At Uprise

City Guide: London

Photo of the Victoria & Albert Museum Storehouse by Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Image courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Ahead of Frieze Week, our London-based artists share their favorite spots across the city.

Bbblob wearing a long pink dress standing in front of two of her colorful abstract cut shape works.

Bbblob

  • Favorite restaurant or pub: Marjorie's, it’s a cute wine bar in a cosy hidden lane off Carnaby Street close to galleries like Sadie Coles and Pilar Corrias.

  • Favorite neighborhood: Notting Hill, it's a great area for wandering around with lots of nice restaurants, wine bars and bakeries like Holy Carrot and Layla Bakery. There’s a pop up gallery, Wild Trumpets, with a show until October 18th.

  • Go-to market/shopping place: I love walking through Broadway Market, it feels pretty local. I also enjoy shopping at the thrift stores scattered around Shoreditch and Spitalfields Market.

  • Best cafe: Gail's does nice cappuccinos.

  • Frieze-week itinerary: I would like to visit the sculpture park in Regent’s park - it’s free! I’ll also be at the Affordable Art Fair, which opens on October 15th, by Battersea Park. I'll be showing some new pieces alongside other recent MFA graduates at the fair's Graduate Booth.

Eddie K working in his studio surrounded by large-scale paintings of figures in cube shaped pools.

Eddie K

  • Favorite restaurant or pub: Soup dumplings at Dumplings' Legend in Chinatown, curry and BYOB at Lahore Kebab House in Whitechapel, BBQ at Acme Fire Cult in Dalston, Japanese at Uchi in Clapton (book in the back room where you sit in a built-in area where you take your shoes off and they give you slippers), and brunch at Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green (white tablecloths and a piano player on the weekend). For drinks, The Prince Arthur in Hackney, or The Draper's Arms in Angel.

  • Favorite neighborhood: You can't go wrong with Columbia Road if you're visiting and have a spare afternoon on the weekend. It's got everything on one small road, including a flower market on Sundays. I also love Hampstead Heath and the pubs there - this time of year particularly.

  • Go-to market/shopping place: Exmouth Market for food and drink is always very charming. For shopping, Redchurch Street, if you're after a nice present for someone.

  • Best cafe: Tea at the Regency Cafe in Victoria for an old school London caff.

  • Frieze-week itinerary: To be honest, I'm just going to get lost and see what I stumble across.

Kostas Papakostas standing with his arms crossed in front of a large painting with a big teal brushstroke.

Kostas Papakostas

  • Favorite restaurant or pub: I tend to prefer old pubs that feel timeless, full of history and usually serve proper traditional ales. A few favourites are The Prospect of Whitby over on the river in the East, or Ye Olde Mitre if I’m meeting someone in the centre, and The Lord Napier Star, which is right near my studio.

  • Favorite neighborhood: I’ve had lots of favorite neighborhoods in London over time, especially in the East where I’ve lived most of my life. Right now it’s Hackney Wick, where my studio is. It’s an old industrial area by the canal, but it’s got a nice mix of people and a creative energy, which I love.

  • Go-to market/shopping place: Broadway Market for food and a stroll with friends on a Saturday, Columbia Road Flower Market on Sundays, and Sunbury Antiques Market (though that one starts before sunrise, so you'll need a torch if you want to grab the good stuff early).

  • Best cafe: I’ve got to give a shout-out to three coffee spots that keep me caffeinated through my studio days: Bad Coffee, Roasting Shed, and Saint Espresso.

Mada Vicassiau wearing a white coverall sitting in her studio in front of stacks of her paintings.

Mada Vicassiau

Martina Lang in a black dress standing in a white room with white curtains and a white fireplace over which one of her photographs is displayed.

Martina Lang

  • Favorite restaurant or pub: Osteria Angelina for Italian-Japanese fusion.

  • Favorite neighborhood: I love East London/Hackney, there's also a lot of buzz around the South in areas like Deptford with lots of cultural offerings.

  • Go-to market/shopping place: Borough Market is still great for food. Broadway Market with food and knick knacks is great on a Saturday (now also open on Sundays but with less stalls). You can grab something to eat and head to London Fields Park next to it to munch away. There are also lots of small independent businesses, from (art) bookshops (Donlon Books, Artwords, Broadway Bookshop) nearby and everything from a nice French deli to vintage shops. Another classic is Columbia Road Flower Market on Sundays. It isn't as mad and vibrant as before the pandemic, as it's more spaced out now, but the street is also lined with a variety of small shops and pubs.

  • Best cafe: AllPress is a beloved brand and I really like their cafe in Dalston. There is one slightly more central in Shoreditch, too. Both have nice independent shops close by like Labour&Wait in Shoreditch and LF Markey opposite the one in Dalston.

  • Frieze-week itinerary: I always love their sculpture park, which is free to visit.

  • Additional highlights: The Cosmic House is a really special place, it's the former post-modernist home of architect Charles Jencks. Also check out The Victoria & Albert Museum Storehouse (pictured at the top of the post) which opened this summer and holds a wild array of objects owned by the V&A. It's free to visit and you can even book in advance to view some specific objects in the collection.

Published October 7, 2025

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