Lela London

Personally, we’re baffled by their return, but perhaps we need to be a little more open-minded…

Founder Olly Hiscocks launched OLLY'S eight years ago, spotting a market gap for convenient, everyday olive snacks. He aimed to transform olives from awkward, briny deli items into portable, unpasteurised pouches that retained flavour and texture. Overcoming initial skepticism and supplier challenges, Hiscocks strategically positioned OLLY'S as a crisp alternative, placing products in high-footfall locations. This approach fueled remarkable growth, with the brand now in over 10,000 stockists across 20 countries, selling millions of pouches and generating significant revenue. OLLY'S has since expanded into other snacks like pretzel thins, adhering to a "health at the heart, flavour to the full" ethos.

This month's guide highlights where to eat in London now. Sale e Pepe Mare offers glamorous, seafood-focused Italian cuisine with a grand-hotel ambiance, ideal for a sophisticated evening. For a vibrant Saturday, MITSU's Japanese market brunch features sushi, robata, and even a "Big Fish Energy" tuna carving event with karaoke. Oranj provides a unique World Cup experience, pairing natural wines with a creative burger series where chefs interpret nations. Arcade Covent Garden, a new dynamic food hall, solves group dining dilemmas with diverse culinary concepts from burgers to Greek-Cypriot fare. Lastly, Cocktails in the City returns to Bedford Square Gardens, uniting London's top bars, street food, and live music for an exceptional drinks festival.

From a Tokyo-style brunch to World Cup burgers, these are the London restaurants, pop-ups and food events worth booking this month.

Alice Parmiter and Wynter Karo launched Pimentae in 2021, creating a premium canned margarita market in the UK despite initial industry skepticism about tequila's image and ready-to-drink quality. As female founders navigating a capital-intensive sector, they strategically focused on high-quality Mexican tequila and diverse product formats. Pimentae rapidly secured over 900 national listings, including major retailers and British Airways, becoming the UK's leading grocery margarita. Their innovative use of festivals for marketing and resilience through challenges like tequila shortages and funding biases ultimately attracted a significant investment from Diageo-backed Distill Ventures, positioning them for global expansion.

We asked some of our favourite whisky producers for the tips, tricks and recommendations required to nail your next whisky purchase

London's August dining scene offers compelling reasons to stay in the city. This month's top recommendations include IGNI in Mayfair, an ambitious, seafood-focused open-fire restaurant by Theo Clench, praised for its intricate technique and ideal for special occasions. For a vibrant alfresco experience, COYA City's courtyard provides lighter Peruvian dishes, ceviches, and superb cocktails, perfect for summer lunches. Brown's Hotel in Mayfair offers a grand breakfast, featuring the standout Crab Omelette Arnold Bennett, a rich and savory indulgence. Finally, La Lluna in Whetstone shines as an excellent local Spanish tapas spot, known for its traditional, generous dishes like paella, warm hospitality, and a charming garden, ideal for group dining.

Where to eat in London now: the best restaurants to book this month, from spectacular hotel breakfasts to tasting menus, tapas and summer courtyards.

Vapoura, a new English luxury rum brand, is challenging perceptions of the category. Founded by former rugby players Olly Barkley and Ed Jackson, it aims to establish English rum's credibility, much like English sparkling wine. While molasses is sourced from Mauritius, Vapoura emphasizes its "Englishness" through local production, control, and transparency in distillation, maturation, and bottling. The brand offers Chapter One, a craft-led spiced rum, and Chapter Two, a golden rum for sipping. Founders prioritize product quality and a long-term vision, building brand culture through on-trade partnerships and unique collaborations like their "After Stories" music series.

For most of its modern tourism history, the Maldives has sold a singular fantasy. Turquoise lagoons, villas suspended above the Indian Ocean, the promise of almost total escape.