Welcome to London x London’s Shepherd’s Bush Guide: your guide to the best bars, restaurants and things to do in this West London neighbourhood.
Shepherd’s Bush sits in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, bordering Hammersmith, Acton and Kensington, with Westfield London anchoring its eastern edge.
Shepherd’s Bush is more than just Westfield’s front door — this is a corner of west London with a genuine music-hall pedigree.
Once a pasture for shepherds driving their flocks to Smithfield, it’s now home to some of the capital’s best live venues.
Shepherd’s Bush takes its name from the flocks that were once driven across its green on the way to Smithfield Market, and for much of its early history the area remained fairly rundown. That changed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when a wave of development transformed the area, and the opening of the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in 1903 turned it into a magnet for performers — Charlie Chaplin among them.
Often overshadowed by neighbouring Hammersmith and Kensington, and unfairly written off as little more than Westfield’s car park, Shepherd’s Bush has plenty going on beyond the shopping centre. Live music venues, an intimate theatre known for launching new talent, and a historic street market all give the area its own character.
Music-hall history behind a big shopping centre
