F3 - Upper Mayfair - What to See and Where to Eat and Drink (1.6 km)
- philip carey
- Jul 9, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Dec 22, 2024
Start at Bond Street Station
Finish at Bond Street Station
THE EXPERIENCE
The hidden areas of Upper Mayfair
This route is in the west-end shopping district just south of Oxford Street by Bond Street Station. It takes you on an exploratory tour around the northern side of Mayfair, with a focus on seeking out places to 'Eat, Drink, and be Merry'. Some of these are hidden away down narrow alleys and converted churches, while others are in 5-star hotels or on its more famous streets just south of Oxford Street.
The route is excellent for history, iconic sights, museums, hotels, shops, narrow streets, art galleries, auction houses, and places to eat, drink, and be merry.
BEST TIME
Morning- Most of the route will be reasonably quiet except for the areas along Oxford Street. The best time to explore the route is early morning when the lighting is at its best and few people are around. It is also a great way to discover places for breakfast.
Day - This route will get very busy along Oxford Street during the day and on Lancashire Street
Evening - This route will be quieter in the evening except for the areas around Oxford Street and Lancashire Street.
ROUTE OVERVIEW
This 1.6 km route starts at Bond Street Station on Oxford Street and heads down South Molton Street into the small alleyways of Lancashire Court before popping onto Brook Street and heading past Claridge’s. It continues onto Grosvenor Square and up Duke Street before cutting through Brown Hart Gardens into North Audley Street with its bars and restaurants. It continues north to Oxford Street by Selfridges and then east to finish back at Bond Street Station.
See the route at speed (2:04)
Use this to see what the route looks like as if you were doing it at speed and to make you more familiar with what you will see along the way.
GOOGLE AND STRAVA MAPS
Use the 'My Google Maps' to explore this route's venues. If you are using a mobile device, the map can help you find the start point for the route, navigate to places of interest, and show your position on the map.
What to see and places to eat, drink and be merry.
What to See List
1 South Moulton Street
2 Lancashire Court
3 New Bond Street
4 Brook Street and Claridge’s
5 12 September 2001 Memorial
6 Grosvenor Square
7 Brown Hart Gardens and Duke Street
8 North Audley Street
9 Oxford Street by Selfridges and Marks and Spencer
10 St Christopher’s Place
Upper Mayfair - Pubs and Bars
There are lots of bars and pubs are along the route, with more nearby.
Here is a listing of nearby pubs and bars.
PUBS
The Duchess
39 Duke St, West Central, London W1U 1LP
Spread Eagle
8 Woodstock St, London W1C 2AD
The Running Horse
8 Woodstock St, London W1C 2AD
The Iron Duke
11 Avery Row, London W1K 4AN
Duke Of York
11 Avery Row, London W1K 4AN
The Three Tuns
1 Portman Mews S, London W1H 6HP
German Kraft Mayfair
St. Mark's Church, N Audley St, London W1K 6ZA
BARS
Simmons Bar | Bond Street
11 Woodstock St, London W1C 2AE
Bond St. Lounge Bar
350 Oxford St, London W1C 1BY
Claridge's Bar
Brook St, London W1K 4HR
The Painter's Room
Claridge's, Brook St, London W1K 4HR
Brooks Mews Wine House
24 Brook's Mews, London W1K 4EA
Hush Mayfair
8 Lancashire Ct, London W1S 1EY
Mr Fogg's Apothecary
Basement, 34 Brook St, London W1K 5DH
The Loop Bar
19 Dering St, London W1S 1AH
Burlock Rum Room
31 Duke St, London W1U 1LG
The Fount Bar
Selfridges - 400 Oxford St, London W1A 1AB
Le Magritte Bar & Terrace
The Beaumont, 8 Balderton St, Brown Hart Gardens, London W1K 6TF
Upper Mayfair - Places to Eat
Along the route, there is a wide selection of places to eat. These links will help you find the ones that suit your taste and budget.
Open Table London prides itself on bringing together people and the restaurants they love in the moments that matter, offering dining options, experiences, and offers.
The Fork—This is a Tripadvisor company that relies as much on its communities of users as its communities of restaurateurs. You can search by price, cuisine, rating, and special offers.
Hardens – This is probably the UK's most comprehensive independent restaurant guide, with reviews written by its members. It ranks each place by its food, services and ambience and has extensive search capabilities.
Design My Night This site is designed to help you discover and unlock secret, new and unique city experiences, from events to bars and restaurants, but it is also a site to help plan and book online. It has categories for restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs, and 'what's on'.
Afternoon tea This is an Afternoon Tea guide to help you find the 'perfect venue for afternoon tea' in London and the UK. It provides descriptions, offers, booking facilities and an extensive search option.
Upper Mayfair - Things to Do
This area has a few galleries and museums nearby. Here are some of them.
Faraday Museum at The Royal Institution of GB
21 Albemarle St, London W1S 4BS
Handel & Hendrix in London
25 Brook St, London W1K 4HB
Twist Museum
248 Oxford St, London W1C 1DH
Halcyon Gallery
29 New Bond St, London W1S 2RL
PHOTO GALLERY
This gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this route. Double-click to see the image in full size.
HISTORY & INTERESTING FACTS
Upper Mayfair Eastern Section
South Molton Street
South Molton Street is renowned for its Georgian architecture, with many buildings dating back to the 18th century. The street showcases a series of terraced houses characterized by their elegant facades, sash windows, and decorative ironwork.
The street has a rich historical background. It was initially developed in the early 18th century as part of the expansion of London. Today, South Molton Street is a popular pedestrianized shopping destination. It offers a mix of high-end boutiques, independent retailers, and designer shops.
Disney
Disney’s Oxford Street is its most extensive UK store; it has been here by Bond Street Station since 2011. A 28-foot-tall Disney castle is in the middle of the store, and all your favourite Disney characters are spread over several levels. The upper floors of the building belong to the Radisson Blu Edwardian Berkshire Hotel. Dolcis Shoes was the building's first retail outlet when it was built in the 1930s
Lancaster Court
Lancaster Court consists of a collection of small alleys and a square between New Bond Street (near Victoria’s Secret) and Brook Street (by South Moulton Street). Today, they all bear the same name—Lancaster Court—but in the 18th century, they were not connected and had their own names, such as Horse Shoe Yard and White Lion Yard. Warehouses and workrooms originally dominated the area.
In 1997, the Co-operative Insurance Society completed an £11 million revamping of the area, retaining most of the alleys' appearance and layout. They also bought in new businesses and joined the alleys together to form the Lancaster Court we see today. The Handel & Hendrix Museum moved here in 2001.
Claridge's
Claridge's was founded in 1812 as Mivart's Hotel, in a conventional London terraced house, and it grew by expanding into neighbouring houses. In 1854, the hotel was sold to a Mr and Mrs Claridge, who combined it with their smaller hotel next door and called it Claridge’s. The hotel's reputation quickly grew when Empress Eugenie made an extended visit and entertained Queen Victoria at the hotel in 1861. In the first edition of 1878, Baedeker's London listed Claridge as "The first hotel in London".
Richard D'Oyly Carte, the theatrical impresario and founder of the rival Savoy Hotel, purchased Claridge's in 1894 as part of The Savoy Group, and shortly afterwards demolished the old buildings and created the building we see today with modern facilities such as lifts and ensuite bathrooms.
During the Second World War, the King of Yugoslavia and his wife were in exile at Claridge's, and suite 212 was supposedly ceded by the United Kingdom to Yugoslavia for a single day (17 July 1945) to allow their heir, Crown Prince Alexander, to be born on Yugoslav soil.
The hotel was popular with the stars such as, Audrey Hepburn, Alfred Hitchcock, Brad Pitt, Joan Collins, Mick Jagger, U2 and Whitney Houston.
Today, the hotel is owned by the Maybourne Hotel Group, which also owns the Savoy, the Berkeley and the Connaught.
Between 2016 and 2021, the hotel was renovated and expanded with an additional two storeys and a 14-bedroom extension that included a penthouse with a swimming pool, gym, and grand salon.
Upper Mayfair Western Section
On South Audley Street
James Purdey & Sons
The British gunmaker James Purdey & Sons specialises in high-end bespoke sporting shotguns and rifles. They also hold three Royal Warrants of Appointment as gun and rifle makers to the British and other European royal families. Queen Victoria is recorded as having bought a pair of Purdey pistols in 1838.
Thomas Goode
This china, silverware, and glass shop on South Audley Street opened in 1845. It holds two royal warrants to supply the British royal household—one from Queen Elizabeth II and the other from the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III.
William Goode travelled extensively to find appropriate porcelain and china for the shop, which resulted in several notable customers, including Queen Victoria and the Tsar of Russia. At its entrance, the seven-foot-high Elephants of Thomas Goode were part of The Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.
Grosvenor Chapel
The Chapel has served the parish of Mayfair since 1730, providing worship, music and preaching to its Anglican congregation at its site on South Audley Street.
The chapel has been the spiritual home to several famous people, including John Wilkes, Garret Wesley (the First Earl of Mornington and father of the Duke of Wellington), Florence Nightingale, and U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower. During the Second World War, the chapel was used by the men and women of the American armed forces for their Sunday services.
Around Mount Street and Berkeley Square
Brown Hart Gardens
Brown Hart Gardens off Duke Street is a public garden on top of an electricity substation, accessed from Duke Street. When the substation was built between Brown Street and Hart Street in 1905, the Duke of Westminster insisted that the residents be compensated in some way. Hence, they built a paved Italian garden, which now has a cafe.
Selfridges
Henry Gordon Selfridge set up his store at 400 Oxford Street in 1909. He was an innovative American who wanted to make shopping fun and adventurous and not a chore. He created a shopping experience and fabulous window displays that quickly became a social and cultural landmark, especially for women. The main entrance to this high-end department store has a sculpture above the door called the Queen of Time, which was put there in 1928.
Memorial Garden September 11
The memorial garden in Grosvenor Square is opposite the old US Embassy and was opened in 2003 to honour all victims of 9/11. However, there is a particular focus on the 67 UK citizens who lost their lives in the attacks. The poem ‘For Katrina’s Sun-Dial by Henry van Dyke’ was chosen for inscription on an elliptical granite block – it reads.
‘Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is not.’
Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer's largest retail store is next to Selfridges on Oxford Street, and it has been on this site next to Selfridges since 1930. The grand, imposing Orchard House, built in 1930, was once the primary training centre for Lyons teashops, with the company occupying the 3rd-5th floors of the building from 1930 to 1967. When M&S took over the whole building in 1967, they built an extension at the side, where the food hall is today.
North Audley Street
North Audley Street runs from Oxford Street by Selfridges to Grosvenor Square and is today lined with shops, restaurants, bars and a pub – (there used to be four)
Initially, North Audley Street was built as housing in the 1720s. However, by the 1790s, most of the occupants were tradesmen. These included greengrocers, butchers, bakers, saddlers, carpenters, and coal dealers. If you look at the pavement, several ‘roundels’ depict the trades that used to reside here.
Mercato Mayfair
This was built as St Mark’s Church Mayfair on North Audley Street in the 1820s and became the unofficial 'American Church' during WWII. It served the community until it was deconsecrated in 1974. It was acquired by Grosvenor Estates in 2014 and has recently been part of a restoration project to revive the building’s heritage features.
Since November 2019, St Mark's has been renamed 'Mercato Mayfair', a 'dog-friendly' cultural hub and sustainable community market on two floors with a rooftop terrace, wine cellar and community space.
The Beaumont
The Beaumont is a five-star luxury London hotel with an old-world aesthetic and values firmly underpinned by 21st-century technological advances. It is located at 8 Balderton Street near Brown Hart Gardens and opened in September 2014. The hotel has 50 rooms, including 23 studios and suites.
One of its rooms was designed by Antony Gormley as a public sculpture.
The building was erected in 1926 as the most elaborate garage ever conceived. It was designed by architects Wimperis and Simpson, who also designed Fortnum and Mason on Piccadilly. Dagenham Motors Ltd occupied the site from 1932 to the 1980s before Avis Rent-A-Car used it in the 1990s.
VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA
Click on the picture below to go on a 360 virtual tour of the shopping areas and look around.
Use the route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the area and going on a virtual tour.
Browse the gallery to find out what you can see along the way.
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