J+A is a hidden and unpretentious café/ bar just off busy Clerkenwell Road - with outdoor seating!

A gift from Kyoto - a beautiful hidden Japanese garden in Holland Park 

The Nightingale is the antithesis of the hundreds of soulless gastropubs that a lot of decent pubs have recently become and remains everything a proper pub should be. Britain's pubs haven't had it easy lately. The smoking ban and the general effects of the recession have hammered the industry hard. The Nightingale continues to be what it has always been, a proper pub at the heart of the local community. Its annual charity walk has raised nearly £500,000 for good causes in over 30 years and it seems determined to do the things a pub should do and do them properly. Once inside you feel like you could be in a country pub instead of in the middle of South London. There's no jukebox and the TV is hardly ever on, but there’s a great atmosphere with a good set of locals and good drink and food. Bliss.

Donlon Books is an atmospheric little bookstore on Broadway Market (in East London.) They sell rare art books, style publications, and homemade photography zines.

Specialising in photography & fashion books and magazines, this independent shop can be a goldmine for rare and out of print books. Also if you’re lucky you’ll meet Otis, the lovely pug-cross resident.