Welcome back to The Slice!

We survived the heatwave. Phew!

As London returns to more manageable temperatures, we’ve been on the search for relaxing spaces to wind down and recover after days of being reduced to sentient puddles on the Tube.

This week, we’ve gone from unwinding in a serene Mayfair hideaway to an underground wine bar that makes braving Covent Garden’s crowds worth it. You can also find the best places to get your fried chicken fix – because let’s be honest, when are we not craving some crunchy, golden wings?

And coming up this weekend, there are Wimbledon screenings, £5 pints at German Gymnasium’s birthday bash, and a £10 food crawl through Peckham’s coolest spots, courtesy of another fried chicken hero, Mr Bao.

Read on for a whole range of recommendations for 5-6 July, handpicked as always by The Slice.

This week in London

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, here are 11 of the best activities, dining, and drinking spots in the capital.

1. Unwind with earthy flavours at Silva

By Beatrice Aidin

Cursing Berkeley Square’s kamikaze cyclists, I turn into Bruton Place and have my grump immediately abandoned. Opening the door of Silva I discover three of my favourite things; calm, a set lunch menu and a room of beauty. Latin for forest, Silva’s designers have curated curved wooden chairs, elegant marble green tables plus a long banquette that curves like the branch of a tree.

I’ve always thought it a sign of pride in a restaurant when dishes for a set menu come from the main menu, they really want to you to try them. Silva’s signature starter of egg crispy fried arrives round with a plump, sunny yolk atop a parmesan sauce loaded with earthy girolle mushrooms. Then risotto with wild garlic and morels – both a wonderful adieu to spring, though the spatchcock chicken looked similarly impressive. As for the crazy bikers from earlier? Over it. For you can’t but feel solace at Silva.

Two-course lunch menu, £29. 26 Bruton Place, Mayfair, W1J 6NG. Book here.