Exploring Duke of York Square, Chelsea

Seeing the main attractions of London is only a smidge of what it has to offer as a city. Such a large, grand place with many different cultures, races and varieties of people it’s make it an exciting place to live. As a North West Londoner, I tend to find myself in the heart of central London most of the time. This often means I rarely explore the other smaller areas, that clearly have so much to offer.

I found myself exploring Duke of York Square in Chelsea with a few other cultured lifestyle bloggers not long ago. Completely mesmerised by how stunning an area it was. It almost felt like you were in a small village shopping centre with beautiful boutique shops and stunning independent restaurants. The whole time I was thinking “How haven’t I been here before?!”, it was such an ideal spot to spend a Saturday exploring.

We were invited to explore the Taschen book gallery over a glass of bubbles and a informative chat with the manager of Taschen, Nolan.

Taschen have a real passion for books and art, supporting some of the most well known names like David Bowie, Mohamed Ali, The Beatles & Jeff Koons. Not to mention artwork of the iconic Rolling Stones, one of their best sellers.

The concept behind Taschen is truly wonderful, they publish books based on the weird and wonderful to the true British culture. Most of their best sellers come in different sizes, making it affordable for everyone. However, some of their extremely large copies of certain books are limited editions – once they are gone, you’ll never get the chance to get your hands on one again. (Some have only 50 copies in total too!)

If you’re ever in the Sloane Square area, I would definitely recommend taking a quick spin around Taschen, who knows, you may even come away with a new travel guide published by quintessential Taschen.

After a smashing time at Taschen, we stepped across the square to Manicomio, a modern Italian restaurant for a spot of dinner and a good old catch-up with Angie, Mina, Tania, Emma, Fiona, Matilda, Lauren & Suze.

We started with a Rolling Stones inspired cocktail called ‘Jagged Wood’, this was because of the exhibition that was taking place in the Saatchi Gallery just a few doors down and a selection of hors d’oeuvres.

I started with a beautifully grilled English asparagus with mozzarella di Bafala (mozzarella made from the milk of water buffalo)

For the mains, I went for the chicken tagliata with asparagus, artichoke and onions. A delicious and healthy dish, just what the doctor ordered. The chicken was well seasoned with a crispy outer with a soft, tender and juicy inner which was a real winner for me.

For dessert, I had the lemon tart with spring fruit and vanilla ice-cream. The lemon tart was perfect, just how I like them to be. The spring fruit was a creative addition and added a nice finish to the dish.

A wonderful way to end the most perfect evening in Duke of York Square with great company. Thanks to Taschen and Manicomio for having us and treating us like royalty.

If you haven’t visited the Duke of York Square before, I definitely recommend you to go. Especially with the Chelsea in Bloom and Strawberries & Screen coming up real soon. I know I will be heading back soon to have dinner at Gallery Mess and to visit the Saatchi Gallery!

Until next time…