Brilliant things to do in London in January 2024
From Ayurvedic menus to London's first art fair of the year, the beginning of a new year is anything but boring
For many, January is the most miserable month of the year. It’s cold, it’s dark and Christmas is to be forgotten for another year – which, to our mind, is all the more reason to fill your diary with things to look forward to.
Taking part in Dry January or Veganuary? The good news, for better or worse, is that so ingrained have these January traditions become, that the capital is bursting with events, launches and pop-ups that even the most abstemious can take part in without breaking their New Year’s resolutions. Here’s our guide to the best things to do in London in January 2024.
The bar: Twice Shy
Two years after the launch of Amaro on Kensington High Street, the team has opened the doors of its second West London venue: Twice Shy. Located moments from Earl’s Court station, the décor features wooden wall panels carved with geometric shapes, a brushed brass back bar, brass detailed decorations and a long sofa that follows the perimeter of the oval room. The drinks menu at Twice Shy, curated by mixologist Victor Maggiolo, offers a more experimental take than the classic style of Amaro’s cocktails and includes Amalfi Lemon, featuring lemongrass gin to create a zesty profile, and Vanilla and Sakura: vanilla soda coupled with Italicus and the sweet notes of Mancino Sakura Vermouth. Plus, until 14 January, Twice Shy will operate a soft launch menu offering a 25 per cent discount on the total bill. Chin chin!
Twice Shy is open at 14 Hogarth Place, SW5 0QT, visit twiceshy.co.uk
The fairs: London Art Fair and The Decorative Art Fair
London Art Fair returns to the capital in January to kick off the international 2024 art calendar at the Business Design Centre in Islington. Offering both seasoned and aspiring collectors a diverse selection of modern and contemporary art, the fair will feature work by some of the world’s most renowned artists, including Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Bridget Riley and David Hockney. This month, it will also host its annual curated spaces including Photo50, the critical forum for examining distinctive elements of current photographic practice; Encounters, showcasing the freshest contemporary art from across the globe; and Platform, which will bring together art from 10 galleries that reflects the resilience, beauty and passion of queer love and life.
The winter 2024 edition of The Decorative Fair will return to Battersea from 23-28 January. Attracting more than 130 international designers and collectors, who come to browse for inspiration and shop a comprehensive collection of decorative and fine antiques and 20th century design, discover an array of furniture, lighting, mirrors and a wide variety of art from all periods. Having attracted the likes of actress Jodie Comer, film director Emerald Fennell and Lady Bamford of Daylesford at its autumn event, The Decorative Art Fair is certainly the place to be and be seen in the art world this month. Plus, top trends on show include antique blue and white china, mahogany side tables, art nouveau glass and modernist studio ceramics.
London Art Fair is open from 17-21 January at Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, N1 0QH, visit londonartfair.co.uk; The Decorative Art Fair is open from 23-28 January at London Evolution, Battersea Park, SW11 4NW, visit decorativefair.com
The events: Games Night at The Beaumont Hotel, An Evening with Ella Mills at Ham Yard Hotel and Re-Connect at The Petersham
For those whose love for board games was reignited during the Christmas break, kick off the new month with The Beaumont’s new Games Night series, hosted in the chic Gatsby's Room on 9 January. Paying homage to the old world elegance and playfulness of the 1920s, guests are invited to try their hand at backgammon, scrabble, chess and rummikub alongside champagne, cocktails, and decadent snacks. The series of game nights will then run throughout 2024 on the first Tuesday of every month.
Ella Mills. Image: Sophia Spring
Join best-selling food author Ella Mills, founder of Deliciously Ella, on 16 January for a special event at Soho’s Ham Yard Hotel to celebrate her new book, Healthy Made Simple. Covering her new work, her career and why she wants to make healthy eating easy for everyone, the talk will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. When booking, guests can make a dinner reservation to enjoy a healthy set menu that will be served in Ham Yard Restaurant.
Also on the topic of health, Anna Boglione – founder of The Gut and author of new book Recipes to Reconnect – will be hosting a series of events throughout 2024 called Re-connect at The Petersham in Covent Garden, where she will be inviting speakers and chefs who feature in her book to discuss topics related to planetary and human health. To kick off the series Boglione will be in conversation with author Dr Alana Collen discussing all things microbes, unpacking recent scientific developments and discussing how to improve gut health on 26 January. Post-discussion, tuck into a seasonal four-course menu by chef and fermentation expert, Rachel De Thample.
Games Night at The Beaumont will take place on 9 January at 8 Balderton Street, Brown Hart Gardens, W1K 6TF, visit thebeaumont.com; An Evening with Ella Mills at Ham Yard Hotel will take place on 16 January at 1 Ham Yard, W1D 7DT, visit firmdalehotels.com; The Gut Re-Connect Talk and Dinner at The Petersham will take place on 26 January at 2 Floral Street, WC2E 9FB, visit petershamnurseries.com
The supper clubs: Norma x Max La Manna and Benares’ Ayurvedic menu
Max La Manna, left, and Giovann Attard
Norma, Fitzrovia’s celebrated Sicilian-inspired restaurant, has partnered with award-winning chef and cookbook author, Max La Manna, to serve a plant-based menu that celebrates sustainable, low-waste dining from 5-31 January. Together with Norma’s executive chef Giovann Attard, the pair will host a ticketed supper club on 4 January, where diners can also purchase a signed copy of La Manna’s You Can Cook This! The supper club menu will include a symphony of Italian flavours, inspired by seasonal produce both from Italy and the UK featuring roasted carrot raviolo with beetroot cream, courgette involtini with almond ricotta and winter tomato, marinated beetroot with orange, pistachio and mint and coconut panna cotta served with citrus sorbet.
Focusing on the body and mind, Benares – the Michelin-starred Indian restaurant on Mayfair’s Berkeley Square – will launch an Ayurvedic set menu from 8 January. Centred around Ayurvedic principles of balancing different types of energy within the body through spices, ingredients and textures in food, executive chef Sameer Taneja, has curated a menu to aid the transition into the colder months. Expect warming dishes of chestnut and celeriac samosa tartlet and kale kofta with winter squash nihari, paired with a soothing Turmeric Toddy packed with nourishing ingredients of fresh ginger, lemon, turmeric, agave and black pepper.
Norma x Max La Manna supper club will take place on 4 January at 8 Charlotte Street, W1T 2LS, visit normalondon.com; Benares’ Ayurvedic set menu is available from 8 January to 5 February 2024 at 12a Berkeley Square, W1J 6BS, visit benaresrestaurant.com
The festivals: The Future of Wellness and Battersea Power Station’s Light Festival
The Beauty Triangle will host The Future of Wellness – an immersive wellbeing day festival that brings together the very best practitioners and brands across industry – on 20 January at 180 Strand. Staging a programme of panel talks, workshops and events, discover expert insights into a range of topics, from women’s health to the latest skin-perfecting products, and the most cutting-edge non-surgical procedures to alternative therapies. Visitors will also have the opportunity to discover new innovations in treatments, procedures, and products as well as meeting face-to-face with some of the UK’s most sought-after doctors, such as Dr Shirin Lakhani, Rosemary Ferguson, Ross J Barr and Sarah Chapman. Plus, each ticket holder will leave with a goody bag worth over £200 filled with products from some of the world’s leading beauty and wellness brands.
Battersea Power Station’s annual Light Festival is returning bigger and brighter than ever before to illuminate winter evenings from 25 January. The free, month-long festival will feature seven artworks from British and international artists on display inside the power station and around the surrounding riverside neighbourhood. Highlights include LightPiano by Arion de Munck and Mark Ridder in Turbine Hall B, where visitors are able to simultaneously play a piano and play with light with a unique instrument, and the Large Diamond by Dutch artist, Freerk Wilbers: a moving installation which consists of 183 diamond-shape pieces of special reflective material. There will also be a schedule of musicians performing on Monday to Wednesday evenings throughout the festival, inspired by different themes such as movie soundtracks.
The Future of Wellness Festival will take place on 20 January at 180 Strand, WC2R 1EA, visit eventbrite.com; Battersea Power Station’s Light Festival will run from 25 January to 25 February 2024, visit batterseapowerstation.co.uk
