A cultural guide to London this summer
As temperatures soar, so does London’s diverse offering of art, design and culinary encounters
Summer is in full swing in London: warm weather, al fresco dining, music festivals and sporting events. The capital’s art scene is abuzz with landmark exhibitions, while creative workshops and supper clubs complete the cultural offering. Read on for your essential checklist of what to see, do, eat and drink this summer in the British capital.
Exceptional exhibitions
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: 18 USD 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.
Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern, London
Best for: Groundbreaking works that merge body, earth and ritual
Address: Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Price: From 18 GBP
Ana Mendieta is best known for her Silueta series, in which she places her own body in earth, sand, mud and even fire, creating ephemeral works captured on film. A major Tate Modern exhibition brings together a diverse practice of photography, film, sculpture and rarely seen early works, while charting Mendieta’s extraordinary life. A Cuban exile, she arrived in America aged 12, leaving her family behind. Her work is often an unflinching meditation on loss, explored through ritual, spirituality and the natural world.
Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now at the Photographers’ Gallery, London
Best for: A powerful female perspective on post-war Japan
When: Until 26 September 2026
Address: 16–18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW
Price: £12 per adult (free Fridays after 5pm)
A new exhibition presents a fresh, female perspective on Japan through the works of pioneering women image-makers. Across seven decades, it brings together more than 200 photographs, videos and installations, exploring themes including identity, social change and activism. Look out for Toyoko Tokiwa’s powerful portraits of women in Yokohama’s post-Occupation red-light district, alongside contemporary works by Rinko Kawauchi and Mika Ninagawa. It offers a welcome counterpoint to the traditionally male-dominated history of Japanese photography. Visit on Friday evenings for free entry, when the gallery is open late.
A Second Life by Tracey Emin at Tate Modern
Why we rate it: A powerful showcase of Tracey Emin’s expansive oeuvre
When: Until 31 August 2026
Address: Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Price: 20 GBP
A landmark Tracey Emin exhibition traces the artist’s prolific career, from her confessional quilts through video art, neon pieces, large-scale paintings and her notorious, Turner Prize-nominated My Bed. Seminal works are presented alongside new pieces, confronting love, trauma and vulnerability with disarming candour. Raw, visceral and autobiographical, Emin’s unflinching work lingers in the mind long after the exhibit ends.
Creative spaces
Omved Gardens, Highgate
Best for: Workshops and garden-to-table dinners in a hidden green space
Address: Townsend Yard, London N6 5JF
Price: Free entry; selected workshops ticketed
OmVed Gardens is a flourishing regenerative landscape behind Highgate High Street. The public garden functions as a “living laboratory”, exploring how food, ecology and creativity coexist. Wildflower meadows, winding paths, orchards and vegetable plots form the backdrop for outdoor exhibitions, creative workshops and supper clubs. This summer’s programme includes sound baths, art classes and garden-to-table dinners, encouraging guests to slow down and connect with nature.
Culinary happenings
Cremer, Hoxton
Best for: An artfully curated café with kitchen credentials
Address: 1 Geffrye Street, London E2 8JH
Price: $$
Though only recently opened opposite Hoxton Overground Station, Cremer has already established itself as an anchor in the neighbourhood. From the team behind Clerkenwell listening bar Space Talk, it feels more like a cool friend’s living room, complete with a large-scale Nick Jensen painting. Remote workers gather at a communal table, or settle beneath book-lined shelves.
The kitchen bakes cardamom buns and glistening pain au raisins each morning, before turning to a lunch menu that might include spinach, sheep’s cheese and walnut dumplings or hot roast pork sandwiches. Everything is made in-house, down to the peanut butter. The wine list is equally considered, with a hidden back garden for sundowners.
Kiez, Golborne Road
Best for: Elevated kebabs in a cool chrome setting
Address: 108 Golborne Road, London W10 5PS
Price: $$
Kiez, pronounced ‘keets’ is a slang term for neighbourhood, which is fitting for a restaurant that has quickly found its place on Golborne Road. It takes its cue from Berlin döner shops, but looks far sharper than your average kebabery. Warm golden light adds warmth to sinuous stainless steel, mixed with glass and walnut. Music is a focal point, with a custom sound system by London studio Friendly Pressure.
Founded by four friends with a shared appreciation for döner culture, the menu has three core kebabs, served in pide bread rather than as wraps. Choose between veal, chicken and a vegan option, served with house-fermented vegetables and fries. The cocktail menu has been curated by east London’s Bar with Shapes for a Name, offered alongside German and Austrian beers and wines.
Kinz, Notting Hill
Best for: A Lebanese brasserie in a former bank
Address: 50 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JD
Price: $$$
Alongside Kiez, Notting Hill also welcomes Kinz, a Lebanese brasserie from the co-owner of nearby Akub, Rasha Khouri Bruzzo. The interiors share a similar earthy palette, with ochre hues, textured finishes and artisanal furnishings.
Steps from Notting Hill Gate Station, Kinz occupies a former bank with a soaring vaulted ceiling. The menu draws from the wider Levant, Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern traditions, combining family recipes with a modern approach. Stop by for mezze or larger dishes such as warak enab – vine leaves and baby courgettes stuffed with fragrant rice and spiced lamb, served with lamb cutlets. A strong Lebanese wine list focuses on small, independent producers.
Vesper, Clerkenwell
Best for: A neighbourhood charmer from Jackson Boxer
Address: 23–25 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QL
Price: $$$
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.
Market Brunch at Mitsu, Shoreditch
Best for: Weekend sharing feasts and a monthly party
Address: 10-50 Willow Street, London EC2A 4BH
Price: $$$$
Mitzu is adjoined to Aethos hotel in the heart of Shoreditch. Drawing on the energy of east Tokyo, the lofty industrial space is accented by hand-painted fabrics, vinyl record sleeves and shoji-inspired glass.
The menu spans sushi, skewers and izakaya-style small plates, with highlights including seafood dumplings, slithers of aburi salmon with tangy truffle ponzu and pork or wagyu sandos.
Mitsu has also launched a new Saturday brunch menu, with a focus on sharing plates and streetfood-inspired dishes. On the last Saturday of every month, the restaurant cranks up the volume for a daytime party, culminating in the ceremonial carving of premium Bluefin tuna, served with bottomless Champagne (165 GBP per person).
Tempo
Best for: A sleek open kitchen beneath a Bethnal Green railway
Address: 252 Paradise Row, London E2 9LE
Price: $$$
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.
