Smoking Goat

It's a steal to stay at this hotel—which is part of the Soho House family—especially in the charming and cleverly named "Broom Cupboard." Located in Soho, it can be a bit noisy, but the amenities basket is kitted out with earplugs and loads of their famous Cowshed products. The restaurant and bar have a bustling and inviting feel making it great for a pre-dinner drink.

On any given weekday, the lobby here is packed with freelancers perched on every couch and at every communal table in the sprawling, lo-fi industrial space. It makes sense that this would be one of the area's main hubs of activity: There's Wi-Fi on tap, a coffee and snack bar, cold-pressed juices out the door at the hotel's own juice and mylk bar, and a small but well-selected menu of breakfast and lunch items from the hotel restaurant. Meanwhile, upstairs, the rooms, designed by Barber & Osgerby's Universal Design Studio, are decked out in vintage furniture with a slightly industrial edge. Slightly spare, they're planned for travelers who plan to spend more time exploring the city than indoors.

The Shoreditch House has everything we've come to expect from Nick Jones' empire: modern yet comfortable interiors, 26 small but well-executed guest rooms, a killer gym (including the first Flywheel in Europe), and social spaces that transition seamlessly from work to play (in addition to the library and restaurant, there's a workspace with desks that become ping pong tables at night). The crown jewel of the Shoreditch location is the rooftop pool (unheard of in London), which is heated year-round and plays host to an animated bar scene in the evenings.

Artfully quirky (and British) design in each of the thirteen rooms, eco-friendly features (including the energy loop system and free bike rentals), plus a cozy bar that feels more like a living room, make this Georgian townhouse a unique choice for a London stay.

This is a full-on lifestyle store for the geometrically obsessed. There are handcrafted leather goods, hand-bound notebooks, colorful pillows, and throws, all within the very tasteful bounds of the owner's aesthetic. Expect to find many a British brand you haven't heard of yet.

Winter through summer, the dominating color for men and women in this avant-garde shop is black—all meditated on by forward-thinking designers like Rick Owens, Dries van Noten, Comme de Garçons, P.R. Patterson, and Thom Browne. There's that, and the beautifully pared down, sleek interiors to delight in here, making an artful backdrop to the hand-selected pieces on the rails. Currently housed in a studio a few steps away from their original locale, the revamp will no doubt be something quite spectacular.

This brand originally caught our eye with its wry animal print textiles and wallpapers for the home, all made traditionally in sumptuous fabrics, but with a slightly subversive edge. They've now taken their prints and turned them out in clothes, wrapping paper, and more which actually totally works.

London excels at creating retail spaces that are more experiential than commercial. Like the Shop at Bluebird and Dover Street Market, LN-CC is a destination as much for its overall look as its merchandise, encompassing a library, record store, gallery, and café. The likes of Marni, Yeezy, JW Anderson, Gucci, and Rick Owens, plus a futuristic shoe department that looks like a spaceship draws in visitors from all over the world to this Dalton emporium. The kicker: LN-CC is by appointment only—so make one.

Owner Sophie Merchant was, until recently, a well-kept industry secret, helping designers (of brands we couldn’t possibly out) build their vintage archives for runway inspiration. In 2007, she took her skills in-house and opened her own, appropiately named Merchant Archive. At the store in Notting Hill, you'll find her immaculate vintage trove from Chlo to Ossie Clark and more, along with her vintage-inspired line and picks from brands like Paper London, Robert Clergerie and Preen. She has some exquisite finds for wedding shoppers as well.

This is a favorite among Primrose Hill natives. Tucked into a small street, you have to ring the doorbell to get in. Once through the door you'll find a quiet and intimate shop that offers plenty of APC and Raoul, Vivienne Westwood, and Humanoid.

This art and design bookshop located on one of the coolest streets in Shoreditch stocks beautiful titles that run the gamut from photography, to food culture, to art, to design, to books for kids. The selection is curated with a great eye: You'll find excellent new tomes, along with great, slightly older finds. Quirky stationery and affordable screenprints are available, too.

Shop owner Pavel Klimzak left an interior design agency to start his store, and he brought many new brands previously undiscovered in the London market with him. Along with more prolific design labels like HAY and Muuto, Pavel is mixing in exclusives from lesser known but equally innovative studios like La Chance and Atipico. We're impressed.

SCP works with a closely curated group of designers to manufacture their furniture and home accessories in workshops around the world. Donna Wilson's playful knits get a lot of airtime here, as do designers like Lucy Kurrein, Michael Anastassiades and more. Owner Sheridan Coakley does a lot of travel and always brings back great finds with him. Aside from the high concept furniture, lighting and accessories, this shop is one of the best in town for gifts.

This clothing and lifestyle store has expanded into a new two-story space, which feels like it came straight out of Copenhagen. In this trendy part of town where stores come and go all too often, Goodhood's staying power is due to the owners being, since 2007, arbiters of East London style, constantly refreshing their mix of streetwear essentials from brands like Wood Wood, Nanushka, Peter Jensen, and MM6. Last year, they expanded their concept and went into furnishings, bringing Nordic brands like HAY and Muuto to East London. So popular is their aesthetic that they're now busy helping other companies find their voice through Goodhood's graphic and branding agency.

After cutting their teeth on the vineyards in Napa, Charlotte and Michael Sager-Wilde brought their love for great Californian wines back to London, where they’re something of a rarity. A meal at their first large restaurant venture, under converted railway arches in Bethnal Green, is pretty transporting (and a lot less than a ticket to Napa), pairing wonderful wines with an Italian-influenced seasonal menu of small plates. The terrace upstairs tucked into one of the railway arches, makes a great spot for a private meal; meanwhile, winos will love checking out the Sager-Wilde's collection in the room's glass cave.

This relatively new and growing chain of modern Indian restaurants reveals a new dimension to a city already well-versed in the cuisine. Expertly decorated to resemble an old Iranian Bombay cafe, the vibe is casual and, as tradition dictates, ideal for both large groups and singles reading the paper and having a chai. The long menu of rotis, naans, grilled meats, and stews is spice-inflected but not necessarily curry heavy.

The definition of hole-in-the wall, this completely undecorated storefront on Columbia Road serves up Lee's legendary seafood and a recent turn to Cumberland sausage rolls, which are heavenly. Lee also serves Monmouth coffee and hot chocolate. This is a great stop on market days; keep a lookout as it's easy to miss.

There's Taco Salad, Bircher Muesli, a Shrimp Katsu Sandwich, and some pretty unreal baked goods including the Cardamom bun, on this menu. It's basically the greatest hits of international café cuisine, all brought to you by the editors of Monocle magazine. The space is light and modern, with a cozy living room space that's perfect for meetings.

Like all good things in London, this burgeoning chainlet is growing fast. Once a beloved food truck with a cleverly built-in pizza oven, it now has not one but two (as of last week) bricks-and-mortar outposts. The thin-crust pizza at all their charmingly lo-fi locations is superb, as are the negronis and affogato. At the new spot off Carnaby, we’re looking forward to fried pizza courtesy of their first authentic Neapolitan fryer—the guys spent a couple of weeks in Naples recently to learn the art of frying pretty much everything. There's also a location in Exmouth Market.

The scrumptious, simple, yet interesting food (squid pancakes, for example) and hip yet relaxed Exmouth Market vibe make this one of our favorite places for brunch. It's also a great place to go for a coffee (which is roasted on-site) to linger over and enjoy with a book. This spot became so popular that they opened up a much bigger, industrial-inflected space at Kings Cross that serves the same great mix of small plates.

This is a charming neighborhood restaurant housed in an old town hall turned hotel. The crowd is local, the decor is simple, and the food is great and well-priced. There are no reservations in the evenings so come early or book for lunch and have the set menu.

Readers of the Financial Times will be familiar with Honey & Co. chefs and owners Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich. Their Levantine, vegetable-forward recipes feature in the paper weekly, though nothing beats tasting the chefs’ dishes themselves. Self-described as a Middle Eastern–style diner, Fitzrovia’s Honey & Co. is warm and inviting, with Moroccan-tiled floors, shelves heaving with jars of preserved lemons, and seats for a mere twenty guests. Those seats fill up daily with hungry Londoners craving butternut squash falafel, marinated eggplant, and braised artichokes. The food is heavy on vegetables and brightened up with assertive sauces and spices, accompanied by homemade iced teas and really, really good coffee.

Brought to London by Mexico City's leading taqueria, this place delivers real Mexican street food to Villiers street, from quesadillas with cheese and Mexican cactus to shredded pork carnitas. It can get crowded, so be sure to make a reservation. If you happen to drop by, you can always order a margarita while you wait. There are two other outposts.

With a focus on the food of Jerusalem, the décor here is sleek and fun, as evidenced by the deep jewel toned leather banquettes. There's a long, bustling bar serving drinks and dinner to walk-ins from the short and shareable menu. Our picks: Delicious "Moroccan" oysters (a Jersey oyster with Moroccan-inspired sauce) and the insane stovetop or "Plancha" dishes, like a rich and creamy polenta with buttery layers of mushroom, asparagus, and parmesan.

Though meat, and generous hunks of it at that, is the main attraction at this Middle-Eastern BBQ joint, the array of pickles and vegetarian side dishes are a major highlight here—the Moroccan Spiced Carrots and Blackened Eggplant are pretty great, just to name a couple. In fact, we'd build a meal out of side dishes alone here. We'd also recommend sharing plates with a group and coming ready for a night out as the cocktails, each with their own Middle Eastern twist, are lots of fun as is the music that ramps up as the night rolls on.

Baos are soft, doughy rice-and-milk buns, stuffed with any number of Taiwanese-style delicacies, like slow-cooked pork or daikon. And there are lines out the door for them at this sleek, wood-lined shoebox of a spot in Soho at any given time of day. (They also serve really good battered fries and chicken nuggets.) Like many good things in London, the founders first gained popularity for their Baos with a roving market stall that's still going in Hackney (where the lines are just as long). They're so popular that only a few months later, they opened another spot in Fitzrovia which is just as popular.

The décor, from artfully peeled paint to battered wood floors, is as spot-on as the no-fuss Venetian small plates here. The menu ranges from a simple bowl of olives to an intricate cuttlefish concoction. It can be a wait to get a seat at this locale, which is why the bar downstairs serving classic Italian cocktails is often our first port of call. The success of the first location prompted the opening of several more iterations across London.

Like all good ideas, the premise of this Hackney wine bar is wonderfully simple: Buy quality wines in bulk so customers can order by the glass or bottle at very reasonable prices. You'll find excellent and unusual varieties from every corner of the wine-producing world, including Napa, Sicily, and Languedoc, along with a short but equally generous snack menu. We recommend the grilled cheese sandwich, which is actually kind of perfect with a glass of red wine.

Chef Brad McDonald and his wife Molly moved into the Lockhart space recently, shaking up the quiet backstreets of Marylebone with their brand of down-home Missisippi cooking. On a hot day, Molly pours sweet iced tea while customers choose between the fried chicken, the muffuletta (the meatiest of sandwiches), and the best shrimp grits this side of the Thames. It's true Southern cooking so it's heavy, but under this chef's watch, not unnecessarily so. Whatever you do, order a side of cornbread, which comes slathered in butter and honey. Get there early on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, for Brad and Molly's delicious side-project, 1235 Donuts.

One of London's market stalls-turned-chainlet success stories, this one is expanding quickly with cool, industrial looking shops popping up all over the city. With 14 equally intense flavors including Creme Brulee and Belgian Chocolate Truffle, these sourdough doughnuts are pretty over the top, though worth the caloric overload. Word of advice: Stop by in the morning as the fresh ones are exponentially better.

The cold-pressed juices and smoothies sold at this beautiful South Ken shop are part of the ever-expanding juice and nut milk movement in London. We love their filling smoothies (the lightly sweetened mint chocolate chip is a favorite), which will tide you over for an entire morning. They've also teamed up with delivery service, Deliveroo, which is helpful if you opt into one of their cleanses.

In a matter of just a few years, Australian roasteries have taken over the London coffee scene. And for good reason: They brew strong, flavorful coffee that’s not burnt. While we can rattle off a whole list of other good Aussie cafes—including Workshop, which is expanding quickly—Kaffeine remains a firm favorite. Tucked away on a quiet street in Fitrovia, they serve a coffee so intense it’s almost sweet. If you’re an aficionado, you can opt for a flight, which includes a "cascara" palate cleanser. Their sandwiches, salads and baked goods, which include a coffee flavored cookie made for dipping, are the best grab-and-go in the area.

Claire Ptak, who started her career at Chez Panisse, relocated to London several years ago and opened an Americana-inspired bakery on Wilton Way—a particularly friendly, community oriented stretch in Hackney. We've been known to make the trek out to east London just for her irresistible Ginger Molasses cake.