Chiara Wilkinson

Scotland punches well above its weight when it comes to culinary excellence, and Edinburgh is no exception to that rule. This city is home to some of the most exciting chefs in the country and offers everything from theatrical fine-dining concepts to pimped-up sandwich shops and laid-back neighbourhood joints.  For our January 2025 update, we welcomed Marchmont newcomer Nadair to the top ten, which offers a very reasonable £35 three-course lunch menu. There’ll be a meatier list update in a few months time, but until then, Eleanore has retained its spot as our number one, followed closely by Michelin-recommended Lyla in second place and Heron in third, while Scandi-style Fhior climbed to our number five and Timberyard to number four.  Of course, this guide wouldn’t be complete without shouting about the old classics, as well as all of the excellent places in between, serving up everything from New York-style pizza to cracking curries, super-fresh seafood and innovative plant-based dining. Ready to eat? Here are the best restaurants in Edinburgh right now.  RECOMMENDED: 🏘️ The best Airbnbs in Edinburgh🥑 The best brunch in Edinburgh🥪 The best cheap eats in Edinburgh📍 The best things to do in Edinburgh🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Where to stay in Edinburgh This guide was last updated by Time Out’s deputy UK editor Chiara Wilkinson, who is from Edinburgh. 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

London is absolutely world-class when it comes to museums. Obviously, we’re pretty biased, but with more than 170 of them dotted about the capital – a huge chunk of which are free to visit – we think it’s fair to say that there’s nowhere else in the world that does museums better.  Want to explore the history of TfL? We’ve got a museum for that. Rather learn about advertising? We’ve got a museum for that too. History? Check. Science? Check. 1940s cinema memorabilia, grotesque eighteenth-century surgical instruments, or perhaps a wall of 4,000 mouse skeletons? Check, check and check! Being the cultured metropolitans that we are, Time Out’s editors love nothing more than a wholesome afternoon spent gawping at Churchill’s baby rattle or some ancient Egyptian percussion instruments. In my case, the opportunity to live on the doorstep of some of the planet’s most iconic cultural institutions was a big reason why I moved here at the first chance I got, and I’ve racked up countless hours traipsing around display cases and deciphering needlessly verbose wall texts in the eleven years since. From iconic collections, brilliant curation and cutting-edge tech right down to nice loos, adequate signage and a decent place to grab a cuppa; my colleagues and I know exactly what we want from a museum, and we’ve put in a whole lot of time deliberating which of the city’s institutions are worth your time. So here’s our take on the 25 best ones to check out around London, ranging from world-famou

The Six Nations rugby tournament is back for 2025, taking over boozers, beer gardens and outdoor screens across London most weekends up until Saturday March 15.  Last year, Ireland claimed back-to-back titles for the third time since 1949, and will be looking to be triumphant for a third consecutive year. Games take place at venues including Paris’ Stade de France, Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, and London’s very own Twickenham Stadium as England, France, Italy, Scotland, and Wales try to burst the Irish team’s bubble. Planning to watch England taking on the title holders this Saturday? You could just watch on your telly at home, but if you’d prefer to catch every scrimmage, try and conversion in a lively atmosphere with a nice freshly-poured Guinness in hand, head to one of the rugby pubs, bars, beer halls, markets and social clubs listed here, where you’ll find free-flowing pints, special guest appearances and countless renditions of ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’. RECOMMENDED: More great things to do in London this weekend  

From top-tier off-licences to under-the-radar vintage shops, specialised delis, plant havens and everything in between, we’ve shopped (and dropped) our way through the capital’s retail offering. You really can buy whatever you want in this city – you just need to know where to look. That’s why we’ve put together this definitive list of the capital’s 100 best shops for 2024.  You won’t find massive famous ones like Liberty, Harrods and Hamleys here: everyone knows them. You won’t find obvious high street names or the big shopping centres either. But you will find a selection of excellent independent shops and some real quirky places you might have never known existed. Did somebody say 150-year-old umbrella emporium? What about an expert collector of old-school tech? A bookshop which specialises in witchcraft? Or a boutique where you’ll find gorgeous retro furnishings for bargain prices?  This is our ultimate guide to shopping in the capital. Just don’t blame us if you get a little carried away next payday.  Chiara Wilkinson is Time Out London’s Deputy Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED:London’s best secondhand shops, picked by expertsThe best markets in London for shopping and browsingThe best car boot sales in London

It might not feel like it right now, but it’s already time to start planning your summer (and spring and autumn…). Festival season, which now begins in March or April and extends to the end of September and into October, is fast approaching, and you’ll want to snap up tickets soon so you don’t have to miss out. From big returns (like Green Day topping the Download bill), to stars cementing their place as bona fide headliners (see: RAYE at All Points East) and everything else in between, there’s plenty to get excited about in the months ahead. Here at Time Out, we're big fans of music festivals. We’ve been up and down the country in the name of watching our favourite artists and discovering new band crushes in fields and at multi-venue city centre events. Give us a euphoric moment in the rainy countryside or getting sweaty in tiny, sticky-floored venues. Give us London day festivals and family-friendly glamping events. Give us five-day camping behemoths and teeny tiny micro festivals. It’s safe to say, then, that our team can tell you which UK festivals are worth spending your hard-earned cash (and precious holiday days) on. Check out Time Out’s guide to the best UK music festivals for 2025 below, in chronological order – we’ll be updating this page with more events as they’re announced. See you in the pit. RECOMMENDED:😎 The best London music festivals for 2025.🪩 What you need to know about Glastonbury 2025

This is about the time when the January blues start to hit pretty hard. It’s dark at 4pm, you’ve got no money left after Christmas and winter feels like it’s dragging on forever. But we’re here to tell you that things are looking up, because 2025 is going to be a corker of a year for the UK.  It turns out that 2025 is going to be a bit of a big one, with a number of landmark occasions being celebrated across Britain. There’s Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in Southampton, as well as the art-packed Folkestone Triennial, a celebration of 200 years of the British railway in York and Bradford’s 2025 City of Culture festivities. Then, there are up-and-coming foodie towns in Cornwall, music scenes that are popping off in Cardiff and Belfast, and the reopening of grand cultural insitutions like the Tate Liverpool.  If there’s ever been a good time to book a trip, it’s now (it might even help keep some SAD at bay). There is so much fantastic stuff happening across the country this year, so read our list curated by local experts of the best places to visit in the UK in 2025, and get stuck in.  RECOMMENDED: 🇬🇧 The 25 best new things to do in the UK in 2025📍The 12 most underrated city breaks in the UK 🏨 The UK’s 13 best new hotels opening in 2025👨‍👩‍👧 6 amazing places to stay with Kids in the UK

Twice a year, fashion Christmas comes to London, bringing with it whole closets full of covetable new looks you’ll dream of wearing. After a successful 40th anniversary celebration last year, London Fashion Week returns in February for another deep-dive into the trends and styles that will be dominating runways, shops and streets in the months to come. Dig out your chicest ‘fit and strut your way to 180 The Strand to join the flocks of fashionistas ogling for a look at the latest looks for Autumn/Winter 2025 (AW25). Don’t know where to begin? Here’s all the information you need.  When is London Fashion Week 2025?  LFW takes place twice a year: in February and September. The next fashion week will be from Thursday February 20 to Monday February 24.  Where is London Fashion Week held?  London Fashion Week usually takes place at the British Fashion Council’s own show space at 180 The Strand. The closest tubes are Holborn and Temple. Several events will also be held at external locations across the city. How do I get tickets to London Fashion Week 2025?  Unfortunately, most of the LFW shows are invite-only, so you can’t buy tickets.  What designers should I be watching out for?  As well as the big names that even the fashion averse know like JW Anderson, Burberry and Manolo Blahnik, LFW also plays host to tons of newer designers. This time around, get to know Sinead O’Dwyer, whose brand is making luxury ready-to-wear accessible for all bodies, using satin, sillicone and more. Che

Looking for the best restaurants in Mayfair? You're spoilt for choice in this extremely swanky central London neighbourhood. There are enough Michelin stars to feed a village here and prices are fittingly fierce. But if you're after some indulgence or looking for the perfect celebration spot, then this is where you should be taking your hard-earned cash, with hotel joints such as The Ritz and Claridge's in-house eateries some of the area's finest. A tip: look out for set lunch menus, which many Mayfair fine-dining restaurants such as Pavyllon and Murano offer, and make the whole experience that much more affordable. Go forth and feast: these are Mayfair's most impressive food spots. Recommended: The best restaurants in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

 The perfect month for a holiday? Potentially. Balmy weather, less crowds, and not-yet-insane prices like you’ll get later on. We’ve compiled a collection of the best places to travel in June, although there is no such thing as a bad choice. How do the islands of Portugal, the seascape of Seattle and the beaches of Fiji sound? (You don’t need to answer that).  What is the cheapest city to visit in June? June is pretty much an ideal time for any kind of holiday, before peak summer holiday season but after the sea has warmed up a bit. Our number one cheapest holiday destination is, for the second year running, Tirana in Albania, where an Airbnb will cost you around £40 a night and you can get a pint for less than £3. You’ll find Albania and a whole lot more brilliant places to visit in our list below.  RECOMMENDED:🏖️ The best places to travel in July🌞 The best places to travel in August 🌍 The best things to do in the world🌆 The best cities in the world Ella Doyle is Time Out’s travel guides editor. 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. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

Vinyl is back, baby. After decades in the dumps, records are now even more popular than CDs and are officially the best-selling of all physical music form. Suddenly your parents’ dusty Fleetwood Mac collection in the attic is looking a bit cooler, eh? London is one of the world’s best cities for crate-digging. Driven by stuff like dazzling vinyl-only editions and massive events like Record Store Day, this city’s independent record shops are thriving. Where, in the past, you’d have to head to Camden, Brixton, and Soho for your vinyl fix, these days, stores are flourishing all over the capital. Whatever your music taste, from reggae and hardcore to new wave and hip-hop, there’s a London record shop for you. Here are 30 of our absolute favourites. Get thumbin’ through those discs! RECOMMENDED:🛍️ The best markets in London.🎤 The best music festivals in London.👩‍🎤 The best London songs.🎸 The best shows and live gigs this month.

Colorado is one of America's most unspoiled—and thereby most drop-dead gorgeous—states. Within its hundreds of thousands of square miles (which, in fact, make it the eighth largest in the union) are cultures and environments aplenty. From the dramatic, towering Rockies to the southwest’s endless desert, Colorado is packed full of incredible landscapes and exciting, adventurous things to do. Fittingly, the hotels in Colorado are truly fantastic and almost as stunning as their surroundings. After all, once you’ve finished trekking or climbing, there’s nothing quite like putting your feet up in a deluxe pad. From bougie boutique hotels to rustic inns, all the way from Vail and Aspen to Denver, we’ve sorted the best hotels in Colorado for every kind of getaway.  Updated January 2025: If staying somewhere cool is at the top of your priorities, The Maven is a new addition to the list that you might want to look into.  RECOMMENDED: 🫧 The best Airbnbs with hot tubs in Colorado🏠 The best Airbnbs in Colorado Who makes the cut? While we might not stay in and review every hotel featured, we've based our list on our expert knowledge of the destination covered, editorial reviews, user reviews, hotel amenities and in-depth research to find you the best stays. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines.

We all want to be absolutely glowing and super fresh-faced. Alas, living in London can really get in the way of having dewy, delicious skin. That’s thanks to the combined efforts of pollution and air-conditioned offices, as well as the added bonuses of harsh weather, booze, sun exposure, dehydration and – our least favourite – the inevitable passing of time. Just thinking about what we put our skin through is enough to give you frown lines. Happily, there are loads of great spas, treatment rooms and estheticians in London who can give your face a break and a much-needed zhuzh. Whether you’re after a relaxing, soothing facial massage, some instant radiance, a total skincare overhaul or something a little more intense such as microneedling or laser treatment, read our pick of facials in London.  RECOMMENDED: The best spas in London. 

The Witchery isn’t so much a hotel as it is a gothic fever dream. Perched on the cobbled Royal Mile, mere steps from Edinburgh Castle, the hotel takes its name from the hundreds of people who were burned at the stake as witches on Castlehill.  The hotel – which embraces its heritage with theatrical flair – occupies a sixteenth century building, once used as committee rooms for the Church of Scotland. Here, you can forget cookie-cutter luxury: you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time, into a fairytale where kings and queens frolic with devils, witches and sprites. It’s incredibly over the top, but it works. Dark wood panelling? Check. Velvet drapes in ruby red and gold? Check. Gilded mirrors, antique furniture, and ceilings so intricately carved you’ll wonder why they aren’t in the Museum of Scotland? It’s all here, wrapped up in candlelight. After a warm welcome, we were led up winding stone steps into The Old Rectory, one of nine unique suites. It’s hard not to gasp at the interiors: a majestic bed with a grand, organ-style detail, cupboards in hidden bookcases, baroque-style busts and a roll-top bathtub with Penhaligon’s toiletries. View wise, you’re looking out over the Royal Mile to swarms of tourists scuttling up to Edinburgh castle. Honestly, it’s the kind of place where you half-expect a ghost to waft through the wall – in an oddly comforting way.  The Secret Garden restaurant is every bit as romantic: vines drape down from a skylight ceiling, candlesticks dot the

Edinburgh is a highly walkable city, but there’s still something to be said about waking up in the centre of the action, where everything is right on your doorstep and you don’t need to glance at Google Maps every two seconds. Sitting at the west end of Princes Street, a quick stroll from Stockbridge and a just as quick stroll to the Grassmarket, this swish hotel blends no-nonsense style with the kind of charm that makes you feel right at home – if your home happens to have cracking views of Edinburgh Castle, that is. The rooms here aren’t anything grand, but they’re clean, contemporary and boast a surprising amount of peace for the convenient location in the city buzz. Our room was a little dark, though was decked out with tasteful local photography and plenty of mirrors. But it’s not just about where you rest your head. Downstairs, you’ll find Kyloe, one of Edinburgh’s top steak restaurants, offering expertly sourced Scottish beef with all the trimmings (be sure to speak to your waiter for the cut of the day). Under that, you’ll find The Huxley, an all-day eatery serving up cocktails and comfort food classics (the full Scottish brekkie here is top-notch). Ultimately, The Rutland is ideal if you’re looking for comfort, convenience, and style, but aren’t keen to spend all your time hanging around: you want to get out there and explore all that Edinburgh has to offer. NeighbourhoodWith the castle looming just a short walk away and George Street’s boutique shopping and nightli

It’s been seven years since Hannah Gadsby was last at the Edinburgh Fringe, debuting ‘Nanette’ before it exploded on Netflix, cementing the stand-up as a Fringe-changed-your-life household legend. A lot has changed since then: they’ve won an Emmy, published a New York Times best-selling memoir and ‘started sleeping in posh hotels’.  Gadsby, in other words, is now living a different life. It’s one of the themes they explore with exhausting self-awareness in ‘Woof!’ – along with all of the anxieties about remaining relatable that lurk under that level of fame. As they hammer home: how on earth will we be able to laugh along to a story about swimming with whales?  Spoiler: we aren’t able to. The Aussie stand-up starts the show by telling us it will be about ‘big questions’ and goes on to touch on everything from grief and class to gender, climate anxiety and being neurodiverse. It’s packed with sharp, intelligent writing: it has a clever narrative and is vulnerable and brave. But, as an hour and a bit of comedy, it falls flat. Maybe it’s the over-emphasis on ‘meh’ references to cabbage patch dolls and plastic plants, the cheap poo jokes or the baffling, desperate whale sketches. Perhaps it is trying to do too much at once, or – more likely – the problem is that the show lacks any grittines and actual humour for it to properly resonate. While confident, the delivery is overly casual and the more soul-searching spiels verge on self-indulgent. Clever moments of societal critique, i

It’s been seven years since Hannah Gadsby was last at the Edinburgh Fringe, debuting ‘Nanette’ before it exploded on Netflix, cementing the stand-up as a Fringe-changed-your-life household legend. A lot has changed since then: they’ve won an Emmy, published a New York Times best-selling memoir and ‘started sleeping in posh hotels’.  Gadsby, in other words, is now living a different life. It’s one of the themes they explore with exhausting self-awareness in ‘Woof!’ – along with all of the anxieties about remaining relatable that lurk under that level of fame. As they hammer home: how on earth will we be able to laugh along to a story about swimming with whales?  Spoiler: we aren’t able to. The Aussie stand-up starts the show by telling us it will be about ‘big questions’ and goes on to touch on everything from grief and class to gender, climate anxiety and being neurodiverse. It’s packed with sharp, intelligent writing: it has a clever narrative and is vulnerable and brave. But, as an hour and a bit of comedy, it falls flat. Maybe it’s the over-emphasis on ‘meh’ references to cabbage patch dolls and plastic plants, the cheap poo jokes or the baffling, desperate whale sketches. Perhaps it is trying to do too much at once, or – more likely – the problem is that the show lacks any grittines and actual humour for it to properly resonate. While confident, the delivery is overly casual and the more soul-searching spiels verge on self-indulgent. Clever moments of societal critique, i

Given its proximity to the offices scattering Holborn Viaduct and the fact it is quite literally attached to a brand-new hotel, you’d be forgiven for thinking Leydi was another run-of-the-mill restaurant; a style-over-substance set-up for lunch meetings you’d rather avoid. But Leydi is not like that: it feels like a proper place to eat. The interiors are super swish, like a toned-down version of Sketch if it was in Istanbul: all powdery pink walls collaged with bright, framed artworks, tastefully tiled floors and shell-shaped seats mirrored by rounded doorways and decorative lampshades.  It’s the new venture of Turkish-Cypriot chef Selin Kiazim, formerly of the now-closed east London restaurant, Oklava. This place is for all-day dining (hello, Turkish breakfast) and serves everything you’d expect from your classic Green Lanes grill (and more), done with central London sophistication.  Eating here is a marathon, not a sprint  You start with mezze, of course – and you’d be a fool to not venture out from your usual babaganoush. The menu is full of dips gallore – soft, smokey aubergine; cooling garlicky atom with drizzles of chilli oil; a baked claypot hummous which was as heavy as a soufflé – which arrive on your table like little pots of paint, ready to dunk one of three warmly baked breads into. After that, it was onto (perhaps ambitiously), the mixed grill for two: a generous centrepiece of skewered adana, succulent chicken and lamb meats. After the mezze starter and a borek

If you’re into clothes, you can’t really get much better than this. Join Vogue and some of the top forces in fashion – like John Galliano,  Christopher Kane and Law Roach – for a jam-packed day of talks, materclasses and mingling in the stylish setting of Central Saint Martins. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Power of the Runway’, and will feature a conversation with John Galliano and actor Gwendoline Christie, a chat with Lena Dunham and Christopher Kane and a behind-the-scenes tour of CSM fashion studios. That’s just the start of it: expect more stars, more glam and more surprises. All attendees will receive an exclusive gift bag worth more than £400, as well as access to interactive workshops with London designers and a cocktail reception.  

A yellow all-in-one jumpsuit, conical spikes protruding out of all angles. A black beret adorned with buttons, chains and keys. Gold leather trousers with an adjoining bag rhino-horning upwards from the crotch.  If you were a London club kid in the ’80s, it didn’t matter how impractically you dressed: if something was fabulous, you would wear it. This new exhibition from the Fashion and Textile Museum captures that lust for dressing up via an extensive collection of clothes, jewellery, photographs, magazines and memorabilia which came out of a specific corner of the city at a revolutionary time for fashion. The whole thing revolves around Leigh Bowery, the eccentric performance artist and designer, who arrived in London via Australia at the turn of the decade, and whose squat bedroom – complete with Star Trek wallpaper – we’re welcomed into at first instance. Here, we’re introduced to Bowery’s designs: his bold silhouettes, textural embellishments and playful motifs crop up throughout (be sure to look for the fantastic Kirby grip detailing, using rows and rows of hair clips to create a Chanel-adjacent, DIY tassel effect). You’ll wonder how our wardrobes all got so homogenised and boring.  ‘Taboo had a reputation as the wildest club in town’, a newsreader’s voice reads over a pixelated dance floor clip. Taboo, the short-lived nightclub on a corner of Leicester Square, swiftly became a home for Leigh and other noted creatives – like Boy George, John Galliano and Pam Hogg – to

Rose Matafeo is just like the rest of us. She uses her Notes app for just about everything: recipe ideas, drafts of her will, one-liners. She hates Taylor Swift. She struggles to get her head around the brainrot internet vernacular of Gen Z. And it’s this relatability, delivered with such a natural, frantic rhythm, that will have you smiling and nodding along like a bobble-head cat for a full 60 minutes.  The Kiwi creator of beloved sitcom ‘Starstruck’ and winner of the 2018 Comedy Award at the Fringe takes an introspective, confessional approach to her latest show. She contemplates her twenties, from the boarding school men she dated to being an introvert in London, she lurches into accents and light self depreciation. She examines her own love life, following all of its tragic characters via being dumped in your thirties and the weird world of online relationship coaches – covering subjects which could endanger coming across as bland or clichéd, but are delivered with such zeal and intelligence that it feels like you’re hearing about them for the first time.  It occasionally lurches into rushed moments of chaos which don’t allow space for material to land – and a few comparisons, like those of Harry Potter and Mario Kart, fell a bit flat. But for the most part, Matafeo is truly very funny. The hour takes on an arc, tricking the audience and swiftly, slyly, returning to its core messages. Fierce, clever and unashamedly ordinary, it’s a celebration of being your true, unapolo

The rooftop at cooler-than-cool One Hundred Shoreditch hotel has gone through its fair share of iterations since opening. The most recent is Kaso, although don’t expect any huge conceptual changes: the shiny pink marbled tiles remain, as do the various cacti, night-time DJ sets and, most importantly, the sweeping views across the city skyline.  What has changed is the menu: spearheaded by Turkish-born chef Ilknur Celik, it’s a Middle Eastern affair split into specials, hot and cold mezzes and sweets. The plates are reasonably pricey for what they are – and you’re not getting anything boundary-pushing here – but everything looks good and tastes great. What you’re really paying for is that big old view. (This is very much an Insta-worthy venue.) There’s a narrow strip of terrace on one side allowing for small tables, mostly seating people on dates or creative agency business meetings, which are ‘first come, first-get-the-view’. That said, even if you don’t get a terrace table, you’re still perfectly poised to wash down your borek with a nice gaze (or glare) over various Shoreditch tower blocks.  Aubergine is scored, charred and charcoaled, with gorgeously soft and golden insides From the menu ‘specials’, we ordered the half aubergine: scored, charred and charcoaled into a blackened shell with gorgeously soft and golden insides, all on a bed of zhoug-y, tahini sauce. The harissa chicken was somewhat sadly slapped next to some limp-looking gem lettuce and mushy tomato – but the

We recognise Henry Rowley from somewhere: ‘I’m a TikToker,’ he says, opening his Fringe hour. With a healthy 1.3m followers on the platform, the 26-year-old gained traction about five years ago for his mocking sketches of posh uni mates (he’s perfected the ‘rah’ girl in the smoking area), and has been popping up on For You Pages ever since. He’s not completely new to live – he came to the Fringe last year with a short WIP as part of a group showcase of TikTok stars, bringing many of those characters from the screen to the stage. But, given this is his first, proper stand-up hour? His confidence is impressive.  The show dips in and out of sketches – extended versions of the 30-second skits we might expect to find on his TikTok feed – very loosely framed by reflections on his online fame. There’s some good stuff here: the exaggerated re-enactment of his Tatler interview and the surreal budget airline jab. Some of it felt stale before it had even started: the Steven Bartlett riff felt like we’d seen it before and the generic dating app jokes were also in need of a freshen up. Where Rowley shined was when he leant on what he’s known for. The audience was chuffed to see one of his key posh girls, Minty, from Bristol uni, make a share of appearances (he even revealed he’d answer calls as Minty in his old tech job): the vape sketch and the introduction of the ‘diabetic jazz’ DJ went down well. Granted, performing to a room full of Fringe-going Russell Group grads, this should have b

Watching 'Playfight', you’ll be transported back to adolescence: from opening the envelope on exam results day to competitive playground gossip. You’ll bump into former friends who exist only in memory (or your hometown pub on Christmas Eve) and feel at once grateful and melancholic that you’ve grown up a bit since then. ‘Playfight’ is a three-man drama following a group of friends over the course of 10 years, through their GSCEs to navigating their first sexual experiences and working out what they want to do with their lives. There’s Kiera (played with excellent command by Sophie Cox): the brash, over-the-top and slightly misguided northerner who recounts losing her virginity on a tennis court with close to no filter. There’s Lucy (Lucy Mangan): ditzy, Christian and somewhat secretive. Then, there’s Zainab, played by Nina Cassells: the headstrong, sceptical, intelligent lesbian who realises she has feelings for her friend. The whole thing plays out around ‘tree’, their playground meeting point, represented in Hazel Low’s gorgeous, simple set by a luminous ladder in the middle of the floor. The cast walk, climb and swing around it, as tensions unravel in the circle staging. Certain moments are so heavy, you’ll let out audible gasps. Other times, you’ll be laughing out loud, or sitting awkwardly in your seat as sexual tension feels palpable.  As years pass and scenes play out with a great, compelling pace, we see the girls grow in distance – summed up best by the scene where

Rose Matafeo is just like the rest of us. She uses her Notes app for just about everything: recipe ideas, drafts of her will, one-liners. She hates Taylor Swift. She struggles to get her head around the brainrot internet vernacular of Gen Z. And it’s this relatability, delivered with such a natural, frantic rhythm, that will have you smiling and nodding along like a bobble-head cat for a full 60 minutes.  The Kiwi creator of beloved sitcom ‘Starstruck’ and winner of the 2018 Comedy Award at the Fringe takes an introspective, confessional approach to her latest show. She contemplates her twenties, from the boarding school men she dated to being an introvert in London, she lurches into accents and light self depreciation. She examines her own love life, following all of its tragic characters via being dumped in your thirties and the weird world of online relationship coaches – covering subjects which could endanger coming across as bland or clichéd, but are delivered with such zeal and intelligence that it feels like you’re hearing about them for the first time.  It occasionally lurches into rushed moments of chaos which don’t allow space for material to land – and a few comparisons, like those of Harry Potter and Mario Kart, fell a bit flat. But for the most part, Matafeo is truly very funny. The hour takes on an arc, tricking the audience and swiftly, slyly, returning to its core messages. Fierce, clever and unashamedly ordinary, it’s a celebration of being your true, unapolo

Disputes between trade unions and train companies in the UK have now been dragging on for nearly three years, with rail workers taking action to protest poor pay and working conditions. But while train strikes are officially over for much of the UK after ASLEF negotiated a pay deal, some strikes have since been called for select services for an extended period.  RMT train managers on Avanti West Coast services announced new strikes back in December, and they’ve already begun. That period of action started on New Year’s Eve and will continue all the way to May 2025.  As for nationwide strikes? Following the last bout of ASLEF strikes in May 2024 – quite some time ago, at this point, and which saw train drivers at 16 operators across the UK walk out over three days – no further action has been called for British train services.  Here’s everything you need to know about upcoming industrial action on the UK’s rail network.  RECOMMENDED: ⛔️ All you need to know about the train strikes in London. When are the next train strike dates? Avanti West Coast strikes started on New Year’s Eve and continued on January 2, and they’ll take place every Sunday between January 12 and May 25. On a nationwide level, there are no future strikes planned for now.  Which rail services will be impacted by train strikes this weekend, February 1-2? This weekend Avanti West Coast strikes will take place on Sunday February 2. This will only impact Avanti West Coast services.  What train lines will be affe

Can you smell that? Rich, warm, maybe slightly smokey: that’s the smell of a city functioning on caffeine. Whether you’re dedicated to your oat flat whites, like to go all out with a skinny-double-salted-caramel-frappé (extra cream) or prefer to keep things trad with a pot of freshly-brewed black, if you’re a Londoner, there’s a high chance you’re a keen coffee drinker.  The stuff is everywhere. There are your run-of-the-mill chain coffee shops; the places you turn to when you need something, anything, to wake you up on the go. There’s a growing selection of more niche places, serving up everything from Vietnamese brews to mushroom blends. And, of course, there’s a plethora of top-quality independent coffee shops and roasters, all specialising in something a little bit different. (Check out Time Out’s edit of the best coffee in the city right here.)  Celeste Wong, AKA The Girl In The Café, moved to the UK capital in the mid 2000s after working as a barista at coffee shops in Melbourne and Dunedin, New Zealand. A previous host of the The London Coffee Festival Coffee Masters competition and crowned one of London’s top five baristas by the Financial Times, she now shares her tips, recipes and caffeinated reccs on Instagram and released her first book on all things coffee just this month. ‘I got so passionate, super nerdy, and loved the creative process – but also loved the culture of it,’ she says, speaking about honing her craft down under. ‘Coffee culture in Australia and Ne

February 14 is looming: that one day of the year when you can be as cringe as you like with your beloved. You might think that Valentine’s Day is a bit of an eye-roll, with its mass-produced heart-shaped chocolates and overly forced romance, but it’s hard to argue that it’s a good excuse to get out there and see the city. In 2025, it also falls on a Friday, which means less worrying about staying out past your bedtime.  If you want to do something special and still have to sort a date-night, here are six date ideas to book now (right now) to avoid disappointment on the big day. Oh, and if you’re looking for more inspo, check out our full list of Valentine’s Day Events in London for 2025 right here.  Photograph: The Standard Rest your head in one of the capital’s design-led hotels It’s all too easy to get caught up in the work-pub-bed-repeat lifecycle that is London, and for your other half to simply become another piece of the furniture. We’re joking, but a change of scenery never goes a miss º especially if you have the full weekend ahead of you. If you want to push the boat out this Valentine’s, book a room in one of London’s best boutique hotels for a stylish overnight stay.  Catch a film at this iconic Soho cinema Fancy yourself as a bit of a film buff, do you? The Prince Charles cinema has programmed a load of movies for Valentine’s weekend, offering more obscure romantic-influenced flicks, from romantic classics ‘True Romance’ and ‘Casablanca’ to Céline Sciamma’s per

There’s a one in 653,000 chance of death when you do a tandem skydive in the UK and there were reportedly no fatalities in the 20 years between 1997 and 2016. Statistically, that’s much safer than hiking. I knew all this, but that didn’t stop me from thinking about death approximately 19 times a day in the weeks leading up to my jump. The possibilities of death, it seemed, were endless. I had dreams of my eyeballs being sucked out of my head while falling at a hundred miles per hour and of Storm Darragh pushing me off course into the icy waters of the North Sea. I’d had dark thoughts about the parachute being unable to go up; darker thoughts of a bird crashing into me as it travelled south for winter and toppling to my grave in a pile of feathers, beak and blood. I have a fear of heights. It’s not unreasonable, it doesn’t restrict my daily life, but it is very much there. It’s the impending drop which gets me: the empty space, the threat of gravity, uninterrupted. I hate jumping off cliffs into bodies of water and looking down from the tops of tall buildings makes my stomach turn. If I think too much about it, I start to feel a dizzying panic, a walls-closing-in sort of anxiety, like the floor could give away at any minute. A skydive would be a chance to prove to myself that, while not completely ridiculous, this fear was irrational in most scenarios. Photograph: Chiara WilkinsonUK Parachuting at Beccles UK Parachuting has two centres: one in Peterborough, closer to London,

It’s never good to pick favourites, especially when the calibre of choice is so very high. But sometimes it must be done. Here at Time Out we published 24 digital covers in 2024, spotlighting everyone from TV stars like AJ Odudu and Jamie Laing and breakthrough Gen Z talent like GK Barry and Cat Burns to underground wrestling clubs and the restaurant at the heart of London’s Little Lagos.  We turned Confidence Man into aliens, went boxing with Rita Ora, launched our 50 Best Pubs in London list with Jamali Maddix in the Army and Navy and took Will Sharpe to the cinema. We put Mam Sham inside a cheese grater, photographed Laufey with her identical twin, styled Stefflon Don with a snake and got together 26 legends of the underground music scene on an east London rooftop.  Keep an eye out for more cover stars coming in 2025, but for now, enjoy this round-up of our favourite covers of the year.  Mam Sham  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out London (@timeoutlondon) Back in January, we teamed up with the city’s buzziest culinary duo to present our best cheap eats in London. Read the interview here. Kingsley Ben-Adir View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out London (@timeoutlondon) We caught up with Kingsley Ben-Adir about playing Bob Marley – read the interview here. Laufey View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out London (@timeoutlondon) There’s a reason why

It’s been some year, right? I’ve spent 2024 heading up Time Out’s features desk, covering the essential culture and lifestyle stories and answering the vital questions about city life and going out in the UK. We’ve covered everything from the driving test black market to the rise of ‘nu-donk’ – it’s certainly not been boring, put it that way. From nightlife scenes to transport trends, pop stars to chefs, our team has written a lot this year – so we thought we’d get all of the best bits together for you in one place (holiday reading, anyone?). This is by no means an exhaustive list, but we hope it provides something of a taster of what we have to offer, and what we’ll continue to cover in the year ahead. We hope you enjoy. All of the best features Time Out published in 2024 In January, we kicked off the year by rounding up eight musicians to look out for in 2024. Our art editor Eddy Frankel investigated the spate of London gallery closures and we explored the eruption of new online communities helping women combat loneliness in the city, and asked the vital question: have we all fallen out of love with veganism? London’s iconic queer venue, The Glory, announced it was closing its doors, so we waved it off by tracing its sexy, shambolic history accompanied by a photoshoot with its queer community. February marked the 40th anniversary of London Fashion Week, so we celebrated the capital’s most exciting designers by catching up with them in their studios. We also explored the str

A cheap pint is increasingly hard to come by these days – especially here in London. Earlier this year, we reported on the arrival of the £8 pint, which has started to become less of a rarity and more of an accepted part of living in the capital. But not all is lost. There are still a handful of boozers out there, fighting the good fight, serving up cheap pints for the city. The problem is knowing where to find them.  That’s why we’ve rounded up all of the places you can get a slightly more affordable pint in Zone 1. At the time of writing, all of these draught pints cost £6 or less (please don’t come at us if prices have changed since then).  Holborn/Farringdon/Soho Horse & Wig, Holborn: £5 Pravha, £6 Madri, £6 Aspalls, £6 Guinness The Albion, Farringdon: £5.40 Young’s London Original The Marian Anderson, Farringdon: £4 Guinness & Pravha, £5 (all) Jubel Peach, Session Purity IPA, Blue Moon, Staropramen, Camden Hells, Madri, Harbour IPA Freedom Bar, Soho: £5.90 Heineken Pelt Trader, Cannon Street: £5.50 Puns of Anarchy, £5.50 Brew York Calmer Chameleon, £5.80 Kelham Island Pale Rider, £5 Lord Marples, £6 König Pilsner, £5.70 Crafty Apple Cider Paddington/Euston/Camden Paddington Railway Club, Paddington: £4.40 Madri, £4 Coors, £4 Carling, £3.80 Caffrey’s, £4.40 Guinness, £4 Cider [Plus, happy hour Tues-Thurs, 2-5pm: everything £3.50] Golden Lion, Camden: £4.90 Carling, £5.45 Real Ale [Plus, all craft ales £5.50 on ‘Craft Thursdays’] Euston Tap, Euston: Cask ales from £4, £

What do Pavilion Café, magCulture, Kangnam Pocha and the Old Nun’s Head have in common? They’re places that help to make London the varied, vibrant city it is. They’re places that we, at Time Out, love. And they’re places we’ll continue to shout about, whether you like it or not. Time Out has been putting stickers up in the windows of venues we love for decades. In the last weeks of 2024, we’ve decided to bring it back: sending out 500 stickers onto the streets of London, to celebrate the pubs, bars, museums, shops, cafés, restaurants, music venues, nightclubs and other spots making the city so great. By the end of the year, 500 excellent London venues will have been sent our seal of approval. How did we decide what venues get that oh-so-special sticker? Well, our expert editors spend their days exploring the city (it’s literally their job), so they certainly know a thing or two about what sets places apart: quality service, a certain vibe and an experience you can’t get anywhere else.  We trawled through 2024’s newly curated lists and selected venues that stood out this year. This includes all of our new best restaurant lists – including Japanese, Thai, South Asian and Indian, Turkish, Lebanese, Caribbean, Chinese, Korean and West African – as well as our updated lists of best pubs, shops, bars, cafés, nightclubs, museums, gastropubs and music venues. We also picked out a few places from specific area guides (like Peckham, Bayswater, Hackney and Leyton), as well as a few ad

Drum roll, please. It’s that time of year again. The time of year when we take stock, reflect, and think about what Londoner deserves the enviable title of Time Out’s Londoner of the Year. Last year we had Ezra Collective, the youth-club born five-piece band who were the first jazz act to receive the Mercury Prize, and in 2022, we had Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning goal for the Lionesses’ during the Women’s Euros Final.  This year? None other than Tottenham’s very own DJ AG. Ashley Gordon has blown up on social media with his live-streamed pop-up DJ sets on the streets of London, attracting surprise guest performances from the likes of Skepta, JME and Jorja Smith. More importantly, he’s been providing a platform for emerging talent in an increasingly difficult industry and spreading joy through music for unknowing passers-by. He’s taken his decks into care homes and has ambitions to work with schools, prisons and youth clubs, and dreams of bringing his pop-ups to cities across the world – and, one day, maybe even building something like Stormzy’s Merky FC HQ, the football pitch and community centre in Croydon, for his own community. Inspiring others, spreading joy, pushing boundaries – we couldn’t think of anyone more deserving. To celebrate AG’s contributions to the UK’s grassroots music scene and Londoner of the Year win, we photographed him outside the Ritzy cinema in Brixton with his name on the front marquee.  View this post on Instagram A post s

Noël, c’est un mood. Et rien ne le capture mieux qu’un bon vieux marché de Noël. Que ce soit pour dénicher des petits cadeaux, exhiber vos talents de patinage ou siroter un vin chaud qui réchauffe autant les mains que l’âme, les marchés de Noël britanniques n’ont pas leur pareil. Dès la fin novembre, des spots féériques fleurissent aux quatre coins du Royaume-Uni, mais pour éviter que vous ne perdiez votre esprit festif entre deux chalets, voici notre liste (bien "nice") des meilleurs marchés de Noël. Où se trouve LE spot "Noël vibes" au Royaume-Uni ? Les grandes villes comme Édimbourg, Londres ou Birmingham jouent à fond la carte du chaos festif XXL, avec des lumières partout et des sapins gigantesques. Mais pour les amateurs d'ambiances plus cosy, rien ne vaut les petits villages pittoresques, leurs pubs centenaires, et leurs ruelles illuminées façon Pinterest IRL. Bref, où que vous alliez, la magie opère. 1. Les marchés de Noël de Glasgow Deux lieux, deux ambiances. St Enoch’s Square mise sur une atmosphère familiale avec manèges (hello, "train du Grinch"), et stands de comfort food (gaufres, churros, mac & cheese – les bases). À George Square, on monte en puissance : grande roue, chute libre de 80 mètres, et patinoire XXL pour les téméraires. Niveau shopping ? Artisanat, déco et petits trésors festifs. Besoin de plus chic ? Passez à Princes Square, à deux pas, avec son sapin digne d’Instagram et, si vous avez de la chance, des chorales caritatives qui chantent des cantiq

There’s no where quite like Moth Club. I’ve personally spent many tipsy nights there, dancing to Deptford Northern Soul Club, banging my head at indie gigs, laughing at comedy shows and making drunken poses in the iconic photo booth. The Hackney venue first opened in 1972 as a traditional servicemen’s club (the name ‘MOTH’ comes from the ex-military personnel group known as the Memorable Order of Tin Hats, who still meet in the venue to this day), and in 2015, the building was given a gold-glittered makeover. Taken over by events agency LNZRT, it swiftly gained a reputation for its excellent gig programming (previous guests include the likes of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, IDLES, Lady Gaga and Caroline Polachek), and became an absolute staple of the east London nightlife scene.  But, as is often the story with music venues in big cities, its future is precarious. Back in September, we reported about a planning application for new flats opposite the venue on Morning Lane, which would look onto the back of the club.  Now, another separate planning proposal has been submitted to Hackney Council to develop a block of flats on Morning Lane. The venue said in an Instagram post: ‘Both developments, if approved, put one of London’s most loved independent grassroots venues at serious risk, as well as impacting the identity of the local area. ‘These proposals have been deliberately split into two applications to avoid the obligation to include social housing. While we fully sup

It’s a big week for London transport. Not only is the Overground service finally graduating to its new route names and colours, but swanky new electric buses will also be making an appearance on the roads for the first time.  South London is getting a fleet of new ‘zero-emission’ electric buses, running on the 358 route between Crystal Palace and Orpington. A far cry from the trad red London buses, these bad boys look more akin to trams, with rounded fronts and special pantograph tech which charges the vehicles using an arm-like structure attached to the roof.  This allows the buses to be powered up on either end of the route in only six minutes – meaning more time on the roads and less in the garages so that fewer buses are needed overall.  What else is so special about these new vehicles? They have speed-limiting technology, ‘audible warnings to alert pedestrians and other road users’, as well as mirror-like camera monitoring to help drivers with vision on the roads. Inside, there will be slip-protection flooring, those all-important USB ports as well as palm-operated assistance buttons. Swanky stuff.  Lorna Murphy, director of buses at TfL, said about the roll-out: ‘Installing new rapid-charging pantograph infrastructure on one of London’s longest bus routes is an innovative step forward, helping us to run cleaner, greener services that get Londoners where they need to be.’ These buses are the first of their kind in the UK, and add to TfL’s zero-emission fleet of 1,700 ze