A cultural guide to London this April
Landmark exhibitions, creative events and bright new menus to mark the arrival of the Spring in London
Spring in London is a marvellous thing: cherry blossom trees unfurl, the city’s outdoor dining spaces start to flourish and restaurants usher in the new season with menus centred on local produce and bright flavours. There is also a slew of exciting new exhibitions, from landmark retrospectives to intimate displays. We bring you a seasonal itinerary, which is guaranteed to put a spring in your step this month.
Culinary happenings
SlowBurn
Why we rate it: Dinner in a denim factory
Address: 14b Blackhorse Lane, London E17 6AA
Price: ££
Celebrating craft in its varied forms, SlowBurn takes residency at Blackhorse Ateliers denim factory in Walthamstow. Visitors dine amongst rolls of fabric, cuttings and machinery, and during the day you can watch the seamstresses at work. Light floods through expansive industrial windows, while hanging bulbs and candlelight create an atmospheric evening setting. The vegetable-forward menu includes Hispi cabbage in beer and miso, with refried beans and hazelnuts; squid tossed in house made chill, and a smoky chicken, enjoyed quarter, half or whole. The team wears denim aprons (naturally) and the ice cream is made in-house.
Bambi, Hackney
Why we rate it: Dinner and disco in London Fields
Address: Netil House, 1 Westgate Street, London E8 3RL
Price: £££
Newly reopened Bambi is everything that’s good about eating out in Hackney: a restaurant-club hybrid, dinner segues into drinks and dancing, while a DJ spins vinyl. Bambi 2.0 boasts an extended dining room, new mezzanine and outdoor seating gives Bambi 2.0 more space and variety, while a refreshed front bar allows for walk-ins. A new menu by chef Jamie Thorneycroft includes spiced prawns dipped in black garlic aioli, whipped ricotta with hot honey and trout toastadas. Snag a counter seat by the DJ decks for a front-row vinyl view.
Simpson’s in the Strand
Why we rate it: The return of a London icon
Address: 100 Strand, London WC2R 0EW
Price: £££
Jeremy King makes his anticipated return to Simpsons in the Strand, which is reopening in April in partnership with The Savoy. A major refit hopes to restore the expansive building to glory, with a fresh layout in The Grand Divan dining room and silver carving trolleys serving pies, roasts and game. It also looks set to be a prized address for business breakfasts, with a supreme Full English on offer.
Complementing the dining room is Romanos, an all-day brasserie; Simpson’s Bar; and late-night Nellie’s, which is open until 3am. The launch follows King’s other new ventures, The Park near Hyde Park and Arlington (formerly Le Caprice), cementing his feted return to London’s hospitality scene.
Exceptional exhibitions
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.
Beatriz González at the Barbican
Why we rate it: Retrospective of Beatriz González’s vivid and politically-charged work
When: Until 10 May 2026
Address: Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS
Price: 18 GBP
A major retrospective of Beatriz González has opened at the Barbican, celebrating six decades of the Colombian artist’s groundbreaking practice. Politically-charged paintings, sculptural assemblages and towering installations come together across multiple galleries, confronting themes including power, grief, displacement and memory. Her bold, radical work is at once satirical, unflinching and deeply human.
Sony World Photography Awards at Somerset House
Why we rate it: A photographic feast
When: 17 Apr – 4 May 2026
Address: Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
Price: 18 GBP
The Sony World Photography Awards brings together some 300 pictures from contemporary artists across the globe, showcasing winning and shortlisted images. Exhibited across the West and East Wings of Somerset House, subjects span rearing stallions, prowling lions, vast landscapes and people old and young, celebrating the diversity and power of the medium.
American street photographer Joel Meyerowitz is the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography award, with a talk taking place on 21 April at nearby Logan Hall.
Dreaming in Colour, David Hockney: A Year in Normandie at Serpentine North
Why we rate it: A vivid digital display to welcome spring
When: Until 23 August 2026
Address: Kensington Gardens, West Carriage Drive, London W2 2AR
Price: Free
Yearning for colour? A new David Hockney exhibition captures the changing seasons, created at the artist’s former studio in Normandie. The exhibition presents the artist’s 90-metre frieze, A Year in Normandy, in London for the first time, composed of over 200 individual paintings created on an iPad, then printed on paper and displayed in a continuous panorama. The exhibition will also include Moon Room, an immersive installation with a specially composed soundscape, further demonstrating Hockney’s use of digital technologies and enduring fascination with light, colour and the passing of time.
Wes Anderson: The Archives at the Design Museum
Why we rate it: A tribute to the American film director’s illustrious career
When: Until 26 July 2026
Address: Design Museum, 224–238 Kensington High Street, London W8 6AG
Price: 19 GBP per person
Step into the dream-like world of Wes Anderson at the Design Museum in a landmark exhibition charting the American director’s legacy. Margot Tenenbaum’s Fendi mink coat, worn by Gwyneth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums, and stop motion puppets from The Fantastic Mr Fox will be on display, alongside bespoke Louis Vuitton suitcases (featured in The Darjeeling Limited) and a candy-pink model of the The Grand Budapest Hotel. In the age of AI, it is a welcome reminder of the importance and success of hands-on filmmaking, while celebrating Anderson’s innate and influential eye for colour and composition.
Lucian Freud, Drawing Into Painting at National Portrait Gallery
Why we rate it: A rare focus on Freud’s works on paper
When: Until 4 May 2026
Address: National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE
Price: 18 GBP per person
Lucian Freud’s figurative paintings need no introduction, but it is his lesser-known works on paper that take centre stage at the National Portrait Gallery this February. The exhibition offers a fresh perspective on his artistic practice, showcasing rarely-seen pencil, pen, ink and charcoal etchings. A carefully chosen group of paintings are on display, revealing the full arc of Freud’s creative process and his dialogue between paper and canvas.
