Opening in Deptford on 10 April, Mondo To Go is the new grab-and-go outpost from the team behind Cafe Mondo. Bringing everything that made the original a cult favourite, stacked sandwiches, punchy flavours and a sense of fun, the new spot leans into spring with a 50-seat outdoor space and Deptford-only specials. Fast, unfussy and very satisfying, it’s the kind of place you will want on rotation for easy lunches and sunny afternoons. Even better, they are kicking things off with 50% off food all weekend from 10 to 12 April, which feels like as good a reason as any to make the trip.

Opening in Notting Hill on 8 April, Sova is a new wine bar spotlighting Central and Eastern Europe, with chilled bottles ready and vinyl on rotation from day one. The list moves from a Ukrainian Brut to Slovakian Grüner Veltliner, Croatian Malvasia and Georgian Saperavi, alongside champagne and a tight edit of cocktails, including an Amber Martini made with orange wine. There’s a menu of Slavic-inspired dishes to match, whether you’re perched at the bar or settling in at a table, with guest DJs playing throughout the week. Relaxed but considered, it’s one to know for late evenings that stretch a little longer than planned. Image by Rebecca Hope

Just opened in Soho, Impala already feels like it has found its rhythm. Only days into service, there’s a quiet confidence to the room, from the ease of a walk-in table to the steady glow of the wood oven anchoring the space. Everything seems to orbit around it. This is Meedu Saad’s first solo restaurant, following eight years leading Kiln into one of Soho’s most compelling kitchens. Here, the focus is tighter, more personal, with wood fire at the centre of both the cooking and the atmosphere. Warm, assured and instinctively welcoming, it is the kind of place you settle into quickly and plan to return to before you have even left.

Opening this month on Latimer Road, The Latimer brings a fresh take on the neighbourhood pub to Notting Hill, from the team behind Rochelle Canteen and Caravel. Blending classic charm with a more considered food offering, it strikes that rare balance between somewhere you can drop in for a pint and somewhere you stay for dinner. There’s a year-round street terrace made for sunny afternoons and easy evenings, with cold beers and a steady rhythm of locals passing through. Relaxed but quietly confident, it feels set to become one of those places that slips easily into your weekly rotation.

Now open in London Fields, Auguste is a neighbourhood restaurant and bar built around charcoal, skewers and lively, low-intervention wines. From chef Mike Bagnall and GM Dylan Walters, the space centres on arrosticini, flame-grilled skewers inspired by the Abruzzo region of Italy, designed to be eaten in quick succession, ideally with a glass in hand and good company across the counter. The menu moves between these charred, deeply flavourful skewers and a tight selection of dishes that feel both rustic and considered, with larger plates for lingering a little longer. There’s an ease to the room, anchored by the open grill at the back, with white tablecloths, warm wood and soft colour giving it the feel of a streetside European bistro reimagined in East London. Cocktails are classic and generous, wines lean low-intervention and thoughtfully sourced, and there’s already the promise of a downstairs speakeasy to come. Relaxed, convivial and quietly distinctive, it’s the kind of place built for long evenings that unfold naturally. Image by Smoliakova

Now open in Manchester, Lennox is a restaurant and bar built around unapologetic, indulgent cooking and cocktails. The focus is on flavours you already know and love, dialled up and done well, with a menu that leans into comfort without losing its edge. There’s a sense of ease to it all, from the atmosphere to the drinks, making it just as suited to late-night cocktails as it is to long, lingering dinners. Bold, familiar and a little bit decadent, it’s one to have on your list.

Opening this month, The Music is Black: A British Story traces 125 years of Black music-making in Britain, exploring how it has shaped the cultural fabric of the country. Spanning four continents and 12 decades, the exhibition moves through stories of creativity, resistance and influence, from defining sounds to the people behind them. Expansive yet deeply personal, it’s a powerful reflection on excellence, struggle, resilience and joy, and a reminder of just how much of British culture begins with music.

Now on at the Hayward Gallery until 3 May, Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life brings together the artist’s vast, immersive installations in a show that feels both monumental and deeply personal. Known for her intricate webs of thread, Shiota envelops everyday objects - shoes, keys, beds - into sprawling, suspended structures that explore memory, identity and the fragility of existence. Spanning the gallery’s top floor, the exhibition responds to the Hayward’s raw brutalist architecture, with floor-to-ceiling works that are atmospheric and quietly overwhelming. Alongside these are sculptures, drawings and early performance pieces, including new works and live activations throughout the run. Introspective, emotional and visually striking, it’s one to experience slowly, and to sit with long after you’ve left.

Now on at The Courtauld, Salman Toor: Someone Like You brings together the artist’s intimate, luminous paintings in a show that moves between tenderness and unease. Known for his distinctive palette of acid greens and shadowy interiors, Toor captures quiet, fleeting moments of contemporary life, often centred on queer identity, belonging and the complexities of being seen. Set within the Courtauld’s more classical surroundings, the works feel both deeply personal and quietly cinematic, balancing humour, vulnerability and tension in equal measure. Observant and emotionally charged, it’s the kind of exhibition that draws you in gently, then lingers long after.

Now showing, The Drama is a sharp, emotionally charged romance that unravels over the course of a wedding week gone sideways. What begins as a picture-perfect engagement quickly shifts when an unexpected revelation throws everything into question, turning intimacy into tension and certainty into doubt. Led by Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, the film leans into the messier edges of relationships, balancing tenderness with volatility as it traces how quickly things can fracture. Quietly intense and a little unpredictable, it’s the kind of watch that lingers, less about resolution and more about everything left unsaid.

Now showing, Mother Mary is a stylised, emotionally charged drama that blurs the line between performance and reality. Centred on a magnetic pop star navigating fame, identity and control, the film unfolds with a heightened, almost dreamlike intensity, where spectacle and vulnerability sit side by side. Visually striking and sonically rich, it leans into music, image and mood as much as narrative, tracing the pressures of being watched and the cost of constantly performing. Bold, immersive and a little disorienting, it’s one that stays with you long after the final scene.

Taking over Milan this April, Milan Design Week is when the city opens itself up to design in every sense, from grand furniture launches to quietly brilliant installations tucked inside courtyards and apartments. Anchored by Salone del Mobile but defined just as much by what happens beyond it, it’s a week of wandering, discovering and seeing ideas come to life in unexpected ways. Inspiring, expansive and a little overwhelming in the best way, it’s where interiors, craft and culture collide, and where you leave with more references than you know what to do with.

Returning this spring, the Hampton Court Palace Tulip Festival transforms the historic gardens into a sweep of colour, with thousands of tulips planted across formal courts and winding pathways. Set against the backdrop of the palace’s Tudor architecture, it’s a softer, more romantic way to experience the grounds, where structured gardens meet something a little more playful and fleeting. Gentle, uplifting and made for slow afternoons, it’s the kind of outing that feels like a reset after winter.