Daniela Toporek

Forget starchy and old-fashioned. London’s best wine bars are bringing the humble grape to cool crowds of discerning drinkers. Find cosy, bistro-style settings with great food, sophisticated bars that are perfect for date night, or hip Hackney hangouts where wine is the drink du jour. Discover everything from natural wines to grapes from far-flung vineyards, plus service from knowledgeable, approachable staff. One thing is for certain, you’ll find more than a bargain bin Sauv Blanc at these great grape-peddlers. RECOMMENDED: These are London’s best bars.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Bottomless brunch. These words strike excitement – and also a slight sting of terror – into our hearts. Endless quaffing of fizz, usually within a 90 minute time limit, and some hearty breakfast foods seem like the perfect backdrop to catching up with mates on a weekend. Simply bash your cash down and let the London restaurant of your chosing do the rest. Will you get drunk? Most likely. Will you be so full of food that you're worried you may explode? Also possible. Are you in? Yes, you are. In London, you’ll find bottomless bubbles and bloody marys, as well as options with red wine, and cocktails. The food doesn’t have to be straightforward breakfast stuff either. Brunch can be anything from bao to barbecue. Time to go hard then go home! All that sounds a bit too much? You could just stick to regular old brunch. RECOMMENDED: Find more great breakfasts in London.

Mexican food in London has never been better. What started in the 1990s as a Tex-Mex-leaning fascination with grainy cheese, hard taco shells, and oversalted tortilla chips, was followed by a chain that intentionally misspelled the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Not ideal. But things have got a whole lot more authentic since, blossoming into a bold community of cooks and chefs – Mexican, Brit and beyond – who seek outside the taco seasoning for more legitimate cuisine. Across London you can now find dishes from hyperlocal Mexican regions, as well as handmade tortillas, brilliant salsas and ceviches, fresh moles, fabulously mixed margaritas and even Michelin star rated spots. These are the finest 20 Mexican restaurants in London, where you can find all the above and more. Read more about the enviable current state of Mexican food in London here.  RECOMMENDED: London's best street food. Daniela Toporek is a London-based, Mexican-American food and travel journalist with a passion for discovering and sharing Latin-American culture and cuisine in the UK. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Ah, September. In the northern hemisphere, summer is drawing to a close, but in the south, spring is only just beginning. It’s a time between the mid-year travel peak and the busy festive season, and that means it’s a solid time to get away.  It’s also cheaper, the weather is more temperate and there’s a cracking roster of festivals and local traditions scheduled for this time of year, from region-wide book fairs and rock music festivals to scenic annual wine tours and massive flea markets. So, no matter the vibe you’re after this September, our list of the best places to travel will have something for you. RECOMMENDED:✈️The best places to travel in October🗺️Full guide to the best places to travel🛍️The world’s coolest neighbourhoods🎭The best cities for culture right now At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines and check out our latest travel guides written by local experts. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

What is the most beautiful place in the world? Well, beauty is subjective – it’s in the eye of the beholder, so they say – so that’s really up to your own definition. To some, there’s nowhere more beautiful than Bolivia’s otherworldly mirrored salt flats; to others, California’s rugged coast takes the crown.  Luckily, the world isn’t held to the same rigid beauty standards as humans are. We asked our network of globetrotting travel writers to tell us the most beautiful place they’ve ever been to. The resulting list is a definitive, but by no means exhaustive, guide to the most stunning spots our planet has to offer. We update this list regularly, ensuring we’re including the big-hitters while considering the impact of overtourism and spotlighting lesser-known beauty spots. From gigantic glaciers and shape-shifting beaches to ancient woodland and lantern-lit cities, here’s what we reckon are the most beautiful places on Earth – chosen by travel writers who’ve seen them all IRL. Grace Beard is Time Out’s travel editor, based in London. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines and check out our latest travel guides written by local experts.RECOMMENDED:⛰️ The most beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Sites🗺 The most underrated travel destinations in the world🧭 The best places to travel solo🏝 The best beaches in the world

There isn’t really a bad time of year to go on holiday, but if, like the majority of us, you plan on packing a bag and heading off on a jaunt in August, we’re here to help. Why? Well, go-to summer destinations can mean copping a sunbed feels more like a military drill, and flights and accommodation teeter at the more expensive end of the scale – hardly relaxing, is it? Fear not, weary traveller. There are in fact plenty of spots across the planet which show their quieter side in August, making it the best time of year to go and appreciate them, from the plains of East Africa to the streets of South America. So, without further ado, these are the best places in the world to travel in August.  RECOMMENDED:✈️The best places to travel in September🗺️Full guide to the best places to travel🛍️The world’s coolest neighbourhoods🎭The best cities for culture right now At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines and check out our latest travel guides written by local experts. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

There’s no getting around it: winters in the UK are bleak. From October until March things are pretty much forever grey, damp and cold, and don’t get us started on the 4pm darkness. But hey, maybe it’s all worth the wait when spring shines its golden, warm(ish) rays and those pink little flowers we all know and love reawaken from their seasonal slumber. That’s right: cherry blossom season is nearly here, folks. And it’s back to save us all.  What month is cherry blossom season in the UK? While peak blossom season normally starts in April and lasts through May, climate change has slowly been pushing the peak back, so don’t be surprised if you stumble on full bloomin’ trees as early as mid-March. Lucky for us, the UK offers some gorgeous green spaces for cherry blossom devotees, and we’ve rounded up the best, from Scottish parks to Cumbrian castles. RECOMMENDED:🌺 The best places to see wildflowers in the UK🌿 The best places in the UK to see wisteria💙 The UK’s top spots for bluebells🌤️ The best places to visit in the UK Ella Doyle is Time Out’s guides editor for the UK and Europe, based in London. At Time Out, all of our guides are written by experts. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

As sister venue to Hackney’s tiny wine bar Binch, Godet can easily be spotted by its peachy-pink exterior and checkered curtains. Not only are the vibes ridiculously cool, with a weekend DJ (at a reasonable volume), Godet have collabed with Perk’d Up Burgers to serve up elite, cheesy, crispy-edged burgers and sides to complement a small, but mighty selection of reds, whites and oranges. 

Festival season is back in full swing, baby! And this weekend Leicestershire is ready to welcome back thousands of moshing metalheads for the largest rock music festival in the UK – Download. With a (head)banging mix of both new and nostalgic bands ready to amp up the crowds, the rock extravaganza is about to kick off its 22nd edition. We know that festival planning can get hectic, so we’ve got you covered on all the basics to make your prep easy peasy for a metal-heavy weekend.  When is Download Festival 2025?  No need for a calendar countdown as Download’s gates are now open. The bands will strumming strum their first chords on Friday, June 13, with music continuing until Sunday, June 15.  Where is Download Festival 2025 and how do I get there? Download returns to Leicestershire’s Donington Park, with Derby and Nottingham being the nearest cities, both about a 30-minute drive from the festival.  Parking passes are sold out, so it’s worth looking at public transport options like Big Green Coach, the festival’s exclusive coach travel partner. It offers drives to and from 73 locations and new this year, Big Green Coach are offering day return coaches for Birmingham, Birmingham International/Solihull, Coventry, Leeds, Leicester, London Victoria, Manchester, Sheffield, Stockport, Stoke on Trent and Uttoxeter. If driving is still your transit of choice, Download has multiple driving guides and routes to make your trip as convenient as possible. You can find them all here.   Who a

Transport for London is giving Alperton tube station a step-free glow-up by replacing its antiquated (now out-of use) wooden escalator with two brand new lifts. Taken from the Dome of Discovery at the Festival of Britain, the already-vintage escalator was installed into Alperton station in November 1955 with only one direction, up. It also only benefited commuters heading London-bound, and was decommissioned in 1988.  Since then, the London Underground's last wooden relic has been hidden behind a closed-off wall, but soon it will be gone forever, as the out of service escalator is going to be removed to make way for lifts, making Alperton fully accessible.  Brent Council has agreed to team up with TfL to partially fund the station revamp by contributing up to half of the total costs (capping at £5 million). Now, the new lift will make Alperton's eastbound platform completely step-free, except for the step from the train to the platform, where staff members will provide mini-ramps as needed.  As for westbound commuters, the stairs and tunnel under the railway complicate the renovation designs. TfL has considered adding a new lift for a separate tunnel that's behind the retail space in front of the station, but that would require its current occupiers, a local barber shop, to close. Will they close a local business for the greater good of accessible transit? That is to be determined. What we do know is that the upgrade will include more ticket barriers and new accessible toilet

Sir David Attenborough, Malala Yousafzai and Alan Turing — these are just some of the Nobel Prize-winning, global-leading, world famous graduates who have attended elite British universities. But which universities did they go to? And which are the best? It's that time of year again, when students and alumni get to boast about their alma mater as the Complete University Guide has just released its list of the top universities in the UK for 2026. Multiple factors are considered when ranking these educational establishments, from entry qualifications to research quality, student-staff ratio, student satisfaction and more, it’s all taken into consideration to come up with an overall score out of 1,000. Predictably, defending its title for the third year is the University of Cambridge who trampled its rivals with another score of 1,000. Famous graduates from the institution include Sir Attenborough, Isaac Newton, Alan Turing, actor Emma Thompson and Malala Yousafzai. The University of Oxford came in an unsurprising second place. With a score of 978, Oxford's notorious alumni include Stephen Hawking, Bill Clinton, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. While both of these universities excel in entry standards, academic services and graduate success stories, both of their student satisfaction rates rank lower than other unis that placed lower on the list.  In third place was the London School of Economics and Political Science which scored 927. Brilliant minds like the former president of Colom

Within the next few years, the north of England is set to get a major new eco-friendly attraction. The Eden Project Morecambe, an oasis by the sea in Lancashire, was announced back in 2022, and gained funding in 2023, and it just got a step closer to opening. According to the big bosses, the northern project is nearly ready for construction, and is expected to open by late 2028.  John Pye, the new project director for the eco-attraction said the main construction for Eden Project Morecambe is expected to begin by next summer, completely revamping what was originally the Bubbles leisure complex. Unveiling this information during a community meeting at Morecambe Football Club, Pye said this stage will include the construction of the project's sleek, futuristic pavilions that were ‘inspired by the natural geometries, beauty and efficiency of seashells’, complementing its oceanside location on Morecambe Bay.  Pye said that the concept design stage is expected to finish by summer 2025, allowing a start on more detailed designs for the attraction and site investigations that will begin this autumn.  Eden Project Morecambe is expected to house exotic plants from across the globe, along with world-class art pieces, interactive installations, space for speakers and performances and more. Through education, ecology and community, the goal of this contemporary project is to spark curiosity and wonder back into visitors, while rebuilding connections with the natural world.  It’s official

Are you a history buff? A James Bond fanatic? An arts-and-culture aficionado? A lover of drinking in one-of-a-kind bars? All four of those? If so, we’ve got your dream London attraction. It’s called The London Tunnels, and it’s expected to be one of the most significant new attractions to open in the city this side of the millennium.  As the name suggests, The London Tunnels will occupy a series of underground passages. The tunnels were built during WWII to protect Londoners from the Blitz, and they stretch a mile under High Holborn and Chancery Lane. They may be hidden beneath central London’s streets, but they’re pretty huge: the ceilings are so high they could fit a double-decker bus.  The tunnels have been shut since the 1980s and they’re set to soon open to the public as a tourist attraction. With the help of WilkinsonEyre (the architects behind Battersea Power Station’s flashy revamp) London Tunnels CEO Angus Murray plans to open the tunnels up as a part-museum, part-exhibition-space and part-cocktail-bar, and it’s predicted to launch in early 2028.  So, how did we get here? After the war the tunnels were taken over by British Intelligence for its Special Operations Executive office (part of MI6), and the offices were supposedly an inspiration to James Bond creator Ian Fleming and his novels’ Q Branch. In the ’50s, the complex was transformed into the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels, a telephone exchange with the deepest underground bar in any city in the world, built for its

After any event at any arena, there’s the dreadful aftermath of waste. The heaps of trash left behind by attendees, the paper and plastic containers, the empty vapes and an incomprehensible amount of everything else abandoned for poor cleaning staff to recover. Apparently, each person attending a football match can produce seven times more waste than they would in their everyday life. Thankfully, there’s A Greener Future (AGF), a non-profit company that helps events and venues reduce their environmental impact and become more sustainable. And there are places making positive progress. Later this month, five UK arenas will be recognised by AGF for their commitment to sustainability last year at the International AGF Awards.  AGF ranks the venues assessed by four variations of ‘greenness’. There’s the improver certification, which recognises great strides in the venue’s green journey and the ‘commenders’ certification, which honours well-managed, environmentally aware venues.  At the top level, the high commenders certification celebrates a high level of commitment to green practices and significant standards of sustainability. Outstanding certifications (the greenest of them all) demonstrate exceptional leadership and achievements in sustainable practices. The Forest Green Rovers’ New Lawn stadium in Stroud takes the top spot with an ‘Outstanding’ Greener Arena certification, with FIFA even describing the Rovers as ‘the greenest football club in the world’ for its solar panel

Making that after-work motive easier than ever, a new venue has opened in south London which is both a coworking space and a nightclub. Called Gaffe, it’ll be a one-stop-shop where you can work your job by day and boogie down by night.  The 150-person venue, also known as Commune Studios, says its goal is to become ‘a new home for the heads’. Featuring a custom-built high-end Funktion One sound system (and kitted out with acoustic dampening fabric and a five-layer soundproof wall), it’ll be available to rent on weekdays and be open for DJ workshops, studio sessions and birthday parties, while the weekends will be reserved for revelry.  Gaffe founder Luca Marchal said: ‘We see ourselves as a multi-purpose creative space and destination venue. Our focus is on intimate, quality-focused music experiences... When we say “heads”, we’re talking about people who are there for the art itself. It's about creating a space where the music and community take centre stage.’ Here’s what the space looks like.  Photograph: Maddie Corleone Gaffe started as a temporary space that held multiple nightclub events last year including Soft Club, a sober rave event. Marchal filed to make the venue permanent in 2024, but was initially denied by Lambeth Council after a resident whose flat is next to the arches said he had noise concerns and complained about broken glass on the floor the day after events. After tailoring the application to adhere to safety measures, like adding ID scanning and beefed-

Yep - you read the headline. ‘Zombie’ spiders have been found in the UK. Arachnophobes, this might not be the article for you.‘Zombie’ spiders might sound scary – but don’t worry your pretty little heads. Scientists have assured us we’re under no threat, and that they're completely harmless to humans. So, what exactly is a ‘zombie’ spider? And where have they been found in the UK? The arachnids become ‘zombified’ after being infected by a parasitic fungus called gibellula attenboroughii (named after everyone’s fave naturalist, Sir David Attenborough). The fungus latches onto spiders in certain dark, damp spaces – and in this case, spiders in cave systems across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have become infected. The parasitic culprit was confirmed by scientists from the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Natural History Museum of Denmark.  The eight-legged zombies have been found hanging on walls and ceilings of White Fathers’ Caves, a series of caves spanning County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Cavan in the Republic. Image: CABI Scientists say that the fungus changes spiders’ behaviour by altering dopamine levels and forcing them away from their safe environments to be exposed and left for dead. The eerie phenomenon is only affecting orb-weaving spider species right now, but CABI scientists are still studying how the fungus could affect future spider species and populations ac

Croydon’s award-winning rapper, Stormzy, has teamed up with McDonald’s for its ‘Famous Orders’ campaign, and is launching his own ‘Stormzy Meal’ in the UK – but his hometown gets the first bite.  Starting February 10, nine McDonald’s locations across Croydon will get a sneak peek at the £7.99 meal (price varies on location)This is the first-ever UK collab in the McDonald's Famous Orders campaign that started in 2020. Previous celebs awarded this McHonor include music artists BTS , Mariah Carey, Saweetie, Travis Scott and J Balvin, and YouTuber, Kai Cenat. Ian Stephenson, owner and operator of 11 McDonald's branches in south London, said: ‘We’re so proud of our homegrown hero Stormzy, so to be able to celebrate in Croydon early with McDonald's first ever Famous Order in the UK and Ireland, is an honour.’   ‘Rebranding our restaurant in North End is an iconic first and we can’t wait to welcome all our loyal fans down to ‘Big Mikes’ to order like the man himself.’  Here’s everything you need to know if you want to get your hands on Stormzy’s go to Maccie D’s order.  What is in the Stormzy McDonald’s Meal? The meal includes nine McNuggets and fries with BBQ dips, a Sprite Zero and the choice of an Oreo McFlurry or an apple pie for the sweet finish. Photograph: Red Consultancy Where to get the new McDonald’s Meal early? You can race to any of these nine McDonald's across Croydon to get an early taste of the rapper's order.  86/90 North End, Croydon, CR0 1UJ 67/69 Church Stre

It’s February and the sweet scent of love is in the air – or maybe that’s just a rose-scented diffuser from one of London’s ever-growing number of Diptyque shops. And soon those scents will get even stronger: the French luxury fragrance brand has announced it will open its next London location in Canary Wharf on Valentine’s Day, February 14.  Bringing a Parisian eau de parfum to the air of east London’s skyscraper-ridden business district, Diptyque’s 48-square-metre Canary Wharf boutique will have the brand’s usual range of scented perfumes, candles and diffusers, plus bath and body care, home décor, stationery and more.  The Canary Wharf boutique is designed to mirror Diptique’s original location on Paris’s Saint Germain Boulevard, with warm, welcoming hues, wooden floors and checkered, wooden paneling by the cash desk. On the fragrance counter’s wall, there’ll be an original, hand-painted frieze by French artist Charlotte Bohn.  Image: Diptyque ‘Canary Wharf is an exciting, dynamic hub that blends an engaged community of professionals, tourists and residents within a prime location of continued growth and bustling energy,’ said Diptyque UK’s managing director, Amanda Morgan. ‘We are excited to welcome new and existing visitors in the area to Diptyque’s product offering, including personalisation and engraving services.’ The Canary Wharf boutique is located at Cabot Place, and opens Monday to Friday from 10am to 8pm, Saturday from 10am to 7pm and Sunday from noon to 6pm. D

Calling all birdwatchers and wildlife lovers, get those wellies on and your binoculars ready. England's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has just purchased land to expand its nature reserve at RSPB Geltsdale to create a ‘Pennines paradise’.  That’s right, RSPB has got its hands on the final remaining third of Geltsdale, meaning the nature reserve there has grown to cover a whopping 5,500 hectares and has become RSPB’s biggest bird sanctuary in England. On top of that there’s a multi-million five-year plan to restore it to tip-top shape.  Ian Ryding, RSPB Geltsdale’s reserve manager, said: ‘We want to create a landscape that sings with life. From the bright carpets of wildflowers in the hay meadows to the gentle ripple of restored wetlands teeming with insects and birdlife, this vision is about bringing back the sounds, sights, and vitality of England’s truly wild Pennines.’ Plans for the restoration include revitalising moorlands and peatlands, expanding and regenerating woodlands by planting thousands of more trees, restoring wetlands, creating wildflower hay meadows, continuing to wildlife species and instil more fenceless grazing – all while combatting climate change.  David Morris, RSPB’s area manager, said: ‘This work isn’t just about protecting wildlife – it’s about creating a more resilient landscape. ‘Restored peatlands will lock away carbon, wetlands will reduce downstream flooding, and vibrant habitats will support species at every level of the food

Claridge’s, which already gives its name to one of London’s most iconic hotels and an equally legendary restaurant, has just announced a new venture – a bakery.  Claridge’s Bakery is scheduled to open its doors this summer on Brook’s Mews in Mayfair, next to Claridge's ArtSpace Cafe, and will specialise in British classics like jam and custard tarts, as well as Belgian buns, iced fingers and fresh-baked bloomers, granary and sourdough loaves.  Running the Claridge’s oven as executive baker and creative director is sourdough connoisseur and author Richard Hart. ‘My goal is to celebrate timeless British baked favourites in one of the most notable British institutions,’ Hart said. ‘Bread and baked goods are an everyday staple that brings people together and I can’t wait to share my take on it with Londoners and visitors to the capital.’ Photograph: If the bakery holds a candle to Claridge’s hotel and restaurant – both of which have received five-star reviews in Time Out – baked goods-loving Londoners will be in for a treat. The bakery is currently slated to open in ‘late summer’. Brook’s Mews, W1K 4HR. Did you see that three London artisan bakeries have been crowned the best in the UK for 2025? Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.