Much like the April showers we’ve experienced, there has been a shower of incredible restaurant openings, experiences and plenty of ways to prepare for the sunny months ahead.
This is one meal you’ll want to book in for prior to a walk across Hyde Park, here is a weekly must-add ritual to your skincare routine, and you’ll love this summer dining table refresh and clandestine date night. Here’s what we are loving in this week’s Citizen Femme hotlist.
EAT HERE abc kitchens, The Emory
The Maybourne Group strikes again with the opening of The Emory, sitting side by side with its elder sister The Berkeley. And they have brought in Manhattan-based superstar chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, uniting his trio of New York ABC restaurants (ABC Kitchen, ABCV and ABC Cocina) under one roof, meaning a menu of mixing farm-to-table, plant-based and Latin-inspired dishes which are absolute crowd-pleasers. JGV is known for his use of vegetable juices and fruit essences making his dishes lighter and healthier – you’ll find spring pea guacamole (topped with sunflower seeds and green chilli), crisp fish tacos served with aioli and cabbage-apple slaw, and pretzel-crusted calamari with spiced tomato and grainy mustard sauces. As is evident from the menu, he is a pioneer in plant-based menus but not to the exclusion of meat and fish. Overlooking Hyde Park through floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s just high enough to have a view over the passing cars. There’s also a market table display of produce, and an amber glass wine cave that serves as a giant lantern. The restaurant has been designed by French designer Rémi Tessier (best known for private yacht and jet design), who also did the Cedric Grolet patisserie at The Berkeley and the Penthouse Suite at Claridge’s, with its rooftop pool, and much like the suite, features artworks by Damien Hirst. An informal vibe for your breakfast coffee and a stunning covered terrace to enjoy for your girl’s night out.
BOOK THIS The Light Salon, Selfridges
Flawless skin, here we come. As far as weekly treatments to integrate into your skin regime, this is one I encourage you to try. LED has been used in facials far and wide, and previously restricted to a facialist’s clinic, now you can bring these light therapy devices at-home whilst you sip on your evening chamomile and catch a Netflix show. Leaders in the field, The Light Salon bring you treatments in London’s Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, now with a new bridal facial package beginning three to six months prior to your big day. Priced at £220 per month, the package includes 2 brightening collagen boost facials, 2 signature lifting microcurrent, skin reset or microneedling facials. Or an at-home package with a complimentary video consultation and step-by-step instructions to deliver countless facials. We say, bride or not, this is your solution to calm, de-stressed skin, at home and on-the-go.
ENJOY DATE NIGHT HERE The Spy Bar at Raffles London
The Old War Office (OWO), is renowned for Churchill, as well as the birthplace of MI5 and MI6. But the female spies were much to speak about. Enter to the grand staircase and to a slip entrance to the side, head downstairs and through communications tunnels below the building to the shadowy speakeasy-inspired Spy Bar (operating on a reservation-only basis). Located underground, you’ll find the former interview and interrogation rooms, where large numbers of women worked and – in Room 055a – were briefed for missions in Occupied Europe as agents of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). You’ll know you’ve arrived when you see 007 written above the entrance doorway. Gleaming behind the bar counter: half of James Bond’s famous silver Aston Martin DB5 (this is incidentally where Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, gleaned much of the detail for his novels). No pictures are allowed inside as the Maître d’ will plant a sticker on your camera. But you’ll find this to be an ideal spot for a clandestine rendezvous, whipping up a killer martini, the signature being The Vesper Martini, an ode to Bond himself has a special twist.
SHOP THIS Bertioli's Cutting Garden collection
Bring the English garden into your home with Bertioli, the sibling brand of Thyme. Unveiling their Cutting Garden collection, a beautiful, bucolic, celebration of flowers culminating in new bedrooms at Thyme as well as across Bertioli with plenty of elements to bring into your own home. Situated in the Farmhouse, the new bedrooms have been decorated with measured maximalism to showcase the new wallpapers and fabrics, cushions and lampshades from the collection, complete with the Cutting Garden scent – a scent blended to evoke the enchanting scent of freshly cut flowers. Stay there or capture a classic garden by upgrading your home with homeware, tabletop, interiors, decorative accessories and home scent.
WEAR THESE PURIFIED
Did you know over 25 billion shoes are produced each year, almost all un-recyclable? PURIFIED, the new London-based sustainable shoe brand, launches ABACA, the zero-plastic shoe designed to exist within the earth’s natural cycle. Following a four year research journey, these shoes use Bananatex®, a textile canvas woven from fibres derived from Abaca plants native to the Philippines, and a latex sole material called PLIANT™. In a process that encourages forest regeneration, the latex is extracted from the hevea tree and adapts to the natural movement of the foot. PURIFIED and NFW will also be hosting an event, ‘The Anatomy of A Plastic-Free Sneaker,’ at London Craft Week on May 17th.
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