What to do in London this weekend

Still enjoying summer Brat? Just because something is green doesn’t make it Brat, or good, or summer. According to that logic, St. Patrick’s Day, limes and ASDA are all Brat, and they are not the only ones.

It doesn’t matter either way, though: The hot brat is over. And while that means this season may now be more conventional than Charlie XCX would have liked, London has a lot to occupy itself with.

New restaurant openings to beat the heat alongside old stalwarts of the London restaurant scene, wine bars that will make even Paris swoon and new restaurant-cum-cafes that make the perfect park-based pit-stop.

Elsewhere, there’s a big cultural institution offering a Notting Hill Carnival warm-up, some fantastic live theater in a new setting and Taylor Swift is back in town (well, sort of).

Sport, art, food, theatre, music and pubs: as it is today, a guide to everything that makes London great. Sekeca.

Laphet has a lot of answers, in the best possible way. In 2017, Hackney is only emerging as a food and drink destination as prices push Shoreditch and Islington further and the restaurant experiments of the era increase Londoners’ appetite for a variety of cuisines. Laphet moved from an edgy warehouse space in Hackney to a luxury restaurant in E1 and after the pandemic, more and more to WC2: a restaurant sign (and Burmese food) that is increasing in popularity. The newest site is in Bermondsey, and staples like ginger salad, mutton curry and coconut noodles are still available. It’s a pan-London success story, with food to match.

Opening later this week in the former premises of Michael’s Den, the ill-fated boozer on Halliford Road, Goodbye Horses is hoping for better fortunes. The business model is complicated, with a wine bar, coffee shop and ice cream parlor, all in the same place, all with different names, but we’re focusing on the main Goodbye Horses place here. The (strange) name is a hit song by Q Lazzarus – vaguely familiar to anyone who watched Silence of the Lambs – and perhaps nods to the big musical center stage will take place. The owner says he needs to reinforce the floors after transporting his vinyl collection (just waiting for the players to arrive). Food comes from Ex-Papi chef Jack Coggins, and while the menu is not yet public, dishes include tail ragout and broken rice and baby leeks, green garlic and hazelnuts. Riffs on Papi food meets Bambi-level focus on good music? It seems good.

Trishna is the kind of Indian restaurant that continues to fly under the radar, quietly chipping away at its neighbors and critical acclaim to keep it interesting. Initially opened with a strong seafood influence, some still consider the presence of exceptional fish dishes, namely Hariyali scallops and bream. It remains a champion.

A French-led food-and-wine bar in London must be good for life; there is just too much competition between cities for them not. Bar Levan meets the challenge. The food is solid, reliable, accessible in price and not too ambitious or pretentious to put people to death, but the wine list does cut moutarde as a place to drink den. Owner Mark Gurney only buys 12 bottles of each wine, and when they run out, he buys another 12. This conscious effort to rotate this list keeps it interesting, informative and ensures Peckham locals don’t need to repeat themselves over and over again to enjoy the place.

Free tickets to Taylor Swift? It’s not enough, but the V&A is offering a free ride for T Swizzle fans, with costumes, videos and songs on public display for a month. As always with the V&A, costumes are the focus, with many concert clothes on display, meticulously arranged with a series of Swifties suggesting which pieces will be on display. For a top-notch free event, this should help keep Swiftie happy.

Until September 8, Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL, vam.ac.uk

Taking over the now-defunct Café Honle park, Sylva arrives in the part of town between Deptford and Bermondsey – a place to call out for a decent restaurant – and with a lick of paint and a male conservatory extension, Sylva has felt perfect in situ. The park-side location is just the way to go for a visit to Folkestone Park, with baked goods and cakes starting at £2, and larger sandwiches from around £11. Sitting in the conservatory is a great way to spend lunch on a sunny day, before soak up more rays in the garden.

Ahead of Notting Hill Carnival (at the end of August), Tate Britain partners with this party purveyor to offer a weekend of festivities, carnival-themed events. From family-friendly days with dress up and children’s painting activities to late night block parties and steel drummers at the Sunday Social, there is genuinely something to keep everyone in the family happy.

3 & 4 August, Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG, tate.org.uk

This weekend sees more “Hundreds” of cricket at Kia Oval and Lord’s, as the Oval Invincibles men’s and women’s teams take on the Northern Superchargers, followed by London Spirit vs Oval Invincibles on Sunday morning. The 100-ball limit ensures that teams get out from the start, providing an exciting alternative to slower and longer format matches. As always, live music and added entertainment will be featured in the Hundreds, so expect a lively sporting weekend.

Iraqi-born Rheim Alkadhi uses scale, material and a powerful personal narrative to tell the story of post-colonial Iraq. Jumping from the post-war narrative to the environment, Alkadhi confronts Iraq’s violent history with honesty. Combining large-format sculptural works, hanging tarpaulins and archival documentation, the exhibition provides a fascinating journey through the nation’s history and the artist’s response to the recent Iraqi conflict.

One of the main fundraising nights for the Leukemia UK charity, the Who’s Cooking Dinner returns in September for its 25th anniversary. The format is quite simple: top culinary talents collaborate on the menu and punters pay for the pleasure of cooking by chefs with a galaxy of stars between them. This year saw Jeremy Lee (Quo Vadis), Francesco Mazzei (once of Sartoria, now at Villa Corinthia, Malta), Tom Kerridge (Kerridge’s), Romy Gill MBE and Giorgio Locatelli (Locanda Locatelli) team up for the event. Expect a four-course fundraising feast with all proceeds raised towards the £7m the charity has raised since 1999. Don’t miss this one.