Marylebone: the village that reads the papers
Long lunches, a Viennese café, the best coffee in W1 and Regent's Park at the end of the street.
The brief
Marylebone is the most liveable half-mile in central London, and it behaves accordingly: no queues, no scene, and a set of restaurants that have been quietly excellent for years while W1 argued about something else.
Where to eat
Carlotta for Italian-American on a scale that makes an ordinary Tuesday feel like an occasion. Fischer's for schnitzel, herrings and a Viennese room that does not acknowledge the existence of the internet. Beast London for the steak-and-crab version of dinner. Patty & Bun on James Street for the honest lunch.
Where to drink
The Lucky Saint on Great Portland Street — a proper pub that happens to pour the best pint of nothing in London, and pours real ones too. Marylebone Lane's small bars for the hour before dinner.
Coffee and daytime
Workshop Coffee for the flat white, Roots & Bulbs when the week has been long, Joe & The Juice on the High Street when it has been longer.
The culture
The Wallace Collection is the best free hour in central London: armour, Rembrandts, and a glazed courtyard for lunch afterwards. Then Regent's Park for the walk.
One rule
Come on a Saturday morning. High Street market, coffee, Wallace Collection, park — the most civilised day out in Zone 1.