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 What's New in London
 
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London is a vibrant place where there's so many new things going on it can be hard to keep track. Luckily we're here to help with the latest restaurant openings, shop launches and hip new bars as well as anything else we think sounds interesting. Want to know what's new in London? It's all here...
  Circus
 Opened mid January 2010 Restaurant & Cabaret Opened mid January 2010, Circus is a hip eaterie serving Pan-American cuisine and boasting an interior design by Tom Dixon. More than just a dining experience, Circus - as the name suggests - has all the fun of the fair with live acts entertaining you while you eat. Staff and diners can ultimately join in to become part of the entertainment which takes place around the bar and restaurant. Enter through the secret black steel foyer and you'll find a hidden world of smoke and mirrors - as well as an interesting list of cocktails. If this all sounds a bit surreal, it's meant to be; the style is based on the Surrealist art movement with shell chandeliers and a dancer's pole in the lounge. The menu of Pan-American dishes includes choices of soft shell crab with coriander and corn salsa, red and golden beet salad with ricotta and hazelnuts, or smoked chipotle and tamarind chicken wings for starters. For main courses you can move on to baby-back ribs with barbecue sauce or Mexican spice rubbed pork tenderloin. Desserts are all-American favourites like churros, coconut cream pie and aweet tamales. But it's the entertainment which really is the unique selling point of Circus, full details of the acts are currently under wraps - you'll just have to go there to find out what's in store. Address: 27-29 Endell Street, WC2H 9BA Phone: 020 7420 9300 Category: Restaurant - American Cuisine Pricing: Main Courses £12.95-£19.95 Circus - Information  Medieval and Renaissance Galleries, Victoria & Albert Museum
Opened 2nd December 2009 Museum The V & A has been on a makeover mission of late spending millions on new galleries to house their Theatre and Performance and Ceramics collections. But the latest launch, the £30-million Medieval and Renaissance Galleries which opened on 2nd December, unveils the biggest project undertaken since the museum's British Galleries opened in 2001. The regenerated space dedicates ten galleries to the museum's unique collection of masterpieces of medieval craftsmanship and an impressive collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture. An entire gallery is devoted to a group of pieces by Donatello, his 15th-century contemporaries and followers. Exquisite and important medieval items include the Becket Casket - an enamel casket dedicated to St Thomas Becket dating to around 1180 - and the Gloucester Candlestick (1104-15). Hunting tapestries hang alongside Gothic altarpieces while significant pieces like the Symmachi Panel show the influence of the later Roman Empire on medieval art. MUMA (McInnes Usher McKnight Architects) - the architectural practice already responsible for the V & A Cafe which opened in November 2006 - have been tasked with the redesign. Address: Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL Phone: 020 7942 2000 Category: Sights and Attractions - Museum Timing: Daily 10am-5.45pm | Closed 24-26 Dec Pricing: FREE Medieval and Renaissance Galleries - Information  Tokyo Fixed Gear
Opened November 2009 Bike Shop Pay homage to the bicycle with a trip to new Soho cycling boutique Tokyo Fixed Gear. Although they divide opinion amongst the cycling community, fixed-gear bikes are all the rage at the moment, a fad followed by bike couriers and fashion-conscious trendies alike. Tokyo Fixed Gear caters for both, with a superb collection of fixed-gear frames (by Keirin, Brooklyn Machien Works and Gorilla Bicycles) in the basement and a range of stylish cycling attire from niche labels such as Outlier Clothing, Aldies and Alexander Lee Cheng above, along with a range of cycling magazines and coffee table books. Located just off the bottom of Berwick Street, the store is more like a fixed-wheel cycle museum than anything else, and well worth a visit if you're in the area. The boutique's launch at the end of 2009 saw fixed-gear aficionados arriving in their droves, with the street outside four deep in the special one-gear bikes while their skinny-jeaned owners drank cans of beer in clusters, comparing checked shirts and foul-mouthing taxi drivers. For many, fixed-gear bikes are a dangerous aberration that give cyclists a bad name - but try saying that to the real users, for whom Tokyo Fixed Gear will become a two-wheeled mecca. Address: 4 Peter Street, Soho, W1F 0AD Phone: 020 7734 1885 Category: Shopping - Bicycle Shops Timing: Mon to Sat 11am-8pm Tokyo Fixed Gear - Information  The Clubhouse Shoreditch: Rooftop Pop-Up Alpine Lodge
The East Room, EC2A 4LU 1st December 2009 - 28th February 2010 Get ready for your winter skiing break with a visit to The Clubhouse Shoreditch, east London's own special rooftop Alpine lodge, which transports the apres-ski vibe of the Alps onto the slopes of, er, Shoreditch. A roaring open fire, cowhide sofas and chairs, a cosy wood-panelled interior and mock views of the Mont Blanc massif makes this the ideal place to re-live that ski season or enjoy all the best things about the mountains - without the pain of ski boots or the whiff or a day's downhill exercise. Typical mountain fodder such as bubbling three-cheese fondue, creamy tartiflette or a Herman Maier-sized pot au feu are on the menu, giving the room a traditional Alpine aroma. Vin chaud will warm you up, as will ice-cold Eristoff(ee) vodka shots, while there's the usual selection of beers, spirits and wines behind the bar. Open through till the end of February 2010, the space has been designed with party and group booking in mind and comes from the people behind Milk & Honey and The Player, and is part of Shoreditch's The East Room. Venue: The East Room Address: 2 Tabernacle Street, EC2A 4LU Phone: 07000 847876 Date: 1st December 2009 - 28th February 2010 Time: Open Mon to Wed 12noon-1am; Thu & Fri 12noon-3am, Sat 7pm-3am The Clubhouse Shoreditch: Rooftop Pop-Up Alpine Lodge - Information  Anthropologie
Opened 23rd October 2009 Lifestyle Store The first Anthropologie store in Europe opened on Regent Street on 23rd October 2009. Described by The Telegraph as "America's dream shop", the opening of the store has certainly been hotly anticipated. The excitement stems from that fact that it's more than just a store. Selling an impressive total of 200 women's fashion brands, Anthropologie is effectively many boutique stores in one. Alongside women's clothes and jewellery are home goods from furniture to bed linen and chandeliers, all of which is overseen by a living wall which contains 14 different types of plant and uses rainwater for irrigation. Owned by Urban Outfitters, this is a grown-up version of the hip lifestyle store which primarily appeals to teenagers and twentysomethings. Anthrolopogie's arrival on Regent Street is a blessing for shoppers who've long been importing their stylish items from the States. Address: 158 Regent Street, W1B 5SW Category: Shopping - Ladies Fashion & Lifestyle Store Timing: Mon to Wed, Fri & Sat 10am-7pm, Thu 10am-8pm, Sun 12noon-6pm Nearest Station: Oxford Circus Tube Anthropologie - Information  aqua London
Aqua Nueva - 28th September | Aqua Kyoto - 5th October 2009 Spanish & Japanese Cuisine This two-restaurant project on the top floor of the former Dickins & Jones department store on Soho's Argyll Street is Hong Kong's aqua restaurant group's first enterprise outside northern China. Set on the rooftop of one of the West End's most iconic buildings, aqua London comprises of two glamorous restaurants (Japanese and Spanish) and a pre- and post-dining bar. Aqua Kyoto specialises in modern Japanese cuisine (think sushi and sumibiyaki charcoal grill) while Aqua Nueva serves up contemporary Spanish cuisine inspired by the San Sebastian area (quite a statement, considering the Basque city has the biggest concentration of Michelin stars per inhabitant than any other in the world). On top of innovative dishes, expect some ultra stylish interiors and, from the roof terrace of the aqua spirit bar, unrivalled views over The West End and beyond. Address: 240 Regent Street (entrance 30 Argyll Street), W1B 2EL Phone: 020 7478 0540 Category: Restaurant - Spanish & Japanese Cuisine Timing: Mon to Sat 12noon-3pm, 6.30pm-11pm | Sun Closed aqua London - Information  GIVe
Opened 30th September 2009 Ladies Fashion George Davis - founder of Next, famous for his George at Asda range and the man who brought Per Una to M&S - turns his hand to 'affordable luxury' with GIVe, a new chain of women's clothing shops with its flagship store on Regent Street. Aimed at women aged 30 and over, GIVe competes with shops like Karen Millen and Whistles with clothes at similar prices and little luxuries such as in-store style advisers and tailors. The name is not just a strange mix of three capital letters with a non capped 'e' on the end, it's a play on 'George the fourth' in Roman numerals, as it is Mr Davies's fourth large venture. GIVe also refers to the promise the shop makes to donate 5 to 10 per cent of its profits to charity. While this Regent Street store is the chain's flagship shop you'll also find a further 23 stores and concessions around the country. Address: 171 Regent Street, W1B 4JG Phone: 0844 334 9755 Category: Shopping - Ladies Fashion Timing: Mon to Wed, Fri & Sat 10am-7pm, Thu & Sun 10am-8pm Nearest Station: Oxford Circus Tube GIVe - Information  Pull and Bear, Oxford Street
Opened 16th September 2009 Mens & Womenswear Pull and Bear, a Spanish chain of fashion stores, was first set up in 1991 by Inditex, the group behind high street chains Zara, Massimo Dutti and Bershka. But it has only recently arrived in the UK, launching two London stores within quick succession. In comparison to its sister brands which already have an established and loyal customer base, Pull and Bear is a newcomer to the UK and caters for a young, largely teenager, audience. Denim features heavily in designs which create a cutting-edge look. Streetwear styles include slogan printed T-shirts, hooded tops and casual jackets. Mens and womenswear are available at both the Regent Street and Westfield stores with new products arriving in store twice a week chosen by the store managers. In style and appeal Pull and Bear is a rival to the likes of Hollister or Abercrombie & Fitch but at around half the price it won't burn a hole in your wallet. Address: 315 Oxford Street, W1C 2HS Phone: 020 7529 7670 Category: Shopping - Mens & Womenswear Nearest Station: Bond Street Tube Pull and Bear Oxford Street - Information Pull and Bear Westfield - Information  The Darwin Centre, Natural History Museum
Opened 15th September 2009 Museum The unveiling of the cocoon at the heart of The Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum on 15th September was a significant milestone for the well-known scientific centre. This latest development brings the vast building project, begun in 2002, to its final phase - the same year as the 200th anniversary of the great evolutionary theorist. From 15th September you can visit the stunning new £78 million building project, home to an incredible 22 million specimens including 17 million insect and three million plant specimens. The cocoon-like eight-storey building is home to working laboratories and state-of-the-art science facilities, which will be used by researchers as well as being open to the public. You can explore a working scientific environment, find out the latest discoveries and learn all about the specimens through special viewing decks and video link-ups. Daily talks and demonstrations by the museum's expert scientists provide an engaging insight into the natural world. The Darwin Centre is undoubtedly the most exciting development at the Natural History Museum since it first opened in 1881, and one not to be missed. Address: Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD Phone: 020 7942 5725 Category: Sights and Attractions - Museums Timing: Daily 10am-5.45pm | Last admission 5.30pm Pricing: FREE Nearest Station: South Kensington Tube The Darwin Centre - Information  Whitechapel Gallery
Re-opened April 2009 Art Gallery Designed in a distinctive Arts and Crafts architecture style by Charles Harrison Townsend, the Whitechapel, Britain's first purpose-built arts gallery, is renowned both for the beauty of its light, airy space and for embracing the local community in its work. Founded in 1901, extensive refurbishment saw the gallery, reopened in April 2009, double in size. The gallery does not have a permanent collection, preferring instead to host a constantly evolving programme of works and there is always something free to see. Community projects and retrospective exhibitions now rest alongside landmark examples of contemporary work. The Pop Art 'This is Tomorrow' exhibition of 1956 is often hailed as the gallery's most iconic event, although there are a number of other exhibitions worthy of note. Picasso's 'Guernica' was displayed here in 1938, Jackson Pollock had work exhibited at the gallery in the 1950s, David Hockney's first show was held here in 1970 and Lucian Freud had a major exhibition in 1993. With its pillared supports and high ceilings, The Lower Gallery, in particular, is a fantastic exhibition space. Address: 80 Whitechapel High Street, E1 7QX Phone: 020 7522 7878 Category: Sights and Attractions - Art Galleries Timing: Tue & Wed 11am-6pm, Thu 11am-9pm, Fri to Sun 11am-6pm, | Mon Closed Pricing: FREE Nearest Station: Aldgate East Whitechapel Gallery - Information |
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