This is over the road from my house and kind of feels like being transported back in time to the goth night I used to go to when I was 15. But much much bigger with much more entertaining outfits, cages, lasers and… BBQ.

Truly independent and informed programming twinned with a beautiful Art Deco façade makes the Rio a genuinely unique and unpretentious cinema. A stalwart of Kingsland High Street the Rio’s single screen shows new releases, classic and quirky Sunday double bills and hosts special events and film festivals.

Beautiful, calm location for lunch on a sunny day in London. Housed in a former school bike shed on Arnold Circus in Shoreditch. Great seasonal fresh food.

Small restaurant on Highbury Corner that started off focusing on (basically) posh kebabs, but which is now producing some of London's most innovative dishes, focused around unconventional meats, cuts, and breads. Not often you can eat incredible food while listening to heavy rock and metal, but Lee Tiernan has nailed a winning formula.

The most beautiful contemporary gallery in London aptly named White Cube, the space is an artwork in itself. Its portfolio of artists and exhibition programme is top of the league, always presented as with style and grace as the space itself. Photograph by Paul Riddle