Dolphin Square’sGuide to living
in Pimlico
ww.dolphinsquare.co.uk/dolphin-square/properties/
Pimlico is London’s great enigma. Despite being primely located in Zone 1, between Victoria station and the River Thames, it has always flown under
the radar. Despite its Tate gallery and tube station, this is an area which most Londoners miss: funnily-
named and easily-neglected.
Yet this modesty is exactly what makes Pimlico brilliant.
Those in the know relish a low-key London gem; a plucky
place which reveals its charms but gradually. The soon-
to-be superstar chefs and moved-in maestros. The
secret shopping scene and London-leading vintage. The
unexpectedly beautiful apartment blocks, the flowery
cottages borrowed from the English countryside and the
palpable whiff of community spirit. Even the underground
rivers and appointment-only art stashes
That’s where this mini-guide comes in. Read on for our
insider tips on Pimlico’s best eats, weekend treats, secret
treasures and nearby pleasures.
HIGH-END FOOD, LOW-END PRICES
Secreted away on the northern corner of lovely Vincent Square is
this dining haunt for clever clogs. The Vincent Rooms, you see, are
part of Westminster Kingsway College’s hospitality department
– whose impressive alumni includes Sophie Wright, Jamie Oliver
and Ainsley Harriott – and its cooks are the school’s second and
third-year chef students. Decidedly innovative, these future stars’
menus alter daily and span two venue options: the airy, mod-
ern European-serving Brasserie (open daily for lunch and Tues,
Weds & Thurs evenings in term time), which faces the square’s
tree-lined school playing fields, and the intimate, haute-cuisine
Escoffier Room (daily lunch and Weds & Thurs evenings in term
time) at the rear. Tasting menus start from just £27.50.
76 Vincent Square, SW1P 2PD
020 7802 8391
westking.ac.uk/about-us/vincent-rooms-restaurant
D O L P H I N S Q U A R E ’ S G U I D E T O L I V I N G I N P I M L I C O
LEADER OF THE PACK
Wilton Road has had the makings of a gourmand’s paradise for
years now, with quality establishments mushrooming up both
sides. Its newest arrival is the clincher. A marriage of ex-Brawn
and The Square chef Peter Hall and former River Cafe somme-
lier Katie Exton, homely Lorne delivers a wholesome, zesty and
unstintingly modern taste of Britain. Witness the mackerel with
pickled cucumber and nasturtium, the confit quail under butter-
nut squash, barley and mountain yam, or simply the sensation-
ally celeriac velouté, foaming around some poached haddock.
Exton’s European wine list is marvellous, too, and there’s even
‘builders’ tea ice cream’ for pudding. The catch? Though pleas-
antly pale-hued and full of pot plants, Lorne’s teeny interior
doesn’t fit many and word is spreading – leaving many would-be
diners disappointed. In other words? Book yonks ahead.
76 Wilton Road, SW1V 1DE
020 3327 0210
lornerestaurant.co.uk
BestRestaurantsin Pimlico
BEST OF BRITISH
Pimlico’s coolest hotel is the Artist’s Residence, a chic backstreet
townhouse to Victoria station. Below its ten shabby-chic
bedrooms sits the small, brightly bedecked Cambridge Street
Kitchen restaurant. Championing British producers wherever
possible, it’s open all day, but dinners are best: changing monthly,
seasonal menus include treats like duck breast beside pickled
cherries and gingerbread, or sirloin steak served with broccoli,
malted Shiitake mushrooms and smoked anchovy butter –
plus a suggested wine or ale pairing in every case. Before
all that, though, begin by sipping a Passport to Pimlico (gin,
hibiscus, elderflower, dry Curacao, sparkling wine) in the low-lit,
speakeasy-style Clarendon Cocktail Cellar, and enquire about this
building’s history as a Victorian pub of, well, dubious character.
76 Vincent Square, SW1P 2PD
020 7802 8391
westking.ac.uk/about-us/vincent-rooms-restaurant
SPANISH SPARKLE
Just north of Dolphin Square, Spanish joint Goya seduces
with its neighbourhood atmosphere and permanent gaggle
of loyal locals. You’ll soon understand why they keep
coming. Casual diners sit upstairs, including around a small
bar which has sangria and Estrella on draught and, the
weather allowing, a small pavement terrace. A more formal
experience awaits in the basement, with waiter serviced,
white-clothed tables and shadowy alcoves perfect for dates.
Staff are uniformly friendly, prices uniformly low and portions
uniformly huge, be they tapas or main courses. Standouts
include tender grilled lamb cutlets, seafood paellas, creamy
croquettes and husks of Manchego cheese with quince jelly,
plus Galician almond tarts for dessert.
34 Lupus Street, SW1V 3EB
020 7976 5309
goyarestaurant.co.uk
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OLD-SCHOOL OPTION
If you’re used to Michelin-star dining and the finest produce,
then the Regency Cafe won’t be for you. But if incredibly low
prices and authentic atmosphere matter far more, prepare to
grin broadly. Located just beyond the Tate Britain, the Regency
Cafe is an homage to the Bakelite era: think photo-cluttered
cream tiles and formica tabletops. No wonder it has appeared
in films like Layer Cake and 2010’s Brighton Rock remake. In
this age of granola and quinoa, the menu is also determinedly
simple, and gaspingly cheap: full English breakfasts cost
a piffling £2,55, while lunch specials – steak and chips,
Shepherd’s Pie – are 6.25. Note that the cafe is cash-only, and
only opens from 7am-2.30pm and 4pm-7.15pm, with weekend
hours limited to 7am-midday on Saturdays.
17-19 Regency St, SW1P 4BY
020 7821 6596
regencycafe.co.uk
TopUnusual Finds
in Pimlico
RUMMAGE HEAVEN
“A re-absorption of objects into the fabric of life” – that’s how
owner Karen Turner summarises her brilliant, bonkers shop on
Tachbrook Street. Primarily, Cave is an exchange: furniture,
clothes, jewellery, dolls, desk chairs, deckchairs and deck shoes
might all be on offer, along with the odd Smeg fridge or Chanel
lampshade. Everything is selectively chosen, with many donations
declined; this is by no means a junk shop. If items don’t sell, they
then get creatively upcycled by everyone from A-Level printmakers
to Karen’s artisan-carpenter husband, Nigel in an adjacent studio.
There’s also a gallery space, life-drawing classes on Thursday
nights and, newly, the Cake Hole: a repurposed food wagon
serving crepes and toasties to sofa-resting shoppers. Best of all,
you’ll always receive a warm welcome, and no pressure to buy.
81 Tachbrook Street, SW1V 2QP
020 7592 9155
cavepimlico.co.uk
D O L P H I N S Q U A R E ’ S G U I D E T O L I V I N G I N P I M L I C O
VIEWS AND A VICTIM
A small, sleepy rectangle of plane trees, dark green
grass and wood benches, Pimlico Gardens sits astride
the Thames facing Battersea Power Station; all in all, it’s
a lovely spot in which to meditate or read. But there’s
also a more morbid reason for coming here. At the
Gardens’ eastern end is a classical marble statue of one
William Huskisson, made by the acclaimed sculptor John
Gibson. Despite his toga and scroll here, Huskisson was
a 19th-century MP who is best known as, supposedly, the
world’s first-ever railway casualty. Commissioned soon
after his 1830 death on the just-opened Liverpool & Man-
chester Railway, this rather bizarre tribute was originally
intended for Liverpool’s Custom House, but ended up in
Pimlico by dint of being too big.
myparks.westminster.gov.uk/parks/pimlico-gardens
A re-absorption of objects into
the fabric of life
SQUARE ROUTE
London squares don’t come handsomer than this sidestreet
spellbinder. Vincent Square is found just off busy Vauxhall Bridge
Road, but you won’t know it from the snoozy, villagey atmos-
phere. Framing cricket and rugby pitches owned by Westminster
School, its four long sides are each attractive thanks to stone
and weathered-brick Edwardian houses, stately trees and black
lanterns lit at dusk. Loveliest of all are the flower-festooned
northeastern and southeastern stretches, whose bucolic feel
makes it near-impossible to believe that this same land was once
a horrid plague pit. Look out for a sculpture of Greek fertility god
Priapus – carrying a pair of shears in acknowledgement of the
neighbouring Royal Horticultural Society hall – as you stroll the
entire 0.5-mile-perimeter, and make sure to detour down Maun-
sel Street, whose pastel-coloured facades render it SW1’s most
Instagrammable road.
D O L P H I N S Q U A R E ’ S G U I D E T O L I V I N G I N P I M L I C O
TRACING THE TYBURN
What’s long, winding, centuries-old and virtually impossible to
spy? The River Tyburn, that’s what. One of London’s ‘lost rivers’,
the Tyburn was culverted in the 1800s. It still flows under Pimlico,
however, with traces evident to the keen-eyed. Named after the
same stretch of water, Tachbrook Street’s riverine curves ape
the Tyburn’s course beneath, while anyone willing to put an ear
to one of its grates will hear a telltale babble. Continue south to
Grosvenor Road, where a river-honouring plaque displays next to
Tyburn House. Just below, the phantom Tyburn sporadically feeds
the Thames via a sluiced arch. That’s a far cry from its glory days
as a fishing paradise; days which the Tyburn Angling Society is
currently campaigning to recreate, apparently unphased by the
need to demolish a certain Buckingham Palace.
HAT’S AMAZING
Sure, it sells menswear, from ties and trousers to canes
and cravates. But, above all, Le Monde sell hats. Amid its
narrow, dimly-lit space you’ll find Nelsons, Panamas, pork
pies and sombreros; bowlers, boaters, bonnets and berets.
A chaotic front window sets the tone, with thousands more
pieces covering every idiosyncratic inch of space inside.
It’s a multicoloured triumph of clutter, and one of London’s
most incredibly esoteric shops. At the rear is normally
found honcho Maurice Monde, almost 90 years young.
“Altogether, Le Monde has been open for half a century,” he
reveals. “We source our hats from around the world, and sell
them to the public, people in showbusiness, theatres and
hotel doormen.”
79 Wilton Road, SW1V 1DE
020 7828 4928
BestWeekend Options
in Pimlico
SECOND-HAND HEAVEN
Attention, bargain-hunting hounds: Pimlico boasts one of the
capital’s best clusters of charity shops. The epicentre is busy
Warwick Way, east of Belgrave Road, and the starting point
its Hospices of Hope (#40, SW1V 1RY). Cross the street to
womenswear specialist Sue Ryder, and then turn left onto Wilton
Way for Trinity Hospice, particularly strong on DVDs. Back on
Warwick Way you’ll first find Oxfam and its superb shoe selection
before three FARA shops. Where the main Warwick Way branch
stocks everyday garb, Tachbrook Street’s FARA Kids and Upper
Tachbrook Street’s RetroMania are as specialist as their names
suggest. The latter, a nostalgic fantasia of ‘60s memorabilia
and Pendleton waistcoats, is especially wondrous. Finish a block
south on Churton Street at Boutique, a Terence Higgins Trust store
hailed for cheap designerwear. Retail guru Mary Portas is
among the disciples.
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CHORAL CONCERT
Pimlico has three main constants: impressive, porticoed white
stucco mansions designed in the 1860s by master-builder
Thomas Cubitt, leafy garden squares, and magnificent churches.
Among the latter category, three stand-out. St James The Less is
simply enchanting, a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture
secluded off Vauxhall Bridge Road, its red-brick-and-stone
tower particularly magical. Admire too the surrounding Lillington
Garden estate, a multilayered marvel which is the most attractive
public housing you’ll ever find. Just east are two Grade II-listed
Thomas Cundy churches constructed from ragstone: Lupus
Street’s elegantly-spired St Saviour’s and the tranquil, tree-
fringed St Gabriel’s. This latter is superb on Sunday evenings,
when choral evensong – open to all – thrills the neck hairs of
every lucky listener.
Warwick Square, SW1V 2AD
020 7233 9431
stgabrielspimlico.com
PRETTY PICTURES
Pimlico’s headline act is undoubtedly Tate Britain, set near the
Thames amid John Islip Street’s redbrick terraces and devoted
to domestic artists. A rolling cycle of exhibitions – recent ones
have focused on David Hockney and London-made works by
French impressionist émigrés like Claude Monet – accompany
the astonishing permanent collection’s celebrated clump of
watery Turner paintings and pieces by everyone else from
Hogarth to Hepworth. Pieces by artists nominated for the
annually-controversial Turner Prize are also displayed every
autumn. You can visit the archives by special appointment,
while devoted Art in Focus talks, curator’s tours and late-night
Friday parties are regularly held. Post-art, head to the muraled
Rex Whistler Restaurant for a heady wine list or a small gift
shop to buy quirky greeting cards.
Millbank, SW1P 4RG
020 7887 8888
tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain
D O L P H I N S Q U A R E ’ S G U I D E T O L I V I N G I N P I M L I C O
CATCH A BAND
Music’s also available from 4.30 to 7:30pm on Sundays in
CASK Pub & Kitchen on Tachbrook Street – specifically, acoustic
bluegrass and traditional Irish music. That’s ample excuse
to sample this sprawling venue’s Sunday roasts or burgers
blending aged rib and rump beef from Pimlico’s own Freeman’s
Butchers (located on Lupus Street), a Royal Warrant holder by
appointment to Her Majesty The Queen, no less. CASK’s main
specialty, though, is beer: beside a constantly-rotating guest ale
selection, it has 15 kegs from global brewers and an extensive
selection of bottled craft beer list. Run by local Pimlican, Martin
Hayes, the place aspires to a high-quality, 21st century update to
the staple British pub.
6 Charlwood Street, SW1V 2EE
0207 630 7225
caskpubandkitchen.com
FROCKS AND FANCIES
A much posher consumer experience is available at the southern
stretch of Moreton Street, a few steps from Dolphin Square.
The bijou parade of boutiques here include children’s clothing-
makers Little Bevan, whose store stocks off-the-rack options,
and womenswear specialist Ulrich Engler Couture, where
personalised fittings are followed by perusals of cocktail dresses,
coats and day suits. Then there’s homeware specialist Victoria
Windsor and its cards, cushions, candles and jewellery, and the
small headquarters of celebrated interior designer Nicky Dobree.
Peek into Peta Smith’s Antique Textiles, too, and enter a exotic
world of tapestries and silk damasks. Sustenance is available in
curry form at Pimlico Tandoori or the Khallouk and Taylor cafe
– a pizza specialist by day, and wine bar of an evening – where
hanging meat joints lend a rustic air.
OnPimlico’sDoorstep
D O L P H I N S Q U A R E ’ S G U I D E T O L I V I N G I N P I M L I C O
HOWZATTTT?
A fixture whenever England’s cricket team play home series
against visiting nations – traditionally for the summer season’s
final test match – The Oval doubles as Surrey’s home ground.
Found by crossing Vauxhall Bridge and continuing south under
Vauxhall station, it fits 24,500 spectators and backs onto an iconic
Victorian gasometer. England’s first-ever home Test match was
played here in 1880, as were the inaugural England international
football match and original FA Cup final in 1872. Behind-the-
scenes ground tours are currently offered on most Fridays
and Saturdays, and feature access to the Test Match Special
commentary box, Club Museum and stately Members Pavillion,
plus a chance to stride out to the wicket.
Harleyford Street, SE11 5SS
0844 375 1845 (for tours)
kiaoval.com
LEAFY LOVELINESS
Celebrating the beauty and importance of plants, the Chelsea
Physic Garden is a brick-walled rectangle slightly west of Pimlico
and reached via Ebury Bridge. Founded in 1673 by the Worshipful
Society of Apothecaries, it’s now London’s oldest botanic garden.
Stretching down towards the Thames, the slumberous grounds
contain around 5,000 edible, useful, medicinal or historical
fauna; peacefully strolling about, you might pass pomegranate
trees or breathe in eucalyptus; there’s Britain’s largest outdoor
fruiting olive tree to find, and a subtropical greenhouse in which
to daydream. Finish with lunch or afternoon tea at the Tangerine
Dream Café. An annual Christmas Fair takes place over the last
weekend of November, but the garden otherwise closes
on Saturdays.
66 Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4HS
020 7352 5646
chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk
LONDON’S VIP SITES
Follow the Thames north and you’ll come to a holy trinity of
London tourist sights: Westminster Abbey, the Palace of
Westminster & Big Ben. Start in the magnificent Abbey, the
traditional place of coronation and regular burial site for British
monarchs and home to a gorgeous octagonal chapter house
(westminster-abbey.org). Tours are also offered around next
door’s Palace of Westminster, and particularly of its two Houses
of Parliament – the Commons and Lords – all year. Book well in
advance (parliament.uk/visiting). Separate excursions did take
in Big Ben – or rather the Elizabeth Tower and its famous bell,
which is the actual Big Ben – but these are on hold until 2020
due to refurbishment work. If compensation is needed, the
Imperial War Museum and 10 Downing Street are nearby…
D O L P H I N S Q U A R E ’ S G U I D E T O L I V I N G I N P I M L I C O
STILL SWINGING
A private road used by the reigning monarch to travel to Kew
Gardens until 1830, King’s Road gained special fame in the 1960s
as a counter-cultural epicentre amid the hippie and punk eras.
Mary Quant founded the miniskirt, while the Chelsea Drugstore,
as mentioned in the Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What
You Want, employed female motorcycle couriers in purple
catsuits. Stretching almost two miles through Chelsea from
ritzy Sloane Square, it’s now associated chiefly with high-end
shopping and James Bond. Fashion-wise, Vivienne Westwood still
maintains a shop here, now accompanied by department store
Peter Jones, the Saatchi Gallery and perfumers Penhaligon’s.
Very close to the latter is Wellington Square, where avid 007
researcher Gary Giblin has pinpointed the spy’s flat, using clues
from three of Ian Fleming’s novels. Pay attention, James!
SAY HELLO TO HER MAJESTY
A measure of Pimlico’s desirable geography is that its northern
border stands just five minutes’ walk from the Queen’s house.
So stroll towards St James’ Park and you’ll soon be gazing
at Buckingham Palace, its forecourt patrolled by red-coated
infantry. Very formal, trumpet-happy Changing the Guard
ceremonies take place at 11am on Mondays, Wednesdays,
Fridays and Sundays in winter, and daily during July and
August. Want to see more? The Queen’s Gallery, showcasing
monarchy-owned artworks and located just behind the palace
along the Royal Mews, is open every day, while the Mews
themselves open February-November. Tours of the palace’s
ornate State Rooms – where guests are received, including the
Throne Room – run from late-July until late-September.
Buckingham Palace Road, SW1A 1AA
0303 123 7324 (bookings)
royalcollection.org.uk/visit/buckinghampalace
Just 5 minutes’walk from theQueen’s house
ww.dolphinsquare.co.uk/dolphin-square/properties/
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