My Weekend In… London With Lu Hough

SATURDAY

I prefer going out for breakfast rather than dinner and we always eat out on a Saturday morning. Our favourite is Chiltern Firehouse. It’s great for people watching and a little bit of shopping afterwards. My order is always a chocolate croissant, fruit plate, berry juice (apple, strawberry, raspberry, lemon and basil) and an earl grey tea. My husband loves the ‘Flaming Benedict’, which comes with crispy potato cakes and jalapeño hollandaise.

I like to have a mooch around the shops in Marylebone. Lewis, my husband, likes Trunk and then we'll go up to The Conran Shop, walk down Marylebone High Street and end up in Selfridges. There’s further browsing on Mount Street (Celine for the bags and accessories) and the same goes for Matches on Carlos Place. The jeweller Jessica McCormack is just next door if you’re in the mood for a bit of window shopping.

Bruton Street has some really good shops, too. We’ll always stop to look in Isabel Marant and Iro – two of my favourite French labels. There's also Nanushka, which has the most photogenic store in London – the autumn/winter collection is excellent. Finally, I’ll pop into Anine Bing, which is also in Mayfair. She’s another of my favourite designers and there’s always something I want to try on. 

People know me for fashion, but I love beauty stores – especially Liberty and Space NK. I can't walk past either without going in. I love looking at all the new products. Rose Inc has just launched in Space NK and the Fragrance Hall in Liberty is lovely. 

If I’m going out with friends, one of my favourite places to go is Wild By Tart in Victoria. It has a really relaxed atmosphere and feels quite like a New York warehouse. The food is great – it serves lots of nice sharing plates, so there's something for everyone.

If it’s date night with my husband, we’ll go to Spring. It’s very close to our hearts, as we had our wedding reception there, so it always feels special to go back. The chef-owner Skye Gyngell is an absolute genius – she serves uncomplicated, seasonal and flavoursome food, and as a vegan, her cooking suits me. There’s plenty for meat eaters, too! 

For a special Saturday night, it’s got to be the River Café. For us, it’s not the easiest place to get to, but the food is out of this world. Italian is probably my favourite, and the restaurant does uncomplicated, amazing dishes. The last time we went we had the best courgette fries I’ve ever had.

Padella is the best. But it can be quite hard to get a table. Then there’s Artusi in Peckham – we bought a couple of its at-home meal kits during lockdown, which were fun to try out, but the restaurant itself is really intimate and serves delicious fresh pasta.

SUNDAY

On Sunday mornings, we stay local. There’s a weekly market in Herne Hill, so we often go down first thing. There’s a great coffee shop called Perks & White which does the best banana bread with a brown sugar crust. That and a coffee, then we have a walk around the market. A bread stall called Pincher sells the best sourdough. We’ll also buy fresh veg for Sunday night supper. 

My husband will get the paper and I still love to buy magazines. I like Vogue, French Vogue – if I can find it – Unconditional, Holiday and How To Spend It. Then we’ll walk around Dulwich Park and read them on one of the benches. If it’s sunny, we’ll go to the Horniman Museum, which has the most amazing views over London. It’s a nice place to find a quiet spot to read in.

I pride myself on knowing a good pastry when I see one. I love Jolene but if we’re venturing slightly further afield, we’ll go to Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. I love having a look around the store – it sells lovely interiors pieces and little knick-knacks, like glasses and candles. We’ll then get a coffee and a takeaway cake and go for a walk along the river. It’s a lovely Sunday ritual if the weather is nice.

I’m not really into Sunday roasts. There’s too much washing up afterwards – and my mum's roast potatoes are the best, so I don’t try to recreate them. Instead, we’ll often make something with the veg we’ve bought from the market, like a ratatouille or a stew.