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Change is in the air! For us, it’s always when Dover Street Market closes to update their collections (which was a little over a week ago) that marks the start of eking into spring. So, all roads lead to lighter days. Have great weeks all.
xx Taryn and Team UJ xx
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 | |  | | | Alaïa | | Fashion F&B Openings | | Paris, London, NYC | | | Fashion brands launching restaurants is nothing new, but here are a few recently opened ones: Alaïa has opened two new cafés, one in Paris (in collaboration with the Milanese restaurant Sant Ambroeus) and one in London (with cakes from Violet Cakes), which also has a curated bookstore. Not fashion per se, but Muji has a new food market in NYC, complete with black sesame lattes served by their robot, Jarvis, and word on the street is that Prada is looking at a space in NYC (SoHo), joining Vuitton’s recently opened Le Café Louis Vuitton on 5th Ave.
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|  | |  | | | Stars | | Congrats new and two! | | | The Michelins are out! For the new stars, we have to give a huge CONGRATS to David Carter from Oma – we love both floors/restaurants there. Other new stars we’re excited about include Lita and AngloThai in Marylebone, Caractère in Notting Hill, Dosa at the Mandarin Oriental in Mayfair, and Plates in Shoreditch, which is the first plant-based restaurant in the UK to receive a star. Congratulations are also in order for both the Ritz Restaurant and Soho’s Humble Chicken, which both received TWO stars. Let’s eat!
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| | |  | | | At the Trafalgar Theatre | | On now | | Sponsored Listing | | Cher is back! You know the story – Cher, Tai, Josh, Dionne, fashion, love, Beverley Hills High, and that motorised closet – CLUELESS is a new musical comedy based on the Paramount Pictures classic film. The modern spin on Jane Austen’s Emma gets another timeless makeover from the original film’s writer-director, alongside an acclaimed creative team.
Featuring a script by the iconic voice of a generation, Amy Heckerling (writer-director of Clueless, director of Fast Times at Ridgemont High), an original score by the multi-platinum singer-songwriter KT Tunstall and lyrics by Grammy Award® winner and three-time Tony Award® nominee Glenn Slater, CLUELESS is directed by the acclaimed Rachel Kavanaugh (Chichester Festival Theatre, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).
Now playing at the Trafalgar Theatre in London’s West End. Book now at CluelessOnStage.com. For a preview, listen to songs from the show here.
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|  | |  | | | Tulum | | Music week | | Yes, Tulum has changed. But if you’re looking for some music and sun in early Jan, do it right and it’s still worth a visit.
Read our lowdown of early Jan in Tulum,
with recommendations of where to stay, play and dine.
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|  | |  | | | Dove | | On our list | | Try, book, reminder | | | First, the big new opening: La Môme, a legendary restaurant in Cannes, is now open at The Berkeley, bringing their upbeat, elegant vibe to Knightsbridge. This is the fourth restaurant from the brand. In east London, the prix fixe menu has returned at Bistrotheque; also on a prix front, in Notting Hill, Jackson Boxer has closed Orasay and opened Dove in its place, with the new menu being “a list of things that Jackson wants to cook and eat right now, re-inventing the restaurant for today’s economy”; we’re hearing great things. Also west, Canteen has quietly opened a pub upstairs called The Fat Badger, serving toasties, and No Drama has elevated smash burgers, loaded fries, hash browns and excellent playlists. Quo Vadis and Friends have announced their first set of 2025 dinners: 23 April is with Mountain, and 7 May with Planque – tickets for each dinner are released one month ahead of each date, with the first 48 hours given to QV members to book. If you’re looking for something spicy, after a recent trip to Barshu, we’d like to remind you how good it is. Sizzling Szechuan sea bass (“in numbing and spicy sauce”), chicken covered in chillis, and fiery dan dan noodles. Not new, but still very, very good.
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|  | |  | | | Top Five | | New for 2025 | | New year, new hotels! Here are five hotels opening this year that we’re looking forward to:
Maison Delano, Miami
Miami misses the Delano! Maison Delano Miami will be the third hotel from this reimagined brand.
The Carlton, Milan
Rocco Forte Hotels goes to Milan, bringing a panoramic rooftop bar with them.
Faena, NYC
This is an interesting one. There have been mentions of NYC now following Miami (instead of the other way around, as it’s been rumoured for years) and this would be in line with that. We also saw Faena billboards on the way to Tulum.
Six Senses, London
This one is not new news, but it is big news, and will really change that Bayswater area.
The Lake Como EDITION
It will be nice to have an EDITION vibe on Lake Como, especially one with a Como-style floating pool. Exact 2025 opening date TBC.
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| | |  | | | Eleuthera | | Bahamas beat | | | Speaking of Miami, next time you’re there try to extend your trip and head for the Bahamian island, Eleuthera. Just a short 20 min-ish flight from MIA airport, arrive at their low-key airport and you’ll instantly be on Caribbean time. Frequent home to Lenny Kravitz (who is known to give back a lot to this little slice of paradise), and constant home to bonefish and swimming pigs, this small island is understated, rustic-chic, and has a lot of soul. To stay, try The Cove or The Other Side. To drink, try Tippy’s, a local fave, or the spirited Friday night fish fry in Governor’s Harbour. To do, Harbour Island is a short boat ride away.
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|  | |  | | | KOI 11 | | Around Town | | To note | | | Koibird has a new healthy café, KOI 11, that’s stylish, of course. Go there for coffees with adaptogens, treats with lion’s mane and plant-powered goodness, probiotics, and lilac everything. The Laslett are now doing facials in their Recharge Spa (which is a bright, uplifting, cosy hotel room) with Oskia products; start with a stint in their Ozone therapy pod and then move on to a Purify and Revive or Super C Facial; book here. The incredible Salon C. Stellar, run by Andrea Pfeffer of Pfeffer Sal, has a residency at The Savoy, offering facials that ‘blend ancient wisdom with modern science’; book treatments here. Lastly, Rebase in Marylebone has a variety of things to try, like hyperbaric oxygen, cryotherapy, ice baths, and sleep optimisation classes.
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| | |  | | | 29 Palms Inn | | Desert | | Palm Springs and the high desert | | | This time of year is always bustling in California’s desert – and this year more than ever, with many native LAers seeking refuge from the devastation of the fires and clean air here. Currently in Palm Springs, Modernism Week is on, where you get to peep into some of the incredible homes (amongst other things); the Indian Wells Tennis Open starts 2 March (complete with Nobu dining); the contemporary art festival Desert X is on 8 March-11 May; the Palm Desert Food and Wine festival is on at the end of March, and we aren’t even mentioning the festival that begins with a C. But the interesting part here is also what’s happening close by, in the high desert. We’ve long been fans of Joshua Tree (rent a place from the excellent Homestead Modern collection), but its neighbour, Twentynine Palms, has quietly been on the rise, and seems like very recently, has had a bit of a ‘boom’ – and by boom, we mean there are a few new independent places to shop, wine and dine. Definitely worth a stop if you’re nearby. Stay at the 29 Palms Inn for something with a motel vibe, or the desert spa Two Bunch Palms, which is about an hour’s drive away.
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|  | |  | | | Up Up Up | | LA | NY | | | Oh Erewhon, how we love thee. You’re likely up to speed about LA’s health emporium, Erewhon (which also has a healthy side of designer/celeb collabs), but if you’re heading to NYC anytime soon, Happier Grocery is a newish healthy grocery/dining spot; they have some stylish founders behind it, and it shows. Also in NYC, Pop Up Grocer, who supposedly took inspiration from Sephora for their merchandising, are also doing things with ‘new, better-for-you products’ – and the list continues….
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|  | | | Verbier Pop Up | | On now | | | Didn’t know Zara did skiwear? Neither did we. But it looks like they’re testing the concept in Verbier this month. If the collection is as reasonable in Verbier as it is online, it might just be the only reasonable thing you’ll get in Verbier.
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|  | |  | | | Surrenne | | Treat Yourself | | Stay to Play | | Surrenne, the new wellbeing member’s club at The Emory, the Maybourne group’s newish all-suite hotel in Knightsbridge, truly is stunning, as you’d expect. Exceptional design throughout. A café with books, Murano glass, and everything you want to eat for a clean bite/drink. The digital studio feels like the future; the pool has, in addition to a very chic, ergonomic sauna and steam room, a kind of light snow shower, which is a good cold option, especially for those of us easing our way into cold plunging; the changing rooms have beautiful silk robes (for ladies) and the kind of products you go to a hairdresser for; and the shop has a selection of the best brands.
All of this we were kind of expecting, but the biggest surprise was the Tracy Anderson Method class. Mentally we had prepared for some type of jazzercise, but this was different. It was hot (95 degrees), hard (in a good way), comfortable (there were only a few people attending and the room has 360 mirrors so you can always see), and best of all, it was FUN! The music was great, the moves flowed into one another with a kind of routine, the instructor was seemingly plucked off Broadway (and leads you silently, which was refreshing), and you use weights to really get an excellent workout. All and all, a great way to spend an hour, and a nice change from the usual fitness repertoire.
Want to try? Treat yourself to a night at The Emory or The Berkeley, which gives you access to Surrenne. There are a few different classes, so check the schedule if you book.
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|  | |  | | | London | | From a cosy, legendary hotel in Notting Hill and chic new serviced apartments in Marylebone to a Thai in Mayfair and a modern French brasserie in Borough, we did an eclectic run around recently checking some things out.
The Portobello Hotel | KOYN Thai | 65 Harley Street | Café François
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