escapes
Holidays, hotels and insider travel news
DESTINATION GUIDE
Village People 5 reasons why Marylebone should be the focus of your next trip to London. By Ric Stockfis
Fischer’s
The Marylebone
Cox + Power
T
ucked away between Oxford Street and Regent’s Park, Marylebone Village keeps its charms wellhidden. It may not be hip like East London or up-and-coming like Peckham and places south of the river, but this collection of Georgian and Victorian mansion blocks set along elegant lanes and quiet mews somehow remains one the city’s best-kept secrets. Here’s what you’ll find.
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Great restaurants
Take your pick! Marylebone is a real foodie haunt. The Golden Hind (73 Marylebone Lane, +44 (0) 20 7486-3644) serves some of the city’s best fish and chips—and has been doing so for 101 years. The Providores and Tapa Room (109 Marylebone High St., +44 (0) 20 7935-6175, www.theprovidores. co.uk) is where you’ll find award-winning fusion cuisine from Kiwi chef Peter Gordon (including what one critic described as “London’s best laksa”) and great weekend brunches. Other gems include La Fromagerie (2-6 Moxon St., +44 (0) 20 7935-0341, www.lafromagerie. co.uk), which offers a simply staggering array of cheeses and charcuterie; fine-dining French restaurant Orrery (55 Marylebone High St., +44 (0) 20 7616-8000, www.orrery-restaurant.co.uk), origianlly designed by Terence Conran; and Fischer’s (50 Marylebone High St., +44 (0) 20 7466-5501, www.fischers. co.uk), a ’20s-Vienna-inspired cafe which opened last year, courtesy of the team that launched both The Wolseley and The Ivy. Then there’s the nearby Chiltern Firehouse (1 Chiltern St., +44 (0) 20 7073-7676, www. chilternfirehouse.com), U.S hotelier Andre Balazs’ first overseas venture: a hotel, bar and New York-style brasserie so popular that when it launched in 2013 it spawned a Bloomberg article titled “How to get a Table at Chiltern Firehouse Without Being Famous”.
2
Eclectic shopping
One of the charms of this part of town is the number of traditional businesses still going strong: Howarth (31 Chiltern St., +44 (0) 20 79352407, www.howarth.uk.com) specialises in woodwind instruments; VV Rouleaux (102 Marylebone Ln.,+44 (0) 20 7224-5179, www.vvrouleaux.com) offers up eye-catching ribbons and other haberdashery; while
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SG MAGAZINE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015
The Button Queen (76 Marylebone Ln., +44 (0) 79351505, www.thebuttonqueen.co.uk) is London’s only shop dedicated to, well, buttons of course. You can also find some great vintage clothing at weekend market Cabbages & Frocks (+44 (0) 20 7794-1636, www. cabbagesandfrocks.co.uk), held from 11am-5pm on Saturdays in the churchyard of St Marylebone Parish Church. And there are plenty of more modern places to visit too, be it contemporary jewelry at either Cox + Power (10-12 Chiltern St., +44 (0) 20 7935-3530, www.coxandpower.com) or Kabiri (94 Marylebone Ln., +44 (0) 20 7317-2155, www.kabiri.co.uk) or cult womenswear at KJ’s Laundry (74 Marylebone Ln., +44 (0) 20 7486-7855, www.kjslaundry.com).
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Cultural inspiration
Housed in a gorgeous old Edwardian building, Daunt Books (83 Marylebone High St., +44 (0) 20 7224-2295, www.dauntbooks.co.uk) is best-known for its three-level, oak-panelled travel section, but it’s such a thoughtfully-curated place you could spend hours there, whatever your field of interest. There are now half a dozen outlets across London, but this original branch remains the most special. They also host literary evenings, with Tyler Brûlé among recent speakers. (Monocle have a store of their own at 18 Chiltern St.) Nearby, The Wallace Collection (Hertford House, Manchester Square, +44 (0) 20 7563-9500, www. wallacecollection.org) houses more than two dozen galleries of world-class art and furnishings, with a particular focus on Dutch and Flemish work from the 17th and 18th centuries as well as 19th century French painting, including works by the likes of Rubens and Rembrandt. And the building itself is a stunning example of the area’s architectural style. Even better: admission is free.
Metropolitan
Essentials WHERE TO STAY We stayed at the just-revamped Metropolitan (Old Park Ln., +44 (0) 20 7447-1000, www.comohotels.com/metropolitanlondon), part of Singaporean group COMO. It’s a stylish spot across the street from Hyde Park, with the design of its light, minimalist 144 rooms influenced by greenery visible through the window. Once synonymous with glitz and decadence, the focus now is on holistic living, with plenty of COMO touches, from an extensive spa menu to healthy breakfast options, although cocktail haven Met Bar is still going strong. It’s also home to world-famous (and Michelin-starred) Peruvian-Japanese restaurant Nobu. With such a central location, it’s a great base for exploring the more upmarket parts of London: Knightsbridge runs south of Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace is only 10 minutes’ walk away, and embassy district Mayfair extends away behind the hotel. It’s also only a 20-minute walk or short taxi ride to Marylebone. Rooms start from $620, excluding taxes. Other options near to Marylebone Village include boutique newcomer The Zetter Townhouse (28-30 Seymour St., +44 (0) 20 7324-4544, www. thezettertownhouse.com), where rooms start from $460; and Dorset Square Hotel (39-40 Dorset Square, www.mrandmrssmith.com/luxuryhotels/dorset-square-hotel), with rates from $440. GETTING THERE British Airways (www.ba.com) and Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair. com) fly direct from around $1,600 return. Or go via the Middle East with Etihad (www.etihad.com) or Qatar (www.qatarairways.com) from $1,100 return.