floating restaurant + fairy tale new bakery + courtyard brunch + portuguese tapas + van gogh portraits + urban jungle + cook for ukraine + vagina museum
“Jung once wrote that if there is something wrong with society, there is something wrong with the individual, and if there is something wrong with the individual, there is something wrong with me. No individual has ‘caused’ the present crisis, but every individual can contribute something to help.” - Liz Greene
If I were you…
I would write a wishlist full of secret desires. For astrology, the new year happens now, specifically after the 20th March.
Supporting..
Some serious organisations raising money for Ukraine.
Book…
Amazon just delivered me the Psychological Astrology: A Synthesis of Jungian Psychology and Astrology, a subject I’m looking to dive into.
Mood..
Couldn’t have chosen a better place to spend the end of winter: fondue and raclette with an Italian accent and visiting the Mont Blanc. The picture at the beginning of the article says more than one thousand words. Refreshed for the spring season!
Discoveries..
Completely in love with Kerzon, a Parisian brand found in a vintage-artsy store in Seefeld, the coolest neighbourhood in Zürich, where I booked my hotel during my very recent stay there. The Mint and Fig hand cream is the new resident of my London bag and I’m almost heading to the Rue de Turenne to explore the variety of their products. Same for Soeder, handmade in the same Zürich, with natural bar soaps made from 100% vegetable raw materials including scents of black pine coal.
And now, the basics.
Aries
Jones & Sons opens our recommendation for this edition as a breath of fresh air for the spring season! A classic British restaurant & cocktail bar nestled in hipster Dalston, it’s a place to meet, eat, and drink, emphasising well prepared honest British food of the highest quality & artisan cocktails from around the world, with the extra bonus of having a courtyard for those lazy sunny days.
Taurus
Next stop, 1813. I’m far from being a fan of this Netflix series, but you can now book the Secret Cinema Bridgerton Experience and immerse yourself in this ball set in Regency London! Due to high demand, it’s extended into April. You will be part of the luscious life of the most disreputable echelons as The Friends of Lady Whistledown invite you to a magnificent evening of performance, surprise, secrets and perhaps other less-refined activities (ops!).
Gemini
Studio Feast, in E9, is hosting the Cook for Ukraine: Pierogi for Peace, a warm and friendly workshop aiming to prepare two types of pierogi, filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savoury or sweet filling, popular street food in Eastern Europe. The event has also the purpose of sharing stories whilst eating together. Admission is £100 and all proceeds will go to #CookforUkraine campaign, raising funds for UNICEF UK’s Ukraine appeal, supporting children and families impacted by the war.
Cancer
Do you know why I chose the newest Beaten by a Whisker for Cancer readers? Because I know how much comfort food is vital for you and dear to your heart. Next to my hairdresser in E17, this recently launched bakery has everything we love: delicious cakes, quality coffee, kind service, pastel colours and an open kitchen. As a plus, they serve coffees with plant-based milk. Just go!
Leo
The Courtauld Gallery is back after 3 years (!) into restoration works and vanity Leos will love that they are bringing an outstanding selection of 16 Van Gogh self-portraits that have been brought together to trace the evolution of the Dutch painter's self-representation, from his early Self-Portrait with a Dark Felt Hat, created in 1886 during his formative period in Paris, to Self-Portrait with a Palette, painted at the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in September 1889.
Virgo
If the war in Ukraine left you more emotional than usual, readers of this Earth sign will feel inclined to explore the topics surrounding the Second World War at Barbican’s new exhibition Postwar Modern: New Art in Britain 1945-1965. It foregrounds artists who came to Britain as refugees from Nazism or as migrants from a crumbling empire, in addition to female artists who have tended to be overlooked. Definitely an opportunity for reflection and to make some parallels of current events that, unfortunately, are taking place again and how art, on the other side, gives a glimmer of hope for a better tomorrow.
Libra
Tropical plants, cacti, succulents + workshops cultivating the enjoyment of plants: welcome to Conservatory Archives, an overwhelmingly beautiful solar shop in Hackney Road. As indoor plants have become an essential element of modern interiors, they continue to develop the practice and are always looking for new collaborators.
Scorpio
My favourite bakery in London - aka the best cappuccino in town - is opening a new branch. Victoria Park Village’s residents, in E19, will now have Pophams next door. Not far away from the Hackney one, it will bring the same fantastic pastries like the one with marmite and Schlossberger cheese, together with a selection of beautiful potteries signed by talented independent producers to shop.
Sagittarius
Adventurous Sagittarius readers will love the new floating restaurant recently opened in Islington. Next door to the Holborn Studios on the Regent’s Canal, Caravel serves simple, French and Italian-inflected cooking with room for 40 diners only in an old Dutch barge. Is literally your chance to have dinner on the canal, a perfect excuse to enjoy the longer spring days ahead.
Capricorn
As a love letter to Lisbon, chef Nuno Mendes opens Lisboeta in central London, bringing traditional and contemporary petiscos – an array of small plates – alongside larger offerings. Set across three floors, the extensive menu includes bacalhau à brás, bavette steak with pica pau sauce and prawns with piri-piri. Humm!
Aquarius
London has now a Vagina Museum. Yes, you read it right. There is a penis museum in Iceland. Which is pretty cool. But there is no vagina equivalent anywhere in the world. Until now. Recently opened this year in Bethnal Green, the world’s first bricks and mortar museum dedicated to the gynaecological anatomy wants to spread knowledge and act as a forum for feminism, women’s rights, the LGBT+ and the intersex communities.
Pisces
A cocktail bar at night and serving bottomless brunch during the day, Little Bat is a hidden gem in N1, just like Pisces readers enjoy. Part of the world-renowned cocktail bar Group Callooh Callay, with a 13-year track record for serving great drinks to amazing people, the place is ideal for an after-dinner pit-stop during Friday and Saturday nights.
Wishing you a beautiful beginning of a new season, and a happy new year too! x, NB