Marylebone

West is a real-life baby whisperer. At the largest holistic fertility clinic in the UK, West, a trained midwife, and her team of medical doctors and holistic practitioners consider and treat the whole person. That treatment can entail acupuncture, nutritional advice, tackling emotional stressors, and IVF. In person, West is both calmly practical and hugely empathetic, with a sense of humor that usually dissolves any nervousness. All courses of treatment start with a consultation and chat on the sofa; for those seeking some of West’s wisdom from home, her informative books and supplements are available online.

When you meet Dr. Wendy Denning, you can’t help but sigh with relief. Denning, a general practitioner and functional doctor, radiates the calm competence of someone with twenty-five-plus years of experience. Specializing in heavy metal testing, hormonal imbalances, and chronic pain, Denning operates her integrated medical clinic from Harley Street. Booking several weeks in advance is highly recommended.

Cornelius O’Shaughnessy is one of those hard-to-pin-down figures whose name is reverentially whispered by meditation devotees around town. He’s something of a wellness guru, which is why we had to have him lead a session at our first In goop Health summit in London. The founder of Bodhimaya, a retreat-style experience centering around recovery from stress, burnout, and addiction on properties like Villa La Coste, O’Shaughnessy teaches meditation and Eastern philosophy at his Bodhimaya headquarters on Harley Street and at Fiona Arrigo’s A Place to Heal.

Marylebone is full of bakeries, bookshops, and quiet residential streets, despite its proximity to bustling Oxford Street. One of our favorite stops is the bar at the Chiltern Firehouse, which feels almost like spending time in a garden (while being inside). Nearly all the seats and sofas are embellished with colorful florals, and dozens of trailing green plants form a cornice around the room. Afternoon tea is a special treat—a silver tea tray stacked with chocolate and coffee éclairs is presented by the stylishly attired staff. It’s a great place to counteract a midday slump, and for the freelancers out there, to get some work done.

Open for over a decade, this Marylebone shop is part clean, nontoxic beauty store and part amazing day spa. Upstairs, colorful shelves are stocked with Four Sigmatic, Intelligent Nutrients, Oskia, Juice Beauty, and Vintner’s Daughter. You can book a full or express facial using the store’s most popular brands—Pai Skincare and Tata Harper—and withdraw to the super quiet treatment rooms downstairs.

Carousel is a fairly novel concept: a three-story creative hub that hosts a turntable of food pop-ups with a rotating cast of stellar international chefs monthly. Most recently, Carousel hosted Scott Smith of Scotland’s Norn, followed by Turkish chef Esra Muslu. Smith created a menu that looked like Scottish classics, but each dish was dressed up with the techniques of the moment—kombu and salt-baked hogget loin, buttered wild leeks and fried seaweed. The space itself is industrial and raw to accommodate the various cuisines that pass through, and polished, with long communal tables meant to encourage conversation with strangers and a gallery upstairs.

Jikoni owner Ravinder Bhogal is of Indian descent and was partially raised in Nairobi ("jikoni" means kitchen in Swahili). And her food tells the story of her geographic biography: prawn toast freshened up with pickled cucumbers, chickpea chips with Bengali-style chutney, a Scotch egg made with venison instead of pork, scallops and congee. British and African influence is evident, but at its core, Jikoni serves up flavor-packed comfort food that transcends culture. The restaurant itself is a refreshingly colorful break from the cool minimalism sweeping the capital’s interiors. The tablecloths are brightly patterned, the cushions are colorful, and the tapestries that cover the walls are loud and cheerful. Like the food, the décor feels fresh and hopeful, definitely a welcome addition to a stretch of town that often seems akin to a one-note French village of bakeries and cheese stores.

Rose, vermouth, cardamom, and cherry? That’s a Kerala. Fennel pollen, port, and mint: That’s the West Bengal. Welcome to cocktails, as envisioned by Trishna. (The drinks are named after the Indian states their flavors represent.) Like the cocktails, every item on the menu and every piece of furniture and décor was carefully considered. The food is, for the most part, Keralan coastal fare, all the bright, zesty curries and rice dishes brimming with scallops, king prawns, flaky white fish, and spices. If you order the seven-course vegetarian tasting menu you will never question the validity of vegetables as a main ever again. The velvet banquettes are perfect for groups, the mirrored walls and gold-hued lighting give a romantic edge, and skipping dessert for the rose petal lassi is never a bad call.

Tucked away in a converted townhouse in Marylebone is one of London's best-kept secrets when it comes to Japanese. While the interiors are nothing worth celebrating—the dark basement seating borders on claustrophobic—the small, tapas-style dishes, make it, and the price tag, worthwhile. The menu is extensive and the good news is they're more than happy to guide you if you don't know where to begin. Our picks: The beef cha-sia bun and the miso glazed eggplant (aubergine).

Among the major power players on the wellness scene is Ella Woodward (aka Deliciously Ella), whose blog and cookbooks have become immensely popular in the past couple of years, so much so, that her all-day café is constantly packed with ardent fans and disciples. Of course, the reason they keep coming back is because the wheat-, dairy-, and sugar-free food and treats served here are verifiably great. Plus, the whole place is ever so welcoming—a light-filled upstairs, plush couch-lined downstairs—making it ever so hard to leave.