A cultural guide to London this autumn
Your checklist for art, design and culinary encounters this October
It is officially autumn in London, which means russet leaves, Sunday roasts and an action-packed cultural calendar. Bid farewell to summer by hunkering down with the BFI London Film Festival or in our favourite new west London pub, and immerse yourself in art under the Frieze tent in Regent’s Park.
Your big challenge this autumn is finding time to cram in the city’s vast cultural and culinary offerings. To help narrow it down, these are our top picks for art, culture and wellness in London.
Exceptional exhibitions
Frieze London, Frieze Masters and satellite art events
Why we rate it: London’s biggest week for art of all kinds
When: 14 – 18 October
Address: Regent’s Park and galleries across London
Price: From £48 standard admission
Each year, Regent’s Park and London’s galleries become the international art crowd’s playground for the best part of a week. Highlights at this year’s Frieze London include The Code Universe, which brings together artists examining the forces that shape popular culture, alongside an artists’ film programme presented with the ICA.
Frieze Masters runs in tandem with Frieze London, dedicated to charting connections between historical and contemporary art. Its programme of talks includes conversations with artists including Grayson Perry and Es Devlin, alongside curators, architects and museum directors.
A series of satellite events take place across the city during Frieze Week, including 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House, which brings together galleries focused on contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.
BFI London Film Festival
Why we rate it: A stellar curation of global cinema
When: 7–18 October in cinemas around the UK; selected films and past LFF titles are also available on BFI Player.
Price: Varies by screening
The BFI London Film Festival returns in its 70th edition, with a programme of 251 feature films. Expect a line-up of highly anticipated and lesser-known films, showcasing major and emerging filmmakers from around the world. Headline titles include Danny Boyle’s Ink, Paul Thomas Anderson recording of Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall, and Making Marie Antoinette, a personal documentary by the late Eleanor Coppola about the making of her daughter’s 2006 cult film. Among the shorter works is Saoirse Ronan’s Paper Plane and psychological thriller The Animals by Calvin Demba.
Screenings are accompanied by a programme of talks, with anticipated speakers including Sofia Coppola and Danny Boyle.
The 90s: Art and Fashion at Tate Britain
Why we rate it: Charting the decade that reshaped British culture
Address: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
Price: 22 GBP standard admission
Edward Enninful OBE was at the centre of fashion and culture during the 90s. For Tate Britain’s landmark autumn exhibition, he brings together the artists, photographers and designers who defined the decade, including Tracey Emin, Jarvis Cocker and Alexander McQueen. All the hallmarks are there: Kate Moss photographed with pink hair by Juergen Teller; Naomi Campbell modelling Vivienne Westwood’s tartan; Damien Hirst’s formaldehyde works and Sarah Lucas’s “Chicken Knickers”. Nostalgic, inspiring and great fun, the exhibition captures the cultural energy and social change of the idea-fuelled and party-hard decade.
‘Robert Ryman: The Real Thing’ at Barbican
Why we rate it: A closer look at the master of minimalism
When: 8 October 2026 – 28 February 2027
Address: Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS
Price: 20.50 GBP standard admission
Robert Ryman, a jazz musician, began painting when working as a security guard at MoMA in New York during the 1950s. He became known for his abstract white paintings, often in square formats, while experimenting with texture, materials and light. A major exhibition at the Barbican presents more than 60 works spanning six decades, including one of his largest, Surface Veil II. Pieces from different periods are grouped by scale and materials without wall text, reflecting Ryman’s belief that paintings should be experienced directly, without distraction.
Amar Kanwar at the Serpentine North, London
Why we rate it: A trilogy of films exploring displacement and memory
Address: W Carriage Drive, London W2 2AR
Price: Free
New Delhi artist and filmmaker Amar Kanwar presents three works that move between documentary, travelogue and visual essay: feature-length Such a Morning (2017), multi-screen installation The Peacock’s Graveyard (2023), alongside new production The Charcoal Man (2026). Large screens turn the darkened room into an immersive visual and sonic environment, which will linger with you long after you leave.
Anish Kapoor at the Hayward Gallery
Best for: A monumental exploration of colour, scale and materiality
When: Until 18 October 2026
Address: Address: Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
Price: 22 GBP per adult
Anish Kapoor returns to the Hayward Gallery with a major exhibition charting four decades of the British-Indian sculptor’s monumental work. A centrepiece is the Mount Moriah at the Gate of the Ghetto (2022), a visceral work in deep crimson, presented alongside mirrored steel sculptures and gravity-defying installations. It is an immersive and often disorientating experience, exploring our perception of space, colour and material.
Culinary happenings
Spiritland Bar launches at the Barbican
Why we rate it: Immersive sound with a brutalist backdrop
When: Opening 20 October
Address: Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS
Spiritland is a hi-fi bar in King’s Cross and an early pioneer of the concept outside Japan. The bar has partnered with the Barbican on a new space centred on music, listening and culture. A daily programme of artists and record collectors spans genres from jazz and soul to classical, reflecting the arts centre’s wider programme. Every day at 5pm, an album is played in its entirety, encouraging a more focused way of listening.
Sound is delivered through a bespoke Living Voice system, chosen for its ultra-crisp audio, which gives the sense of being in the room with a live performance. Windows look out over the lake, fountains and the building’s iconic Brutalist architecture, while the menu extends to brunch on weekends.
Waterhouse, Bethnal Green
Best for: The anticipated successor to The Waterhouse Project
Address: 7A Ezra Street, London E2 7RH
Price: Tasting menu priced at 125 GBP
The Waterhouse Project was one of London’s most influential and respected dining concepts, offering a tasting menu within a space that felt more like the living room of husband-and-wife team Gabriel Waterhouse and his wife Patricia Wakaimba. Now, the pair have returned with a new format, reflecting the city’s evolving dining culture.
The restaurant is on cobbled Ezra Street, a charming enclave just off Columbia Road, set in a restored Victorian workshop. The menu draws on Gabriel’s Northumbrian upbringing, while incorporating his ambitious larder of vinegars, kombuchas, garums, misos and infusions. The tasting menu (125 GBP) is complemented by a wine bar and courtyard garden, with raised beds hand-built by Gabriel for herbs and flowers. There is also a seven-course Sunday lunch menu for 70 GBP.
Cloudstreet, Stoke Newington
Why we rate it: A tiny bistro in a former garage
Address: 1 Bouverie Road, London N16 0AH
Stoke Newington’s Stable Courtyard is a charming collection of independent businesses and artist studios. The latest resident is Cloudstreet, from chefs Georgia Lahiff and Frank Guest. With just a few seats inside, alongside the kitchen, and a handful more in the cobblestone courtyard, this restaurant feels like a secret you have stumbled upon. The concise menu is scrawled on a blackboard and changes daily, but you might find freshly baked tarts, bright, comforting soups or braised rabbit, alongside cheeses and puddings. Service is warm, the wine is great and there are no online bookings, so get down early to bag a table.
The Latimer, Notting Hill
Why we rate it: A west London pub done right
Address: 274 Latimer Road, London, W10 6QW
The Latimer is the latest venture from the revered Spiteri family, who are behind restaurants including Sessions Arts Club, St John, Rochelle Canteen and Caravel. You’ll find traces of each in the design – simple bistro chairs, white tablecloths, considered artwork on the walls – and on the nose-to-tail menu.
Set in a traditional Victorian pub on the edge of Notting Hill, it is pared back and atmospheric. Go for cider-braised pork belly skewers with apple sauce, masala haddock, melon salad or the cheeseburger, and the bar stirs a mean martini too. A glass of wine is also £5, almost unheard of in W10.
Dallas Burger, Shoreditch
Best for: Lisbon’s best burger arrives in Shoreditch
Address: 138–139 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JEE
Dallas Burger has built a devoted following in Lisbon for its handmade patties, served with house-made sauces in glossy brioche buns. The Shoreditch restaurant uses the high quality grass-fed British beef, topped with molten cheddar and razor-thin pickles. Don’t overlook the chips, cut fresh and cooked in beef tallow for a crisp, golden finish. There are also vegetarian and vegan options available.
Burgers are flipped to a 90s hip-hop soundtrack, while the space is outfitted in sleek wood and steel. The drinks menu spotlights local producers, including canned cocktails from nearby East London Liquor Co.
Vesper, Clerkenwell
Best for: A neighbourhood charmer from Jackson Boxer
Address: 23–25 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QL
Chef Jackson Boxer’s latest restaurant occupies a prime corner of Exmouth Market, unfolding in sleek chrome and whitewashed exposed brick. There is a buzzy central bar for the rowdy ones, and candlelit corners for romantics. Alternatively, snag a seat on the terrace during the warmer months for a front-row view of the neighbourhood. Boxer deftly elevates British classics with French and Italian influences: salt and vinegar crisps are refined with french onion, smoked cream and trout roe, while a fried potato pizzette is topped with stracciatella, mortadella and mostarda. Don’t sleep on the chicken liver agnolotti.
Tempo
Best for: A sleek open kitchen beneath a Bethnal Green railway
Address: 252 Paradise Row, London E2 9LE
Price: $$$
Tucked beneath Bethnal Green’s railway arches, Tempo is a new restaurant and wine bar from chef Eric Wan. The menu draws on his Chinese-Vietnamese heritage, balancing smoke, spice and acidity in dishes such as grilled cuttlefish with toasted rice and grapefruit, or braised aubergine with cheung fun and Ibérico secreto, all prepared in the open kitchen. Wine bottles line the walls, hinting at a thoughtfully curated list from all corners of the globe.
Fitness and wellness
The Six, Mayfair
Why we rate it: Art-lined interiors and a work-from-salon set-up
Address: 6 Queen Street, Mayfair, London W1J 5PA
The Six is more like an affluent friend’s home than a salon, stretching six floors of beauty and wellness within a white stucco Mayfair townhouse. Founded by hair stylist Marcos Verissimo, top-to-toe treatments also include targeted facials and podiatry. The small details catch our eye: pull-out desks for laptops during hair appointments, a considered food menu and one of the comfiest backwashes we’ve reclined in.
Run club at Running Late, London Fields
Best for: Creative gatherings and a run club
Address: 249B Mare Street, Hackney, London E8 3NS
This slice of a coffee shop on the corner of Mare Street in Hackney has evolved into a community base for book clubs, creative workshops and twice weekly run clubs, which set off on Wednesday and Saturday mornings and lunchtimes. Don’t fancy running? You can also join outdoor sketching groups or a crochet class. It is owned and run by a group of Irish friends and the coffee of course is excellent, with handpicked monthly roasters.
