay
Macdonald Inchyra Hotel & Spa is a four-star property set in 44 acres near Polmont, with 102 rooms, an indoor pool, spa, and the Scottish Steakhouse restaurant. Rooms from around £70 per night.
The Orchard Hotel offers something smaller and more personal in the town centre. Family-owned, the building dates to 1786 and has 16 rooms, a bar, and bistro. It won Most Loved Falkirk Town Centre Business in 2025 and is a five-minute walk from Grahamston station.
Getting There
Edinburgh is around an hour by car via the M9; Glasgow is 40 minutes via the M80. By train, both Falkirk High and Falkirk Grahamston have regular services from Edinburgh and Glasgow, taking around half an hour. The Falkirk Wheel is a couple of miles from either station, so you’ll need a taxi for that leg. Cyclists can follow the Forth & Clyde Canal towpath, which runs right past Rosebank Distillery and connects to the Falkirk Wheel, making it a satisfying stop on a longer two-wheeled tour of Scotland’s cycling routes.
The Bottom Line
Falkirk isn’t an obvious destination, and that’s part of its appeal. The Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel would justify a visit on their own, but add Rosebank’s remarkable comeback, the layered history of Callendar House, and a 250-year-old stone pineapple, and you have something genuinely unusual. It works as a day trip from Edinburgh or Glasgow, though an overnight stay lets you take things at a more civilised pace.
First impressions count. Whilst we’d love to play the long game and get to know a property intimately before making any judgements, let’s be honest here, when it comes to your home, snap decisions are made on first appraisal.
One of the most prominent yet overlooked areas of your home is the driveway. A well-laid driveway design can add value to your home and attract potential buyers and the roving eye of passersby, equally. So, create an exterior you can be proud of, and improve the aesthetic charm of your home with these tips on how to jazz up your driveway, IDEAL for maximising your home’s kerb appeal.
Living In A Material World
A driveway showing signs of wear and tear, perhaps lined with cracks and faded from UV, will detract from that wow factor you’re seeking when one arrives at your home. Don’t fret; replace it – doing so will jazz up your driveway no end.
There are many different types of driveways; block paving, pattern imprinted concrete, tarmac driveways, bound and bonded resin gravel, concrete and asphalt…the list goes on and get’s no more thrilling to hear.
If you want a truly unique driveway then consider ‘crazy paving’. As the name suggests, this haphazard approach to paving, which is achieved using stones or broken concrete slabs, can add an idiosyncratic finish to your driveway. It’s becoming increasingly popular as an environmentally friendly option as it can be made using reclaimed and recycled materials.
Certain materials can also help the security of any parked cars and your home as whole gravel, for instance, crunches underfoot and alerts residents to people approaching. It’s also one of the more affordable and ecologically friendly options. Just sayin’.
Alternatively, we’re big fans of resin for driveways. It is remarkably durable, withstanding all types of weather conditions, from the harsh British winters to the sunny summer days, ensuring a long lifespan with minimal maintenance. The permeability of a resin driveway also makes it an environmentally friendly option, permitting rainwater to seep through and accordingly reducing the risk of flash flooding. Moreover, its smooth, anti-slip surface makes it safe for children and the elderly, reducing the risk of slips and falls.
Bear in mind that you don’t have to stick to just one type of material for your driveway. Mixing and matching materials that complement each other can add intrigue and interest.
It’s All About The Entrance
Your house doesn’t have to be a huge country estate or a flashy Hollywood home to have a grand entrance. The entrance doesn’t necessarily have to be all that elaborate, either. But it should be inviting and offer guests an intriguing insight into your home. Moreover, it should also be in keeping your home’s setting, be it urban or rural.
A concept we like to call ‘driveway landscaping’, we think it’s apt to channel this attitude to yours. A simple entrance demands some well-maintained hedges or matching trees either side. For some understated elegance or something altogether grander, custom wrought iron gates can add a decorative touch while making your home more secure.
Brick or stone columns can accentuate the entrance of your driveway. There’s a huge variety of different columns to choose from out there from stacked to stone and beyond. When choosing your columns, you want to draw a connection between them and the rest of your property.
A beautiful archway entrance made from wood can make a huge first impression, too. Handcrafted timber garage doors bring warmth and natural texture to entrances, while a trellis over your driveway, perhaps with some beautiful roses or wisteria, can add the wow factor, too.
Complement Your Home
The driveway sets the tone and character of your house. Therefore, you want to make sure it matches the overall aesthetic of the exterior of your home.
Paving stones in dark shades will complement and echo a contemporary home. Slim, streamlined shape paving stones also offer a modern look. For a period property, use cobblestones in your driveway designed to mimic the elegant look of your home. However, if the facade of your home has lots of detail, then a plain driveway option will offer balance and a sense of subtle sophistication.
If you’re after a more natural look, stone driveways are hard to beat and come in a whole range of patterns. You can also inject personality into the paving of your driveway by adding different shapes to the pattern, perhaps a drivesett circle here or there.
Light It Up
Define and enhance your driveway with a few carefully placed lights. While you don’t have to go for the full runway effect, the addition of a lighted border can also add to the security of your home, scaring off potential cat burglars (and regular burglars) from walking up the drive and opportunistically surveying who’s home.
Choose something subtle that won’t disturb the neighbours, unless you want a lawsuit on your hands. Motion-sensors are an energy efficient option which is also less intrusive to surrounding houses, and solar takes those green credentials up several more notches.
Electrical lighting can provide greater illumination and has more options in different styles. You could even consider a street lamp style for larger driveways, which looks just lovely in the right setting.
Driveway lights can also be used to highlight flora and foliage, which brings us to our next point…
It’s The Frame, Not The Picture
Landscaping your driveway with kerbs or plants can really make your driveway ping. Decorative kerbs are ideal for edging your driveway and can add that finishing touch adeptly. Kerbing and path edgings come in multiple styles, finishes and colours – chose one to match or contrast the overall aesthetic of your driveway.
Adding a border of plants or grass to your driveway will frame it succinctly. Foliage and flowers can also work well at lifting the facade of your house tenfold and will also soften any boundaries between your driveway and home. Moreover, it’s better for the environment; purely hard driveway surfaces can contribute to floods whereas rainfall on grass or plants will soak it up.
The key here is to add plants that don’t need much maintenance. Choose a combination of plants that flower in every season and ensure that the plants won’t grow too tall, blocking natural light from entering your windows. Consider a flower that smells wonderful, like lavender, jasmine or honeysuckle for a really welcoming, refreshing burst of aroma when you come home. How lovely that sounds.
The Bottom Line
Don’t think of your driveway as just a place to park your car. Instead, reconceptualise it as the red carpet to your home, your personal gateway to safety and sanctity. Heaven!
‘New year, new you’. But for a different perspective in 2026, how about ‘new year, new do’? It has a certain ring to it, don’t you think?
Though the old maxim posits that ‘blondes have more fun’, we reckon that girls who embrace fun hairstyles might just have the most laughs out of everyone. And after the few years of turbulence we’ve all had, starting the new year with a fresh, fun look might be the best tonic of all (except the vaccine, of course).
With that in mind, from bubble braids to high ponytails, here are 9 super fun hairstyles to try in the new year.
A Fun Colour
Like the rise in sales of inflatable mermaids and unicorn-themed products, there’s a reason people have been dying their locks every shade under the sun in recent years – ESCAPISM.
Who doesn’t need a little escapism, even at the best of times? And we’re sure you don’t need reminding that the last few years haven’t exactly been the best of times.
Dyeing your tresses a blend of blue and green like a mermaid, or in rainbow-like pastels like a unicorn, adds a touch of the fantastic to the everyday, letting us escape from the more serious side of life.
Celebrities like Katy Perry have been flaunting their rainbow-hued do’s for years now. Us mere mortals, though, are only now starting to experiment with different colours, partly because we’ve realised it’s still totally possible to get a job when you have indigo hair, especially if you work in a creative industry. Or, since we’re all working at home now anyway, looking ‘normal’ has become a little redundant.
Bubble Braid
The bubble braid – it’s simply a ponytail that’s tied with hair braids continuously down the length of the ponytail, with an inch or so between them.
While it’s been around for a while, the bubble braid is having a resurgence, popping up all over social media, largely thanks to the popstar Griff who rocks this style with confidence. Her bubble braid is super voluminous and so fun, too.
If you want your braids to look like Griff’s, unless you are lucky enough to be blessed with super long, thick hair (which most of us are not) you will need the help of a black clip in ponytail extension. To help recreate Griff’s voluminous bubble braid ponytail, it’s recommended that you use a long and thick set like their 26” Ultra-Volume Full Head.
However, you can wear a more low key, bulky bubble braid with your own hair – basically, if you can tie your hair in a ponytail, you can do a bubble braid.
High Ponytail
If you’ve ever worn your hair in a high ponytail and swung it around, then you’ll know that this hairstyle is just so fun to rock. The higher the pony the better. Ariana Grande, Bella Hadid and Kim Kardashian are all fans of a very high slick ponytail and who can blame them? We love this long, voluminous look which looks oh so glamorous.
Key to recreating this look is to blowdry your hair in the direction you want the base of the ponytail to be. Then, tie the top section of your hair and smooth back. Once you’ve done this, add the rest of your hair. You can use hairspray and a toothbrush to make it extra sleek, if that’s what you’re after.
If you have short hair and want to carry a longer ponytail, you’ll be pleased to know that you don’t have to wait for your hair to grow to get this look – simply get some clip-in ponytail extensions which can replicate the length required. Ponytail hair extensions are designed specifically for adding length and fullness to a ponytail style so you can achieve a head-turning and waist-grazing, voluminous long ponytail with ease.
We’re also huge fans of high pigtails, which are essentially just two high ponytails.
By valentinrussanov via Canva
Space Or Double Buns
Want to know one girl group who always looked like they were having fun with their hair? The Spice Girls, of course! Scary Spice was known for her space buns whilst Baby Spice was loved for her cute double-bun hair style, and we miss them dearly.
We particularly love the former style, but if you’re not familiar with it, space buns are basically two buns on the top of your head. You can style your space buns messily, as ballerina buns or even as braided buns. The choice is yours, and we can’t get enough of this fun, carefree hairstyle!
The Sleek Bob
The sleek bob is a timeless hairstyle that has been embraced by fashion icons and celebrities alike. It’s a versatile look that can be tailored to suit any face shape and hair texture. In contrast to autumn’s key hair trend, the butterfly bob, the key to a sleek bob is a smooth, straight cut that falls anywhere between the chin and the shoulders.
This style exudes sophistication and can be worn with a deep side part or a straight middle part to add an extra edge of chic. For those with naturally curly or wavy hair, a flat iron can help achieve the sleekness required for this look. It’s a low-maintenance do that makes a bold statement and can be dressed up or down for any occasion.
The Textured Pixie Cut
For those looking to make a daring change, the textured pixie cut is a fantastic option. This hairstyle is not only a symbol of confidence but also incredibly stylish and modern. The textured layers add volume and dimension, making it a perfect choice for those with fine hair looking to add some oomph.
Styling products like pomades or texturising sprays can help to define the layers and add movement to the hair. Celebrities like Halle Berry and Charlize Theron have famously rocked this look, proving that a pixie cut can be both feminine and fierce. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to manage, saving you time in your daily routine.
The Braided Crown
The braided crown is a romantic and bohemian hairstyle that’s perfect for those who want to add a touch of elegance to their look. This style involves creating two braids on either side of the head and then wrapping them around the top to form a ‘crown.’ It’s a great way to keep hair out of your face while still looking put-together and stylish.
This hairstyle can be adapted for both casual and formal events and is particularly enchanting when adorned with small flowers or decorative hairpins for a whimsical touch – perhaps a wonderful ‘do to wear at Christmas, don’t you think?
The braided crown works particularly well with medium to long hair and can be a great way to showcase highlights or balayage colour variations.
The Mermaid Wave
What could be more fun than pretending that you’re a mermaid? Honestly, is there anyone who didn’t grow up wanting to be one? Well, luckily, we can now achieve our childhood dreams with our hair.
Mermaid waves are long, sculpted variations of beach waves and we just love them. The best way to achieve the tousled mermaid wave is with a wave wand which, as Glam explain, are “basically triple-barreled curling irons, featuring three equally sized, elongated barrels that mold your strands into that desired S-wave shape”.
The ‘PRO Waver’ from Mermade Hair is one of the most popular wavers and the worlds fasted selling one too. However, if you’re after something a little cheaper, the ELLESYE Hair Curling Wand should be on your radar. We’re also fans of Toni & Guy’s Style Fix Waver which is small enough to fit in your hand bag and ideal for dreamy beach waves on the go.
Again, if your hair is too short to replicate this long wavy look, try hair extensions. If you’re after the ultimate mermaid style and want to feel like a goddess from the sea, consider hair extensions with pink or blue ombre ends.
Crimping
This zig-zag hairstyle was all the rage back in the 80s and 90s and it’s had something of a revival in recent years, to say the least. Indeed, for the last couple of years, we’ve seen celebs Kylie Jenner, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, and Anna Kendrick all sporting this kinky style.
Celebrity Stylist Adam Reed told Marie Claire that crimping is “one of those trends that everyone is scared of but it never goes away”, moreover, ‘’crimping is a session stylist’s secret to creating incredible volume and big hair.” So, if you still have those crimping irons, it’s time up unpack them and get crimping.
The great thing about this style is that it can be done to any length of hair. The best way to achieve this look is with a crimping iron. If wearing your hair completely crimped is a step too far, try a crimped ponytail instead, which doesn’t even require a crimper, just straighteners.
Come summer every year, the same WhatsApp panic ripples through parent groups across the country: what on earth are we going to do with the kids for six weeks? The maths simply does not add up. Most full-time workers get 25 days of annual leave, yet school holidays in their entirety stretch across 13 weeks. Factor in childcare costs that can run anywhere from £40 to £60 per day, and you are looking at upwards of £1,500 just to cover a single summer, assuming you can even find availability. The result is a patchwork of favours, grandparent rotas and hastily arranged playdates that leaves everyone exhausted before August even begins.
Some employers are finally catching on. Amazon recently introduced term-time contracts that allow parents to take around ten weeks off each year, a blend of paid and unpaid leave that keeps full-time status intact while acknowledging that working hours were never designed with school calendars in mind. Until more companies follow suit, however, the rest of us are left to get creative.
This guide is here to help. From free government-funded provision to residential adventures abroad, we have rounded up the summer childcare options that actually work, whether you need a single afternoon covered or six solid weeks of activities.
Free Holiday Clubs: The HAF Programme
Before paying for anything, it’s worth checking whether your family qualifies for free government-funded provision. The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families. Since 2022, the programme has provided over 15 million HAF days to children and young people across England.
The programme is primarily for school-aged children from reception to year 11 who receive benefits-related free school meals. Children can access a minimum of four days of activities over the Easter and Christmas holidays, and 16 days over the summer holidays, with sessions lasting at least four hours each day. Local authorities can also use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised places for children who aren’t on free school meals but who could benefit from the programme, so it’s worth enquiring even if you’re not sure you qualify.
To access the programme, you’ll typically need a HAF voucher from your child’s school. Each local authority runs its own programme with different providers, so check your council’s website for details of what’s available in your area and how to book. Places can fill up quickly, so don’t leave it until the last minute.
Residential Summer Camps In The UK
Summer camps aren’t a particularly British tradition. Whilst America has made the sleepaway camp a cultural institution, immortalised in countless films, and France has its deeply embedded colonies de vacances where sending children away for several activity-filled weeks is considered entirely normal, the UK has never quite developed the same culture. Our shorter six-week summer holiday, compared to America’s near-three-month break, partly explains this. But there are signs of change, and a growing movement seeking to establish residential camps as a regular feature of British childhood.
The Summer Camps Trust is one organisation working to raise the profile of summer camps in Britain. The charity campaigns for summer camps to be recognised as a vital part of provision for young people and has written to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport asking for residential summer camps to be included in the government’s upcoming National Youth Strategy. They also train young adult leaders who volunteer to work with children on camps.
For families who have never considered a residential camp, the Summer Camps Trust runs Try Out Camps at a discounted price, open only to UK-based children aged 9 to 15 who have never attended an overnight summer camp before. It’s a low-risk way to see whether this kind of holiday suits your child, with trained young leaders and experienced staff overseeing a week of games, crafts, outdoor adventures and campfire sing-alongs.
ATE Superweeks
The Active Training and Education Trust, known as ATE, is a member of the Summer Camps Trust and has been running residential summer camps since the 1960s, making it one of the longest-established providers in the country. Their camps, which they call Superweeks, bring together children aged 8 to 16 from across the UK for a week of fun, adventure, team building and a healthy dose of silliness.
ATE operates as an educational trust with a governing council of leaders from the education sector who believe firmly in the value of summer camps. Children stay in country houses, outdoor centres or schools in locations including Shropshire, Worcestershire and Derbyshire, with days packed full of imaginative games, stories around the campfire, den building in the woods and the chance to make lasting friendships. Prices are all-inclusive, with free accompanied travel available from 17 collection points around the UK, making it practical for families without easy access to a car.
One of the great things about ATE is their intensive training programme for the young adult volunteers, known as Monitors, who work directly with the children. Parents regularly report that their children return with increased confidence, new-found independence and a broader perspective from mixing with children from different backgrounds and parts of the country.
Summer Camps Abroad
For families willing to think bigger, sending children to summer camp abroad opens up possibilities that simply don’t exist domestically. American summer camps remain the gold standard, with an estimated 14,000 camps across the country offering everything from traditional multi-activity programmes to highly specialist options. The variety is staggering: sailing camps on the North Carolina coast, marine biology programmes in the Florida Keys, performing arts intensives, STEM camps, horseback riding ranches, and wilderness survival expeditions. The American Camp Association accredits over 2,500 camps and their search tool lets you find coastal kids camps, mountain adventures, or whatever niche interest your child might have.
Some American camps do accept international children, though the logistics of travel and the fact that American school holidays don’t align with British ones can make it challenging. Costs are also substantial, with some prestigious camps charging upwards of £15,000 for the full summer season.
France offers a more accessible alternative. The colonies de vacances are a national institution, with French children from age four upwards routinely spending weeks away from home during school holidays. Whilst most are primarily set up for French children, there are programmes that welcome international participants. Some focus on language learning, combining French tuition with activities, which can serve the dual purpose of keeping children occupied whilst developing useful skills.
Organisations like EF and IBS of Provence run language camps across France that specifically cater to international children, whilst Active Travel Camps takes 11 to 16-year-olds on three-week adventure tours through France, combining activities like canyoning, sailing and rock climbing with cultural immersion. The Eurostar makes northern France particularly accessible, though camps further south require flights or longer train journeys.
Day Camps & Multi-Activity Providers
Not every child is ready for a residential experience, and not every family’s budget or logistics allow for it. Day camps offer a middle ground, providing structured activities and reliable childcare during working hours without the overnight commitment. Providers like SuperCamps and Kings Camps operate at venues across the country, offering sports, arts and crafts, outdoor adventures and themed weeks.
Most day camps run from around 8am to 5pm or 6pm, with extended hours available for an additional fee, making them genuinely compatible with typical working patterns. Many accept childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare, which can significantly reduce costs. The flexibility to book individual days or full weeks means you can mix and match based on your own leave and other arrangements.
For children with specific interests, specialist camps focus on everything from coding and robotics to horse riding, theatre and sports coaching. These tend to be more intensive and often more expensive, but can be transformative for a child who’s passionate about a particular activity.
Adventure & Outdoor Camps
PGL has been synonymous with school adventure trips for decades, but they also run holiday camps for individual children. With centres across the UK, they offer multi-activity weeks packed with high ropes, kayaking, abseiling and team challenges. Their camps cater to children aged 8 to 16, with age-appropriate groupings and OFSTED registration providing reassurance for parents.
Camp Wilderness takes a more back-to-basics approach, with camps focused on bushcraft, shelter building, fire-making and wild swimming. Their tech-free ethos appeals to parents concerned about screen time, offering children the chance to reconnect with nature in locations from Yorkshire to Snowdonia. Family camps are also available for those who want to share the experience.
For a more American-style experience without crossing the Atlantic, Camp Cooper in Scotland and Camp Crusoe in Norfolk both model themselves explicitly on the traditional US summer camp, complete with cabin living, campfire traditions and a focus on community building alongside adventure activities.
Youth Organisations & Local Clubs
Do not overlook what your child may already have access to. Scouts and Girlguiding units often run summer camps at a fraction of commercial prices, while the YHA and Outward Bound Trust offer residential adventures with funding available for those who need it. Teenagers working towards their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award can join open expeditions during the holidays, and the National Trust runs family volunteering days.
Closer to home, check whether your child’s gymnastics club, swimming school or dance academy runs holiday programmes: many offer intensive courses during summer that combine skill development with childcare-friendly hours, and the familiarity of known coaches and venues can make all the difference.
The Bottom Line
Summer childcare is a logistical puzzle that no single solution will solve. The key is booking early. Popular camps fill up months in advance, and waiting until June means settling for whatever’s left rather than finding the right fit for your child. Start researching now, involve your children in the decision where appropriate, and consider it an investment not just in your own sanity but in experiences that could genuinely shape their summer and their development.
Most importantly, try to see the investment as exactly that. These experiences teach children independence, resilience and social skills that last far beyond the summer months. The WhatsApp panic will return next year, but with a plan in place, you might just be the calm voice offering solutions rather than adding to the chaos.
In the realm of contemporary design, the integration of nature into our living spaces is more than just an aesthetic trend. It has given birth to ‘Biophilic Design’, a concept that signifies our innate attraction to nature and life. More than just a decorative measure, Biophilic Design brings with it a host of functional benefits, such as bolstered well-being, improved creativity, and lowered stress levels.
Whilst the onus is usually placed on the visual aspect of Biophilic Design, adopting such an approach can also be functional in its very nature, helping transform your home into an eco-friendly and serene sanctuary. With that in mind, here are 10 practical applications of biophilic design, ideal for maximising functionality for a greener home.
Indoor Plants – Functional & Aesthetic
Biophilic design begins with the simple act of incorporating indoor plants. These green companions do more than just prettify your surroundings. They serve as natural air purifiers, eliminating toxins from the environment and supplying fresh oxygen – a fundamental step towards improved indoor air quality.
Green walls are another functional addition that (potentially) contribute to the internal air quality of your home. These living walls, composed of plants, leaves, and occasionally, flowers, serve as organic air purifiers, filtering out harmful toxins from your indoor environment.
Moss Panelling – A Green Solution To Noise Pollution
Moss panelling is a lesser-known yet highly functional facet of biophilic design. The natural sound-absorbing capacity of moss makes it an ingenious choice for soundproofing applications, proving that Biophilic design combines innovative artistry with practical, environment-friendly solutions.
The human circadian rhythm is attuned to the natural cycle of light and darkness; thus, optimising natural light in your home aids in keeping our body clocks in sync. Practical design alterations like skylights, larger windows, or glass walls can augment the amount of sunlight pouring into our homes, boosting both physical and mental well-being.
Eco-friendly Materials – Lessening The Environmental Impact Of Your Home
Utilising sustainable materials like bamboo, cork, or reclaimed wood not only adds a natural touch to your interiors but also lessens the environmental impact of your home. These materials provide a natural, wholesome aesthetic and contribute positively to indoor air quality.
Cork Tableware – Sustainable Style For Dining
Extending biophilic principles to your dining table is simpler than you might think. Cork, harvested from the bark of cork oak trees without harming them, is one of the most sustainable materials available. Stylish cork placemats and coasters offer a tactile, natural element to mealtimes whilst being inherently practical; cork is naturally water-resistant, antimicrobial, and provides excellent heat insulation to protect your surfaces. It’s a small change that brings an organic warmth to everyday dining.
Biophilic Furniture – Beauty Meets Function
Opting for furniture made of natural materials like bamboo or timber can enhance your home’s organic appeal. Such furniture not only brings the outdoors in but can also possess antibacterial properties. Furthermore, biophilic furniture, such as cushioned seats filled with natural materials like buckwheat hulls, can provide health benefits like promoting proper posture and reducing back pain.
Natural Flooring – The Ground Beneath
Applying natural elements such as stone or turf to your floor can bring an outdoorsy feel to your home’s interior. An adventurous application of this concept could be an indoor lawn or moss floor, which can give you the experience of being connected with nature, even indoors.
Rock gardens or Japanese Zen gardens offer a sense of tranquillity and balance. Their minimal requirements for maintenance make them an excellent choice for busy homeowners seeking a touch of nature. Rocks, pebbles, and sand can help to create a soothing, Zen environment that fosters peace and mindfulness.
Nature’s Fragrances – Engaging The Senses
Engage your sense of smell with the implementation of natural fragrances in your home. Essential oil diffusers can help create a calming, nature-inspired atmosphere that not only smells wonderful but also provides various health benefits. For instance, lavender can promote relaxation and better sleep, while eucalyptus could help with decongestion.
Water Features – Soothing & Kinda Functional
Having a small indoor water feature, like a tabletop waterfall or a fountain, can offer more than just visual appeal. The calming sound of flowing water can reduce stress levels, while also adding to the home’s overall humidity regulated by other biophilic elements.
The Bottom Line
In an era dominated by artificial environments, Biophilic Design emerges as a refreshing antidote, reconnecting us to our natural roots and transforming our living spaces into healthier, more harmonious habitats. The functional facets of Biophilic Design – like moss panels for soundproofing or indoor plants for air purification – highlight the effectiveness of this approach in creating a wholesome, greener home.
As we progress, let’s envision homes that not only provide shelter but resonate with the tranquillity, beauty, and life-enhancing benefits of nature. Biophilic Design is more than a trending concept – it is a lifestyle movement that not only promotes individual well-being but also reinforces our responsibility towards the planet.
Are you paying attention yet? Recent harrowing pictures of the Earth’s lungs should have had you sitting up, taking note and hopefully, switching off. Not your attention, mind. Keep focused; this is a matter of life and death. And although the statistics point to 100 companies being responsible for the majority of the world’s pollution, there is still so much the little person can, and should, do.
It all starts at home. And with the current energy crisis emphasising just how crucial it is to use less at home, here are 9 home improvement hacks to make yours more energy efficient.
Seal The Deal With Draught Proofing
Before splashing thousands on solar panels or new windows, start with the simplest energy saver of all: draught proofing. Older buildings can lose around 15-20% of their heat via draughts, forcing your heating system to work overtime and your wallet to feel considerably lighter.
The beauty of draught proofing is that it’s ridiculously cheap and easy to implement. Self-adhesive foam strips for gaps around doors and windows are affordable and can be fitted in minutes. For larger gaps under doors, brush or hinged flap draught excluders are your friend. Don’t forget letterboxes and keyholes either – specialised covers block surprisingly significant amounts of cold air.
It’s estimated that installing draught proofing measures in an average UK home could save the household £60 per year on heating bills. It’s the low-hanging fruit of home energy efficiency, and there’s simply no reason not to tackle it this weekend.
Window Wise
Wastage; you just hate to see it. So, you’ll likely bristle at this stat; a home with single glazed windows loses up to 70% of heat and energy. Now is the time to look at upgrading your windows to modern ‘A’ Rated windows.
Quality double glazing, weather tight seals and multi chambered profiles ensure that heat loss is kept to a minimum. If you’re not ready for a full window replacement, you can swap your glazing pane to double glazed units as an intermediate step. This will help to reduce the loss of heat through your windows, reducing the cost of your heating bills to the tune of £175 a year, as well as your carbon footprint. A double win.
With winter not yet quite upon us, and with the old ‘fix the roof while the sun is shining’ saying firmly in mind, investing in some new glass could be a prudent move.
Solar Panels Or Windmills
Depending on your location, of course, you may find that solar panels or a windmill can provide alternative energy. Such energy is a huge investment – it’s no secret – but they’re also a wise one for a number of reasons. Firstly, aside from the actual value of the panels giving financial worth, you’ll find extra value when it comes to EPC (Energy Performance Certificate).
Upgrading your certificate from a D to a band B certificate by installing panels, for example, could add around £16,000 to your home. You’ve also got the appeal of lower bills too which, naturally, everyone wants. Finally, and most importantly, of course, is that they don’t generate greenhouse gases.
The average solar panels needed to power a 1 to 2-bedroom place is a 2kW or 3kW system (depending on the home’s energy needs), costing between £5,000 to £8,000. 5kW solar battery prices in the UK range from around £2,500 to £5,000 on top of that. Sure, it’s an investment, but it’s one that potentially pays for itself further down the line.
Kitchen Cuts
A few low effort hacks in the kitchen can make a big difference cumulatively to your energy bill. Not all of the output in the heart of the home is strictly necessary. Try turning your oven off 10 minutes before you’re finished cooking to save on energy, as it stays hot long after the dial has been turned to zero.
Or, simply use your oven less; harnessing the power of your microwave instead could apparently save you £60 per year. Who knew? Slow cookers are also an extremely energy efficient cooking appliance, needing a similar amount of juice as a light bulb to run.
Automated thermostats are ideal for keeping your temperature consistent and your energy usage at its least impactful level. They can adjust themselves to their environment in a clean, green way by learning the temperatures you like to keep in the house at certain times and automatically adjusting accordingly, so you don’t have to worry about faffing around constantly to find your optimum warmth.
The added upside of this convenience is that you waste very little energy heating or cooling your home when you’re not there. Automated thermostats have been estimated to save hundreds in energy costs alone, so they are an investment well worth it, even before you consider the environmentally positive implications.
Insulation Innovation
Don’t let your hard-earned heat escape through poorly insulated walls and attics. Modern insulation materials have come a long way from the itchy fiberglass of yesteryear. When you invest in quality wall and loft insulation, you’ll notice the difference in both comfort and heating bills. Look into eco-friendly options like sheep’s wool or recycled plastic insulation – they’re not just better for the planet, they’re incredibly effective at maintaining your home’s temperature.
Most insulation projects can pay for themselves through reduced energy bills within just a few heating seasons.This applies doubly to conservatories, which are often neglected when it comes to insulation. Get yours up to scratch and you might finally get some use out of your conservatory furniture range beyond the three weeks of acceptable British summer.
Light Bulbs
You may scoff at this one, but it’s true: light bulbs matter in energy efficiency. Just think about how much you have the lights on in your home; that’s a huge amount of energy you’re burning through if you’re lit up with energy-inefficient bulbs.
And with energy efficient lightbulbs nowadays fully developed, government approved and affordable, there can be no real excuse as to why you’re not operating on a different wattage when lighting your home. Soon enough you’ll come to appreciate the golden glow of a more energy efficient bulb and enjoy not cowering in the stark, harsh light of the more powerful ones.
Smart Power Management
Here’s something most homeowners overlook: phantom energy drain. Those little standby lights and “sleeping” devices are secretly eating away at your energy bill and contributing to unnecessary power consumption. Install smart power strips throughout your home that automatically cut power to devices when they’re not in use.
Or, take it a step further with a whole-home energy monitoring system that connects to your smartphone. These smart systems can identify energy-hungry appliances and suggest optimal usage times. Plus, many energy providers now offer lower rates during off-peak hours, so you can schedule your high-consumption appliances accordingly.
Water & Bathrooms
While it’s not entirely related to energy efficiency, there is of course an element of efficiency in conserving the amount of hot water that you use in your home – the more you use, the more you have to heat up. Perhaps the best tip here is to find a shower head that doesn’t compromise on your ability to wash comfortably, but is water efficient in the process.
Practical, mindful behaviour will help too; don’t leave the water running while brushing your teeth, only turn the shower on when you’re under the head…that kinda thing.
The Bottom Line
Making your home more energy efficient doesn’t require a complete renovation or a second mortgage. From the simple act of draught proofing your doors to investing in solar panels, there’s an entry point for every budget and every level of commitment. The beauty of these improvements is that they pay dividends twice over: slashing your energy bills throughout the year and reducing your environmental impact for years to come. Start small with the quick wins, then work your way up to the bigger investments. Your wallet and the planet will thank you for it.
It’s easy to see why. Regular exposure to the good stuff increases your Vitamin D intake, fights off seasonal depression and improves sleep, amongst a whole host of other benefits. And the good news? These benefits are enjoyed even if your natural light exposure occurs indoors.
And that’s before we consider natural light’s hugely positive impact on productivity. A 2018 study conducted by professor Alan Hedge of Cornell University and reported on by PR Newswire found that ‘’optimizing the amount of natural light in an office significantly improves health and wellness among workers, leading to gains in productivity’’.
No wonder, then, that so many recent home working converts are doing all they can to improve the flow of theirs. If you’re keen to do the same, then you’ve come to the right place; here are 9 top tips on how to boost the natural light in your home office.
Ensure Your Windows Are Super Clean
If all the tips were this easy, affordable and straightforward, then we’d probably be out of a job. Because one of the most simple ways to improve the natural light in your home office is to ensure any windows are sparkling clean and as see-through as they possibly can be.
Accumulation of dirt, fingerprints, salt (if you live by the sea), steam, grease, and even incorrectly applied window cleaning products can all obscure natural light from flowing freely into your home office. So, for a quickfire way to boost the room’s brightness and your productivity in tandem, make sure your windows are blemish free. Tidy window, tidy mind, as they should say.
From the most humble tip to the most all-encompassing…
If you foresee working at home becoming a permanent fixture and you’re truly devoted to making your home office as productive a space as possible, then you should consider adding a whole new source of natural light…should your budget allow it, of course.
Although knocking through a section of wall or installing a new window is a big job, make no mistake, it also represents a smart move in the long run. Made to measure windows, conservatories and patio doors all fit the bill, and whilst the investment in a whole new window will inevitably be large, you will likely end up adding value to your home via the addition of more natural light (remember that 20K we mentioned earlier?).
Floor-to-ceiling options, corner designs, or combinations with sliding panels can provide maximum light penetration and elevate the room’s aesthetics. As the team at fusionglassltd.com advise, if you can’t go wider, go higher. Roof lights and skylights flood a room with overhead light that wall-mounted windows simply can’t replicate, and they’re often easier to install than you’d think.
Dress Your Windows Smartly
To make the most of natural light in your home office, it’s essential that you consider the way you dress your windows, too. Though some management of glare and flare is necessary, particularly if you’re staring into a screen all day, it’s best you avoid curtains in your home office, as they tend to obscure a fair bit of natural light.
Instead, opt for blinds or shutters, the latter of which allows you to fully expose the windows when needed by simply folding back the shutter panels, providing maximum natural light whilst still retaining a certain level of privacy and glare management. Alternatively, the high functionality of Venetian blinds makes them a prudent choice, too.
If your home office sits in the middle of your property, borrowing light from adjacent rooms can be a game-changer. Replacing a solid internal door with a glazed version allows natural light to travel from brighter spaces into your workspace without sacrificing privacy or sound insulation.
For those with the budget, glass partitions or even a glazed internal window can transform a previously gloomy room. The key is maintaining sightlines through to external windows wherever possible, creating a visual connection to the outdoors even when you’re tucked away from it.
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall
Hanging a mirror opposite the primary source of natural light in your home office is a neat trick to make the room feel bigger and, most importantly, brighter. This is because mirrors help reflect natural light and bounce it around the room in a surprisingly subtle but observable way.
Whilst we wouldn’t want you to turn your home office into a house of mirrors (seeing your face from every angle certainly wouldn’t help productivity, however beautiful it is), hanging another mirror adjacent to a window can further enhance the flow of natural light.
Consider other reflective room features, too, such as glass tiles, glass fronted picture frames and ornaments and sculptures possessing of a certain shine.
Make Room For Minimalism
Let’s put things simply, in the spirit of minimalism; clutter blocks the flow of natural light. Particularly important for items placed close to the window or in front of it, make sure that you don’t have anything in your home office directly in front of your windows as they can obstruct light and make the room feel dingy.
This doesn’t only apply to that stack of books you can’t find a home for, but also to bulkier pieces, such as furniture, desks and computers.
Of course, keeping your home office tidy, neat and with everything in its right place will also help you maintain that bright and breezy feeling, too. Check out these tips on decluttering for more advice on doing just that.
Paint Your Walls & Ceiling A Bright, High Gloss Shade
Another way to increase the amount of natural light in your home office is to give the room a lick of light paint, ideally using an off-white, high gloss paint. Lighter coloured walls are brilliant at bouncing natural light around the room and opting for high gloss means your walls will possess a sheen that is more reflective and mirror-like.
If you’re not keen on painting the whole room a stark, bright colour, then prioritise those windows opposite and adjacent to the chief source of natural light in the room.
Should you have eaves hanging above your windows on the exterior of your home office, then paint them white, too, as they reflect natural light into the home, from the outside in.
Single woman painting the wall inside the house
Consider Strategic Furniture Placement
Just as important as what you put in your home office is where you put it. Strategic furniture placement can make a significant difference in how natural light flows through your space. Position your desk perpendicular to the window rather than facing it directly – this reduces screen glare while still allowing plenty of natural light to reach your workspace.
If possible, keep taller furniture pieces like bookshelves and filing cabinets against walls that don’t have windows, preventing them from casting long shadows across the room. For video calls, consider placing your computer so that natural light illuminates your face from the front or side, rather than creating a backlit silhouette effect that can make you appear dark on camera.
The best option here is to lose the carpet entirely and embrace the floorboards beneath. Should they be a darker shade than perhaps you’d like, fear not; it’s eminently possible to lighten up your floorboards. Sand them down thoroughly first, then apply a bleach or stain for that blonde wood flooring effect which brightens up a room instantly.
Seasoned Bangkokians will remember with a wince the state of Italian food in the city only a decade or two ago. Crusts were very much stuffed, al dente was a term used to describe the state of your scooter following a spill, and parmesan came in packets from Big C, not blocks from Lenzi.
If you wanted a ragu alla Bolognese, you were better off finding familiarity in a scoop of nam prik ong. The Pizza Company, of course, reigned supreme, and with the exception of a few stalwart eateries flying the flag along the lanes of Lumpini, things were, to put it mildly, bleak for Italophiles.
How times have changed. Bangkok now boasts some of the best Italian restaurants this side of Ontranto, with the list of genuinely excellent ones growing with each passing Songkran. This has made the job of narrowing things down extra tough, but we’ve slurped all the spaghetti, necked all the negroni, and buried all the bresaola (it’s a hard life…) to bring you this; our guide to the best Italian restaurants in Bangkok.
Appia, Sukhumvit
Ideal for Roman trattoria vibes in the heart of Bangkok…
We had to start here, at Appia, a faithfully recreated Roman trattoria which genuinely wouldn’t look (or taste) out of place in the Eternal City.
Opened in Sukhumvit in 2013 with chefs Jarret Wrisley and Roman-born Paolo Vitaletti at the helm, the restaurant truly is a love letter to Italy’s capital, with the Big Four pasta dishes so associated with the city all present and correct here. In fact, all present and utterly delicious here might be a more apt description.
True to the unwavering ethos of the Italian cooking sensibility, a deep respect for ingredients and sourcing (Vitaletti is the son of a butcher) is clear in everything Appia does, whether that’s in the exquisite range of affettatimade especially for the restaurant by the Cocchia family just north of Rome, or in the signature porchetta, which you’ll see gently rotating on a spit behind the bar each evening. Let us tell you; that is one inviting sight…
Also found on the business side of the bar, the wine list is extensive and keenly priced, with the guys behind Appia owning a vineyard back in Italy and the list brimming with small-scale, largely organic producers. These connections make the wine here surprisingly reasonable, when you consider Bangkok wine prices more generally – you’ll find a large glass of full bodied Montepulciano clocking in at under 300 Baht.
In short, if you’re to go to one Italian restaurant in Bangkok, make it Appia.
Address: 20/4 Soi Sukhumvit 31, Klongton Nua Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Here, it’s real-deal Neapolitan pizzas, with authenticity the driving force behind the restaurant group’s continued success. In fact, Peppina is one of Southeast Asia’s only AVPN certified, Neapolitan-style pizzeria, with a fine selection of both traditional pizzas and some more inventive numbers (scamorza, zucchini and black mint, anyone?) making the restaurant a crowd-pleaser even for the more fussy, tradition-fearing eaters in your group.
Though it’s certainly most famous for its pizzas, the pasta at Peppina is excellent, too. Their house favourites, which include an excellent vongole veraci and a paccheri pasta with slow cooked pork cheek ragu, are both well worth the visit, even if pizza isn’t your thing.
Basically, if you’re not happy here, you need to take a long, hard look at yourself. You’ll be pleased to hear that Peppina’s restrooms have rather striking mirrors…
Tucked away just off Thong Lor BTS, L’Oliva promises an authentic regional Italian dining experience not often found in this part of the world; a celebration of the cuisine and culinary traditions of Italy’s Abruzzo region.
Opened by Nicolino Pasquini, a native of Lanciano in Abruzzo, in late 2019, this “Italian oasis” (his words) offers a diverse menu that is characterised by its mix of coastal and mountainous ingredients indigenous to the region that lies just to the north-east of Rome, many of which are shipped in weekly especially for the restaurant.
It’s a beautiful room to sink into on the balmiest of Bangkok days, all floor to ceiling windows on one side and floor to ceiling wine walls on the other, with the AC pitched at a perfect 25°C rather than the oppressive, increasingly omnipresent sub twenties of many of Bangkok’s restaurants. That said, if you’re craving a little heat, L’Oliva also has an agreeable terrace outback and on top.
Back in the room and there’s a rustic charm beyond those wine walls, which are admittedly very well stocked indeed, with Pasquini’s wife’s artwork bringing vivacity to the dining room and a live pianist performing throughout the day, every other day.
Perhaps the standout dish is the chitarra al ragu’ Abruzzese, where hand-cut pasta made using a traditional Chitarra is paired with a robust tomato ragù of veal, lamb, and pork. The pasta itself is gorgeous – thick, bouncy and properly al dente, with the sauce clinging on for dear life as you slurp.
L’Oliva also takes pride in its gently inventive pizza offerings. The mortadella e pistacchio pizza is a highlight, featuring a hand-tossed sourdough crust topped with zucchini cream sauce, fior di latte mozzarella, mortadella shaped into pretty petals, mascarpone, crushed pistachio nuts, and rocket leaves. The crusts arrive almost comically canotto, promising a light, digestible dough. And so it delivers. This is a fine pizza and a fine restaurant indeed, and a welcome expression of an Italian region a little less explored in Bangkok’s ever evolving dining scene.
On those rare occasions in the world’s greatest city when you’re not in the mood for quick kanom jeen, yen ta fo, pad grapao et al, there are few places better to spend a long and leisurely lunch than sat at La Dotta’s convivial counter.
The proposition at this acclaimed pasta bar is simple, which can be a relief in a city so blessed with remarkable food options, and that’s – drum roll please – fresh pasta.
Rolled fresh every day, there are ten or so pasta dishes on the menu (plus a couple of starters and desserts) and that’s it, with the clarity of this vision letting the star of the show do all the talking.
Should you wish to have the decision making streamlined further, La Dotta’s ‘smart lunch’ offer of a starter, pasta and dessert for under 500 baht is a steal. That said, the whole menu is worth investigating; if the signature pappardelle with razor clams and broad beans is on the menu, do not miss it.
If you find yourself as enamoured with the cooking here as us, you’ll be pleased to hear that the restaurant has a grocery store, selling their signature sauces and dried pastas for you to lovingly recreate at home.
And, to top it all off, they’ll even let you have a cappuccino after your lunch…. Well, we did say it was convivial.
Address: Thong Lo 9 Road, 161/6 ซอย ทองหล่อ 9 Khlong Tan Nuea, Bang Na, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Ideal for premium imported Italian ingredients treated with respect…
From the humble proposition of fresh pasta perched at a bar to something all the more indulgent…
At La Bottega Di Luca, on Sukhumvit 49, the focus falls on luxury ingredients served on a gorgeous open-air terrace (well, not on the terrace, but rather, on plates) with chef Luca Appino (formerly of the city’s revered Enoteca) coaxing quiet alchemy from a string of both imported Italian D.O.P ingredients and premium produce from France, Japan, Australia and beyond.
So, that’s Hawaiian amberjack crudo or foie gras with pistachio and pistachio to start, followed by tagliolini served with Brittany lobster, and a headliner of wagyu tomahawk, naturally. The wine list is, unsurprisingly, vast and effusive.
Yes, we said it’s indulgent, but if you’re looking for a blowout in the City of Angels, La Bottega Di Luca is one hell of a treat.
Or, to experience chef Appino’s cooking (or, at least, his recipes) in more street level surrounds, look out for his Pizza Massilia food truck, which can even be booked for private events and parties.
Address: Terrace 49 Building Terrace 49 2nd fl, Soi Sukhumvit 49, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Executive chef Andrea Susto, who trained under Bombana in Hong Kong and previously worked at Tosca at the Ritz-Carlton, brings both technical precision and a sommelier’s understanding of balance to the kitchen. The autumn tasting menu (a cool 5,500 baht) features scampi tartare with oscietra caviar, chestnut gnocchi with mushroom ragout, and a choice between M5 beef tenderloin or charcoaled Brittany blue lobster as the main. Yep, that’s a premium price and these are premium ingredients, but we’re pleased to report they’re treated with respect and not much in the way of faff.
For those willing to push the boat out much further, the white truffle menu (12,800 baht) is available during the autumn months, with Bombana’s signature homemade chitarra pasta with Alps cheese fondue and Alba white truffle – the chef is known as the ‘King of White Truffles’ for good reason – the clear highlight and has ruined all other truffle for us forever more.
There are over 350 wine labels to choose from, with the sommelier team particularly knowledgeable about Italian bottles and a strong Barolo selection that nods to the restaurant’s namesake. There’s also a dedicated wine bar attached if you fancy beginning – or, indeed, extending – proceedings over cicchetti, a few glasses, and a panicked call to your bank manager.
The dining room is plush and formal, with warm lighting and views over a calming waterfall. Service is attentive in that fine dining way – you’ll be looked after, certainly, though this isn’t the place for a raucous night out. It’s Michelin pedigree cooking in a Michelin pedigree setting, which is exactly what some evenings in the Big Mango call for.
And to absolute no one’s surprise, Cannubi did indeed pick up their first star at last weeks Michelin awards ceremony.
Address: L Floor, 98 Rama IV Rd, Si Lom, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Ideal for the famed dishes and hospitality of the Emilia Romagna region…
Next up we’re heading to the city’s Sathorn district, to Via Emilia, which aims to faithfully recreate the food and hospitality of Italy’s famous Emilia Romagna region, all in the heart of Bangkok. It’s pure escapism, and sometimes, after a hectic and hot day here, it’s just the kind of place you want to sink into.
Though this tribute to a region that encompasses the foodie meccas of Bologna, Modena and Parma focuses on all the main food groups (pasta, risotto, cheese, salami… You get the jist), the pizzas at Via Emilia certainly aren’t an afterthought.
Made in the Bolognese style (no, not topped with ragu, but rather, with a thin base and crisp crusts), the dough is naturally leavened and left to ferment for 72 hours, resulting in an enjoyable lightness and depth of flavour. The parma ham and burrata version, the latter added fridge-cold once the pizza is cooked and subsequently as refreshing as it comes, exemplifies this light touch. Delicious.
That said, it’s for the strozzapreti con le canocchie that we keep returning to Via Emilia – hand twisted pasta with mantis shrimps in tomato sauce, and just about as decadent tasting as it comes. The tagliatelle positively brimming with shellfish isn’t half bad, either.
Address: 1040 Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra 17, Lane 5, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10120, Thailand
Ideal for Italian comfort food in escapist surroundings…
Speaking of nominally regional Italian restaurants that do a mean pizza, Il Bolognese is – and does – just that.
This trattoria has been a stalwart of the Bangkok dining scene for over a decade, knocking out Italian comfort food, top-notch pizza, pasta, risotto and the rest, and pouring very drinkable claret to the weary masses, all in an elegant dining room that feels like a film set, so faithfully furnished it is.
In fact, the menu at Il Bolognese isn’t particularly focused on the food of Bologna, but it does have a hearty, healthy Northern Italian accent, and it’s these dishes on which you should lean. The ossobucco alla Milanese is particularly luxurious whilst the porcini-stuffed ravioli – generously lathered in a brooding truffle sauce – is a decadent affair, indeed. Sure, you may need to be carried out afterwards (or, more likely, slung on the back of a Honda Wave), but it will all be worth it.
A final word on the beer. The Peroni on draft here pulls off a trick rarely found in the kegs and beer taps of Bangkok; it’s neither flat nor is it eggy, instead being properly effervescent. And that’s reason alone to visit, we think.
Ideal for a taste of Bangkok’s first Italian fine dining restaurant…
We couldn’t write an article on where to find the best Italian restaurants in Bangkok, fine or humble, without mentioning the esteemed Gianni Ristorante.
Chef Gianni Favro has been cooking refined Italian food in Bangkok for almost three decades, which makes him one of the doyens of the cuisine in this part of the world, make no mistake.
At his restaurant, now in a new home full of brightness and brio in the Athenee Hotel on Wireless Road, the plates follow a fine dining formula without feeling stuffy or superfluous. As always, it’s the ingredients that do the talking, whether that’s in the signature beef rossini or the chef’s masterful shellfish risotto.
Service here is particularly attentive, in a starched-white table cloth kind of way, but sometimes, after a string of meals spent slurping noodles on stools, there’s nothing better than getting the five star treatment under some equally gustful AC.
So, if it’s old school Italian you’re after, with heritage, history and a keen sense style, you’ll find it at Gianni’s.
Address: Athenee Tower, Ground Floor, Unit D 63 Wireless Rd, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Ideal for the freshest of ingredients in a light and breezy dining room…
As we near the end of our list and legs begin to tire, you’ll be glad to hear that it’s only the very briefest of walks along Wireless Road from Gianni’s to our next entry, Nonna Nella By Lenzi.
Whilst the older sibling of the restaurant group at Lenzi Tuscan Kitchen is no doubt an excellent restaurant, it’s the charming new addition to the family over at Nonna Nella that we’re particularly enamoured with.
Named after chef Francesco Lenzi’s grandmother, this casual sister (enough with the extended family tree metaphor) restaurant is an open, welcoming space that focuses on the deli side of things; everywhere you turn produce hangs from the ceiling and adorns the walls, and it’s difficult to leave without a paper bag full of goodies under your arm.
Unsurprisingly, then, and without wishing to repeat ourselves, it’s the quality of the ingredients here that sets Nonna Nella apart. All the hams and cheeses are produced on chef Lenzi’s farm, and other ingredients such as the tomatoes for the superb pizzas are 100% organic and hand-selected by the chef himself.
Those pizzas, by the way, boast a thinner, crisper crust than their Neopotlian counterparts, and are generously adorned with that excellent produce from the Lenzi family farm. Also excellent are the salads, which are light, plump and verdant, and almost as refreshing on a balmy Bangkok day as the city’s beloved som tam. Almost.
And finally, as we run out of both appetite and adjectives, to Antito, one of the newest – and best – additions to the Bangkok dining scene.
The menu at this flamboyantly-hued restaurant trots the entirety of Italy, both in the sense it covers various regional cuisines and in that it focuses heavily on the more porcine culinary traditions of the country.
On our last visit we particularly loved the ‘pork chop pizzaiola’, which was a bashed and breaded affair bathing in a rich tomato sauce and covered in a blistered, hard Swiss-style cheese, Lo Doi Pao, which is lovingly created using cow’s milk from Chiang Mai.
Don’t miss Antito’s pizza fritta, either, which manages a lightness only found in the very best streetfront stalls of Naples. The sweet versions topped with the restaurant’s signature gelato are a real treat!
Address: 33 โรงแรมอีสติน แกรนด์ ชั้น14 1 S Sathon Rd, Yan Nawa, Sathon, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
And with that dessert, we’ve found the perfect way to round off our list of Bangkok’s best Italian food. Now, we need a bit of a lie down and to ponder tomorrow’s lunch. We’re thinking Southern Thai food in Bangkok.
Firstly, let’s address the Thai elephant in the room with a cheery ‘’sawadee krap’’ and an acknowledgement; Bangkok could give you the meal of your life on just about any street corner or down any soi, all for the cost of a Snickers bar back home.
But in such a sophisticated city – and cuisine – chock-full of decadence and deliciousness, it would be rude not to consider the fine dining side of things from time to time, with a whole host of world class restaurants here offering a truly Thai take on haute cuisine that’s elegant yet playful, precise but intuitive.
With 19 Thai restaurants in the city earning starred status in the latest Bangkok Michelin Guide (announced just last week, in late November 2025), the options for eating out at the finer end of the spectrum can be overwhelming.
Well, we’ve done the hard work so you don’t have to, ascending the Scoville Scale and feeling the breath of the wok on our necks, to bring you these; the best Thai fine dining and Michelin-starred restaurants in Bangkok.
Samrub Samrub Thai
Ideal for meticulously researched, creatively composed modern Thai dining…
Is this intimate, counter-only, impossible to book restaurant/private kitchen the best Thai restaurant/private kitchen in the world? Whatever you want to call it and whichever superlatives you wish to throw at Samrub Samrub Thai, it is seriously good and worthy of all of them.
The master at the stoves of this compact, counter-dining affair is chef Prin Polsuk, who has some serious pedigree in the world of Thai fine dining, having been the head chef at Nahm in London when it won its Michelin star, the first Thai restaurant in the world to have been bestowed with the honour.
He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of his country’s cuisine, and at Samrub, he seems to have his heart set on expanding it even further, with the dishes here sourced from a veritable vault of historic scripts, tomes and chapters.
The results, whether in the buttery, tender-as-you-like grilled beef dressed in delicate Satay-like sauce or intricately stuffed sweetcorn, filled with minced chicken and baby corn then reconstructed, are nothing short of spectacular. Oh, and you’re allowed to ask for seconds!
That generous sentiment exemplifies the family-style nature of this brilliant restaurant, with Polsuk’s wife Mint running the front of house operations and chef Prin working the counter, doling out shots of homemade banana liquor and soliloquies on the history of some of the dishes he’s just set in front of you. Often, their young son will join diners too, crawling across the counter and generally charming everyone in his wake!
In short, Samrub may well be the world’s best Thai restaurant…
Ideal for trying Thailand’s hottest, most difficult to secure reservation…
Or, is it? And speaking of impossible to book, chef Supaksorn Jongsiri’s love letter to the farmers, fishermen and producers of Southern Thailand is reportedly the most coveted reservation in the Kingdom, and it’s easy to see why.
Though it’s only been open for five years, this place has been the talk of the town – no, country – for nearly as long. Proudly sourcing ‘99.9%’ of their ingredients from the south, and supporting countless farmers and fishermen in the process, as well as cooking most of the food in clay pots, you’d be forgiven for thinking this traditional ethos wouldn’t translate into a 22 course tasting menu of fine dining.
You’d be wrong; this, quite simply, is some of the finest Thai food out there, period. You’ll have to run over hot coals to get a table, but if you’re lucky enough to do so, it’s worth burning your feet for. And mouth; the food is spicy, and all the better for it. Than hai im, na khrap!
Ideal for familiar Thai dishes delivered in surprising, highly innovative ways…
Even before chef Chudaree “Tam” Debhakam became the world’s first Thai female chef to be awarded two Michelin Stars, she was a famous face across the country, having emerged victorious on the inaugural season of Top Chef Thailand.
It’s an immense credit to the chef’s skills and vision that those two massive accolades don’t even prepare you for the culinary journey at her pioneering restaurant Baan Tepa. Close to the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bang Kapi, you get a sense of anticipation building as you enter the restaurant, which is housed in an elegant villa that’s owned by Chef Tam’s grandmother, Lady Suwaree Debhakam. The space still retains many of its original features, along with its warming, welcoming spirit. Out back, there’s a large garden which feeds the kitchen’s inventive dishes with its living library of organic flowers, herbs and spices.
Yep, there’s a sense that this meal will nourish the soul as well as invigorate the senses, and so it turns out; despite plenty of ‘cheffy’ flourishes and ultra-modern tekkers, there’s a familial, grounding narrative running through the 9 (and then some) course tasting menu.
Expect on-the-surface familiar dishes that come with a surprise or two, such as the ‘Fishtake’ – a play on the beloved Thai fish cake, here featuring giant Trevally fish and Shiitake mushrooms (we won’t spoil the surprise), or the whimsically named ‘Crab Crab Crab!’, which showcase the chef’s talent for blending familiar ingredients in creative ways. Again, we won’t spoil the surprise.
Later on, the highlight ‘Anatomy of a River Prawn’ dish shows off an enormous specimen sourced from Ayutthaya, blessed with a massive pool of its smoked head juices, and served with arguably the best nahm jim seafood we’ve ever tasted. It’s this anchoring of ultra-modern technique with recognisable, faithfully delivered elements that makes Baan Tepa so captivating. Those two Michelin stars, we think, are richly deserved.
Ideal for a taste of one of the world’s most influential Thai restaurants…
Aussie chef and Thai food oracle David Thompson’s Nahm earned a Michelin star, a first for Thai cooking, when in its previous incarnation in London, and the Bangkok version rightly followed suit in Michelin’s inaugural Bangkok guide at the end of 2017.
Though Nahm London closed due to the lack of quality fresh Thai ingredients in the capital, and the compromise that forced on the cooking, there’s no danger of the produce being found wanting at the Bangkok rendition.
Here, the premium ingredients used shine through, whether that’s the wagyu beef used in the enthusiastically seasoned stir fry, the peppery wild ginger deployed across the menu, or the freshly pressed coconut cream that defines this luxurious style of Thai cooking.
Though David Thompson has since moved on (more of that in a moment), the iconic restaurant remains in very capable hands, with revered chef Pim Techamuanvivit now in the (very) hot seat, keeping the flavours bold, robust and refined, but giving the dishes her own spin, recalling childhood memories of special meals and the joy of sharing with family.
Should you be keen to sample the complexity of the Nahm kitchen but for a fraction of the price of the normal dining experience here, then the khanom jin lunch deal is a steal.
For 1’100 baht – equivalent to 25 quid-ish – you get canapes loaded with wild prawn and white crab meat and delivered in the most graceful style, followed by coil of khanom jin (lightly fermented rice noodles) and an accompanying sauce, dressing or curry, the latter of which features blue swimmer crab, and is something of a signature here. Finish with desserts that utilise that just-pressed coconut cream, and you’ve got yourself a truly indulgent meal for under £30.
Ideal for sampling the latest fine dining venture from the ‘Godfather of Thai food’…
No writer worth their Red Boat fish sauce could faithfully pen a paean to fine dining in The Kingdom without mentioning chef David Thompson. And whilst we realise you’re already acquainted with him from the brief mention above, at Aksorn, the acclaimed Aussie oracle on all things Thai food seems to have found his most succinct expression yet on what makes the cuisine so profoundly delicious.
Here (fittingly house in an old bookstore) the chef combs through historic recipe books – mainly from a defining period in Thai culinary history between 1940 and 1970 when the cuisine was going through seismic changes of modernisation and cross-cultural influence – to source inspiration for Aksorn’s dishes, with some menu items unheard of outside of this very special kitchen on Charoen Krung Road.
All that said, it’s often the most simple dishes that land the knockout blow. On a previous visit, stir fried sugar snap peas were sweet and smoky, managing to straddle a freshness and umami-heft brilliantly. They wore their stir fry sauce as you might the lightest linen jacket – so good.
And as with any David Thompson restaurant, a procession of superb deserts pick up star billing. The man sure does have a sweet tooth; not that we’re complaining when the coconut cream is this luxurious, the jasmine candle’s perfume just the right amount of pervasive, and the sweet/salty balance familiar to any Thai sweet lover so intricately poised.
With a regularly changing menu reflecting a different era, recipe book or chef, we can’t wait to see where Aksorn goes next.
For properly old school, refined and regal Thai fine dining, with all the bells, whistles, pomp and ceremony of the Royal courts of The Kingdom as a backdrop to your evening, you can’t do much better than Methavalai Sorndaeng, a Phra Nakhon institution still going strong after six decades.
It’s a real special occasion sort of place for Thai folk of a certain age, and you’ll see old married couples, suited, booted and moonlight-silver haired, enjoying timeless preparations of dishes like rich red curry of duck and pineapple, or intricate tartlets of diced potato, carrot and sweetcorn, that still somehow manages to come up tasting decidedly Thai.
The gold embroidered furniture and crooner louchely leaning on a grand old piano to serenade the dining room only serve to emphasise the vibe here. Resign yourself to its charms; it’s irresistible.
For all these opulent associations with royalty and glamour, Methavalai Sorndaeng is an eminently affordable Michelin-starred experience, with larger dishes rarely pushing past the 500 THB mark (around £12) and many considerably cheaper. With very drinkable wine served simply – just choose between red or white, and always by the glass – the value for money here is striking.
Oh go on then, we’ll stay for just one more song…
*Sadly, Methavalai Sorndaeng lost its star in the 2024 Thailand Michelin Guide, and didn’t regain it in the 2025 version. Oh well; they’re always stars in our eyes.*
Ideal for a truly exceptional Thai tasting menu experience…
Thai food aficionados were devastated when, at the height of the COVID crisis, Duangporn ‘Bo’ Songvisava and Dylan Jones announced they were closing Bo.lan after more than a decade of defining contemporary Thai restaurant food, citing the financial toll of the pandemic as a major driver in their decision.
But in the greatest comeback since Lee Zii Jia’s remarkable win at the Thailand Open in 2022, Bo.lan is back, bookable and – whisper it – better than ever. And there’s more excellent news; in the latest Bangkok Michelin Guide (announced in late November 2025), Bo.lan has won back its Michelin star, marking a triumphant return to starred status after nearly four years.
For a fixed price of 4’800 THB, guests can once again enjoy the zero-waste, zero-compromise cooking of these two very talented chefs, running Thursday through Sunday.
The setting remains delightfully unchanged – a warming timberclad converted home (the swimming pool on the way to the loos always feels tempting after a few Nonthaburi meads) set back from the unrelenting intensity of Sukhumvit Road, adorned with traditional Thai decorations that set the perfect scene for what’s to come.
A recent visit, some seven years on from our last meal there, found the kitchen on song and in perfect harmony. Bo.lan is still one of the best culinary-focused evenings you can have in the Thai capital. Wholesome, nourishing, at times even educational without being annoying, the cooking is homely but precise, refined without being ‘elevated’, and always, always delicious,
Highlights from the most recent Kingdom-spanning menu included a Southern style curry of Tankun chicken, clams and cashews, all murky depth and assertive complexity, and a funky black Khorat beef stir-fried in shrimp paste relish. Even the rice options show a deep respect for the primary product, with both organic Gaba rice from Sri Saket and jasmine rice 105 from Yasothorn the star around which the six or seven sharing dishes orbit.
Their signature drinks programme also maintains a distinctly local character, featuring house-infused ya dong (traditional Thai herbal liquor) and Thai cremant rubbing shoulders with more Old World selections.
There’s a well-orchestrated but pleasingly casual sense of flow to the evening, too, transitioning you through the restaurant’s different spaces just when you might be feeling restless. Things start in a separate lounge with a welcome drink, and petit fours (free flowing, generous and endless) are served back in that lounge at the end of the meal.
It’s a meal bookended by booziness, too: It starts with honey mead made in Thailand and ends with a complementary shot of the ya dong, proffered as you make your way for the door, leaving a taste of something special lingering long after Bangkok’s signature humidity has once again begun to stick to your shirt.
With opening hours still tight, some forward planning is required to land a table. If you’re not able to get a seat, then all is not lost; Bo.lan’s more casual sister restaurant Err is just around the corner, close to Thong Lor BTS station. All the Err signatures are here; expect whole crispy chicken skin, the finest grilled naem this side of Nakhon Phanom, and cute as you like pickled garlic cloves. Yes!
Ideal for a progressive menu of Thai-Chinese fare from one of Asia’s hottest chefs…
At this restaurant, family and building legacy hangs proudly in the air. It can be tasted in the fermentation jars and felt on every plate of Chef Pichaya ‘Pam’ Soontornyanakij’s incredible tasting menu of innovative Thai-Chinese cuisine, of which there are a whopping 20 dishes. Instead of keeping you here, check out our full restaurant review of Potong. Be prepared to have your appetite teased and tempted!
And some good news at the start of this year; chef Pam has just announced the opening of a new restaurant! Called Khao San Sek, it’s a more approachable, a la carte format here, though expect similar precision in the delivery. We can’t wait to try it!
Now, after all that fine dining here are our picks of the best street food in Bangkokfor those keen to get in touch with the other side of Bangkok fine dining.
From its humble beginnings in the 1790s as a residential area developed by Sir Charles Pratt, Camden has transformed into one of London’s most visited boroughs. Once home to Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw and JB Priestley, now it’s one of the most thriving multicultural places in the UK, with its almost 300’000 residents speaking over 140 languages and dialects between them, and the local council placing diversity at the forefront of its thinking.
The area’s transformation began in earnest with the construction of the Grand Union Canal and the arrival of the railway in the 19th century, cementing Camden’s role as a pivotal industrial and transportation centre, but it’s the 1960s which marked a significant cultural revolution in Camden Town, with the rise of rock and psychedelia. Venues like the Roundhouse became the epicentre of this movement, where music, culture, politics, and youthful vigour converged, laying the groundwork for the area’s enduring association with alternative culture and creativity.
Camden Market, which started as a modest arts and crafts fair in the backyard of Dingwalls, has grown into London’s largest market (and the city’s fourth most popular attraction, with 250’000 visitors a week), open seven days a week. Its rapid expansion from a temporary Sunday market reflects the area’s burgeoning popularity and its reputation as something of a culinary destination, even if much of Camden’s best food is often actually found beyond its 6.5 hectares.
In any area boasting such vast and varied influences, wonderful food is bound to follow. And so it is in Camden, a microcosm of global flavours, both in fine dining and street food form. Today, we’re checking out the very best. From traditional fish and chips to homestyle Portuguese cooking, here’s where to eat in Camden Town, and the best restaurants in Camden.
Roger’s Kitchen
Ideal for award-winning Jamaican cooking with soul and swagger…
On a stretch of Camden Road where the iconic railway bridge (soon feature the Camden Highline) looms overhead, something rather special is happening. Crowned Best Restaurant at the 2023 UK Caribbean Food Awards, Roger’s Kitchen has the rare quality of a place that knows exactly what it wants to be – and absolutely nails it.
The eponymous chef Roger Shakes started as a pot washer in London in 1999, worked his way up to feeding A-listers at the legendary Mango Room including Grace Jones, Spike Lee, and Prince, then struck out on his own in 2020, armed with nothing but his grandparents’ recipes from Westmoreland, Jamaica.
Take the curry goat, the kind of dish that makes you abandon all sense of decorum. There’s a depth to the sauce that speaks of hours of patient cooking, the meat falling apart with just the suggestion of pressure from your fork. The chargrilled jerk chicken is just as good. The seafood platter is a proper feast that stops conversations at neighbouring tables, and at under £30 is decent value, too.
Images via @rogerskitchen.co.uk
The set menu (£55 for three courses) is an absolute steal, though first-timers should go à la carte to properly explore. The ‘Sparkling Saturdays’ lunch deal at £35 for two courses with drinks lives up to Shakes’ professed philosophy, that “sometimes it’s not even about money, it’s about making people happy.” Tables have been increasingly hard to come by since that award win, but persistence pays off. This is our favourite restaurant in Camden, make no mistake.
Ideal for fish and chips with a heavy dose of nostalgia…
The proprietor of Poppies has been mastering the art of fish and chips since 1945, and it’s this extensive experience that has allowed him to perfect one of the UK’s most cherished meals.
At Poppies, just across Regent’s Canal from Camden Market, the focus is on fun (more on that in a moment) and authentic, traditional cooking. The fish, sourced from Billingsgate daily, is as fresh as that sourcing suggests, the batter is crisp and with delicate pockets of air, and the chips are just the right shade of beige. It’s a combination that’s hard to resist.
In addition to the star attraction, we also suggest trying a serving of the jellied eels. These slippery little delicacies are a longstanding symbol of London’s food scene, and the owner continues to honour this tradition by featuring them on the menu. Extra chilli vinegar, please!
It’s not just the food that draws the crowds in. The 110 sister restaurant is playful, with a nostalgic setting, transporting diners back to the later 1940’s and “London’s after the war rebirth”. If you didn’t know, fish and chips were part of British wartime history. On a recent instagram post, Poppies explains that this iconic British dish was “the only food never rationed in order to maintain morale and bring comfort in a time of crisis. It was also a method of identifying allies on the front line – if you shouted ‘fish’ and the reply was ‘chips’ you knew you were amongst friends”. We digress…
…Back to those interiors – there’s loads of memorabilia on the walls, with the fixtures and fittings all reclaimed or repurposed items from in and around Camden itself. To hammer the point home, waitresses wear period uniforms from Camden Lock Market.
We know that some of you might be cringing right now – themed restaurants are naff right? Well, like itself Camden, Poppies has somehow made it cool. And in true Camden style, there is an upstairs performance lounge with live music on Friday and Saturdays. Encore!
Ideal for possibly the best roasted Chinese meats in the capital…
You won’t miss Three Uncles as you enter the Hawley Wharf section of Camden Market; look not for three middle-aged men dispensing advice on hanging picture frames and cracking terrible puns but rather, a glowing red signage, and swaying roast duck and crispy pork. Is there any better sight when you’re hungry?
Indeed, Three Uncles stands as something of a beacon around these parts for those in pursuit of authentic Hong Kong-style roasted meats. Founded by a trio of childhood friends and culinary aficionados – Cheong Yew (Uncle Lim), Pui Sing Tsang (Uncle Sidney), and Mo Kwok (Uncle Mo) – the establishment first opened its doors near Liverpool Street station in 2019.
Since then, it has brought its roast meats over rice to the heart of Camden, and we’re so glad that they did. From the crispy-skinned pork belly to the richly flavoured duck and the sweet, honey-glazed char siu, this is some of the most satisfying (and best value) food in all of London.
Each dish is served in a straightforward manner with no frippery, atop a bed of perfectly fluffy rice with a choice of sauces that range from rock sugar and soy to spring onion and ginger. The house chilli oil, a necessary accompaniment, adds a welcome kick. And all of this will set you back little more than a tenner. Which gives you the perfect excuse, we think, to order a second round…
Ideal for carefully sourced produce cooked over fire in the most convivial of settings…
Okay, we accept we’re venturing a little out of Camden for this one, but the buzz generated around the Parakeet since its opening just two years ago makes it worth the twenty minute trek north into Kentish Town.
The head chef here is Ben Allen, who earned his (dry-aged) chops at Brat. The menu here follows a similarly singular vision, of cooking carefully-sourced produce over fire. In fact, the sous chef at the Parakeet is also formerly of Brat, ensuring the coals are burning just right, the smokiness imparted in the dishes here is alluring rather than acrid, and there’s a faint sense of the incestual to proceedings.
First though, a couple of pints at the bar, as The Parakeet remains proudly, resolutely a pub, with locals dropping in for a crisp, frothy pint of N1 from the Hammerton Brewery, without ever having to tuck into a plate of tomato and green strawberry if they don’t wish to.
You should, though, alongside a blistered and burnished tranche of brill, here served with salty-sweet guanciale and tiny brown shrimp. Let’s hear it, too, for the grilled prawns with brown butter, with brains left on for squeezing directly into your mouth from a great height, like you’re the most extra guest at the bacchanal.
There’s a great, compact biodynamic wine list here too, with several available by the carafe, which is always a pleasure to see. And drink. Get stuck into the Verdicchio Di Gino, which is nutty and expressive, and the perfect foil for that brill. A carafe is £17, which isn’t bad value in a place with obvious red book ambitions.
Ideal for natural wine bar dining with charcoal-grilled cooking credentials…
There must be something about Kentish Town that draws ex-Brat chefs into its boozier kitchens, because here you’ll find another…
Although let’s be honest, actually finding Half Cut Market requires a little effort. You’ll have to venture into that curious stretch of York Way between Kentish Town and Caledonian Road that nobody’s quite worked out how to name. The founders may have solved this by dubbing it the “York Way Riviera”, which points not only to the location but also to the pleasingly tongue-in-cheek posture that Half Cut does rather well.
What began in 2021 as a bottle shop and deli from four hospitality veterans – Danny Eilenberg, Edwin Methu, Paul Rosser and Holly Willcocks – has evolved into a fully fledged restaurant that manages the rare trick of being a wine bar, shop and serious eating destination all at once. Willcocks, who also handles the wine programme at Mountain in Soho, curates a list of around 80 natural bottles that The Times recognised when naming Half Cut one of the 45 best wine bars in the UK.
The kitchen is run by Aidan Richardson, who previously worked at Michelin-starred Brat, and the Brat influence shows in the cooking methods employed. Much of the menu gets treated to time over a Japanese Konro grill. Most dishes sit comfortably under £25, with many under a tenner.
The menu changes regularly based on what’s available from their suppliers – regeneratively farmed meat from the Ethical Butcher, day boat fish from Fin & Flounder, regeneratively grown flour from Wildfarmed and fruit and veg from Natoora. As is obligatory in a place like this, slicks of Cantabrian anchovies appear as a drinking snack, but here they’re paired with kumquat and persimmon, a marriage we haven’t seen elsewhere and one that certainly works.
That sets the tone for some more interesting substantial plates, including a slow-grilled chicken with jerk sauce, a pork, plum and spring onion skewer, and a grilled butterflied mackerel with roast pepper and smoked carrot sauce. The cheese and potato flatbread seems to hit every single table, arriving blistered from the grill and puffing out steam when punctured. It has enough richness to warrant sharing (or not, depending on your willpower). Further sides of fried garlic and honey potatoes or badger flame beetroot salad are worth ordering even when you think you’re full.
Desserts take themselves seriously here, with a toffee apple eclair that the menu helpfully suggests pairing with Avallen Calvados apple brandy. The wine list deserves your full attention, with glasses starting from £7. Cocktails hover around a tenner – the Half Cut Martini brings gin, vodka, vermouth and Perello olive brine together in the right proportions.
The space itself leans into that wine bar aesthetic – neons, a bouncing ’90s playlist, dim lighting. The west-facing pavement terrace catches the evening sun during the warmer months. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday evenings, with the shop element operating during those hours for takeaway bottles.
Ideal for time-honoured Greek-Cypriot cooking in a charmingly traditional setting…
Tucked away on Bayham Street, Daphne has been serving faithfully rendered Greek-Cypriot cuisine since the 1950s. The restaurant, run by the Lymbouri family since 1984, stands as a cherished reminder of when this pocket of London was known as the ‘Peloponnese Triangle’ due to its thriving Greek and Cypriot community.
After a 20-month closure for extensive renovations, Daphne reopened at the end of 2014. The ground floor dining room manages that rare feat of feeling both polished and homely, with distinctive dark green wooden panelling and latticed room dividers segmenting the space into intimate dining nooks.
The menu reads like a greatest hits of Greek-Cypriot cuisine. The taramasalata here is properly fishy, whilst koubes – those deep-fried bulgur wheat parcels stuffed with minced lamb – arrive crisp and aromatic. For mains, the kleftiko (slow-cooked lamb) is a standout, falling off the bone after its long marinade in lemon and herbs. The real draw might be the humble, homestyle dishes like louvi (black-eyed beans with spinach) and fadgi (a lentil pilaf with fresh tomatoes) – exactly the kind of sustaining fare that keeps regulars coming back.
The pricing remains remarkably fair, with most mains around £15. This is time-honoured cooking done with care and integrity, served in surroundings that transport you straight to the Mediterranean. As owner Nicholas notes, some 70% of customers are regulars – in today’s fickle dining scene, that speaks volumes.
Ideal for when all you want is a comforting plate of cheese…
Camden’s fromage aficionados congregate in one place and one place only when they’re looking to get their kicks, and that’s at the formerly, prosaically named Cheese Bar, now known as Pick and Cheese.
Something of a Camden Market institution, you might think you’d walked into a new branch of Barrafina upon entering; the horseshoe counter seating around a central bar is reliably a throng of chatter and cheer. That’s until you cast your eyes towards the end of that bar, and into several ceiling high fridges full of wheels of the good stuff.
The operation has changed somewhat since the relaunch as Pick and Cheese back in August. There is now a rotating belt of different cheeses and charcuterie, forever spinning, cyclical like life or, indeed, a cheese wheel, with plates priced according to colour; white plates (a little Keen’s Cheddar, perhaps some Lincolnshire Poacher) are £4.35, all the way up to more exclusive or labour-intensive yellow plates of goats’ cheese doughnuts or yoghurt, lemon and honey cheesecake, at £6.55.
Dedicated to celebrating the very best of British cheese, with every item on the menu showcasing the surprising diversity of the UK’s cheese-making talent, diners don’t come just to sample the raw material here; arguably the biggest draw are the ‘off-belt’ grilled cheese sandwiches, which are served with a gentle, almost austere reverence for the cheese they’re showcasing. You’ll find no overloaded, gimmicky sarnies here. The simple cheddar and onion is a case in point; funky but fresh, it’s sublime.
For a proper indulgence, every Wednesday Pick and Cheese offers Bottomless Cheese sessions, which sees an hour and fifteen minutes of 25 different cheeses and charcuterie, all-you-can-eat style. It will set you back the princely sum of £29.50, which isn’t bad for a feast of cheese lasting almost the length of a football match. Now all you need alongside it is a glass or two of the Louis Guntrum Riesling, which is richly poised, and perfect for the more acidic elements of a little Ogleshield.
Gökyüzü, a pleasant ten minute walk from Camden Market, continues the acclaimed legacy of the Gökyüzü chain (there are three other branches in Green Lanes Harringay, which Grace Dent reviewed fondly in the Guardian, Walthamstow and Chingford Mount) with another knockout offering in Kentish Town.
Run by the Yavuz family, Gökyüzü is a product of a familiar story; a family moves to the UK and finds the food of their homeland not represented as they’d like. Cue the deployment of a grandparent’s secret recipes, a mix of local producers and spices flown in from the motherland, and an authentic restaurant is born.
As you walk in, there’s a charcoal grill being tended to on your right and a fridge with various kebabs and vegetable skewers on display, emphasising the freshness of the product. The menu is a tribute to the diverse culinary heritage of Turkey, with specialities ranging from succulent, charred kebabs, served generously with a big smear of house hummus, to meze, aromatic pide and freshly baked lahmacun. Order the latter – super thin, crisp but pliable – squeeze on a little lemon, add some pickles and parsley, and roll one up. Repeat the process; it’s damn good.
Move on to the restaurant’s signature platter, featuring both lamb and chicken shish, ribs, wings, chops and doners. It’s served with rice and bulgur wheat, and arrives as an imposing pile, the meat blackened in just the right places but tender within. Designed for two to three people, it could easily feed six. At £67, it’s an absolute steal. Order an Efes Draft or two to go with, and be confused that it arrives in a bottle. No matter, the honeyed maltiness of the beer is just the right match for that kiss of the charcoal that runs through everything on the plate.
A complementary salad to start and Turkish tea to finish shows off the excellent hospitality which the restaurant group (and country) are famed for.
Focusing on a more ‘maternal‘, homestyle Japanese cooking, this izakaya on Camden High Street is run by two Japanese women who fled Clapham in 2022 when their landlord hiked the rent at their original spot on Abbeville Road by 170%. We’re kinda glad they moved on. Just sixty seconds’ walk from Mornington Crescent tube, the new outpost has already built a following among homesick Japanese expats and locals who care implicitly about the difference between real sushi rice and the sticky stuff you get elsewhere.
On the menu, expect izakaya classics rendered faithfully. So, that’s liberally glazed but not overly sweet nasu dengaku, takoyaki octopus balls that are just the right side of gummy, and chicken karage that’s craggy and perfect for it.
Do be aware that Tokyo Retro only opens in the evenings, Tuesday through Saturday. Book ahead or risk disappointment – word has spread since they arrived in NW1, and the small space fills quickly. It’s worth the effort; it’s a wonderfully welcoming restaurant to sink into. The owners remember faces and preferences, treating regulars like family members who’ve come round for dinner.
Yes, service can slow down when they’re busy. Yes, the space is humble and unassuming. But when you’re eating grilled eel this good, who cares about the wallpaper?
Ideal for dairy and gluten free pizza that actually tastes great…
Holding the distinction of being the UK’s first entirely vegan pizzeria, a title it has proudly held since its inception in 2015, Purezza is the brainchild of Stefania Evangelisti and Tim Barclay, born out of a desire to revolutionise plant-based dining.
Established in Brighton, the UK’s Vegan Capital, Purezza is the first plant-based pizzeria in the UK. They specialise in vegan, gluten-free sourdough pizzas that are innovative and full of flavour. They have expanded their operations with branches in Camden (were we’re dining today, of course), Bristol, and Hove, maintaining their high-quality standards across all locations.
Their pizzas are far from the typical, bland, artificial-tasting vegan options. They use large wood-fired ovens to bake pizzas that could rival any traditional Neapolitan pizzeria. The dough is allowed to mature for forty-eight hours, and their signature vegan mozzarella, made from brown rice, took two years to perfect. It’s as close to the real thing as you can get in a vegan version.
The name Purezza, which translates to ‘purity’ and sounds, erm, a bit like ‘pizza’, reflects their commitment to using fresh, seasonal vegetables to enhance their pizzas. Their Parmagiana Party pizza, crowned as the ‘National Pizza of the Year’ at the National Pizza Awards a few years back, is a must-try. This recognition was a significant achievement for a vegan pizza.
That was 2018, and things have gone even better since, Purezza’s pear and blue pizza a case in pointp – think a luscious white base, creamy mozzarella, and the bold tang of blue cheese, softened and sweetened with juicy pears, crunchy walnuts, and a fiery twist of chilli jam. There’s a joke in here about pizza pear-fection, but someone else has already made it.
Purezza is arguably the best vegan pizza in London, and perhaps even in the entire UK. It’s certainly one of our favourite restaurants in Camden.
Ideal for the all-Argentinian steakhouse experience done right…
This family-run establishment prides itself on delivering the finest Argentinian food in London, with a menu that promises to transport you straight to the heart of South America.
La Patagonia largely succeeds in that aim, its transportative quality certainly not harmed by the restaurant’s central parrilla – complete with crank handle and chain – and the sizzling steaks that have bedded down so happily on its bars.
Before you get stuck into Argentina’s finest prime sirloin (£27.90 for 300g), first get lost in the savoury folds of the restaurant’s homemade empanadas, the traditional beef mince version, piquant from green olives, has pastry that boasts that chalky quality that defines a truly great Argentinian pastry. Then, it’s on to the headliner, which throws its bolero hat into the ring of London’s best steaks, with a gnarly yet uniform bark from the high heat of the charcoal grill and a pleasant pinkness within. That faint, reassuring tang of the farmyard brings you home.
Unsurprisingly, it’s an all Argentinian wine list here, with an eminently drinkable Malbec San Telmo Reserva clocking in at just £6.75 a glass. Lovely stuff. Just be sure to book if you’re heading here at the weekend; this place gets busy.
Ideal for one of London’s best (and most affordable) bowls of ramen…
Head south down Camden High Street away from the market, and in ten minutes you’ll come to one of London’s best value Japanese restaurants, Seto.
Whilst we’re tempted to describe Seto as a ‘hidden gem’ or one of ‘London’s best kept secrets’, that would be a little disingenuous, as it’s consistently rammed with locals, visitors and passersby, all drawn to the £9 lunchtime ramen menu, with an extensive choice of around 10 versions of the beloved noodle soup on offer.
One of London’s best bowls of ramen, we’re big fans of the Shoyu here, light yet packing real depth, with properly fatty, unctuous slices of pork floating within. You get five or six of those slices. For that price tag, Seto has no need to be so generous, but this is a welcoming, family-run neighbourhood spot, and that’s always been the vibe here. Long may it continue.
Ideal for Portuguese homecooking that nourishes the soul…
We end our tour of Camden’s best restaurants in the warm embrace of O Tino, a beloved spot that has been doing gloriously satisfying Portuguese homecooking since 2009. It’s a lovely place to settle into, with husband and wife team Florentino and Elisabete working the floor and Liga Portugal 2 matches ticking away on the tele (at least on our visit here, anyway).
Unsurprisingly, salt cod features heavily on the menu, with bacalhau the focal point of five or six dishes. We went for the classic dish of bacalhau a bras, which sees salt cod mixed with scrambled eggs and crisp matchstick potatoes, and this was a fine version indeed, as good as we’ve eaten in Lisbon. Alongside, clams in white wine called for plenty of bread for mopping up those briny, beautiful juices. Mop we did.
The only, though, is the arroz de marisco, the country’s beloved seafood rice dish. This one needs to be ordered with 24 hour’s notice, but you won’t regret deploying a little foresight. Pair it with a glass of Vinho Verde and you could be in a little backstreet of Lisbon.
If you’re up for a quick lunch, O Tino also does an excellent job of piri-piri chicken, here served with chips and salad for just £14. Result!
It’s certainly a surprise to say that, despite it being the capital’s second busiest station, London Waterloo is somewhat bereft of great dining options.
Sure, the clarion call for your 18:38 to Surbiton may ring out crisply, and instructions to ‘mind the gap’ remain insistent, but when the culinary conductors come a calling, this most bustling of transport hubs often falls silent.
You could, of course, seek solace between the buns of Burger King or scoff a sausage roll on the station concourse if you’ve got a train to catch, but if you’re blessed with an hour or two to spare, then rest assured; just outside of London Waterloo station there are some fantastic places to have lunch or dinner. With that in mind, here are the best restaurants near London Waterloo.
Lasdun at the National Theatre
Ideal for old school yet modern British brassiere style plates that sing with seasonal produce…
You’d think that the area surrounding London’s National Theatre would be positively teeming with smart, creative places to eat pre and post show, but that simply isn’t the case. Or rather, wasn’t the case until Lasdun opened.
In a rather barren stretch of the South Bank in terms of eating options, where chain restaurants rule supreme, the 2023 opening of this stylish restaurant within the National Theatre building has caused quite the stir, garnering several positive reviews in the weekend papers before its first chicken, leek and girolle pie had even been polished off.
You don’t have to be an avid consumer of the Real Housewives Of Clapton Instagram account or a Hackey resident to be familiar with the East London pub the Marksman, with its Fergus Henderson inspired plates of austere perfection, and the Ladsun, from the same team, continues with this tradition.
Named after the renowned architect Denys Lasdun, who designed the iconic National Theatre building in a similarly flinty fashion, this restaurant is a testament to his legacy. A collaboration between co-founder of Lyles John Ogier, KERB, and the team behind the Marksman, Jon Rotheram and Tom Harris, there’s a commitment to seasonality and simplicity here that you’d expect, with a knack for finding beauty in the seemingly old-fashioned.
Their menu is a comforting blend of traditional dishes with flourishes of luxury, like fish cakes in mussel sauce, devilled eggs topped with caviar, and a glazed beef, barley and horseradish bun, all crafted with a touch of surprise and restraint. The menu also takes inspiration from London itself; that that aforementioned pie is now on the menu.
Lasdun’s interior design pays homage to its namesake, featuring dramatic uplighting, a marble bar, and chrome lighting fixtures that echo the Brutalist architecture of the theatre. It’s a gorgeous, inspiring place to spend time.
And this just in; in addition to its already iconic dining room, Lasdun have just last week launched a new summer terrace, offering guests the chance to enjoy signature seasonal British fare in a sun-soaked setting (if it would bloody stop raining for a minute, that is).
The terrace, directly accessible from the Southbank, seats 60 people and is open from midday until dusk, running through summer until late September. The alfresco menu is a light and breezy affair, with a heavy emphasis on buns – both a Dorset crab and mayonnaise and a treacle-cured Tamworth ham and Lincolnshire Poacher version are available. Sign us up for both!
Super refreshing drinks such as the Lasdun Summer Cup and an elderflower infused Tom Collins seal the deal. We’ll see you out there? Don’t forget your sunnies.
Also found in the iconic National Theatre, Forza Wine brought their ‘Italian-ish’ (thought we were calling it ‘Britalian’?) cooking to the South Bank via Peckham in the latter part of 2023, and have already firmly bedded in.
Perhaps ‘bedded’ is the wrong phrase here, as the top floor dining room is positively lauding it over the South Bank below, with wraparound riverside terrace seating and views of the Thames thrown in for good measure.
Better warn your ma who’s suspicious of ‘small plates’ and modern day dining’s obsession with sharing; the menu is one clustered, singular piece of copy. There are no starters or mains here, not even snacks and sharing plates – just a list of 13 dishes plus soft serves and a custardo, the latter of which is a bloody delicious espresso-thickened-with-custard concoction that the lads from Off Menu have regularly eulogised.
Don’t worry; the larger dishes from that rundown will have even the biggest menu pedants cooing. Generous, fully formed plates, a recent dish of sea bream fillet – blistered and blackened from the grill – with a tangle of shaved fennel and tomatoes roasted until sweet and collapsing was superb. Pair it with a little sourdough toast and confit garlic butter, and perhaps some of the restaurant’s superlative, golden cauliflower fritti and aioli, and you’ve got yourself a beautifully rounded (and admittedly rather pungent) meal.
True to the conviviality of the place, Forza Wine at the NT is an all day affair, open from midday until 11pm daily, except on Sundays when it’s closed. Due to it being a massive, 160-cover space, you could, theoretically,just drop in for a Custardo or two, if you’ve got a wait before your train departs from Waterloo.
There’s also a very good weekday lunch deal. Right now, for £15, you get a roast chicken leg, crispy spuds and a kind of riff on a Caesar salad, plus a glass of house wine. You really can’t argue with that value.
Ideal for Osakan soul food in an intimate setting…
If you’re yearning for a genuine taste of Japan’s kitchen capital without boarding a flight to Kansai, Okan’s tiny, atmospheric space in County Hall delivers in spades. For the uninitiated, County Hall is that imposing Grade II-listed building on the South Bank that once served as the headquarters of London’s government – these days, it’s home to a rather eccentric mix of tourist attractions and, thankfully, some properly good Japanese restaurants (it’s owned by Japanese company Shirayama Shokusan Ltd).
At the stoves is chef Moto Priestman, who arrived from Osaka in 1998. This intimate spot has been converting Londoners from their sushi-centric view of Japanese cuisine since 2018. Their signature okonomiyaki (ranging from £11-15) arguably offers perhaps the best value authentic Japanese cooking in the area.
The restaurant perfectly captures the essence of Osaka’s back-alley dining culture – the air is perfumed with smoke from the open kitchen, whilst diners huddle around closely packed tables, clinking beers and diving into steaming bowls of curry rice. It’s steamy and kinetic in the best possible way.
At the heart of Okan’s menu lies okonomiyaki, Osaka’s beloved savoury pancakes. These properly crafted specimens arrive sizzling hot, with the tofu and kimchi version being a particular highlight – expect a crispy exterior giving way to a tender centre, finished with generous zigzags of Kewpie mayo. The spicy miso udon and yakisoba also deserve special mention, offering the kind of soul-warming comfort that makes you forget you’re sitting in the shadow of the London Eye.
The success of this County Hall original has spawned three equally snug siblings over in Brixton and another in Kings Cross, but there’s something rather special about this 20-seater space. Perhaps it’s the counter seats overlooking the open kitchen, or maybe it’s just the sheer incongruity of finding such an authentic slice of Japan nestled behind the tourist traps. Either way, it works.
Ideal for a global feast with London’s best skyline views…
Forget the tourist-trap chains that populate much of the South Bank – a different kind of gastronomic action happens behind the Royal Festival Hall, where the Southbank Centre Food Market springs to life every weekend. This small but perfectly formed marketplace transforms an otherwise ordinary space into a bustling hub of international cuisine that’s worthy of your time if you’re in need of a quick bite close to Waterloo. You are; that’s why you’re here.
With over 40 independent traders setting up shop Friday through Sunday, this is street food done properly. The line-up reads like a culinary world tour: from Horn OK Please’s vibrant Indian dosas (from £8) to Ethiopiques’ wholesome vegan fare, and Nobiani’s contemporary takes on Korean BBQ. The Polish Deli’s artisanal sausages sit comfortably alongside PAD + SEN’s authentic pad thai, proving that good food knows no borders.
image via Southbank Centre
The market’s particular strength lies in its ability to balance established favourites with exciting newcomers. Whilst The Hop Locker keeps the craft beer flowing (pints around £6.50) and Honest Folk mix seasonal cocktails, you’ll find traders like Two Als bringing proper New York-style chopped cheese sandwiches to curious Londoners.
The beauty of dining here lies not just in the food itself, but in the experience – grab your chosen delicacy and head to Jubilee Gardens for an impromptu picnic with views of the London Eye. The market welcomes hungry visitors from noon until 8pm on Fridays, opens an hour earlier on Saturdays, and runs a slightly shorter service on Sundays, wrapping up at 6pm. Just remember to bring a backup plan for those inevitable British weather moments.
Ideal for some of the best pizza close to Waterloo…
Just a few minutes walk from Waterloo and with a pizza that’s bubbling on the paddle within a minute or two of being ordered, Crust Bros is the ideal place for a quite bite before catching your onward train.
Despite the eponymous name, it’s not just the crusts that define the main event here; these are fantastic pizzas which exact an admirable level of restraint in terms of toppings, a few choice elements bringing the best out of that dough rather than weighing it down and overwhelming it.
You can also create your own pizza from scratch (no, they don’t let you go in the kitchen and get busy) using the menu’s flow-chart layout and a few flicks of the wrist, which adds a bit of fun. Hey, could we borrow a pen, by the way?
Ideal for eating bang-in-season grub at any time of year, all in a striking 19th-century drawing room…
Spring Restaurant, located in the iconic Somerset House in London, is a culinary gem that deserves a spot on any ‘best restaurants near London Waterloo’ list, despite you having to cross the Thames to get there.
Not to worry; there’s pedestrian access over Waterloo Bridge, and whilst perhaps not long enough to properly build up an appetite, on a crisp, effervescent evening, the stroll can be kind of beautiful.
Spring is the work of the late Skye Gyngell, the Australian-born chef who passed away in November 2025 at the age of 62. Gyngell first gained recognition on these shores in the early 2000s at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond, where her fresh, seasonal cooking style earned a Michelin star and left a lasting legacy on London about how simple, ingredient-led Italian cooking can be served in a more relaxed setting.
She opened Spring in 2014, and it quickly became considered one of the best places to eat near Waterloo and the Southbank. The restaurant’s interior was designed by Gyngell’s sister Briony Fitzgerald, creating a gorgeous, inspiring space in which to spend time. On the plate, that same sense of care prevails, with just a few bang-in-season ingredients gracing each dish.
The set menu remains excellent value, with three courses currently clocking in at £39. Even more compelling is Gyngell’s innovative Scratch menu, which features dishes made from ‘waste’ produce. Running from Tuesdays to Saturdays between 5:30pm and 6:30pm and limited to 30 guests each service, it was a pioneering, thought-provoking approach to fine dining sustainability.
A case in point: the remilled coffee cake dessert, using grounds from post-meal espressos previously served to guests, served with an ice cream made of ‘spent’ figs. Three courses are yours for £40, and it remains a fitting way to experience a chef whose influence on British dining will be felt for generations.
Ideal for Syrian home cooking in a Somerset House setting…
Just a few doors down from Spring in the South Wing of Somerset House, Aram marks Syrian-born chef Imad Alarnab’s latest venture. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Alarnab has already won over much of London with Imad’s Syrian Kitchen in Soho, a restaurant that began life as a crowdfunded popup and now regularly fills with customers curious about a cuisine still underrepresented in the capital. They leave no longer curious but wholly convinced, and so it is at Aram, too.
Aram operates as a café and deli, a slightly more casual affair than its Soho sibling, though the cooking is no less considered. The mudakhan ghanam is the star of the show here; a generous plate of slow-roasted lamb shoulder over delicately perfumed basmati rice, the meat tender and giving, scattered simply with cashews for texture.
Lighter appetites will find plenty to pick at, which is fitting for the deli-leanings here. A roasted aubergine salad arrives cool and smoky, the flesh collapsed and folded through with chickpeas, red pepper confit, and a scattering of pomegranate seeds that pop against the earthiness of it all. It’s zigzagged playfully with a warming tahini dressing. Of course there is hummus, too. And of course, it’s gorgeous. This one comes topped with urfa chilli and crunchy chickpeas. Warm pita makes short work of both.
There’s a sweetness to the place that extends to dessert: the pistachio yoghurt pairs Greek yoghurt with hibiscus-poached pear and a slick of chocolate, straddling the line between pudding and breakfast.
There’s a handful of cocktails but there’s something so nourishing and calm about the place that we went for the mocktail instead, a refreshing pomegranate spritz that pairs well with the food. It leaves you invigorated for an afternoon exploring the Courtauld. Or, indeed, for that short walk back to Waterloo.
Ideal for sophisticated pub grub with a Mediterranean bent…
From the restaurant group behind the acclaimed Canton Arms in Stockwell and Oxford’s Magdalen Arms comes the Anchor & Hope, one of the best places to eat in the vicinity of London Waterloo station.
Though this is a pub first and foremost, the menu here carries plenty of intrigue and a decidedly Mediterranean bent, whether you’re enjoying a simple snack of creamy, spreadable calf’s brain on crostini or a something altogether heartier like blushing fallow deer done in a Provencal style and draped over wet, parmesan laden polenta.
Even the ‘worker’s lunch’ here, a snip at £16 for two courses, is far removed from your pub Ploughman’s. Recently, a quail, roast on the crown, was paired with couscous and a tzatziki positively humming with garlic. Very delicious indeed, and remarkably well-suited to a freshly poured pint.
Should you be keen for more traditionally ‘British’ fare just a short stroll from the station, then Masters Superfish has been dunking the good stuff in bubbling vats of fat for generations.
Here, the fish is sourced from Billingsgate daily, the chips are the kind to render a sheet of newspaper translucent, and the pickles are bottomless and full of bite. What more could you want from a chippy?
Though you can enjoy your fish and chips in the Masters’ canteen-like surrounds, you could of course head back to Waterloo with a takeaway the size of a baby under your arm, and make the whole train carriage jealous as you embark on your onward journey. Decisions, decisions.
Ideal for some of the best Trinidadian food in the city…
Image via Limin Instagram
If you were going on GPS only, you might assume Limin’ Beach Club has found something of an unlikely home at Gabriel’s Wharf, just off the South Bank’s main drag. But visit this ode to the beloved Trinidadian pastime of limin’ and you’ll quickly understand why it’s settled into a soca-soaked rhythm here; on a stretch of sand adjacent to the Southbank Centre, chef Sham is slinging out some of the best Trinidadian food in the city, all from a nautically-coloured beach hut.
Here, cooked to order roti is simultaneously flakey and crisp, and is served alongside either curry (a choice of oxtail, sea bass or chickpea on our last visit), or a leg of chicken properly blistered and burnished on the restaurant’s massive charcoal grill.
Of course, you’ll want to order some doubles while you tuck into a rum cocktail or two. Trinidad’s national dish, at Limin’ it’s an intricately spiced affair of dangerously sloppy channa (chickpea curry) sandwiched between two bara (fried flatbreads) which are then folded and consumed as tidily as is conceivable. Fortunately, if you make a mess here, you can just sweep it under the sand!
Ideal for the flavours of Tel Aviv with plates full of verve and vibrancy…
Head back beyond London Waterloo station and into Bankside’s Old Union Yard Arches, and you’ll find a thriving little courtyard of culture and culinary intrigue.
Nestled in here is Bala Baya, a restaurant inspired by the smells, sights, sounds, and, of course, flavours of chef Eran Tibi’s upbringing in Tel Aviv.
The celebration of the multi-sensory is apt, as it’s noisy in this lively yet functional space, with large groups descending on Southwark for plates full of verve and vibrancy. This is food built for sharing, make no mistake, with long and leisurely lunches of feasting and frivolity very much encouraged here.
The prawn baklava is something of a signature here (certainly in our eyes), coming with piquant notes from lime syrup and cream, and given an aromatic edge with a dusting of pistachio and rose. Just fabulous, and served to allow every member of the squad a portion.
Ideal for some stunning Southern Vietnamese flavours…
Whilst the majority of genuinely great Vietnamese food in London is found in and around Shoreditch’s Kingsland Road, you can still find a few gems south of the river, and one of those is Union Viet Cafe.
A ten minute walk from the station and one of the best places to eat near London Waterloo, Union Viet Cafe swings more Southern Viet in its delivery, with the dishes generally sweeter and spicier than their more austere Northern counterparts.
Here, the Ho Chi Minh City streefood staple bo la lot – minced beef wrapped in vine leaves and grilled – is bang on the money, served alongside lettuce, herbs and dipping sauces so you can make your own wraps, just as it should be.
The delicate, smoky bun thit nuong, which sees thin slices of pork belly grilled and served over fermented rice noodles and loads of herbs, is a real winner for a swift light lunch. Or, you could settle in for something heartier; the restaurant does a range of noodle soups, including pho, bun bo hue and more.
Ideal for proper Japanese home cooking that won’t break the bank…
We’re tucked away in the tourist honeypot of County Hall again – that grand Edwardian Baroque building which once housed the London County Council and later the Greater London Council that we realise as we finish this aside that we’ve already introduced – in search of great Japanese food.
That said, Sagamiya feels like stumbling upon a secret. This husband-and-wife operation from Kanagawa Prefecture offers the kind of authentic Japanese dining experience you might expect to find in a Tokyo side street rather than steps away from the London Eye.
The restaurant’s strength lies in its pitch-perfect execution of Japanese comfort food classics. Their chirashi bowl is a masterclass in gentle (as in; not tweezered) precision – pristine slices of akami, chutoro, yellowtail and salmon arranged with artistic flair over perfectly seasoned rice, completed with plump prawns, scallops and unagi. The salmon belly teriyaki bento (£15), meanwhile, arrives with skin crisped to perfection and flesh cooked just so, accompanied by proper miso soup that tastes like it’s been simmering since dawn.
The space itself is refreshingly unpretentious – a handful of tables and counter seats facing the open kitchen create an atmosphere that’s more neighbourhood favourite than tourist trap. It’s the sort of place where City workers loosen their ties over steaming bowls of home-style cooking and play at being salary men, and solo diners find themselves nodding along to Japanese rock whilst tucking into impeccably made tamago.
Evening services bring additional treats, with warming oden and homestyle cabbage rolls making occasional appearances. You’ll find them doing their thing Tuesday through Saturday, with a neat split between lunch (noon until 2pm) and dinner (5:45pm until 9pm), taking a well-deserved rest on Sundays and Mondays. Just don’t expect to show up with your entire office in tow – like the best things in life, Sagamiya works best when kept intimate.
If you haven’t found anything in and around Waterloo to satisfy your hunger, then why not take the train a little further south to Battersea, and check out some of the great places to eat near Clapham Junction. A tour of London’s train stations never tasted so good!
