Latitude · Places
51.5° N
London
England, United Kingdom
Maeve spent one November day here: tea at a South Bank café, the concrete of the National Theatre, the brick of the Barbican, a bus over London Bridge, the iron of Blackfriars at dusk, and the Millennium Bridge at night.
Maeve's day, in order
- 08:15
A café on the South Bank
Tea first, then breakfast.
- 09:10
National Theatre
Leaning on the board-marked concrete.
Nearby, Maeve would go to: Lasdun, The Anchor & Hope
- 12:30
Barbican
Crouching on the dark brick of the highwalks.
Nearby, Maeve would go to: Sessions Arts Club, Prufrock Coffee, The Quality Chop House
- 13:15
A bus over London Bridge
Standing on the top deck.
- 13:40
A covered market in Southwark
Lunch in brown paper, under an iron roof.
Nearby, Maeve would go to: José, Pizarro, London Glassblowing
- 16:40
Blackfriars Bridge
Under the bridge, by the red columns of the old railway bridge.
Nearby, Maeve would go to: Wagumi
- 18:30
The pub
A pint of bitter at the bar.
- 21:30
Millennium Bridge
Walking toward St Paul's.
What to wear in London, november
- Around 12°C by day and 4°C at night (Kew Gardens, 1991–2020 averages).
- Rain is likely, and the light goes before five.
- In October a jacket over a knit is enough. In December, the long coat and a scarf.
Where Maeve would go
London · Antiquarian books and bookshopsLondon · Bespoke tailoring and London makersLondon · To eatLondon · CoffeeLondon · Vessels
Made in London
Antiquarian books and bookshopsLondon has long been the centre of British publishing and the rare-book trade. Cecil Court, Bloomsbury and Mayfair still hold dealers with long histories, such as Sotheran's (1761) and Maggs (1850s).
Sotheran's
Covent Garden
An antiquarian bookseller founded in York in 1761. Since summer 2025 its browsing shop has been on Cecil Court, holding much of its literature and poetry; the rarer books are at 22 Charing Cross Road.
MaeveA bookseller since 1761, now on the booksellers' lane. Long shelves of poetry.
Maggs Bros. Ltd
Mayfair
Rare books and manuscripts dealers founded by Uriah Maggs in the 1850s. The Curzon Street shop is open on weekdays; the headquarters is at 48 Bedford Square, Bloomsbury.
MaeveThey deal in letters and manuscripts too. Words from before they became books.
Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers
Bloomsbury
An antiquarian bookseller opposite the British Museum, dealing mainly in 18th- and 19th-century English books, pamphlets and broadsides, including Dickens catalogues. Open weekdays 11am–5.30pm.
MaeveOpposite the British Museum, selling 19th-century pamphlets.
Skoob Books
Bloomsbury
A second-hand bookshop in the basement of the Brunswick Centre, with one of London's broadest selections of used books, strong in academic subjects and literature. Open seven days a week.
MaeveDownstairs, old editions of the books you read as a student.
London Review Bookshop
Bloomsbury
A bookshop opened in 2003 by the London Review of Books, near the British Museum, with about 20,000 titles and a busy programme of author talks.
MaeveShelves chosen by the people behind a review magazine. A lot of poetry.
Heywood Hill
Mayfair
A bookshop selling old and new books on Curzon Street since August 1936, also known for subscriptions of books chosen for each reader. Open weekdays 9.30am–6pm.
MaeveA shop that chooses books for people. Far ahead of my own job.
Stanfords
Covent Garden
A map and travel bookshop founded by Edward Stanford in 1853, selling maps, travel books, atlases and globes; it moved from its long-time Long Acre home to Mercer Walk in 2019.
MaeveWhere you check the places you met in books against a map.
Made in London
Bespoke tailoring and London makersSavile Row in Mayfair has been the street of bespoke tailors since the 19th century, and nearby old makers of hats and umbrellas still make and repair by hand on their own premises.
Henry Poole & Co
Mayfair
A bespoke tailor founded in 1806, one of the oldest houses on Savile Row, still cutting each suit to an individual pattern; it marked its 220th year in 2026.
MaeveIts ledgers still hold orders from two hundred years ago.
Lock & Co. Hatters
St James's
A hat shop whose business began in 1676 and has been at 6 St James's Street since 1765; women's couture hats are made by hand in the workroom under the roof, where repairs and re-blocking are also done. It turned 350 in 2026.
MaeveA hatter on the same street for 350 years. Still sewing under the roof.
James Smith & Sons
Bloomsbury
An umbrella and walking-stick shop founded in 1830, with its Victorian shopfront intact; some umbrellas are made, and repairs done, in the basement workshop.
MaeveThe Victorian shopfront still stands. A shop for a rainy city.
Lasdun
South Bank
A brasserie inside the National Theatre, named after its architect Denys Lasdun, serving seasonal British cooking from the team behind The Marksman in Hackney.
MaeveDinner inside the concrete. Best before a play.
The Anchor & Hope
South Bank
A pub on The Cut, open since 2003 near the Young Vic, known for hearty cooking; bookings open 30 days ahead.
MaeveA pub, but you go for the food.
The Quality Chop House
Clerkenwell
A Farringdon Road dining room dating back to 1869, cooking British produce with a focus on steaks and chops.
MaeveIt says chop on the sign. Order the chop.
Moro
Clerkenwell
A Moorish restaurant on Exmouth Market, opened in 1997 by Sam and Sam Clark after a camper-van journey through Spain, Morocco and the Sahara.
MaeveTheir cookbooks turn up on second-hand shelves. The real thing is here.
Morito
Clerkenwell
Moro's younger sibling next door, open since 2010, serving tapas and mezze at an orange counter against a blue wall.
MaeveNext door to Moro. On your own, take the counter and small plates.
Sessions Arts Club
Clerkenwell
A restaurant in the old judges' dining room of Sessions House, a listed courthouse on Clerkenwell Green, which also runs art and performance programmes; over-18s only.
MaeveThe old judges' dining room. Bookings open at 7am, thirty days ahead.
José
Bermondsey
José Pizarro's original London tapas bar, opened in 2011: a blackboard menu built from the market and around fifty Spanish wines and sherries by the glass. No reservations.
MaeveNo bookings. Choose from the blackboard.
Pizarro
Bermondsey
José Pizarro's second Bermondsey Street restaurant, built around an open kitchen, with seasonal Spanish plates and a menú del día at weekday lunch.
MaeveWeekday lunch: the menú del día.
Rochelle Canteen
Shoreditch
Margot Henderson's canteen in a walled garden, opened in 2004 with one big shared table, cooking a small menu that changes daily.
MaeveA garden behind a wall. Go at lunchtime.
The Clove Club
Shoreditch
A tasting-menu restaurant with an open kitchen inside the historic Shoreditch Town Hall.
MaeveOne to save for a big day. The old town hall comes with it.
Brat
Shoreditch
A first-floor restaurant in a former pub on Redchurch Street, inspired by Basque cooking and built around the fire.
MaeveCooking over fire. Up the stairs.
Padella Shoreditch
Shoreditch
A fresh-pasta restaurant just off Great Eastern Street, where pasta is rolled daily in the open kitchen and there is counter seating.
MaeveEven if there's a queue, one plate of pasta at the counter.
Monmouth Coffee Company
Bermondsey
The Bermondsey shop of Monmouth Coffee, which began on Monmouth Street in 1978 and roasts coffee bought from single farms; no paper cups.
MaeveNo paper cups. Stay, or bring your own.
Prufrock Coffee
Holborn
A coffee bar on Leather Lane since 2011, serving Square Mile alongside guest roasters from Europe, with an ever-changing coffee list and its own barista training centre.
MaeveThe coffee list keeps changing. Ask first, then order.
Wagumi
South Bank
A shop for Japanese craft in Oxo Tower Wharf, open since 2011, with ceramics from Kasama potters, teaware and lacquerware, plus regular exhibitions.
MaeveKasama pottery by the river. Stop on the way to Blackfriars Bridge.
London Glassblowing
Bermondsey
A hot-glass studio and gallery founded by Peter Layton in 1976, showing and selling blown-glass vases, bowls and sculptural pieces.
MaeveHold the glass up to the light, then choose.
Klei
Hackney
An independent ceramics shop on Hackney Road, founded in 2018 and run by potter Skye Corewijn, showing work by London and UK makers.
MaeveRun by a potter. Some of it was fired on an island in West Cork.
Maeve is a fictional traveller. Every place here was checked by the editors to exist and be open (checked 2026-11-01). Please confirm hours on the official site before you go. Paid listings are always marked.