Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week

A lively lunch

Ellie Stathaki, Architecture & Environment Director

Margaret Ravenscroft and I met for lunch this week at the recently refreshed Audley in Mayfair – the 18th-century establishment that was relaunched a couple of years ago, now showcasing a curated selection of art interventions. We enjoyed heart-warming pub food beneath the colourful ceiling – an installation by British artist Phyllida Barlow – and caught up on life and work. Margaret is head of engagement and cultural programmes at HGG London, the City-based, design-led developer helmed by Dicle Guntas. I learned more about their exciting new initiative, Forefront, which they developed in collaboration with Professor Sadie Morgan. Focused on injecting culture and creativity into the capital's underused spaces, it’s an initiative we’ll no doubt be hearing more about soon.

Jewellery in Japan

Hannah Silver, Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor

This week, I’ve been in Tokyo to celebrate the opening of Van Cleef & Arpels’ ‘Timeless Art Deco’ exhibition at the extraordinary Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. Marking the centenary of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, the show features a remarkable collection of 250 pieces of jewellery and objects – many of which have never been seen before.

An autumn-inspired menu

Ailis Bickford, Digital Project Manager

This week, I indulged in a seasonal lunch to celebrate the continuation of the collaboration between New York restaurant and aperitivo bar, Dante, and Claridge’s. The success of their summer residency has led to an autumn iteration that is no less delicious. Linden Pride, Dante’s co-founder, brings New York flavour to London’s Mayfair streets, combining apple, pumpkin and sage with braised lamb and NY strip. My personal highlight, however, was the dessert selection, which includes a dangerously rich chocolate cake. We finished with an espresso martini, set against the backdrop of Claridge’s Art Deco dining room, with black-and-white photography inspired by Dante’s West Village interior. Autumn has well and truly arrived in London. You can book a table to experience ‘Dante Takes Claridge’s’ until 31 December 2025.

A Soho staple

Anna Solomon, Digital Staff Writer

A breakfast meeting is rather wasted on me. In a world of pancakes and açaí bowls, all I can manage at 9am is a humble scrambled egg. That said, I can confirm that Dean Street Townhouse – the setting for this week’s meeting – does an excellent rendition of the classic. For those more adventurous than I, there’s Lorne sausage with tattie scones, grilled Manx kippers, and kedgeree on offer, alongside an all-day menu. All of it is served in elegantly eclectic surroundings that nod to the building’s Georgian heritage, blended with the sophisticated members’-club ambiance you'd expect from a Soho House outpost.

A dreamlike display

Jamilah Rose-Roberts, Social Media Editor

North London always feels like an expedition, but sometimes the pull is strong enough to make the trip – and for me, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami was worth it. At Victoria Miro’s canalside gallery, her exhibition 'Incantations' pairs large-scale paintings with photographic wall vinyls, turning the rooms into something that feels almost cinematic. Gorgeous online but so much better in person, I was amazed by her brushstrokes – the way she shifts between oil and acrylic paint, printmaking, pastel, pencil, and charcoal, pulling together intimate and political themes in a single frame. Drawn from family photographs, religious iconography, and mythological narratives, the works unravel stories across generations, moving between the unconscious and the communal, tenderness and defiance. Saturated in electric blues, acid greens, and deep reds, they oscillate between fragility and power, grounding spiritual and historical legacies in lived memory. On until 1 November 2025.

A jolly good laugh

Charlotte Gunn, Director of Digital Content

On Monday, I attended Notting Hill pub, The Fat Badger's inaugural comedy night. The surprise billing boasted Michael Odewale and Jack Whitehall, the latter of whom joked at length about never feeling more at home at a gig full of 'Telegraph readers'. It was true; the clientele gave the whole experience a bizarre edge. The compere 's usual 'And what do you do?' shtick fell flat when it emerged that almost no one in attendance actually worked. A man in a gilet did some decidedly unfunny heckling as Made In Chelsea's Jamie Laing watched on with delight.

But to The Fat Badger's credit, you'd be hard pressed to find a comedy venue with a better menu. They're currently taking requests for which funnyman to book next (the night runs every other Monday). I, for one, would pay good money to see Stewart Lee work that room.