09.12 2025 Happy holidays! We’ve made it. No idea how it goes from summer to Santa so quickly, but there you have it. Every year! And while we’re on years… we’re not usually ones to shout about our birthday, but we ran our first UJ on 2 Dec, 2002 (back when the internet line was shared with the landline), meaning we just turned 23. We say this more in astonishment than anything else. Again, time flies. Whether you’ve been with us from day one or are new to UJ, we want to send a heartfelt thank you for being here; we truly appreciate you. Have great weeks all, and enjoy these last festive days. Love, Taryn and Team UJ. ❤️ Lucky's Steakhouse Style Everything we’re drawn to right now (and maybe always) has a bit of ‘steakhouse style’. White tablecloths and cosy booths, monogrammed plates, and a spark of celebration and fun. Bold reds, frites and wedge salads. A mixture of that old Rat Pack Hollywood Steakhouse vibe and a more NYC Italo mob one. In LA: it’s Musso & Frank Grill (old Hollywood) or Craig’s. In NYC, Lucky’s or Keens. In London, The Dover’s newbie, Dover Street Counter, and MFG’s Carbone both have more than a splash of these greats (of course, the OG The Dover, does too). To recreate this vibe at home, we recently noticed the A Very Steakhouse Thanksgiving series of eight recipes from two-time NY Times Bestselling cookbook author, LA-based Molly Baz, celebrating this beloved genre. Swap ‘Thanksgiving’ for ‘holiday’ and you have your festive menu sorted. So this season, dim the lights, pour a chilled martini/heavy read, cue the record player, and, whether it be a steak or a bowl of spicy vodka rigatoni – salut. Numeros Grandes $82.7 billion from Netflix for the Warner Bros deal (only to be countered with an $108.4 bid by Paramount yesterday; where will they go next). $37.6 mill for the Chrome Hearts Surfrider, 20-room Malibu hotel deal (that’s nearly $2 mill per key). $55 mill for the Loews Miami hotel refurb. There are some very hefty numbers around. Now let’s see how this translates to subscription costs and room rates… Big Kids Here’s a random mix of things that have caught our eye lately. Who doesn’t want a Cheshire Cat skateboard or an Under the Sea-inspired dress (both from the Disney x Selfridges collab) under the tree? Or a naturally made, full-bodied red magnum with a fancy label? And Gap? Who knew we’d have a Gap hat on our list – but there you have it. And with news confirmed that Miss Piggy is getting her own movie, we have a Miss P ornament and a few other fun things in too. Ho, ho, ho. CDG Homme x New Balance | Aries Smiley Plate | Looney Tunes x Palace T | Penang by Apartamento x Belmond | Prada Scent | Burberry Wide Check Cashmere Scarf Casa Felicia Around Town It’s almost the holidays, so hopefully you’ll have a bit of time to get out there and try something new. Just Opened Martino’s is the second (followed closely by the third) restaurant from The Dover’s Martin Kuczmarski; make haste. We’re hearing great things about Casa Felicia, the white-tablecloth clad southern Italian neighbourhood spot in Queen’s Park. We love somewhere that has a unique focus (anyone remember the carpaccio and Champagne only spot on Portobello?), and Beef & Bass is one of these. Sounds a bit like Burger & Lobster (oof), but actually has a good charcoal-based menu and great pedigree behind it. Mayfair’s Automat is back, this time on Mount Street, with palms and vintage-looking walls: get there for their martini hour between 4-7PM. Mazarine is a new coastal French restaurant on Hanover Square by the founders of Sparrow Italia. Festive Pick Head to Soho House 40 Greek Street (if you’re not a member, we’re sure you have a friend who is) to see The Gilded Mischief by fashion designer, illustrator and artist Giles Deacon. Drinks Stable Wines, by the Goodbye Horses and The Dreamery team, is a new wine shop and atmospheric natural wine speakeasy in a former bank vault in N1. On the non-alcoholic front, Tokkia is a new Korean matcha house in Covent Garden (bear with us: this is not matcha of the basic kind), which is worth a look for the design alone; they’ll also be serving Korean saltbreads which look delicious. International Tiffany & Co have a new café in Mexico City; Cipriani has a new Living Room in MIA (with dinner to dance in a more civilised than the usual Miami table-to-fiesta way); the Delta One Lounge in New York’s JFK has a Magic Juice Wall at their Rejuvenation Bar; we are including that last one as it’s still astounding how few healthy options there are in lounges and in flight; and Milanese restaurant Sant Ambroeus is now open in Paris, looks chic! Coming Soon – Feb 2026 And now for one we’re extremely excited about: Carousel’s wine bar is soon to become Cometa, a Mexican inspired by Contramar (CDMX) and The Four Horsemen (NYC), two of our absolute global favourites. Padella will also be opening a third location in Soho, on Kingly Street. UJ Festive Facial Partner special From our friends at Salon C. Stellar (ex-Pfeffer Sal) comes an exclusive offer that we’d be extremely happy to receive under the tree, or to gift ourselves this b2b season. The UJ Festive Facial is a next gen, intelligent 75-minute treatment that includes a Glass Skin Peel to refine texture and boost clarity; a radio-frequency contouring and sculpting massage to define natural structure and restore lift; and medical-grade LED light therapy leaving skin visibly luminous, resilient, and holiday spotlight ready. There’s also an accompanying audio menu and you’ll receive a set of Gezeiten Ampoules (worth £90) to continue your glow at home. The UJ Festive Facial at Salon C. Stellar is £220 and lasts 75 minutes. BOOK HERE @Joel.hunn for Chesa Marcheta Top 6 We couldn’t keep it to five. Here are six new openings on our radar. La Suvera, Tuscany From the Pellicano Group comes their fifth hotel, located in Tuscany, 30 minutes from Siena. In true Pellicano style, this will be a stylish abode, with approx 60 rooms and suites, a spa, dining, a pool, two bars and more. The restoration will of course be thoughtful and honour the villa’s past. Chesa Marchetta, Sils Maria, Switzerland Artfarm (Hauser and Wirth, The Fife Arms, The Audley Public House, Mount St, Restaurant) has opened a 13-bedroom hotel in the Alps by combining four historic buildings (a home, restaurant and two barns). The hotel has an incredible art collection (as you’d expect), a restaurant, and Sils Maria is a quiet Swiss village that has always drawn names (Bowie, Basquiat). Experimental Porto, Porto Porto needed a hip hotel, and now it’s about to get one. All we know so far is that it’s planned to open in spring of ‘26 in the Infante Sagres hotel (opened ‘51), and will be the first of more Experimental openings in Portugal. Explora Torres del Paine Conservation Reserve, Chile and Explora El Calafate, Argentina Explora (we love), the expedition company that combines contemporary, architecturally stunning, environmentally conscious luxe lodges, with fine dining in Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina, has two new lodges for ‘26. Torres del Paine has horses trained for the wild Patagonian landscape, and El Cafate is a remote lodge with incredible views of the Andes. Public West Hollywood, LA Ian Schrager stepped back from EDITION to focus on his luxury-for-all hotel brand, Public, and Public West Hollywood is his second Public hotel, launching spring ‘26 – with further launches in the pipeline. Louis Vuitton Hotel, Paris Louis Vuitton’s first own-brand hotel (joining other hotel brands in their portfolio, including Cheval Blanc and Belmond), will be on the Champs-Élysées, across from their flagship store, and is expected to open next year. Their stake in hospitality continues to grow… LDN Shop News Kith has finally opened on Regent Street – we’re actually surprised this transfer wasn’t sooner – complete with a Ronnie’s restaurant, the first from their namesake owner, opening 12 December. East London favourite Goodhood, which closed its Curtain Road boutique last year, now has a larger shop on Hanbury Street, E1. Nike is doubling down on its womenswear and has recently opened a women’s concession in Selfridges with innovations and collaborations, and has re-opened its King’s Road store as a dedicated Nike Women. And Labour and Wait, purveyors of timeless utilitarian products, have opened a huge new location in Covent Garden, with their usual general store-inspired styling. Métiers d'art 2026 collection @chanelofficial NYC Roundup The holiday season always means: we’ve got NY on the mind. A few things on our radar include: did you know that The Rockefeller Centre’s tree is actually donated every year? People apply to offer up their tree, and then Erik Pauze, The Rockefeller Centre’s head gardener, selects one as the esteemed winner, dressed with 50,000 lights. In other, less Hallmark news, legendary Soho restaurant, Raoul’s, has just turned 50 (we love Raoul’s!); Meadow Lane, the new healthy Tribeca grocer (named after an exclusive street in the Hamptons) that’s been heavily documented on TikTok by its founder, has recently opened to a lot of hype; Chanel just took over the NYC subway (at an abandoned station) for their Métiers d’art 2026 collection; two new members’ clubs to join the recent plethora of member’s options in NY include Casa Cruz’s six-story Upper East Side townhouse and Moss’ five floor club for ‘intelligent leisure and physical culture’ which includes a two level wellbeing emporium; and Basic Space, the curated marketplace for what’s next in fashion, art, design, really, anything that’s unique and great (and not just expensive), recently popped up in NYC; we may have missed the pop up, but you can still buy some of the edit online. And lastly, we loved Jackson Boxer’s take on dining in NYC, and if you haven’t read Keith McNally’s memoir, I Regret Almost Everything, we suggest you add to cart. Treat Yourself A little TLC goes a long way right now. Here are three picks including a red and blue light LED mask, an oil body cleanser from Sharmadean Reid’s new line, 39 BC, and some slick silver packaging for revived holiday sparkle and/or stocking stuffer. Dr Dennis Gross LED Mask | 39 BC Sage Water Oil Cleanser | ISAMAYA Holiday Glow Take Three International Need to book something to look forward to? Mexico City’s Art Week is 4-10 Feb, which transforms the city annually to celebrate all things art and design. For a bit of kitsch, Mariah Carey’s Holiday Bar (our somewhat equivalent would be Miracle at Henrietta) has four locations (NYC, LA, Vegas, Miami), and is as you’d expect: Mariah holiday hits and OTT décor. For something a little more cultural, PLAY at Paris’ Palais Garnier explores what we as adults do with our childhood games, with a playful set design of balls, cubes, and balloon games, on until 4 January. Fa La La La La A little (more) fromage for you this festive season. Press play! With our little eyes…. From Art Basel Miami: CHERLato (genius) and Es Devlin’s ‘The Library of Us’ (also seriously genius). About Ibiza: Best Restaurants Open This Winter, which arguably is our favourite time on the island. And to listen to: Desert Island Discs; yes, we’re late to the party, but after an 11-hour flight spent listening to them, there are some very good ones and it’s an interesting way to structure an interview. From a central Lisbon abode to a much-loved farmhouse hotel in Alentejo, read our reviews for a city-to-country Portuguese stay. BAIRRO ALTO HOTEL, LISBON | SAO LOURENÇO DO BARROCAL, ALENTEJO Seasonal Cheer A Christmas Carol Old Vic Until 10 Jan Characters! Choirs! Confetti! Selfridges Until 13 Dec, check times BustroNome Dinner with Wine Pairing See Holiday Lights onboard Voyage Gourmand Daily at 7:15PM Holiday Support If giving is something you can do this holiday, here are a few links. Crisis at Christmas | Choose Love Donation or Shop | Age UK | Barnardo’s Changing Childhoods | The Life Team As we said in our intro; we’ve been at this a long time! We’d be very grateful if you would write us a note with what you like, what you’d like to see more of, or anything at all; we’d really love to hear from you. We’ll be gifting 3 UK-based people (chosen at random) who give us any thoughts or feedback a limited-edition Monopoly Ibiza board game, which has been updated to include the latest island spots. THANK YOU! Frank. ❤️ FOLLOW US (c) 2025 Urban Junkies. All rights reserved. Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express permission. Urban Junkies is a free weekly mailer. All listings and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. We have updated our terms and conditions link and privacy policy link to make it easier for you to understand what information we collect, how we use it and what rights are available to you to control your information. The privacy and security of your information are very important to us. If you have any questions or comments, please send us a message by info@urbanjunkies.com. Thanks as always for reading UJ.