A luxury area guide to Marylebone
Have you recently moved to Marylebone and are looking for the best things to do? Perhaps you’re keen to visit some of the local hang-outs or explore the mews streets in the area. We’ve written a luxury area guide to Marylebone so you can make the most of one of London’s most stylish metropolitan villages.
Lurot Brand’s luxury area guide to Marylebone
The best things to do in Marylebone
Only minutes away from the glamour of the West End, Marylebone is a fine example of a ‘London village’. The neighbourhood has always attracted affluent residents and is a welcoming haven for homebuyers from across the globe, for whom the mix of relaxed sophistication and old-world charm is irresistible.
From elegant garden squares such as Portman Square Garden and Bedford Square with their refined Georgian architecture, beautifully laid out gardens and mature specimen trees, to characterful traditional mews like Devonshire Mews West, a quiet mews yet only a few minutes from vibrant Marylebone High Street, or Montagu Mews North, comprising of 21 mews properties and part of the Conservation Area belonging to the Portman Estate.
Mews residents, and anyone fortunate enough to live here, can enjoy everything a luxury lifestyle offers. The streets show-off the best of London’s period architecture – pretty mews lead to grand stucco fronted houses and stately Edwardian red-brick mansion blocks are dotted around the local area.
The atmosphere is friendly and infectious – upscale independent shops and boutiques nestle between trendy cafes, bars and restaurants that shift from casual dining to a Michelin star gourmet experience. Food, arts, culture and retail happily co-exist to bring residents the very best in style, fashion and taste seven days a week.
This walk-about guide will take you to some of Marylebone’s best must-go spots, including old favourites and a few surprises. Places to grab a coffee, enjoy people-watching over a leisurely brunch (including a celebrity or two!), pick up fresh produce and treats to prepare at home, even buy a new sofa; discover a new artist at a local gallery, meet friends for cocktails, or relax over a delicious dinner and then stroll home to your mews.
Exploring the Heart of Marylebone
The neighbourhood of Marylebone is steeped in history, so as you wander around it’s worth stopping by some of the area’s secret gems. Next to the High Street is Old Church Garden – a ‘pocket park’ created over 70 years ago on the site of a former church, where Lord Byron was baptised and Lord Nelson worshipped. Today it contains a memorial to Charles Wesley and a ‘Judas’ tree.
More ecclesiastical history around Marylebone’s mews traces back to 1792, where a makeshift French chapel stood on the corner of what was then called Dorset Mews East, but today is Kenrick Place in Paddington Street. In 1798, the site for a permanent chapel was found on the Portman Estate in Little George Street – a now-vanished mews just east of Gloucester Place. Completed in 1799, over the decades the chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Annunciation, saw members of the French royal houses of Bourbon and Orléans and English aristocracy attend services.
Marylebone’s ‘rock and roll’ side is reflected by its Beatles heritage. Back in 1964-1966, Paul McCartney lived with girlfriend Jane Asher’s family at 57 Wimpole Street and composed ‘Yesterday’ in the box room. At the time, John Lennon had a flat at 34 Montagu Square, leading to Montagu Mews North; and the original Apple Corps headquarters were at 95 Wigmore Street, a short walk from Seymour Mews.
Best Breakfast & Brunch in Marylebone
All this exploring on foot, will make you more than ready for breakfast. Situated in the High Street, Granger & Co starts serving from 8am, so the early riser can enjoy dishes that include Рcoconut-curd-spread toast; potato and feta r̦sti with hot smoked salmon; and almond, buckwheat and pumpkin-seed granola.
Trendy Moxon Street is located away from the High Street as well as having its own city farm, it hosts a weekend Farmers’ Market and is Marylebone Village’s foodie hotspot. French eatery Aubaine offers decadent daily morning dishes: pain au chocolat snowed under with powdered sugar, scrambled eggs topped with truffle shavings, eggs imperial with lobster, and the option to top with a spoonful of caviar on any dish.
Afterwards, you can browse the artisan food producers and suppliers; maybe pick up a few treats to enjoy back at home. Check out La Fromagerie for a tempting array of the tastiest cheeses, and homemade pickles and chutneys. Head to The Ginger Pig for meaty things and friendly butchers always on hand for advice. To accompany any delicious cheeseboard or meat dish, a memorable bottle of French wine is a must and Le Vieux Comptoir can help you choose the perfect pairing. If the sun is out and you fancy eating al fresco, stop off at Daylesford Organic for breakfast brioche bacon rolls or coconut and mulberry granola to takeaway and eat picnic-style on the grass in Paddington Street Gardens just around the corner.
Arts, Music, Culture in Marylebone
Marylebone is a creative and cultural cornucopia and has many things to see and do, including museums, concert halls and galleries. If you have an hour or two before or after lunch, then there are many places to while away some time.
Marylebone’s most well-known museum and gallery in Marylebone is The Wallace Collection, displaying a world-class private art collection with masterpieces by renowned artists, including Rembrandt, Rubens, Fragonard, and Velasquez, and sculptures, ceramics and furniture. The museum runs free events, courses and workshops throughout the year. The café, like the museum is open daily, and has a lovely courtyard where you can enjoy a coffee or afternoon tea.
If you’re intrigued by contemporary art, then head to Lisson Gallery in Bell Street and Lisson Street. Founded in 1967 by Nicholas Logsdail, it is one of the longest running most influential contemporary art galleries worldwide and pioneered the early careers of important Minimal and Conceptual artists. The gallery shop is perfect for finding a beautiful book for your coffee table back home for your mews.
In Crawford Street, the Cube Gallery is another contemporary art gallery supporting a bespoke range of British and international artists. It relocated to Marylebone in 2011 and frequently works with interior designers and architects on projects in the UK, Middle East, North America and Asia.
One of the world’s greatest concert halls, Wigmore Hall was founded in 1901 and continues to specialise in chamber and instrumental music, early music and song. It continues to open the audience’s ears to new sounds, including contemporary jazz. The hall runs a timetable of parent & baby music classes and activities to engage all ages with music. Their restaurant and bar recently underwent a big refurbishment and serves everything from morning coffee and pastries to a delicious lunch and pre-concert dinner menu.
In 2022, the award-winning Marylebone Theatre opened to provide an intimate setting for quality performances at local prices and since has welcomed over 50,000 people through its doors. For something more alternative, the The Cockpit will guarantee to engage with original theatre, comedy and jazz. 229 London offers an eclectic performance programme from heavy metal, Nashville blues to punk and Latin sounds, with all profits going to the International Students House charity.
No one thinks of Baker Street without picturing Sherlock Holmes, so on a rainy afternoon a visit to Sherlock Holmes Museum in a four-storey listed Georgian townhouse, is a fascinating way to delve into gas-lit Victorian London and the life of the world’s first consulting detective. It’s also only an eight minute walk to Regent’s Park to see the lake, flowers gardens, or visit the Zoo, if you want some fresh air after an immersive Holmes experience.
Coffee Stops in Marylebone
By now you’ll be in need of coffee and not just ‘any’ coffee! In Marylebone, you’ll discover a plethora of specialist coffee shops with Chiltern Street home not only to celebrity favourite Chiltern Firehouse, but also the Instagrammable Monocle Cafe, easily recognisable by its black-and-white-striped awning. Its cult following can be found sipping matcha lattes, yuzu lemonade and eating egg sandwiches. Please note, Monocle is currently closed for renovation, but make sure you keep an eye on when its doors open.
Still on Chiltern Street is the Italian coffee shop Arro. It may be tiny, but its range of expertly sourced fair trade organic coffee beans and blends are big on flavour. They make fresh pastas, sandwiches and bake moreish pastries everyday – the pistachio-cream-filled croissants are belissimo!
The Marylebone Corner on York Street is the place for coffee connoisseurs – whether you’re partial to a cold brew, a cortado, or a Turkish coffee, you’ll be sure to find the perfect blend here. On Mortimer Street, Workshop Coffee is a cute, cosy space with a small yet curated coffee menu.
At 66 Portland Place, the HQ of the Royal Institute of British Architects, you can enjoy a coffee, take in a free exhibition and browse the bookshop, whilst admiring the Bauhaus-inspired lines of the café-bar in the foyer of the Grade-II-listed 1930s building.
So many things to do during the day, is certain to rustle up an appetite. Marylebone is eager to feed its residents and visitors throughout the day; one can choose from the most traditionally English of dishes to the most exotic cuisine in the world.
Best Restaurants for Lunch & Dinner in Marylebone
Wander into Cross Keys Close a small cobbled mews with just 10 properties, and you will end up in a ‘Little Corner of Italy’, according to celebrity chef and restaurateur, Giancarlo Caldesi, founder of Caldesi; creating some of the most authentic Italian regional cuisine in London. It’s also home to their excellent cookery school La Cucina Caldesi.
St John in Marylebone Lane is the newest outpost of this London favourite with its signature no-fuss white-brick and nose-to-tail sharing plates. Nearby, Le Relais de Venise is the culinary epitome of ‘tried and tested’; it perfected its entrecôte steak in Paris in the fifties, and serves just that, with a secret sauce, frites, and a green salad (with a slightly wider choice of puddings).
Jikoni‘s ‘no-borders kitchen’ has warm staff, patterned tablecloths, and cooking with a lot of love and inventive recipes: prawn-toast Scotch egg with banana ketchup, scorched peaches with lime-leaf gremolata and whipped tofu, crispy aubergine glazed in Szechuan caramel. Next door, Trishna goads you into ordering far too much: the coconut and corn tikki, duck-keema naan, prawn and green-mango curry….
Sample the Sri Lankan spot Hoppers’ for feel-the-burn mutton rolls, tamarind and fennel pork ribs. The Big Mamma group’s Carlotta does what it does best – namely, dining with indulgence – lobster with caviar doused in beurre blanc, a slab of bistecca Fiorentina, pastas tossed in whole wheels of cheese. Over on Seymour Street, is the more understated but eternally wonderful Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli.
On Paddington Street, there’s a trio of Greek restaurants – all offering an informal and authentic Greek family atmosphere: the The Real Greek, Kimar and Opso.
Fischers brings its Viennese heritage to the table with old-school schnitzel, Royal China Club serves some of the best Chinese food in London and Les 110 de Taillevent in Cavendish Square, is the definition of French fine dining and impeccable taste.
Retail Therapy & Designer Shopping in Marylebone
Refuelled, you may begin your retail adventure in Marylebone High Street. This is the definition of luxury living in London – a super-stylish and elegant shopping destination with independent stores, boutiques, designer brands and luxury labels, as well as some incredible vintage shops.
Marylebone is home to fashion stalwarts, like Agnès B, Theory, The Monocle Shop and gems such as Sunspel, Oska, Kabiri and Koibird. For the home, there’s the Conran Shop, Caravane and David Mellor, and for bookworms there’s the legendary Daunt Books, the independent bookshop in a beautiful Edwardian building.
Buy handcrafted Spanish-leather boots at La Portegna, durable Venetian tailoring at Slowear; and for elegant eyewear at Mallon + Taub or Bloobloom. Ortigia is famous for its exotically scented soaps in bright one-for-the-guest-bathroom packaging; Allbirds make comfy and Earth-kind trainers using Merino wool, eucalyptus-tree fibre and sugarcane; Labour and Wait sells items with function and form; and eco-designers Sirplus crafts very handsome clothing from fabrics that would otherwise be thrown away.
For little ones, Bonpoint’s clothes are mini and modish, and Strawberries & Cream have the tactile wooden and soft toys. Meander off the main street, and you’ll find the famous ribbons and frippery at VV Rouleaux, and handmade and elegant jewellery at Astrid & Miyu or Monica Vinader. David Penton & Son may not be quite so glamorous, but it’s been a useful hardware shop for 200 years.
Find ceramics at Mud and Contemporary Applied Arts; and Chiltern Street has some of the best and most distinctive boutiques to peruse: Bella Freud for her iconic 1970 sweaters, Trunk for international cult menswear, Cire Trudon for Parisian candles and Perfumer H for unconventional scents.
Nightlife in Marylebone
As day turns into night, Marylebone has wine bars, clubs and pubs on tap, where you can relax over cocktails or a fine wine with friends and loved ones.
Tucked away in Blandford Street in a Tudor building is the popular neighbourhood wine bar, Clarette. For a bottle-popping fun time, head to 28°-50° Wine Workshop. The Chiltern Firehouse’s bar has velvet banquettes and a refreshingly relaxed attitude while private members can spend the night at Home House. There are also plenty of cosy traditional pubs and gastropubs dotted around Marylebone for a relaxing night out. Just off Baker Street is The Barley Mow, the oldest pub in the area (1791), frequented by farmers coming into the city. Other popular taverns include the 18th century Jackalope and the Coach Makers Arms. For those looking for a good gastropub, the Grazing Goat, and the Harcourt are always popular for a nightcap.
Living in Marylebone
Marylebone might only cover 92 acres but it is filled to the borders with such an array of specialist purveyors, independent shops, artisan food, drinks and delights, and a café, bar or eatery to suit any palate and occasion. For those considering selling, renting or buying property in Marylebone, particularly mews houses, the area offers a rare combination of sophistication, desirability and accessibility.
As specialists in mews properties, we understand the unique value of these homes and are here to help you navigate the market in one of London’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or simply explore, Marylebone offers an experience like no other.
Want more information on Marylebone? Get in touch with one of our friendly team members, and let us see how we can assist.
