Two friends recently contacted me for tips and recommendations for trips they are making to London this summer. I spent a good 2 hours remembering, writing, editing, Googling, etc. and thought a modified version of that email would be good to post as a blog entry. To this day, a big piece of my heart is still in London, so I'm calling these my London Loves.
EAT
Brunch...Providores
on Marylebone High Street (near my old flat). I insist that every London visitor go here
for brunch on Saturday/Sunday because it is absolutely the best brunch I found in
London. Famous chef Peter Gordon (I have his cookbooks if you want to borrow).
It's a small unassuming place but everything on the menu is great.
I always got the Turkish eggs from changa for brunch (darn delicious!).
Great dinner menu and wines too. Never had anything on the menu
that I didn’t like. http://www.theprovidores.co.uk/
Indian...the
Brits aren't known for traditional English food, but they are known for their
Indian food. My faves were Masala Zone (chain with great Indian street food),
Dishoom (one of the hottest new spots), Mint Leaf (Michelin star restaurant),
and Quilon (top 5 meal of my life at the restaurant in the Taj hotel on
Buckingham Palace Road). Roti Chai is another great new restaurant, and I took my parents there whenever they visited.
· Borough Market is amazing!! You should definitely go
for lunch one day and wander around. Think of it as an outdoor Whole
Foods + Austin SoCo food truck park x 10. The raclettes (Swiss cheese
sandwiches or potatoes) are very famous. You will smell them.
So many artisanal foods to try/buy too. Closest tube stop is London
Bridge on Jubilee (gray) line. http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/
Mediterranean/Middle
East...Yalla Yalla (fab Lebanese), NOPI (another top 5 meal of my life at
famous chef Yotam Ottolenghi's newest place…also have his cookbooks if you want
to borrow)
Burgers...Gourmet
Burger Kitchen (chain but good) or Hache (fave for London)
Other...Duke
of Wellington (fantastic gastropub!) and Blue Elephant
(best Thai place in London and looks/feels like a jungle inside). I also frequented La Fromagerie for a cozy brunch or dinner. Walking into the impressive cheese room at La Fromagerie and inhaling deeply is other worldly. There’s
a chain called EAT, and they have these amazing honey chilli peanuts (~2
gbp/container) that I inhaled.
DRINK...Europeans
love to drink outside anytime anyday. Especially when there's a football
game on. Have a Pimm's or Magner's cider for me (traditional British
drinks). Some of my fave drinkeries were:
The
Windsor Castle Pub...My absolute fave for sentimental reasons because I lived
across the street from this pub that was attached to school. I was there
at least 5 days a week, and if you happen to be in Marylebone or near Regents
Park, you should head there. Ask if Mick (the owner), Jackie (other owner), or Eliza (bar maid) are there. Tell them you
know me or rather "Pi", and they will treat you well! https://www.facebook.com/TheWindsorpub
Afternoon
tea…I thought high tea would be totally lame, but actually I found it to be a
lovely experience to get dressed up and go for tea in fancy hotels. So
relaxing. I went to have tea at Le Meridien and another boutique which I
now forget. Famous places to have tea are the Wolseley and the
Dorchester. It’s about 30 -40 gbp (kinda steep), but totally worth doing
in my opinion. Also go with someone b/c it
would be awkward to go solo.
Borough
Barista. This place has really good coffee and is really close to Marble Arch and Oxford Street. I’m not a coffee aficionado, but all my European coffee snob
friends introduced me to this small place. It’s a hidden gem, and those
that love coffee know about this place. They have good sandwiches / small
pastries too. The other coffee chains in London are Costa, Café Nerro,
and Pret (all OK).
Experimental
Cocktail Club http://www.chinatownecc.com/. Call ahead
to get a reservation b/c this place is tough to get into.
LAB
(London Academy of Bartending) http://www.labbaruk.com/.
LOVE this place!! I had one of my deportation going away do’s here.
Hilton
Park Lane...bar on top floor of hotel with good view of Hyde Park
PLAY...
Go
to Olympic Park in East London (a bit of a hike). Take Jubilee (gray)
line all the way to Stratford. You can pay 10 quid (slang for gbp) or so
and ride elevator to top of Orbit and get a good view of London and stadiums.
Also, they built a giant Westfields shopping center next to Olympic Park
with mall, bars, restaurants, cinema, etc.
Lord's
Cricket Ground...most famous cricket stadium that you can tour and watch a
match if lucky. On Park Road in St. John's Wood.
Regents
Park...this was my park and had a 3 mile running loop.
Golf...The
best courses are in Scotland but there are a few good ones on the outskirts of
London too.
Wembley...cool
football stadium. If you're lucky, there may be an exhibition match going
on.
SHOP...
Covent
Garden...my fave neighborhood in London for Friday/Saturday night out.
Kind of like Rice Village in Houston but better and British. Good bars.
Good shopping. Home of the largest Apple store in the world.
Liberty
of London...super famous department store known for their fabrics (on 3rd/4th
floor). J.Crew does partnerships with Liberty in the US and Target used
to have a small selection, but that's about it here. Besides fabrics and
high end fashion, the store just has cool stuff and is in a beautiful iconic
building. http://www.liberty.co.uk/
Selfridges...forget
Harrods, go here. The food hall is really good and somewhere where you can find American products not sold in Tesco. http://www.selfridges.com/
Fortnum & Mason...another famous department store. Known for teas and other
artisanal things found in -1 floor. Good place to pick up souvenirs.
http://www.fortnumandmason.com/c-3-fortnum-mason-piccadilly-store-london-luxury-department-store.aspx
London
Transport Museum...sounds cheesy but they have cool merchandise. Another
good place for souvenirs. In Covent Garden. http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/
SEE/DO...
Wimbledon! (If you’ll be there). I stood in The Queue (the Brits love queuing), ate yummy strawberries & cream, drank some Pimm's, watched the tennis, bought really pricey merchandise at the gift shop, and wandered the storied All England Tennis Club grounds. Perfect summer days.
London
Eye. Very touristy but great views of London on a clear day. Book your London Eye tix in advance to avoid hoards of
tourists & the long queue. Go for the mid-tier priced ticket that
lets you book a half hour time slot.
Museums
- they are free. My faves were National Gallery, Tate Modern, Saatchi
Gallery, and British Museum.
Greenwich
- easy half day trip from London where you can straddle the Prime Meridian
Musicals/theater
- like NYC, shows are a big deal in London. There's a TKTS booth in
Leicester Square (pronounced Lester Square)
Walk
along southbank of Thames from London Eye to Tate on a nice day...good people
watching, sights to see, pubs along the way, street performers, etc.
MISCELLANEOUS...
What bank do you have in the US? If it's Bank of America,
you can use your BofA debit card at any Barclays ATM in the UK and won't pay
any transactions fees (and get a good exchange rate) up to $500 / day.
If
you've got luggage and don't want to deal with a long Underground ride or Heathrow Express to/from
airport, you can pre-book a cab for ~35 gbp (don't tip more than 10% in London
for food or cabs). I used this cheap good cab service whenever I needed a
ride anywhere in London b/c their fares seemed to be cheaper than most. I don't know the company's name...it's in my phone as "Cheap Good Cabs". +44 (0)2074331000
Do you curl or straighten your hair? Do
you have appropriate adapters? If you travel internationally from the US fairly regularly, consider getting a 220V or dual voltage straightener. Best. Decision. Ever. I prefer Sedu and GHD brands.
Photo: clever, cheeky sign found at Borough Barista
