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London, London, London. Seriously cannot get over how much we miss it. There is just so much history, culture, and arts there to relish in. Oh, and the food.
Most people say London food isn’t all that great because it’s just like what we have in the States and it’s just all fried stuff but I honestly would beg to differ. Yes, there are definite similarities but regardless, each meal and restaurant and dish always had a story behind it. That’s what makes it different and unique. And the fact you’re eating it in London of all places!
I’m sharing with you today everywhere we ate and the best places to eat in London (or at least what we thought were the best places!). We only had three days here so I’m sure we missed a lot but here are the highlights! I did something different with this trip than with any other trip. All these were taken on my iPhone 6! Can you tell? I’m very impressed with the camera on the new iPhones!
Borough Market
The most iconic market in London and something you have to do while you’re there. Don’t even eat lunch or dinner. Just spend three to four hours here and you’ll be leaving with full bellies. There is just seriously endless amounts of nibbles and bites at this market. I wish I lived in London so I could come here more often!
Ok so Monmouth Coffee is right across the entrance of Borough Market and it’s one of those ‘must-hit’ places for coffee. We love a good cup of coffee so we had to try it! We got there at a ‘good time’ because even though there was a line, it still wasn’t wrapped around the block like it usually is! Don’t let the line scare you; definitely worth the wait!
My kinda bar!!!!
You HAVE to get these donuts. The one in the front is a vanilla custard filled donut and the one in the back is a salted caramel with honeycomb. No, that’s not fried chicken! Haha, it’s a honeycomb sticking out of it!
My good friend, Erin, from barre recently moved to London and we got the chance to meet up!! :) you should totally check out her blog; she blogs a lot of London and what they do in the city!
This is a famous stand called Brindisa. It’s their famous chorizo and roasted red pepper sandwich. It was absolutely delightful!
I adore the buildings in London! Just look at the florals on this building!
I know we have Wagamamas in the state but we don’t have one in the DC area (yet) so when we saw this near the Tower of London on our first day (which, we were also starving since we had just hopped off the plane), we went in for a bite! They’re known for their ramen and noodles. We got these duck potstickers that tasted like peking duck to me!
The premise of this London trip was to celebrate Jason’s 30th birthday. I made us reservations to one of Ottolenghi’s restaurants called Nopi (thanks to Kathryn for the suggestion). Jason and I had a delicious meal here and we definitely would recommend it! It’s near Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street so after dinner, we were able to walk around and see Piccadilly and Regent Street all lit up. It was gorgeous!
Nopi
21-22 Warwick Street
London W1B 5NE
And this is where I fell in love with tea. There are NUMEROUS places you can go to enjoy afternoon tea but we were recommended to tea time at The Brown’s Hotel by Jason’s cousin since she used to live in London. Definitely want to make reservations!
The English Tea Room at The Brown’s Hotel
Albemarle St.,
London W1S 4BP, United Kingdom
Omg CLOTTED CREAM is HEAVEN. I’m determined to find some in the states and spread it all over everything. And their real strawberry jam was unreal!!
We tried this hibiscus herbal tea and umm..we’ll stick to the traditional afternoon tea :)
Later that evening, we decided to take a stroll and saw the city at night. It was beautiful. We went to The Clarence which is a local pub near Trafalgar Square. We just had to do it. We got fish and chips and brews. It was a fun little date and we definitely burned all the calories we ate by the amount we walked ;)
The Clarence
53 Whitehall,
London, SW1A 2HP
Duck and Waffle
110 Bishopsgate,
London EC2N 4AY
You need to make a reservation to Duck and Waffle if you’re in London. It’s located in the Heron Tower and you fly up the clear elevator 40 stories up and you get an incredible view of London with your breakfast. They’re open 24/7 so you can eat breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner there if you want. Thankfully the day we went it was clear so you could see all of London and beyond. Pretty breathtaking!
That building to the left is called the Gherkin building cause well…doesn’t it look like a pickle?!
I had the apple toffee waffles with cinnamon ice cream. Yup, dessert for breakfast – I’ll take it!
Jason got the traditional English breakfast.
Couldn’t pass up pastries!
Ok, this next place housed the BEST MEAL we had in London. I can’t stop raving about it and I won’t. We were absolutely in love with this place. Now I’m determined to find the best Indian restaurant in the DC area. So yes, this next restaurant, Dishoom, is located in Covent Garden area and you seriously need to give it a try. London has some of the very best Indian food and Dishoom just proves it. The decor on the inside reminds me of The Great Gatsby era in a weird way. There’s a bar downstairs that you can wait at and it totally gave the feel of a speakeasy. I don’t know but that’s just the feeling it evoked. You can’t make reservations at this place so you just gotta wait but we only waited for like 20 minutes – it goes fast especially with drinks and nibbles downstairs :) it’s so WORTH it. Ugh, I miss this place!!
Dishoom
12 Upper St Martin’s Lane,
London, WC2H 9FB
We got their garlic naan, vegetable biryani, daal (HOLY MOUTH EXPLOSION OF AWESOMENESS..I could’ve drank this), gunpowder potatoes, and chicken ruby curry. It was a ton of food but goodness gracious, I want more. Love love this place!!
Stay tuned for how to play tourist in London! I’ll have all the spots we hit up and the little cute neighborhoods you have to check out!!
Loved the pictures and suggestions. As someone planning a trip there, this year, this was very helpful and should help save time.
I think you just ate for three days! ;) I do the same when I am in London. I just can’t resist indulging in afternoon tea and London has so many yummy places to eat. Another really fun place to check out next time you are there is Bubble Dogs. They combine Champagne and gourmet hot dogs. So fun!
Oh goodness, now I will have dreams of English breakfast, tea time, and clotted cream! Scrumptious!