London
On the surface of it, this looks like a terrible piece of project management; they've moved the furniture in before finishing the structural renovations. If Sarah Beeny was here someone would be for the high jump. But no, this isn't a candidate for...
Melbourne
You might think an ecclesiastical theme an odd choice for a bar, but let's not forget that devout monks have been knocking out home-brew for centuries. In fact, to understand the Bishop of Ostia, in the Melbourne district of East Brunswick, you have...
Austin
Bar camouflaged as a bakery, or the other way around? Anyway, this slinky establishment offers both bread and wine, the upstairs area being for the buns. The décor, by designer-to-the-stars Veronica Koltuniak, is intriguingly at odds with the...
Schiedam
A pair of stepladders isn't the most obvious choice of inspiration for an art installation, but the chaps from Studio Bertjan Pot like to work with what they have, and at the time of the conception of Stairway to Heaven, that was what happened to be...
Manchester
Manchester's not a city usually associated with sunshine, hawaiian shirts and tropical delights, but that's exactly what greets you on a visit to tiki-themed dive bar The Liars Club. Indeed, the rain-soaked streets above the basement bar became a...
Athens
A bar called Bogart and not a film poster in sight. You could knock me down with a feather. The rather menacingly named Studio Omerta are responsible for this cliché-free refit in Athens, and while there are no obvious traces of Humph, there is...
Philadelphia
I wish I could type out the sound Homer Simpson makes when thinking about something he really wants to eat, because that's the sound I was making looking around Pizza Brain in Philadelphia. I'll give it a go anyway. Gaaaaarrrrllllllllgggghh. Add...
Moscow
Kluchi, a must-be-seen-in new club in Moscow, is a real mixture of styles, partly owing to the turbulent history of the building and partly due to its protected status. Built in the 18th Century, the property was reduced to a stone skeleton by...
Vancouver
We love a good Mexican, but the surroundings at the Tacofino Commissary in Vancouver elevates this to a great Mexican, and that's before we've even tasted the tacos. Beginning in 2009 in Tofino, British Columbia, as a food truck, the rapid growth...
Hong Kong
Barcelona-inspired tapas bar Boqueria has proven such a success at its flagship New York location that it has expanded its horizons to offer the traditional taste of Spain in cosmopolitan Hong Kong. There are plenty of authentic design touches at...
Coahuila
You'll be fascinated to know that I've just started learning Spanish, and while I can tell you that the men are eating apples, I had to cheat to find out Montero means Huntsman, a name which sits perfectly with the game interior of this Mexican...
Sydney
Occupying the berth previously home to Pier, The Sailors Club is the new must-visit restaurant in Sydney Harbour's Rose Bay, reeling in the punters with a mixture of high-energy décor and a modern yet accessible menu. Jacqui Lewis, owner Greg...
Stuff Crush
Weirdness is a notion long entwined with the concept of creativity. Mocked by the strait-laced confined to their boxes of conformism, celebrated by the bold and the brave who pursue the outré as a means of pushing beyond the banal. In Weird...
City Notes
In Montreal’s Little Italy, a new arrival is making waves with a fresh take on Italian dining. Pasta Pooks, which opened in March 2025, is a compact five-seat takeout counter serving pasta and natural wine in a space that marries Old World charm...
City Notes
A once-forgotten 19th-century residence in Savannah’s historic district has been brought spectacularly back to life, reincarnated as The Douglas; a refined 16-room boutique hotel at 14 East Oglethorpe Avenue, where design meets old-world...
Dispatches
In a country where club floors open with Buddhist chants and Ladyboys offer dawn alms in corsets and stilettos, Elizabeth Waterman has found a world of contradictions too vivid to ignore. Over the past three years, and across four extended trips,...
Dispatches
Moving, renovating, or downsizing in a fast-growing city like Dallas can quickly become overwhelming. Between tight housing transitions, unpredictable weather, and the sheer logistics of packing up a home or office, it’s easy to feel buried under...
Dispatches
Drivers race the yellow light constantly. It's become normal behavior. Someone sees the light turn yellow and accelerates to beat it rather than slowing down. Another driver is already committed to going through. They collide in the middle of the...
Dispatches
Once upon a time, hotels were where we went to escape real life, and homes were where we returned to it. Today, that separation is disappearing. The warmth, comfort, and design sophistication that once defined boutique hotels are now finding their...
Dispatches
Moving is one of those life events that sits somewhere between chaos and reinvention. It’s stressful, yes — but it’s also a rare opportunity to start over. To touch every object you own, question its purpose, and decide what kind of person...