If you've ever played Monopoly, you'd know that Central London is where everyone really wants to be. AMBIKA MUTTOO tells you how to do the tourist thing the right way in the poshest, but coolest part of town
Whyarewe Marylebone fans? Elegant Georgian townhouses line the streets, with their white stucco and black railings. The palette here is refined, with soft cream façades and hints of pastels via trim. It's a taste of London's quieter grandeur, while being right in the thick of things (read: also extremely well connected, in terms of transport with the Marble Arch, Baker Street and Bond Street tube stations being handy). A 'hood that we highly recommend here is a chic, leafy enclave called Portman Square. Occupying one of its most handsome addresses is the Nobu Hotel. You heard that correctly. Nobu, aka, the iconic offering from world-class Japanese chef and restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa, also has hotels across the globe.
There are many reasons to choose to stay here. The location is elite. Go South and you're within minutes of Oxford Street and walking distance to Bond Street and Mayfair. Head West to get to Hyde Park, or East for Fitzrovia and Baker Street. North gets you to Regent's Park, and, more importantly, to our most loved haunts, aka Marylebone High Street and the narrower but equally cool Chiltern Street. Here is where you must stop for a coffee at the hipster Monocle Café (hey, everything in this slice of London is aposto del cuore, so feel free to explore), while you make your way to staunch favourites such as Daunt Books (above) or fashion's IYKYK spot, Shreeji Newsagents. On the way, you can and must stop off at the Wallace Collection (below). It is the former townhouse (read: massive mansion) of the Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive, exquisite art collection it houses, along with the Marquesses of Hertford, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Last we were there, we got to see Caravaggio'sCupid.
A mere minute away from the hotel is also Home House, which is basically the VIP of private members' clubs in London, and was designed by Robert Adams in the 1770s. Here's another fact, in case you're a history buff: up until the mid '50s, the site of the Nobu Hotel and Portman Towers - at the north-west corner of the Square - was occupied by Montagu House. It was a townhouse set in one of London's largest private gardens and, for a century or so, housed the descendants of Elizabeth Montagu, the celebrated 18th century critic, social reformer, writer, and hostess. It is now, as it was then, the epicentre of all things, with the luxury of being shut away from all the noise.
From the vantage point of the Nobu, the city recedes and that is largely due to the design of London stalwarts Make Architects, who have fashioned the ground and first floors in a dark reconstituted stone, aligning with the area's Georgian neighbours. Step inside to be greeted by a double-height entrance lobby (above). At its centre hangs a five-metre kinetic sculpture by British artist Ivan Black: a slowly rotating helix of slim rectangular rods. It's the perfect meeting point of Japanesemonozukuri and refined English design. This light-filled area flows naturally into a contemporary lounge where a Deco-style mirrored bar showcasessake and Japanese whisky. Open two heavy doors beyond and you enter a darker, moodier dimension - the main bar where the music turns naughty and the crowd glamorous, sipping Sakura cocktails. David Collins Studio designed the public areas and the resulting pieces of art housed here are astounding, from the carved wood chandelier by South African artist David Cramer taking over the bar ceiling, to the Jeremy Maxwell hand-blown glass sculpture that hangs above reception.
Upstairs, it's all very serene and zen, with rooms with pale English oak panelling, fitted following the laws of seamless Japanese joinery. Curtains sweeping the floor in buttery neutrals, beds enormous and dressed in silky white linen, and bathrooms marble clad with deep soaking tubs from Bette, walk-in rain showers, and Grown Alchemist products. Oh, to luxuriate in cocoon-like bedding while sipping tea from vintage-looking Japanese tea sets. Update: there's nothing sexier than drinking cold champers from a porcelain cup.
While these are all ample reasons for you to plan your trip, we've left the best for last. This slice of Central is a gastronomical delight. Don't forget that you're 20 minutes away from Soho and all its many, many culinary delights from cuisines across the globe, from Jamaican to Korean. However, you're at a Nobu. Fine dining is part of its DNA, so you're truly at the top of the pyramid. The main restaurant sprawls across an open-plan first floor with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the square, finished in dark teak with geometric wall panelling, stone-topped tables, and canary yellow banquettes by Edelman Leather. Along one wall, the sushi counter operates with the focused efficiency of a Tokyo kitchen transplanted wholesale to W1H. Morning breakfast also occurs in the same room, with sunlight filtering in through the canopy of the surrounding trees. There's a smartly-edited buffet and menu - our favourites are theShiro Tamago (egg white omelette), alongside cured meats and smoked fish and the freshly-baked pastries. Far too manypain aux raisins were consumed, but washed down with the jetlag-banishing ginger shots. Work them off at the Pilates studio, which is a true local gem. Classes are a hot commodity and get filled very fast.
Evening, though, is when things get sexy. Custom lighting by Dernier & Hamlyn sets the glow, and the buzz in the air is electrifying. The Seasonal Omakase is where the kitchen reveals its full range, and the vegetarian menu option is where it also revels with imagination. This was approached with honest trepidation - Nobu's identity is so thoroughly bound to its fish, after all. What arrived across 12 courses was a correction of that assumption. Miso-glazed aubergine, for instance, appears with the same gravitas as the famous black cod it echoes. That black cod miso - marinated for days until it caramelises to something between lacquer and velvet - is akin to the brand's heartbeat. It's a dish that has been ordered a million times across Nobu's global estate. And, yet, the vegetarian menu held its own in an unquestionable manner. Each plant-based course arrives with the discipline of haiku, and the kitchen's seasonal produce choices shift the menu continuously, so returning guests rarely find the same meal twice.
The question of why Nobu is always top tier is one worth answering for yourself. Here, at its Central London post, it reveals a rare, almost contradictory quality. You're simultaneously at the heart of the city and in a refuge from it. This is not the London of tourist checklists, even with its enviable postcode. It is the London of people who understand that the best version of a city reveals itself slowly, over a long breakfast, in the turret of a bookstore, in a meticulously-crafted cocktail, or in the hush of a museum… all in one day. Come for the legend. Stay for everything else.