The Microhood: Belgravia

What’s it got that we love?
Belgravia is a name with global heft. In pole position between Buckingham Palace, Knightsbridge and Hyde Park, it’s up there with the most exclusive neighbourhoods in the world. That royal proximity has long been key, and in the 19th century its fields were developed by the Grosvenor family, which remains the major landholder. Belgravia is still largely residential: elegant, high-end and discreet. “It’s understated,” says Richard Dalton, a director at Savills Sloane Street. “I always describe Belgravia as a very special mixed-use urban village – one with a real sense of balance.”

Backing up that discreet charm, Belgravia is architecturally unified and very well preserved. Nineteenth-century mansions are arranged around garden squares: the finest are Eaton, Chester and Belgrave Square. Younger overseas buyers are currently adding new energy to the home of older blue-blood Belgravians. This isn’t new: the area’s many illustrious residents have included Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who composed his first symphony in Ebury Street in 1764.

Now it’s building on its regal beauty. The Belgravia Neighbourhood Plan, put forward in 2023, aims to ensure that the area “continues to remain a jewel at the heart of London… a world-renowned example of elegant 19th-century urban planning and architectural design”.

How’s the shopping?
With Grosvenor in charge of 200 acres in Belgravia, there’s what Dalton dubs a “good residential and retail mix, understanding that neighbourhoods need nice things”. The hotspots include Elizabeth Street, where pretty pastel-painted shops host fashionable names including milliner Philip Treacy and perfumer Jo Malone at Jo Loves alongside renowned patisserie pitstop Poilâne. Nearer Victoria is Eccleston Yards, a retail, food, work and wellness hub humming with life.

On Motcomb Street, 10 minutes north, there’s a roster of upscale flagships including Louise Kennedy for womenswear and Italian jeweller Carolina Bucci. Pimlico Road has art and design including Linley, while Anya Hindmarch’s The Village at Pont Street indicates the direction for curated retail. Sloane Street, on Belgravia’s western flank, is a lodestone for luxury shopping, with Prada, Armani, Cartier and other big names.

Hang out at…
Top restaurants include Amaya for modern Indian and Hunan for Chinese. La Poule au Pot is a classic French neighbourhood staple, while Boisdale has daily live music. And don’t overlook the gastropubs: the Orange is a favourite, along with brother pubs the Thomas Cubitt and the Alfred Tennyson. Cafes include pretty-in-pink Peggy Porschen on Ebury Street. Head to Pimlico Road for the lustrous Daylesford Organic shop and cafe. Upcoming is a private members’ club at 6 Grosvenor Place, and the glorious Pantechnicon in Motcomb Street, an old bazaar turned upscale venue, is set to reopen.

Where to buy?
The big three destinations are the squares – Belgrave, Eaton and Chester – with ambassadorial mansions. But Belgravia, says Dalton, is “more varied than people think. There are very big houses but also apartments and new developments, too, including the world-renowned Chelsea Barracks.” Check out Wilton Crescent and Bloomfield Terrace; snap up a pretty mews house; or for greater affordability, head towards Victoria and Pimlico. If you’re intent on top-end grandeur, short leases offer a viable alternative. Wherever you go, you’ll be treading in the footsteps of giants, including Frankenstein’s creator, Mary Shelley, and ex-PM Margaret Thatcher, both Chester Square residents.

Little Black Book
Philip Treacy; Jo Loves; Poilâne; Eccleston Yards; Louise Kennedy; Carolina Bucci; Linley; The Village; Amaya; Hunan; La Poule au Pot; Boisdale; Orange; Thomas Cubitt; Alfred Tennyson; Peggy Porschen; Daylesford; 6 Grosvenor Place; Pantechnicon

Pictures from top: summer in Belgrave Square (Alamy); the Thomas Cubitt pub (Alamy); Jo Loves, and the boutiques of Elizabeth Street (Alamy); and blossom in Eaton Square (Alamy)