Comics & Cakes Joins the King’s Road’s New Creative Quarter on Chelsea Manor Street
A vibrant emporium of pop culture, comics and cakes brings fresh energy to a street alive with creativity.
Chelsea Manor Street, just off the King’s Road, is fast emerging as the new creative quarter of Chelsea. Anchored by The Gaumont, the recently completed mixed-use development featuring an enhanced cinema (opening 2026) and flagship retail, the street now buzzes with independent cultural destinations. This creative focus was shaped by extensive local consultation, responding to community calls for spaces that celebrate art, literature and music.
At its heart is BookBar, a bookshop, wine and coffee bar hosting late-night browsing, author talks, book-and-wine pairings, and celebrated literary events such as readings with Katie Kitamura and Elif Shafak. Nearby, New Forms, from the team behind Next Door Records, combines café-bar and boutique record shop with a world-class sound system: by day a welcoming workspace, by night a vinyl-powered listening bar with DJs and specialist cocktails.
Art Play offers a creative studio with guided and free-flow painting, pottery and candle sessions, plus seasonal events and Friday/Saturday DJ paint parties, making it both a gathering place and creative haven for all ages.
And as December opened, Comics & Cakes arrived, a cheerful pop-culture emporium filled with comics, graphic novels, film memorabilia and homemade vegan, gluten-free cakes. It promises seasonal swap-shops and giveaways, already marking itself as a go-to community fixture for all ages.
This creative core is complemented by the new Trafalgar pub at the King’s Road corner, the first new pub on this iconic street in over a century. With classic gastropub fare and a downstairs Havannah Room, it hosts live music and a weekly comedy night curated by award-winning “Always Be Comedy,” featuring lineups of top UK comic talent.
Along the King’s Road frontage, Arket (opened September 2025) and Mango (due spring 2026) bring sleek urban retail to the development, reinforcing its appeal as both a cultural and shopping destination.
Chelsea Manor Street’s transformation is defined by thoughtful curation. As Hugh Seaborn, CEO of Cadogan, has noted, The Gaumont is “celebrating the community, heritage and artistic spirit of Chelsea,” creating a cultural anchor that reflects local voices and ambitions. Comics & Cakes may be the newest arrival, but it’s among equals, part of a creative cluster that invites locals and visitors alike to read, paint, listen, laugh and indulge in a slice of cake.
See TheGaumont.co.uk for more