London Safari

London is a city that offers everything from Michelin-star restaurants to ancient baths, the only issue is working out where to visit and what to miss!

Instead of just showcasing the latest and the greatest (so many of those!) this curated tour, crafted by the Festival of Hospitality, Always Thinking and our trend partner, PW/c, let’s you discover London through the lens of our theme of ‘Togetherness’.

This growing awareness that we are all part of a wider ecosystem is reshaping how architects, designers, and hoteliers develop places and spaces, and how retailers and restaurateurs are embracing community-owned models to build a sense of ‘Togetherness’.

Explore London’s ‘Togetherness’ and visit places that empower a new era of connection, community, joy, and care for both people and the planet.

Community commerce

As we move from an individually minded society to a collective one, we are seeing a rise in community commerce that is all about new ways of sharing, caring and collaborating. This desire for connection means that businesses and individuals are coming together through shared values putting collaboration and community at their core.

“Given the increasing complexity of our society and the issues we face, our ability to form, grow and work through networks has never been more essential.”

David Ehrlichman, author, Impact Networks

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Renegade Winery & Wine bar

Describing itself as an Urban Winery, Renegade Winery pride themselves on their community spirit and vibe. As a London wine producer, they are proud to celebrate their community by putting the faces of their customers on their wine labels.

Atelier 100

From H&M and Ikea, Atelier 100 is a new retail concept designed to foster local networks and communities with a hyper-local approach to manufacturing and retail.

The Plimsoll

An unassuming local pub with a queue around the corner, The Plimsoll is not only one of the hottest tables in town but one that is built on community commerce.

Bone Idyll

Not officially London but still worth a visit, Bone Idyll is a community led distillery and wine bar funded and run entirely by its community.

Sessions

Based on the principle of 'better together' Sessions is restaurant-food hall-delivery kitchen hybrid focussed on finding young and emerging food talent and giving them a platform and a leg up in the industry.

Escapism

As a pushback against the chaos and speed of everyday life, designers and architects are rethinking wellness-orientated design and are developing gathering spaces designed to allow people space to recharge, discover and slow. This is leading to hotels, retail and restaurants becoming destinations of sanctuary, focussing on customer wellness by building consideration and kindness strategies into their design.

“Brands must devote space to wander, going against usual operating models.”

Torquil McIntosh, co-founder of Sybarite

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Skystation

Encouraging people to take a moment, reflect and connect with themselves and others, the Skystation sculpture is a public seat that has been designed to be a comfortable place to linger and emotionally escape.

Roji

Roji which translates to “hidden path” really does live up to its name as to find it you need to venture off South Molton street and find the small understated sign and ring the bell. Once inside you step into an intimate yet minimalist softly lit secluded haven.

Lift Coffee

To truly savour your coffee in an oasis of calm, head over to Lift Coffee. The space is a haven of light tones and an earthy palette of calmness.

Jacquemus at Selfridges

An oasis of calm and contemplation, the newly opened store is a celebration of earthiness and mindfulness offering a welcoming, intimate and unrushed moment within retail.

Aesop

Describing itself as ‘A sanctuary of grand seclusion’ Aesop’s new store on Regent Street draws shoppers away from the hustle and bustle and into an oasis of symmetry, calm and earthy tones.

Joy

Amid rising inflation, rapid digitalisation and declining trust in institutions, more than ever we will be seeking out moments of Togetherness that spark pleasure, community-building and more meaningful moments that connect us with friends and family. As such we will be seeking out sensorial moments that push the boundaries of our senses and bring us a dose of joy.

“Happiness or joy is a need.”

Alexa Dagostino, Forbes Councils Member

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Koibird

Looking for a true dose of joy and adventure in London then Koibird is a must transporting shoppers to Californian beaches or to Lagos with its immersive interiors drawing inspiration from travel destinations, art and film.

Sweeties

With the theme ‘new wave glamour meets glorious misbehaviour’, Sweetie's bar is the perfect destination for a good dose of joyful togetherness.

Farmacy

With an ambition to make healthy eating fun and inspired by the quintessentially British afternoon tea, Farmacy's "High Tea" a CBD-infused indulgent plant-based, refined sugar and chemical-free afternoon tea is joy on a plate.

Ave Mario

Designed with Joy in its DNA, Ave Mario is a neon-lit destination of fun with a joyfully chaotic interior, bespoke crockery in vegetable designs and an ever changing tongue-in-cheek menu.

Love Supreme Projects

An explosion of joy and optimism and offering a dose of dopamine. Go to supercharge your dance game and elevate your mood!

360 Degree thinking

Focus is shifting from an off setting mindset and doing less harm, to a holistic 360 degrees understanding that we are all interconnected with a common sense of collectively belonging to Planet Earth. As a result we are seeing a new regenerative approach to how hotels, restaurants, retailers and brands consider their operations, services and the full lifecycle of their products.

“Sustainability is great; it does no harm, and it maintains the status quo. Regeneration, however, puts something back. It’s part of a cycle.”

Caroline Till, Franklin Till

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Apricity

Apricity is all about ‘Conscious Cooking’ and ‘Joyful Dining’. Working towards a circular economy they are rethinking the operation of the restaurant with a low waste mindset from the ingredients they source to the displaying of menus and how they wash the dishes.

Haeckels House London

The recently refurbished Hackney store is an experiential retail concept showcasing a new way to shop for beauty products. Shunning any obvious sustainability tropes, instead they have opted for a “lab aesthetic” that nods to their symbiosis between science and nature and celebrates their new product range and brand reposition.

room2

Hyped as the first whole-life net-zero hotel on the planet, room2 in Chiswick has been considered from construction to operations through to end of life and is not only well designed but offers guests an opportunity to sleep well knowing they have made a better choice.

58 and Co.

With consciousness at the core, 58 Gin takes a truly 360 perspective with every aspect of the business being considered through the lens of the environment.

Silo London

Silo has a farm to fork zero waste ethos that goes from food through to crockery and the interiors. Offering a 6 course tasting menu where nothing is wasted it is the original and still the best!

London Safari map

London is the city that has everything from Michelin star restaurants to ancient baths - the only issue is working out where to visit and what to miss! So rather than just pointing you in the right direction of the latest and the greatest (so many of those!) instead it's about helping you discover what London has to offer through the lens of Togetherness and those places and spaces that are empowering a new era of connection, community, joy and care (for people and planet).