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JERMYN STREET
London
Known as the London street for gentlemen’s sartorial elegance, Jermyn Street was first recorded in 1664 as ‘Jarman Street’ and houses dozens of speciality shops including art galleries, food and wine merchants along with Britain’s oldest cheese shop, Paxton & Whitfield (No.93), while perfumers Floris (No.89) still use display cabinets from the 1851 Great Exhibition.
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However, it’s gentlemen’s attire for which Jermyn is famed. Hat, shoe and shirt-makers offer a fitting choice, and there are luxury goods brands to indulge upon. Many of the 64 buildings are owned by the Crown Estate, and previous residents include Italian silk merchant, Cesare Salvucci (1861), whose fine fabrics may have had some influence on its outfitting future.
Piccadilly Arcade
London
Two minutes’ stroll from The Wolseley is the covered courtyard of Piccadilly Arcade Within you’ll find specialty shops including The Armoury of St James’s, who specialise in military antiques, regimental brooches, and a unique selection of 18th-20th century exquisitely hand-painted, traditional toy soldiers in 1:32 scale, cast in white metal.
Battenberg Cake Piccadilly
Quintessentially British, this intriguing little chequerboard cake wrapped in marzipan was created for Queen Victoria to celebrate the marriage of her granddaughter to Prince Louis of Battenberg in 1884. The earliest recipe appeared in 1898, which called for nine squares, while the four squares have been in favour ever since.
The precision and delicate balance of flavours ensure this is a patisserie mainstay for The Wolseley, established in 2003 in a historic former bank building fronting onto Piccadilly. Their recipe, which takes three days to complete, is rich with pistachio, with the sponge cake soaked in syrup made with Wild Thyme honey, sandwiched together with homemade marmalade, then wrapped in colourful marzipan. thewolseley.com
V or B?
Located on La Habana Bay, officially it’s called Havana, but the ‘b’ and ‘v’ sound the same in Spanish, where the alternate spelling originates.
