Steamy windows

DakaDaka, best gaming arcades, Highgate properties, London Terrariums, The Sea The Sea, Wilsons Bristol, MORE

Feb 11, 2026

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RESTAURANTS • First Word

Georgia folk

The Skinny: Heddon Street’s latest occupant is DakaDaka, a modern Georgian restaurant showcasing an underrepresented cuisine with wines from Honey Spencer. It opened in mid-January after two years of planning, and spans two floors, with a soon-to-open bar and event space downstairs.

The Vibe: Convivial and warm, with folk-inspired décor including hand-dyed textiles and ceramic water jugs from Georgia. The upstairs dining space features counter seating and tables, with additional tables and booths downstairs. I lingered long after my plates were cleared.

The Food: Inspired by classic Georgian cooking. Small plate highlights include creamy kidney bean hummus and DakaDaka’s take on badrijani, made with baby aubergines – both are best served with steaming hot lavash bread. Dumplings, known as khinkali, come packed with girolle mushrooms or Iberico pork, and there are four types of wood-fired skewers (I had lamb). Larger plates highlight braised meat and fish, as well as lobio, a bean stew. The pickle plate is a punchy addition to any order, and a winter tomato salad makes for an ideal accompaniment to the mains. The current dessert menu has only two items: a Georgian wine soft serve and a honey mille-feuille, a near-perfect variation on medovik (multi-layered honey cake).

The Drink: Wine director Honey Spencer has curated a list of Georgian labels and flavours, with interesting wines by the glass or bottle, and cocktails veering between classic and creative, incorporating local ingredients like seabuckthorn. Non-alcoholic options are equally solid, including a few Georgian lemonades.

The Verdict: Friendly vibes and approachable menus for a cuisine that deserves to be championed. –Emily Zemler

→ DakaDaka (Mayfair) • 10 Heddon St • Tue-Thu 12-230p, 530-10p Fri 12-230p, 530-11p Sat 12-11p • Book.

RESTAURANTS • Intel

RUN THE WORLD: Retail queen Mary Portas OBE will be doling out wisdom at The Barbary Notting Hill in the lead-up to International Women’s Day. Raising funds for The King’s Trust Change a Girl’s Life, the event includes lunch followed by a conversation between Portas and comedian and cultural critic Viv Groskop. March 4 from 12p; £20 + donation; book, donate.

PLENTY MORE FISH: Chelsea seafood spot The Sea, The Sea is moving to a bigger location with three floors for its acclaimed fishmonger, wine bar and restaurant. Diners won’t have to go far – it’s heading just across the street to 174 Pavilion Rd later in the spring. Book. –Laura Price

LONDON RESTAURANT LINKS: Notting Hill’s Holy Carrot expanding to Spitalfields with second site • In Smithfield, Club Gascon closing after 27 years • Chick-fil-A picks Kingston for first London outpost • The wellnessification of Gregg’s • Can oysters save the restaurant scene? • Are chef-led restaurants over? • Can you trust Michelin?

REAL ESTATE • First Mover

Three for-sale properties in Highgate that recently came to market:

→ Causton Rd (Highgate, above) • 5BR/2BA/3R, 239 m2 semi-detached house • Asking price: £2.495mn • period house behind gated driveway • Ownership type: chain-free freehold • Agent: Goldschmidt.

→ Lanchester Rd (Highgate) • 6BR/3BA/2R, 276 m2 semi-detached house • Guide price: £3.0mn • 90’ southwest-facing garden • Ownership type: freehold • Agent: Day Morris.

→ Highfields Grove (Highgate) • 5BR/3BA/3R, 406m2 detached house • Asking price: £4.125mn • midway along Fitzroy Park on the edge of Hampstead Heath & bathing ponds • Ownership type: freehold • Agent: Dexters.

GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop

Secret garden

Longing for outdoor space in the city, gardener Emma Sibley gathered moss from rooftops, pebbles from parks and cuttings from houseplants to cultivate something quite special: self-contained terrariums bringing oasis for those lacking the real thing. It sprouted into London Terrariums, a studio and shop off Brick Lane delivering a bright, plant-filled refuge from the Shoreditch bustle.

Each terrarium is a living thing: balanced, beautiful, self-sustaining. Light enters; condensation rises; moisture drips and leaves; plants unfurl in curated landscapes in vessels that range from apothecary domes to blown glass. Workshops here have the aura of atelier rather than classroom. Guests are guided through the science and history behind terrariums, then taught the construction of layering stones and charcoal, arranging moss and seating ferns. The process is extremely relaxing, and the result feels like an object of design – as considered as furniture, as resonant as art.

A terrarium (or a gift card for one of their workshops) makes a wonderful housewarming gift. A bouquet wilts, a bottle empties, but these grow, shift and endure. –Amy-Rose Holland

→ Shop: London Terrariums (Whitechapel) • 139 Bethnal Green Rd • Mon-Fri 11a-7p, Sat-Sun 11a-6p.

WORK & PLAY LINKS: Massive new development at Barbican Estate may be disrupted by nesting peregrine falcons • More pedestrianisation may be coming for central London • Is Liberty Joy Archive London’s most stylish vintage shop? • Why are banks pushing RTO so hard? • How to wear two pairs of trousers.

CULTURE & LEISURE • Coaching Carousel

FA Cup: Arsenal v Wigan Athletic • Emirates Stadium (Holloway) • Sun @ 430p • longside lower, £288 per
The Sixteen: Light and Shadow • Choral at Cadogan • Cadogan Hall (Chelsea) • Thu @ 730p • band B, £38 per
Riona O’Connor & Olga Thompson • Leicester Square Theatre (Westminster) • Sat @ 4p • stalls, £27 per

GETAWAY • Bristol

Streets ahead

In the middle of winter, steamy windows signal cosy nights and good times along Chandos Road, a street chock full of independent restaurants and bars in the charming neighbourhood of Redland in Bristol. Part of the area’s popularity is thanks to Wilsons, a tiny fine dining restaurant that opened in 2016 and since earned a reputation far beyond the South West.

For Londoners, it’s exceptional value, with a seven-course tasting at £78 and a shorter lunch menu at £39. Vegetables and herbs are sourced from the team’s own regenerative farm just outside the city. This focus on sustainability applies to the drinks too – my non-alcoholic pairing included a refreshing Douglas fir pine cocktail, a cleansing pear and bay kefir and an earthy beetroot kombucha, all grown in the market garden. Wines focus on small-scale, biodynamic and low-intervention labels like a crisp red from the Cyclades, and there’s even a homemade limoncello.

The menu changes regularly, but our dinner started with creamy, foamy fish soup, made from cod’s head rillette. Sourdough from nextdoor Wilsons Bread Shop came with salty butter and two outstanding snacks: a buckwheat cracker with rich, creamy duck liver paté, and a pickled sardine with crème fraîche and horseradish in a delicate nori basket that delivered freshness and just the right amount of kick.

Leeks came softened and touched by the barbecue but still with a little crunch, with additional texture from chopped hazelnuts and burst-in-the-mouth wild garlic capers. The standout course was Cornish red mullet, lightly cooked and barbecued, with a rich sauce made from succulent Mylor prawns – it got better as it went on, the intense prawn head flavour coming through. Fallow deer came in two servings: tender saddle and haunch, with parsnip cooked down in its own juices, and a disc of boudin noir, a traditional French blood sausage. It was a rich way to finish.

To cleanse the palate, there’s a sorbet made from dill, chervil and tarragon – it’s served with a soft meringue, torched on the top, but would be just as good on its own. Dessert was a spiralised apple with celeriac ice cream and crunchy buckwheat, which gave the nostalgic feel of apple crumble, without being too sweet. Mine came with a unique non-alcoholic pairing of medjool dates cooked down with lapsang tea and chai herbs, evoking a dessert wine.

Petit fours deserve a mention: a white chocolate fudge with ceps, just sweet enough to counter the strong mushroom flavour, and a pâte de fruit with camomile, pear and sherbet, like a sour jelly sweet. That’s why Wilsons works so well: it mixes comfort and nostalgia with modern, creative ideas (chef-owner Jan Ostle previously worked at London’s Clove Club), but it’s never pretentious, never forgetting what it is: a tiny neighbourhood restaurant with a big heart, and big ambitions. –Laura Price

FOUND Pro:

Wilsons Bread Shop next door serves treats like koji-bacon sarnies in Hokkaido milk bread, and cheesecake-like vanilla slices with the perfect pie crust.
Wilsons is coming to London next week for a collaboration dinner at Rita’s on 16 February. £120pp; book.

→ Wilsons (Bristol) • 24 Chandos Rd • Wed-Sat 12-230p, 6-930p, Tues 7-830p • Book.

GETAWAYS • Intel

ON THE MAP: In Darlington, five-star resort Rockliffe Hall is preparing to relaunch, with new dining options including a flagship fine dining restaurant. Led by James and Maria Close, formerly of The Raby Hunt, ATLAS will bring global influences to its menu, with inspiration from North and South America, and Asia. The ambitious project includes a chef’s table and an ‘immersive, chef-guided experience’. Opens summer 2026; more.

JUST IN VALEN-TIME: Country pub with rooms The Bradley Hare Inn is opening next week in the village of Maiden Bradley, just outside Frome. Previously known as The Bradley Hare and The Somerset Arms, the inn was taken over by The Beckford Group, which is growing its collection of pubs with more to open later this year. Opens 13 February; rooms from £150 incl. breakfast; more.

FIELD TRIP: Farm-to-fork restaurateurs the Gladwin brothers (The Pig’s Ear, The Shed) have bought The Black Horse in Amberley, West Sussex, their first venture outside the capital. After a light refurbishment, the South Downs pub with rooms will reopen on 25 March. More. – Laura Price

GETAWAYS LINKS: New boutique hotel The Newman opened last weekend in Fitzrovia • MSE (Manston Airport) near Margate targets 2029 reopening • The Wild Duck Inn reopening in the Cotswolds next month.

GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines

Arcades

The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in London and further afield.

N64 Retro Arcade Bar (Soho, above), nostalgia meets nightlife in neon-lit retro arcade and bar w/ classic arcade games, consoles

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