where we stayed
we stayed at citizenM, the same hotel stefan would be staying in for work. and i would recommend it, the hotel is quirky with friendly staff. located in the southbank, it's a hop and skip away from the tate modern, down the street from the borough market, and close to the underground. the underground is super efficient but expensive and a little claustophobic (the trains are not spacioius like in stockholm) but we did make use of it on occasion. although a good 45 minute walk will get you to most places like shoreditch and covet gardens.
all hotel pics from their website.
where we ate
a holiday with stefan always makes food a priority and i wouldn't have it any other way. here are a few of our favourite places:
we arrived early saturday afternoon and once we checked into our hotel we made a beeline for the borough market. we were met with colourful displays of produce and were overwhelmed with choice of eats. we started with argentinian empanadas from porteña, pasties filled with spinach and ricotta or ham and cheese or mozzarella and beef. i then followed up with a fish taco while stefan chose a flavourful sausage roll from the ginger pig. i was tempted by richard hawark's oysters, the same family for over 100 years has been nurturing and picking oysters from the same waters off essex; they continuously had a line-up. we then finished with a mocha and tea from rabot 1745, a restaurant and shop dedicated to cocoa, we also picked up chocolate to take home :)
neal's yard dairy - also found at the borough market - has an array of cheeses from specialist cheesemakers all over the england. on monday, i lost stefan in here while he tasted his way through the cheeses and even bought a couple of pieces along with crackers to enjoy back at the hotel.
monmouth coffee company is the place to go for coffee, they have a few locations in london. although they don't serve tea, i treated myself to an almond croissant. stefan swears the coffee is so good.
this weekend also happened to be the taste of london. we purchased our tickets in advance of arriving to london which we sort of regretted. in order to get to the tobacco docks, we had to leave shoreditch, a neighourhood filled with cool shops and eateries. nevertheless, we ate well (perhaps too much!), the building was beautiful, and the atmosphere festive with live music - a pianist, a very happy dj, and a choir. we then hailed a cab right back to shoreditch!
roast focuses mainly on roast meats but there is fish on the menu too and they use seasonal ingredients that come from the borough market stalls. i had the braised ox cheeks, creamed onion sauce with isle of wight garlic, it was delicious and can't believe i managed to eat it all as the portions were very generous. stefan ate the fillet of beef wellington with roasties. he skipped on pudding (aka dessert) but i couldn't resist the chocolate peanut butter mousse cake with honeycomb ice cream, so good. i took a pic and sent it to kai, he would have loved it! we also had english sparkling wine which wasn't so bad.
the wright brothers oyster and porter house was a more casual dining experience with fantastic fish - all sourced from around the british isles, ireland and france - and the friendliest staff. it's a small space so book in advance. i loved my sardine starter and traditional moule marinières.
on our third night we hoped to dine at dishoom, a new indian restaurant serving cocktails named bollybellini in a cool environment. i have read over and over that the food is fantastic but the line-up was over an hour wait so on the recommendation of the staff there we walked down the street to punjab. this was your typical indian restaurant dressed with indian souvenirs and old photos of maharajah adorning the red walls, all very quaint and quirky. and the food? fantastic! our mouths were exploding with flavours and heat.
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| pic from roast website |
we visited seven dials, this time it was dressed with lights ready for the holiday season. again, tons of cute shops and great people watching. and oxford street is prettily decorated with balls of light and home to selfridges... i watched mr. selfridges, the series, and was curious to see it - lots of high end shops and so pretty.
walking around the streets of shoreditch, there is so much charm here mixed in with graffiti. after a coffee at fix 126, we peeked into a bunch of cool shops and just wandered around. shops of note include scp, boxpark, ally capellino, and head to redchurch street and along shoreditch high street too.
and i made it to the tate modern! housed in what was once a power station, the space is industrial which makes for an amazing backdrop to showcase the art. we didn't get to all the exhibits but enjoyed what we saw. although some of the art did make us pause, for example the yellow triangle?! the tate had a salvador dali painting (!) - would love one of his elephant paintings to adorn my wall one day. but i also liked matisse's the snail. and the view!
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| citizenM is just down the street from the shard. |
notting hill is an incredibly pretty neighbourhood. i loved it, from portobello road with it's vintage shops to westbourne grove and ledbury roads with higher end boutiques. the whole area is filled with colourful houses! stefan had to work so i wandered around on my own and took way too many photos of the pretty houses. and, i loved the concept of housing a cafe within a store, at 202 london - beautifully aged wood with vintage touches screamed notting hill - i had the most delicious salad and then looked at all the pretty overpriced clothing :-)
a huge thank you goes out to our amazing friends, ximena and laurie, who took over caring for kai while i was away. stefan and i enjoyed the alone time!
take a peek here when we were in london as a threesome... a different experience but that's what i love about this city, there is just so much to see and explore. until next time london, i am not done with you just yet.
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