It has been a busy autumn at Favourbrook, so busy in fact that our already inconsistent Register - the (supposedly) monthly round-up of style and cultural bric-a-brac - has been conspicuous by its absence. Must. Do. Better. And so we're frontrunning New Year's resolutions with this, our November Register, released in November no less. With the Christmas holidays in the crosshairs, but not quite close enough for the kill shot, we're swerving festive themes for the moment, and instead kicking off proceedings with an in-depth guide to dressing for that increasingly more common event, the winter wedding. Outside, the sky is the pallor of a week-old bruise, but inside, the young couple warm the room with hope, love, and optimism, helped in kind by the tubercular spluttering of a 1950s central heating system. Ladies, gents, we have just the kit to wear to winter weddings, no matter the dress code, but especially if one is attending the formal variety.
What To Wear To Winter Weddings
Capital Cuisine: Our Favourite London Restaurants in November
Lita
Nestled in Marylebone, and the recent recipient of a Michelin star, Lita channels a modern Mediterranean vision with aplomb. From wafer-thin scallop crudo to butter-drenched morels under lardo blankets, the dishes pulse with richness. It's unapologetically lavish: share a mortgage-worthy rib or sip martinis at the bar, overlooking the open fire. The service is impeccable, the vibe chi-chi yet buzzy and utterly worth the splurge.
litamarylebone.com
7-9 Paddington St, London W1U 5QH
020 8191 2928
Sollip
Sollip weaves Korean culinary artistry into European finesse, with a husband-wife vision from Woongchul Park and Bomee Ki that's earned Michelin acclaim. The minimalist space, dotted with ceramics and florals, frames a tasting menu of exceptional precision: jang-fermented brill, gamtae-infused chawanmushi with caviar, all seasonal and soulful. Dishes marry umami depths with delicate balance - think Nurungji's smoky rice crisp or tarte tatin reimagined. It's intimate, grown-up, and quietly revolutionary.
sollip.co.uk
Unit 1, 8 Melior Street, London SE1 3QP
020 7378 1742
Caractère
Notting Hill's Franco-Italian haven, Caractère is elegant yet unpretentious. The truffle pasta is so good it makes you put the cutlery down and have a moment. The cacio e pepe arancini are bursting with la dolce vita, while the hunter's pie is simply sublime. Starters like sweetbreads with crisp coatings yield to risottos of Acquarello rice and girolles. It's dining as it should be: comfy, hearty, and utterly memorable.
caractererestaurant.com
209 Westbourne Park Road, London W11 1EA
020 8181 3850
Motorino
Motorino in Fitzrovia unites Stevie Parle and Luke Ahearne (formerly of the aforementioned Lita in Marylebone) for "London-Italian" rule-breaking. Pastas naturally steal the show - the Agnolotti Carbonara is to die for - but the grills are where the divinity resides, with a 45-day aged Belted Galloway ribeye served in Chianti or peppercorn sauce delivered to table from heaven. It's fun and fantastic in equal measure.
motorino.london
1 Pearson Square, London W1T 3BF
020 3500 4221
Bonheur by Matt Abé
It's a brave man who opens a restaurant at Le Gavroche's former storied address, but Matt Abé has done just that, bringing fine dining with Australian-rooted warmth to Mayfair with Bonheur. Think warm peach mood lighting, deep red banquettes, and Abé's approachable refinement. No tablecloths or white gloves here; just tactile joy and a menu inspiring wonder, with dishes such as Aynhoe Park Fallow Deer with beetroot, pine, and blackberry, or Isle of Skye scallop with carrot, clementine, and yuzu kosho. 'Petit Bonheur' is the chef's table, perched close to Abé and his team who remain in conversation with you throughout your meal - truly unique. There are five-course and seven-course tasting menus, as well as an a la carte option, all of which will blow your mind.
bonheurbymattabe.com
43 Upper Brook Street, London W1K 7QR
020 7139 8624
Alta
Helmed by El Bulli alum Rob Roy Cameron, Alta is a new kid on the block, nestled in Soho's Kingly Court, bringing northern Spanish soul to central London. Open-kitchen drama fuels shareable small plates or pinxtos, such as smoked mackerel with pickled cherries, and razor clam in white saffron escabeche. Even if you don't profess to having a sweet tooth, you have to try the La Viña cheesecake. Alta is the perfect deep dive into the cuisine of the Navarra region - accomplished and exploratory, it's the best representation of northern Spain in London.
alta-restaurant.com
9 Kingly Court, Carnaby St, London W1B 5PW
020 4628 0116
The Long Read
Stop scrolling and start reading to maximise your free time and feel like one of those biohacking CEOs. This month, spend a weekend reading this fantastic piece called The Blue Book Burglar by Jack Rodolico in The Atavist. In 1980s Greenwich, Connecticut, a ghost-like thief turned Independence Day fireworks into cover for surgical heists. While the elite summered in the Hamptons, Ray Flynn and his crew used the Social Register (America’s legendary “Blue Book” of aristocracy) as their treasure map. With telephoto lenses, dog treats, and perfectly timed phone-line cuts, they vanished with heirloom silver, jewels, and small, untraceable Old Master paintings - over 80 estates hit, millions gone, zero alarms triggered. Flynn wasn’t a brute; he was a Cambridge dropout who treated burglary like performance art, a sly middle finger to untouchable privilege. Detectives chased shadows, the FBI rolled out surveillance vans, yet the Blue Book kept whispering new targets. Jack Rodolico’s feature reads like an upscale Ocean’s Eleven crossed with The Great Gatsby, only the crooks are real, the loot is still scattered, and the ending will leave you stunned. Perfect weekend rabbit hole for anyone who loves true crime that feels like fiction.
The Fireside: Your Curated Informational Rabbit Hole
In an age where the future arrives disguised as déjà vu, one might profitably begin with the YouTube channel Predictive History, a delightfully heterodox venture hosted by one Professor Jiang that treats the past not as a dusty archive but as a cryptographic key to tomorrow's upheavals. His lectures unravel civilisational cycles - empires rising on the sine waves of hubris and entropy - reminding us that history rhymes with alarming precision, especially when markets and memes are involved.
From there, glide seamlessly into the psychedelic dispatches of Hugh Hendry's The Acid Capitalist on Substack (and its attendant podcast tendrils). The erstwhile hedge-fund alchemist, now ensconced in St. Barts like a latter-day Gauguin of gonzo finance, channels Hunter S. Thompson through a Bloomberg terminal. He exposes the hallucinatory fragility of late-stage fiat, where central bankers play shaman and Bitcoin glimmers as the new philosopher's stone. Hendry thrives on dissonance, distilling paradox into vintage absurdity.
Yet even prophets need wardrobe, which brings us, with exquisite inevitability, to the podcast Dressed: The History Of Fashion. Hosted by the erudite duo April Calahan and Cassidy Zachary, it dissects the semiotics of silk and subversion: what the crinoline concealed, the codpiece proclaimed, or how bog bodies yield four-millennia-old style tips. In an era of fast-fashion ephemerality, Dressed restores gravitas to garb, revealing clothes as the most intimate historiography we wear upon our skins. Indulge; your intellect deserves the finery!
