What to get up to in London this bank holiday weekend (2024)

This bank holiday promises a great deal. There are a whole host of major events and exhibitions on in London this month, signalling the start to what’s often referred to as the “summer season”, but this weekend's guide shuns the ordinary in favour of the somewhat lesser-known.

From US comedians making their UK debut to two-day raves, this is a guide for the curious. We also have news of a huge celebration of African culture and a live music festival in South London.

As ever, there is food and drink galore, with a new sun trap terrace to keep revellers happy in the heat, and restaurant openings which promise east London a slice of European grandeur.

This bank holiday weekend, take a leaf (or two) out of this book and discover something somewhat off the beaten track.

Grand cafes are normally the sort of thing you’d find in Paris or Vienna, or perhaps Mayfair, but hip Hoxton is getting a touch of Euro glamour with the opening of Brush. A menu of all-day dining classics such as roast chicken and wiener schnitzel sit alongside a range of trendy flatbreads and smartly made co*cktails. A bank holiday boozy brunch belter.

Kricket first appeared in Pop Brixton nearly a decade ago and in that time the vibrant modern Indian restaurant has gone from strength to strength. Their Soho restaurant feels as tightly put together as ever with rousing tomato pani puri, kashmiri lamb ribs and “Keralan Fried Chicken”: a more than acceptable riff on a famous fast food brand.

Taking over the vast suntrap that is the Weston Terrace at the National, Forza Taps is the latest offering from the successful Forza Wine and and Forza Win collective. Serving on-tap drinks, alongside a few signature “Italian-ish” snacks, expect seasonal, sunny things — think basil and pork-grattato and courgettes with garlic and mint — and more than a few of the venue’s famous “Custardos” (coffee and custard).

A catered party ‘til late? No reservations, £5 on the door, and DJs, this is about as close to a wine rave as one can get. Joshua Bratt of Carousel and Jake Norman of Trullo have teamed up with Diarmuid Goodwin of Sager + Wilde to serve some seasonal plates alongside glasses of “undiscovered gems” of the natty wine world. A proper little party.

The V&A’s latest oversized photography exhibition feels less bloated and more encyclopaedic. It amasses a vast catalogue of images from Sir Elton John and partner David Furnish’s private collection, exploring fashion, portraiture, culture, style and the thread connecting it all: beauty. Tickets are scarce, so grab one while you can.

V&A, Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL, vam.ac.uk

Another newly opened show arrives from the Garden Museum, Lambeth, with a special focus on the green spaces which surrounded the women of the famed Bloomsbury set. From Virginia Woolf and her garden at Monk’s House to arts patron and photographer Lady Ottoline Morrell who presided over Garsington Manor, this exhibition explores the impact these gardens and landscapes had on this most influential cohort.

Produced alongside the RHS flower show (also on this week) Chelsea in Bloom is the more relaxed, open floral display which spans a greater area within SW3. Pleasingly, this year's theme (Floral Feasts) lends a little focus on the food of Chelsea, with edible elements to some of the street-side installations and restaurants from the Cadogan Arms to the Surprise, each serving special dishes.

Over in Spitalfields this weekend some 60 traders and vendors, restaurants and craftspeople are setting up shop to celebrate all things African, with an emphasis on West African dining. Alongside all that food, Culture Tree’s documentary ÀWÒRÁN is set to be screened.

The latest National Maritime Museum exhibition celebrates the lives of the pioneering women who helped found the RNLI and who continue to support the charity’s operations today. Marking 200 years of the RNLI, the exhibition touches on personal essays from volunteers, photography and documentary film to showcase this little-talked-about part of the organisation’s rich history.

National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, SE10 9NF, www.rmg.co.uk

In Greenwich, the tenth anniversary party for 338 Studio sees a stellar line up of DJs on from around 4pm Sunday until the wee hours of Monday. In other words: a true all-nighter. Expect techno and house from headliner DJ Raresh and more relaxed beats from the well-known Priku in the gorgeous covered-and-open-air venue. A ravers’ paradise.

Making his UK debut, actor Jordan Rock — who starred in the Netflix show “Love” in 2016 — takes to the comedy stage alongside seasoned comedians Shabbz Kariem, Kyrah Gray and Wilson Milton. Rock, brother to the more famous Chris, is punishingly self-aware (self-styled as “the most affordable Rock”) and this bank holiday special, hosted inside the famed arches under Waterloo, should be a treat.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Young Fathers and Slowdive headline this thumping Brockwell Park festival. Promising to showcase the most interesting up-and-coming musicians in a line up alongside a range of established favourites, the festival is a blend of eclectic genres, all fiercely independent and, where possible, locally sourced (such as south London’s own Fat Dog).

Later this month, chef Atul Kochhar is set to welcome one of Britain’s most celebrated chefs, Michael Caines MBE, to his Mayfair restaurant Kanishka, for the next instalment of his four hands dinner series. The menu is set to include scallop tartare, roasted best end of Devon lamb, and a roasted quail with onion and truffle confit. A blow-out dinner for the end of the month? Something to look forward to.