Liza Marshall
March has meant swapping London layers for Oscars black tie with our incredible Hamnet family and somehow trying to act normal about 8 nominations, after picking up the Golden Globe for Best Film and the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film. It’s still slightly mad to think I optioned the book before it was published (October 2019) a bit like buying a train ticket before the tracks are even laid and trusting the journey will be worth it.
Maggie O’Farrell’s gorgeous novel indeed started it all, pulling Agnes out of the footnotes and straight into the spotlight. And then the genius that is Chloé Zhao worked her magic making a film about love, loss and hope that’s getting people to sit together in the dark and actually feel things (no small feat in 2026)
The whole awards-season carousel has been surreal, thrilling, and mildly dehydrating but I’m also very ready to come back down to earth as spring arrives in London. Still the coolest city in the world by far.
- Liza Marshall
Food: Fenix Mayfair
Credit: Fenix
Tucked into the polished heart of Mayfair at 23 Brook Street, Fenix Mayfair is what can only be described as Mediterranean glamour with a little…character. The menu struts confidently across Greece, Turkey, and the wider Eastern Med, serving up charcoal-grilled meats, jewel-bright mezze, silky hummus, fresh seafood and cocktails that taste like they could transport you to a remote island on a yacht. We’d suggest you start virtuously with grilled octopus and end triumphantly with pistachio-laced desserts, all under soaring ceilings, warm amber lighting and a dramatic tree-like centrepiece that practically demands you capture its photograph. The vibe is lively and a touch decadent. It’s so worth a visit.
Bar: Olfaclub
Credit: Olfaclub
If you’re the sort of person who scans the wine list before acknowledging the menu, Olfaclub is very much your scene. The real seduction here is the cellar: a globe-trotting, sommelier-curated lineup that swings from elegant Old World classics to bold, conversation-starting New World bottles, plus rare pours that make you feel pretty special just by ordering them. With everything from a mineral Chablis to a velvety Barolo, the staff guide you with just the right mix of expertise and mischief. The setting helps with low lighting, plush textures and a members-club hush. Whilst there indulge in the foodie options too of course but just know that the wine list is the main event. You’ll find Olfaclub (short for Olfactory Club if you must know) in Walthamstow at 46 St James Street and it’s been set up and opened by a wonderful couple called Beth and Jeremy so make sure to say hi when you go.
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Exhibition: Elsa Schiaparelli Exhibition
Credit: V&A
For anyone even vaguely fascinated by fashion that feels like performance art, then the brand-new V&A exhibition ‘Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art’ is a cultural must-see this month and into spring. Opening on the 28th March in the Sainsbury Gallery, this landmark show is the first of its kind ever staged in the UK and brings together more than 200 garments, accessories, artworks, photographs and archival treasures that chart the wild imagination of Italian couturier Elsa Schiaparelli from the roaring 1920s to her modern reinvention under creative director Daniel Roseberry. You will be able to get up close to iconically surreal pieces like the Skeleton dress, the Tears gown and the infamous shoe-hat alongside surprising works by Dalí, Picasso and Man Ray. Fashion at Schiaparelli’s house was never just clothes, it was a riotous conversation with art. Tickets are priced around £28 on weekdays and £30 at weekends, (with cheaper rates for under-26s), but for an experience that blurs the line between couture and theatre, it feels almost like a steal. The show runs until November, giving you plenty of time to plan your trip.
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Art: Garage Gallery E17
Credit: Garage Gallery
If your idea of a gallery is somewhere glossy and intimidating, then Garage Gallery E17 will happily rattle your expectations in the best possible way. Hidden in a converted garage on Wingfield Road in Walthamstow Village (about a 10-minute walk from Walthamstow Central station), this small, free art space champions socially conscious, thought-provoking work by emerging and established artists alike. The vibe is intimate, unpretentious and delightfully grassroots: you’ll wander past paintings, mixed media pieces and installations in a bright, lovingly curated white-cube setting that once housed a car. Exhibitions usually run over a weekend with a Friday night private views and are always free to attend (just book ahead). They have new exhibitions every 6 weeks or so and have had a mix of installations, sound and film, group shows, landscape, animation, workshops and sculpture, with over 20 shows put on since they opened in 2022. It’s a great space for young people to learn how to do a first exhibition, or people who want to try something different, or get back into exhibiting after a time out. Plus there are plenty of cafes and bars nearby to continue the conversation (or to dissect the art over a pint).
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Theatre: John Proctor is the Villain
Credit: Royal Court Theatre
For theatre that’s sharp, witty and a bit cheeky about the stories we think we know, then the UK premiere of John Proctor is the Villain at Royal Court Theatre is basically THE cultural destiny this spring. This buzz-worthy play is a fresh, Tony-nominated riff on The Crucible and lands in Sloane Square for a short run from the 20th March to the 25th April 2026. Directed by Tony Award-winner Danya Taymor and written by Kimberly Belflower, it follows a group of high-school girls armed with pop music, fury and big questions about power and storytelling, in a story that’s as funny as it is thought-provoking. The cast includes rising stars like Lauryn Ajufo, Dónal Finn and Sadie Soverall, bringing energy and edge to this cinematic classroom drama. Tickets are pretty much snapped up already but there are cheap under-35 deals and waitlists to sniff out so don’t hang about. It’s popular for a reason.
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Dance: Anyone Can Dance
Credit: Barbican
The Barbican Centre’s ‘Anyone Can Dance: Barbican Late-Night Launch’ is exactly the kind of night out London’s been quietly craving. This isn’t some tired DJ residency but rather a new series of after-hours parties celebrating global club culture through the lens of London’s diasporas, with the Barbican’s brutalist Level –1 ClubStage transformed into an intimate, pulsing dancefloor. A non sticky one at that. The first night is curated by Eastern Margins, the UK collective known for championing alternative East & South East Asian sounds, with sets from bedroom-DJ wunderkind Nick Cheo, Seoul’s bass queen KOLLIN, plus Jianbo and MEYY. Tickets are around £17 standard (or £12 for Young Barbican members), which is shockingly reasonable for a venue with this gravitas. Reviews for similar Barbican late-night experiments last year were glowing, with crowds raving that they actually danced under brutalist beams until dawn and this one promises even more boundary-pushing energy.
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Book: Harry Bucknall
Credit: Instagram
Harry Bucknall’s A Road for All Seasons: A Tribute to Britain is the kind of travel book that makes you want to lace up sensible boots and set off immediately. In this vividly written journey, Bucknall chronicles an epic 6,518-mile odyssey across the United Kingdom, spanning all four countries and 42 of Britain’s 95 counties, from Mull in Scotland to Lowestoft on the east coast, Aberystwyth in Wales to Sunderland in the north, using everything from trains and ferries to a 1953 Morris Oxford and even a probation-service minibus to keep moving. Along the way he fills 14 notebooks with encounters with quirky locals, atmospheric towns and sweeping landscapes, capturing a Britain often overlooked and vividly alive in all four seasons. Released on the 19th of this month, this social and cultural snapshot isn’t just a travelogue but a loving, occasionally humorous tribute to the quirks and charms of 21st-century Britain that makes you both nostalgic for the road and grateful you can skip the blisters.
Food: Impala
Credit: Impala
Impala is the much-anticipated solo debut from former Kiln head chef Meedu Saad and it definitely deserves a prime spot on your Soho hit list this spring. Opening on Dean Street this month, this grill-centric restaurant centres around a charcoal-fired open kitchen that’s impossible to ignore and even harder to resist. Saad channels his Egyptian heritage and global travels into a menu that blurs North African, Mediterranean and French technique with standout plates like dry-aged Devon duck roasted over wood embers, perfect scorched sea bass and imaginative grilled skewers born from memories of Cairo streets and North London food haunts. The atmosphere promises that Cairo-meets-Soho energy with a buzzing bar, mid-century concrete and timber interiors and convivial counter seating around the grill that makes the whole thing feel like a delicious collision of cultures and good intentions. With a considered wine list to match the bold cooking and a prime location, this feels like one of the most exciting openings of 2026 already.
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Kids: Vikings: The Immersive Exhibition
Credit: Instagram
What really happened when big, bearded folks in horn-shaped helmets wandered around Europe? Thankfully, that’s actually a myth but there was certainly plenty of adventure and Vikings: The Immersive Exhibition, is the latest new favourite family day out in London. Opening on the 12th at Dock X in Canada Water, this sprawling, tech-heavy experience transports you and the kids straight into 9th-century Scandinavia with a mix of atmospheric sets, interactive displays, fog-filled portals and even a towering recreation of Yggdrasil, the mythological World Tree. Guests wander through a life-size “Forest of Time,” learn Viking knotting at a hands-on station, don a VR headset for a Junior Viking adventure and settle in for a breathtaking 360° cinematic saga built around a full-size longship that brings the legends of Queen Kraka and King Ragnar Lodbrok to life. Tickets are surprisingly friendly from about £23 for adults and £16–£19 for children and the whole thing lasts around 90 minutes. It’s perfect for curious kids, history lovers and anyone who wants to feel like a Viking without the unpleasant bits (boat rowing optional).
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Charity of the Month: Blood Cancer UK
Credit: Walk of Light
On Saturday 21st March the magical Walk of Light London comes to Battersea Park for a glow-filled charity walk that turns dusk into something wonderfully meaningful as you shine a light on blood cancer with friends, family (and well-behaved dogs) in tow. Participants can sign up to strut a 2.5 km or 5 km route through the park as the sun sets, collecting a free lantern at the start, dressing up in twinkly lights if they wish and finishing with a special medal to mark the occasion. There’s a small entry fee (around £10-£15) and no minimum sponsorship, but raising funds brings fun perks. £50 of fundraising gets you a free T-shirt and £150 earns a cosy beanie and every pound you and your supporters pledge boosts vital blood cancer research and support services for people and families affected by leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Blood Cancer UK is a UK charity dedicated to funding research into all types of blood cancer and offering practical patient support, so your steps and your shinies help light the path toward earlier diagnosis, better treatments and brighter futures.