Eating and Shopping in London – told by @mrsoaroundworld
London is one of my favourite cities in the world. I first visited when I was 14, and knew I had to go back. Again and again and again. And so I did!
One may never see London on a week or two, but what I like about it is that you can come back every couple of months and have completely different weekends as the city is so diverse, you don’t even have to repeat anything!
I love eating and I love shopping, so I thought I would share some tips which will hopefully be useful on an upcoming trip to London.
Shopping in London
– Oxford Street has everything you need – but obviously has LOTS of people, a clear downside. Nearby, I love South Molton Street (shoes, shoes and more shoes) and all the surrounding little side streets towards Mayfair.
– In Chelsea, I love starting a long walk at Sloane Street and end a shopping trip at the end of the Kings Road. There is something about this part of town!
– I love Borough and Portobello Markets – they are very different, but definitely worth a visit
– My hidden gem? Marylebone High Street, not far from Oxford Street – boutiques, restaurants and bars, just up my street
– Westfield White City – if you have time, it is definitely worth a visit
Eating in London
Most people say English food is bad, but I respectfully disagree. Like in any other place, you need to know where you are going. Simple.
There are classics, like Le Gavroche, The Ivy, Caprice, Nobu, Hakkasan, etc They are great, expensive. If
you want to find a list of the top places, a great start would be Taste of London’s website – if they were there, they are pretty good. And I can prove it, as I pretty much ate in all of them during an afternoon.
I wanted to share something interesting, which is common in the US, but not Europe: restaurant chains. It may not sound very glam, but some of them are really good (and also great value). Examples are:
– Gaucho
– Pizza Express
– Zizzi
– The Real Greek
– Café Rouge
– Nando’s (I don’t care what people think, I like it)
Very different price ranges, but quite nice places. These places usually have huge discount vouchers, so worth looking at places like toptable.co.uk for special deals (including Michelin-starred restaurants).
I think that if you eat well, things get much easier and you are much more likely to have a great time, wherever you may be. This way, you will certainly have more energy for some serious shopping and will, deserve, for sure, a much earned Gin & Tonic or, even better, a Pimms and Lemonade, i.e. English summer in a glass.
XO
Mrs. O
Peggy
There is a restaurant called Adam’s Rib right at Picadilly Square. It has an upstairs dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling street. They serve really good, reasonably priced food. Their French Onion soup is the best I’ve ever eaten.