Edition 15
Evening, Chiswick. What a week to have a fan on. There's a proper hot one on the way this weekend, so before you melt into the sofa, here's your W4 briefing.
The World Cup is done and dusted (a fond farewell below), so it's back to normal service: a Green Flag for our beloved gardens, a call for local families to raise guide dog puppies, and the results of Grove Park's front garden contest. Fancy a night out? There's gin and a three-course feast among Sipsmith's copper stills.
We're also trying something new this week: one quick question, one tap. Scroll down and tell us what's growing at yours.
Stay cool, don’t forget the sun cream, and enjoy the issue.
If you've walked the length of Turnham Green Terrace and somehow never stopped at number 57, this is your nudge. Sushi Bar Makoto is a small, family-run Japanese restaurant that's been quietly feeding Chiswick since 2008, and it's exactly the kind of place that rewards regulars.
Don't expect anything flashy. It's half a dozen tables and a few seats at the sushi bar, where you can watch the chef work. The draw is the food: consistently fresh sushi and sashimi, from nigiri and hand rolls to generous chirashi and seafood donburi bowls, alongside cooked comfort like chicken katsu, teriyaki and tempura. There's a good spread for vegans and gluten-free diners too, all clearly marked on the menu.
It’s cosy, which means it fills up fast, so book ahead if you can. A genuine neighbourhood gem, no fuss, just good Japanese food. No affiliation, we just rate it.
a: 57 Turnham Green Terrace
ig: @sushi_bar_makoto
Chiswick House & Gardens flies the Green Flag again
There's a reason the gardens always feel that well looked after. Chiswick House & Gardens has once again been awarded a Green Flag, the national mark of a genuinely well-run park, recognising the small team of horticulturists, volunteers and community partners who keep all 65 acres in shape.
Image: LEAH volunteers and Trust staff with the Green Flag.
Credit: Chris Frost.
It's a fitting moment, landing just as Love Parks Week (24 July to 2 August) gets underway. The Grade I listed gardens, considered the birthplace of the English landscape movement, have been free to enter every day since 1929, and there's more to come: the Trust is opening three new spaces this summer, welcoming more schools and community groups into the Kitchen Garden than ever.
Free to roam, every day of the year. Well worth a wander this week.
Could you raise a guide dog puppy?
The Guide Dogs charity has picked Chiswick as an ideal spot to raise its pups, and it's looking for local families to help. Our busy streets and parks are just the mix a young dog needs to build confidence before training.
You'd have the puppy from around eight weeks to roughly a year. Full training is provided and all food and vet costs are covered. In return it needs real commitment: someone home for much of the day, space, access to a car, and the fitness to walk a large dog in all weathers. The primary carer must be over 18, but children and family dogs are welcome.
The hard part is handing your pup on at the end, but you'll have helped set someone with sight loss on the path to independence.
Interested, even for later? Contact Guide Dogs on 0345 143 0191 or visit guidedogs.org.uk to find out more.
Source: Chiswick Calendar
Grove Park's best front gardens crowned
Proof Chiswick does the small things beautifully: the Grove Park Group has named the winners of its front gardens competition. Thirty-six residents entered, and judges toured them all last weekend in the heat before choosing.
Top spot went to a garden at Chiswick Quay, praised for packing year-round planting into a small space. Gardens on Grove Park Terrace and Chatsworth Road came second and third, and a separate wildlife prize went to a Wolseley Gardens plot complete with mature wisteria, a log pile and a hedgehog house. Winners picked up vouchers from Chiswick Flower Market and the Chiswick Horticultural and Allotments Society, who judged alongside WildChiswick.
Source: Chiswick W4
We're trying something new: one quick question each week. Tap your answer, and we'll share how Chiswick voted next Thursday.
This week, inspired by Grove Park's blooming front gardens: What have you got growing at yours?
A few highlights from the week ahead, hand-picked from our events calendar.
The Food Market Chiswick | Sun 26 July | 10am-2pm | Dukes Meadows
Local producers set up in the farmyard surroundings of Grove Park Farm House, beside the play area, with proceeds supporting the park. More: dukesmeadowstrust.org
The Lazy Flea | Sun 26 July | 10.30am-4pm | Chiswick House Forecourt Vintage heaven returns to the House forecourt: 60-plus traders with homeware, furniture, clothing and jewellery, plus street food and coffee to make a morning of it. Dogs welcome, and it's a monthly fixture now. More: book via Eventbrite
Pura Vida Pontoon | To 7 August | Chiswick Park
A four-week lakeside wellbeing retreat in the heart of the park, free to drop into for a slower lunch by the water. Live music every Wednesday, 12pm to 2pm, with the next session on Wednesday 29 July. More: enjoy-work.com
And one for the school holidays, now under way 👇
Hogarth Summer Programme | Runs to Thu 13 Aug | From 12pm | Hogarth Youth & Community Centre, Duke Road
Holiday activities for local young people, run in partnership with Hounslow HAF. Football, basketball, arts and crafts, games and off-site trips, split by age group: 8 to 13s run daily from 12pm to 6pm, with evening sessions for 14 to 16s and 16 to 19s on Mondays and Wednesdays. Entry £1.50. Find out more.
Sipper Club at Sipsmith | Wed 26 Aug & Wed 23 Sep, 7pm | Sipsmith Distillery, Cranbrook Road
For a special night out without leaving W4, Chiswick's own Sipsmith is running its Sipper Club: a gin-infused three-course dinner set amongst the copper stills, after hours at the distillery.
This season's menu comes from guest chef Giuseppe Trezza, recently seen on MasterChef, with every course paired to a Sipsmith cocktail built to match. You'll start with a welcome cocktail from the famous gin bus, be walked through the evening by a Sipsmith host, and there's a hands-on cocktail-making moment if you fancy it. Everyone leaves with a gift bag.
The details: three hours, £90 a head, over-18s only. Find out more.
Running something in Chiswick? Send it in.
Markets, concerts, school fairs, workshops, pub quizzes, fundraisers, family activities: if it's local and open to the community, we'd love to feature it in the calendar.
If you'd like your feed to do a bit of good, follow WildChiswick. The local charity is on a mission to help Chiswick's wildlife survive and thrive, from hedgehog highways and swift boxes to its wildlife allotment and species-recording surveys. Expect hedgehogs, pollinators, practical tips for a wilder garden, and a genuine dose of good news. A lovely one to have in your timeline.
And that's full time on the Chiswick World Cup Guide. Spain are your 2026 world champions after edging Argentina in the final, but England signed off in style with a thrilling 6-4 win over France to take third. Thanks to everyone who watched along with us, and to the local pubs that packed out for every game. And with that, normal service has resumed.