James Brown of Blue Mountain School’s Perfect Saturday in London

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This article is part of the FT Globetrotter article. london guide

Spending a Saturday in London seems like a real luxury to me, as we are usually traveling, working or spending time at our home in West Sussex. When opportunity presents itself, we tend to make the most of it by adapting as much as we can.

My wife Christie and I often start early with breakfast at E5 Pastry Shop, a bakery, mill and shop located in the railway arches next to London Fields station. We always order scrambled eggs with chilli oil on what I think is the best bread in London, and stock up on provisions for the weekend: their homemade granola, chocolate beans and the signature Hackney Wild bread, a sourdough Simple wheat with a sweet character.

From there we usually wind down Hackney Road and make a quick stop at Columbia Highwayone of my favorite streets in London with its series of commercial buildings dating back to the 1860s. is home to 60 independent companies from delicatessens, pubs, cafes and restaurants to gardening, antique and vintage shops, as well as the famous weekly newspaper flowers market. It’s a pleasure to people watch spending a weekend there, and I like to go in and buy records from Vinyl Delivery Service, located inside the wine store. Idle momentswhich features an excellent selection of rare Japanese vinyl.

Most of the day is usually spent visiting as many galleries and art exhibitions as possible. At Stuart Shave’s House Modern Art in helmet row, on Old Street, we recently saw a beautiful group exhibition that included some of our favorite artists, including Lucian Freud, Leon Kossoff, Lubaina Himid and Michael Andrews. As we head deeper into central London, we often pass the AA Bookstorea store specializing in architecture located in a semi-detached house in Bedford Squareand spend a good hour searching the shelves for inspiration. We recently picked up a copy of The Sketch 192: 6a Architectsthe issue of the international architecture magazine dedicated exclusively to the London-based studio. We are currently working on a new project in the north of Scotland and sources like this are essential to us.

While I’m in the area, I like to run into Shrine to the Vine, the team behind Noble Rot’s bottle shop in Lamb’s Conduit Street. They always have exceptional, ever-evolving wines from interesting producers at reasonable prices, and it’s one of the few places I can look for Eben Sadie’s Columella in London.

From there, we headed to St James’s, a part of the city where I like to spend a lot of time for its array of galleries and restaurants. ben hunter has a keen eye for modern British artists alongside an excellent and focused contemporary programme. He currently has a solo exhibition of new paintings by Jared Ginsburg, a talented friend of mine from South Africa. A program that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about was Hazlitt Holland-Hibbertthe sublime exhibition of self-portraits by Frank Auerbach; I must have visited it seven or eight times.

When it’s time to eat, we’ll stop at Francisco House for its impeccable service and delicious menu throughout the day. Both Christie and I love it boeuf tartare prepared at the minute, which is prepared on the table. I have a very sweet tooth, so it is always followed by cake with potatoes from the dessert cart.

After a pleasant break, we take a quick walk to Mayfair to visit David Zwirnera gallery where I have been collecting for almost 10 years: works by Alice Neel, Oscar Murillo, Jockum Nordström, Lucas Arruda, Rose Wylie and Gordon Matta-Clark, among others.

I will also make time to enter adreta few roads away Clifford Street, which is one of London’s best independent clothing retailers. Adam and his business partner Seto sell one-of-a-kind pieces from their menswear line, all handmade in Indonesia using rare textiles and fabrics. Each piece is unique. They don’t have an e-store or online information, so you have to go to the store if you want to see what’s new, which is very refreshing these days. I love their bomber jackets and zip-up sweaters.

If we have time, and especially if it’s summer, a weekend should include a trip to Hampstead Heath for a swim in the mixed pond; It has become a true ritual for both of us and a magical way to end a warm day. Then it’s a cold shower and a quick Guinness on The Wells Tavern before heading to Newington Green to meet friends for dinner at the wonderful first-timer, which is a kind of second home and a special restaurant for us. The owners, David and Jeremie, are close friends and we have been dining here since it opened in 2014. It is full of charm and character, with great music and comfortable chairs that you can sink into for hours. David’s approach to proper cooking is full of flavor and elegance – there’s no better restaurant in London to sample the seasonal small plates menu while sampling one of the city’s best low-intervention wine cellars. It’s everything a neighborhood restaurant should be. And the best part: it’s a short walk to our home in London, where I can savor the day’s delicacies.

James Brown is the co-founder of Blue Mountain Schoola multidisciplinary art, retail and restaurant space in Shoreditch, east London.

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