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Legendary decorator Nicky Haslam divides his time between the Cotswolds and London, returning weekly to the capital where his eponymous studio is based. Nicky shares his London secrets and favorite addresses, including his family’s former home, a restaurant where he can pass many happy hours, a hotel that takes his breath away, and a few surprises.

INTERVIEW BY CAMILLA FRANCES | CABANA TRAVEL | 28 JUNE 2024

One of Nicky's Favorite Restaurants: Bellamy's, © Sophie Ziegler

My Favorite Place to Stay:

Living in London, I rarely use hotels. But the beauty of Mewes and Davis’s never-altered décor of the dining room at the Ritz always takes one’s breath.

My Favorite Restaurant:

I always find certain restaurants are more atmospheric at night, others in daytime. For lunch, its Bellamy’s in Bruton Place, with its Franglais menu, or Robin Birley’s merrily decorated trat, Nico’s, where you can pass many happy hours until it's time for dinner in the almost Edwardian luxe of 5 Hertford St.

My Favorite Museum or Gallery:

The library in the Zoological Society of London, bang by the Zoo itself. Paintings, engravings, drawings, folios and maquettes of every species…animal magic.

Nicky's Favorite Place to Stay: The Ritz © The Ritz

My Favorite Cozy Pub:

I’m not mad on London pubs as a rule, but at weekends I live four minutes away from The Fox at Oddington; I would get out more if it were transported to SW5.

My Favorite Coffee Shop:

Greggs on Earls Court Road and I’m sure any other branch. Best coffee in London.

My Favorite Antique Shop:

Christopher Butterworth on Pimlico Road. James Jackson down Lillie Road. Adam Calvert Bentley online.

My Favorite Park or Green Space:

The Chelsea Physic Garden is an instructive pleasure the year round. Or try to get yourself asked to Todd Langstaffe-Gowan’s theatre de verdure cliff-hanger for David Dawson in Church Street, Kensington.

One of Nicky's Favorite Antique Shops: Christopher Butterworth, © Camilla Frances

My Favorite Clothes Shop:

Primark. Hands down. The Hammersmith branch.

My Favorite Place of Architectural Interest:

A former home of my family, Bessborough House (now banally renamed Parkside) stands looking over Richmond’s greenness at Roehampton. A perfect classical house by William Chambers in 1760, it retains all its plasterwork and lustrous marble, and can be visited with a little ingenuity.

My Favorite Thing to do in London:

Climb the steps (345, better than Ozempic) to the top of The Monument, a hollow column built in 1601 to memorialize the Great Fire of London. It stands, majestic, in Pudding Lane, where the fire started.

Nicky's Favorite Green Space: The Chelsea Physic Garden © Laura Stoner-New and Camilla Frances.

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