Way Beyond Buckingham

*Top Pick!
A gold star goes to the guidebook that the Londoner finds the most useful.

THE JUDGES

From left: Le Cool London Guide, Ideo Eyes Open London, and Wallpaper City Guide (Levi Brown) [enlarge photo]

Anna Brocklehurst
She lives in Hackney, East London, and makes her living as a communications consultant.

Laurence Belgrave
The actor, photographer, and writer has a flat in Maida Hill, a section of West London.

Kate Hunt
A painter and installation artist, she resides in Hackney, an up-and-coming corner of the city.

THE BOOKS

Ideo Eyes Open London, 2008 ($23)

Anna Brocklehurst: This guide tries so hard to be trendy that it's actually painful to read. It raves about one restaurant, Dans le Noir, where you eat in the pitch-black, without even a candle. Londoners wouldn't be caught dead at such an ostentatious place—there's a reason you can't see the food.

Laurence Belgrave: Only useful for insight into the culture of the cool, art-collecting crowd and their hangouts: Notting Hill and Brick Lane. Do visitors really want to shop for overpriced items in twee boutiques? Also, the pseudo-academic tone irritates the hell out of me.

Kate Hunt: The aim is to open your eyes to a new way of seeing London, but you're left feeling queasy by all the pretentious waffle: "The sincerity inside spills out to the street and captivates many a passerby." Eh? People, this is a café we're talking about here.

Wallpaper City Guide, 2008 ($9)

Anna Brocklehurst: * The writers know their subjects well and don't waste space with a lot of meaningless words. With a focus on design-minded shops and restaurants, as well as art and architecture, the guide is the most grown-up of the three. Plus, it fits into your back pocket.