Ever since Noodle Inn on Old Compton Street went viral, it's had people queuing around the block for its hand-pulled biang biang noodles slapped down on the counter, and knife-cut noodles, cut off from blocks of dough straight into the pot. It became so popular that at the back end of 2025, a second site opened in the City, close to Liverpool Street station. And the team isn't losing any momentum as a third location is now on the way.
The Grade II*-listed power station has hosted the free lights festival every year since 2020, with the event dating back to before the art deco building was re-opened as a shopping and cultural destination. Last year's light installations included a massive spider made up of 80 smaller spiders, a mechanical cyborg and a gigantic, partially unravelled ball of yarn (pictured above).
Battersea Power Station has been completely and utterly transformed over the past decade. After fully retiring as a working power station in the 1980s, it sat empty and deteriorating for the next 30 years. In 2012 it was rescued by a consortium of Malaysian investors and in 2022 it finally opened as the behemoth retail and leisure destination it is today. Now, the owners of Battersea Power Station are apparently looking to put it on the market. If they do decide to go ahead
To be fair, my use of the word precinct to describe this lovingly titivated landmark feels a bit shabby, as does retail experience. And plain old mall definitely won't do, because Battersea's collection of 150-odd shops is very much in the la-di-da, aspirational, lululemon, Mulberry and Malin+Goetz range of money-frittering, all set over multiple floors with dramatic mezzanines. This is a sumptuous paean to industrial chic, with pleasing air-conditioning and polished floors,
Barbados is one of our most loved Caribbean destinations and this summer, we're bringing the Virgin Atlantic Holidays Barbados experience to Battersea Power Station showcasing the premium experience-led holidays that inspire you.