Boisterous spirits
Nikita Pathakji, Margate House, Willy's, Highgate properties, Sollip, Copenhagen Admiral Hotel, best picnic spots, MORE
On Monday, we released the FOUND Summer ‘26 Report, the roundup of our favourite new London restaurants, cultural finds and getaways from the second quarter of 2026. Paid subscribers get access to Summer Reports in all FOUND cities (perfect travel cheat sheets). Here’s the full set:
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Mum’s the word
The Skinny: MasterChef: The Professionals and Great British Menu-winning chef Nikita Pathakji opened her debut restaurant in May on Clapham’s Abbeville Road.
LONDON RESTAURANT LINKS: Mayfair steakhouse Cordelia takes over Robuchon space • Bistro Cocotte opening in Kingly Court • The rise of Nigerian suya in London • A restaurant is a gambler’s game.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three for-sale homes in Highgate that recently came to market:
→ Shepherds Hill (Highgate) • 4BR/3BA/3R, 287 m2 flat • Asking price: £2.5mn • upper floors of semi-detached Victorian villa • Ownership type: share of freehold • Agent: Goldschmidt & Howland.
→ Cholmeley Park (Highgate) • 5BR/2BA/3R, 204 m2 semi-detached house • Asking price: £2.75mn • 3-floor Edwardian family home • Ownership type: freehold • Agent: Prickett & Ellis.
→ Southwood Ln (Highgate, above) • 5BR/3BA/3R, 264 m2 flat • Asking price: £3.85mn • stucco-fronted terrace • Ownership type: freehold • Agent: Dexters.
YOUR BRAND HERE: 93% of FOUND subscribers recommend products, services, and/or experiences to friends and family. Hit reply or email sales@itsfound.com, and we’ll get to work on your next great sponsorship campaign.
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Family guy
WOONGCHUL PARK • chef & owner • Sollip
Neighbourhood you work in: Bermondsey
Neighbourhood you live in: Kingston upon Thames
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
It’s the first day of the week for us at Sollip, and easily our busiest. The kitchen team gets in around 830a, when some of the fresh produce delivered at dawn is already waiting for us. We check fridges and freezers, then prep and store incoming ingredients, then everyone gets stuck into their own prep. Around 10a, the front-of-house team starts arriving and they make proper coffee, which we drink together while working. At midday, the kitchen team gathers for a quick brief about the week ahead – bookings, dietary requirements, special requests and a recap of the previous week. At 3p, we sit down for staff meal and a quick breather.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m incredibly busy at the moment, but in the best way possible – there are so many exciting things happening all at once. I’ve curated the menu and helped with the branding for a new Korean fried chicken spot at Flat Iron Square, near Borough Market, which we’ll be launching very soon. It’s a proper passion project, with fantastic people. I’m also preparing to open a casual, single-item Korean dining concept and am currently looking for the perfect site.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Going out for dim sum is a monthly family ritual. We used to be regulars at Park Chinois, but we naturally drifted to Royal China Club. Since that’s temporarily closed for relocation, we’ve been enjoying Royal China instead.
I’ve had some incredible meals during my recent travels. On a trip to Scotland, I had brilliant dinners at The Glenturret Lalique and Lyla. I recently went to Benares in Mayfair – I’m not usually a big fan of Indian cuisine, but Sameer [Taneja] turned it into a genuinely special, unforgettable experience. In Clapham, a new favourite is Ploussard. And of course, spots like The Ledbury, Noble Rot and Pique-Nique are absolute classics. I’ll take any opportunity to visit them.
Any weekend getaways?
Within driving distance of London, we really love South Lodge. Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa in New Milton and The Newt in Somerset are also family favourites. The Newt, in particular, is incredible – their viennoiserie (especially the croissants) are so good, they easily rival the best bakeries in Paris. And every summer without fail, we spend a day at Beddington Park. It’s wonderful for the kids to splash around in the water under the sun while we enjoy some lovely food together.
What was your last great holiday?
Our family trip to Copenhagen was truly spectacular. We stayed at the Copenhagen Admiral Hotel, which was clean, comfortable and perfectly located. We took the kids to Koan, helmed by chef Kristian Baumann, and all four of us count it as one of our absolute favourite meals. My wife and I love the pure joy of eating out at great restaurants, and we’ve taken our kids along since they were little. We also frequented the famous Hart Bageri and Juno The Bakery, practically trying everything on their menus – our only regret was that we couldn’t pack it all home with us. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art was also unforgettable; even as someone who isn’t an art expert, it’s a place I want to revisit.
Where are you donating your time or money?
Ever since we opened Sollip, we’ve been supporting StreetSmart, and starting this year, we’ve also joined hands with the Prept Foundation.
WORK & PLAY LINKS: Residents lose battle against Government on new Chinese mega-embassy • Whole Foods vs. The Market: Who will win the battle for Queensway? • Major makeover coming for Camden’s London Irish Centre.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Rooted
MI London v Trent Rockets • The Hundred • The Kia Oval (Kennington) • Sat 11a (women’s) & 230p (men’s) • roof terrace, £95 per
Roots Picnic • Nas & The Roots et al. • Crystal Palace Bowl (Bromley) • Sat • GA, £91 per
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique • BBC Proms • Royal Albert Hall (South Kensington) • Sat @ 730p • grand tier boxes, £71 per
GETAWAYS • Margate
Beach cheek
For a small, once-forgotten seaside town on the edge of Thanet, Margate punches above its weight in restaurants and culture – it’s even home to Madonna’s favourite Italian (intel). The latest reason to visit is Margate House, a small boutique hotel steadily growing in popularity since opening in 2023, and its restaurant, Willy’s, which debuted at the end of last year.
On a residential street facing Dalby Square, Margate House occupies a five-storey Victorian townhouse at the Cliftonville end of town, a few minutes’ walk from Walpole Bay. It’s a kid-free zone, which is part of its appeal – owner Will Jenkins has cultivated a Soho House-ish vibe, welcoming cool crowds and arty types for co-working and cocktails in quirky striped tumblers. At its heart is the beautifully decorated drawing room (above), a dusky pink zone with playful art and comfy sofas.
Rooms are similarly stylish: Our king room was small but comfy, with Le Labo bathroom products and happy-making details including a Roberts radio, complimentary tea and coffee, crisps and Haribo (you can help yourself to more sweets in the drawing room). By my bedside was a stack of books by local authors, including Rosa Rankin-Gee’s Dreamland, one of my all-time favourite novels (the TV adaptation is coming soon to the BBC as The Dream Lands).
Breakfast is worth the extra £10 per person. It’s served in my favourite part of the house, a long, narrow basement kitchen featuring a babypink AGA, red-and-white tiles, a long communal table, and a sitting area stacked with coffee-table books and board games. We were supplied with tea and coffee, toast-your-own sourdough with butter and jam, granola, Greek yoghurt, locally sourced pastries and copious fresh berries.
Like the rest of the house, the restaurant has a homey, chic vibe – it’s a casual room at the back of the hotel, with comfy counter seats around the open kitchen, and red-and-white striped seating on the terrace. Staff wear t-shirts with the words ‘I love Willy’s,’ a sentiment reflected by locals and DfLs (down-from-Londoners) visiting for pimped-up comfort food like sausage and mash and a black pudding Scotch egg.
Service is friendly and personal – we arrived late thanks to a punctured tyre and were reaccommodated for Sunday lunch, having kept in touch via WhatsApp. Our roast was excellent: succulent pork belly with sweet apple ketchup, nicely pink beef rump, massive Yorkshire puddings and chilli-spiked carrots. Sticky toffee pudding was joyous, with lashings of salted toffee sauce and terrific stem ginger ice cream.
Things change fast at Margate House. Since our May bank holiday stay, the Sunday offering has pivoted to rotisserie chicken, though the sticky toffee remains. There’s now a cooked breakfast on weekends, and Willy’s is open seven days a week for full English breakfast, potted trout and poached eggs. Jenkins himself was behind the bar on our visit, chatting to regulars about plans to expand Willy’s. With its cheeky aesthetic, charming comfort food and cool young crowd, it won’t struggle to find an audience. –Laura Price
→ Margate House (Margate) • 6 Dalby Sq • Rates from £180/night.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Imperial Bloomsbury set to reopen 14/08 with rooftop bar and restaurant • In Surrey, Hartsfield Manor planning luxury upgrade • Across Europe, the hottest pop-ups for the rest of summer 2026.
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CULTURE & LEISURE • The Nines
Picnic spots
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in London and further afield. Paid subscribers access the complete Nines archive.
Primrose Hill (Camden, above), popular park w/ skyline views, boisterous weekend scene