Eating and drinking my way around: London

I grew up 35 minutes away from central London by train, so for years London has been my stomping ground. London is a city in which I can discover new tastes, go back to places I have known for years, meet old friends and make new ones. It’s a home away from home, with memories stored under every cobble and paving stone.

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If London is a home, the South Bank for me is its hearth. Until I was nearly twenty, my aunt owned a pub just off the South Bank, and this pub acted as the hub for a lot of my growing up. My mum and I often went on day-trips to the centre; we would meet my aunt in the Rose and Crown, have a ‘hello’ drink and go to a restaurant for a girly lunch. It is also where I made some life-long friends, met my first boyfriend, cried over my first break up, danced to samba and jazz alike, and learned to pour a pint. And just minutes from here is the South Bank itself, on the edge of the River Thames. As well as containing countless memories, it is home to several highly recommendable pubs and restaurants. The first of which is the Founder’s Arms, located right on the edge of the Bank, with outdoor seating overlooking the water. In terms of drinks, it is fairly traditional: wine, beers, ciders and spirits. While not the place to go for an experimental cocktail, I love this place on a late spring or early autumn day, with a super cold cider or lager and a seat in the sunshine.

In Gabriel’s Wharf, right next to the Oxo Tower, you will find a collection of small, independent shops, restaurants and bars. My favourite amongst these is Studio 54; I have taken several friends here because I love perching on a bench outside and soaking in the relaxed atmosphere of this bohemian pocket of London.

Not too far down the river is Doggett’s: another traditional pub, it also happens to be the site of my parents’ first date. So, my fondness for this place is slightly influenced by familial nostalgia – but don’t think that’s the only reason I like it! Located directly next to Blackfriars Bridge, it is an ideal location to watch the impressive variety of locals, business people and tourists mill past.

Further down the river, you will wander past the Tate Modern art gallery, and then less than ten minutes later, the Golden Hind Ship. Next to the ship is The Old Thameside Inn; go here in November and order a mulled wine to ward off the British cold and rain, or any time of the year after dark. It is after the sun has set that the bar comes into its own, because sitting outside with a glass of your poison, you become the audience of the city lights glitter and bounce off the deep black waves of the Thames.

Moving away from the river and onto the Cut (a stone’s throw from Waterloo Station), there is one of my favourite cocktails in all of London. The Young Vic is a bar/café/theatre, and thus home to a lot of arty-types. It is also home to a list of cocktails named after parts of the city; my favourite is the Angel: blended strawberry, mango, vodka and cava. It walks the tightrope between sweet and dry, with just enough bubble to stop you knocking it back in one gulp. Enjoy it, or any of the bar’s London-themed cocktails, inside the two-floor, open-plan building or outside on the 1st floor balcony; as expected by anyone who has read my posts before, I love the balcony, and the opportunity it affords to observe the street and its diverse, ever-flowing river of people below.

Finally in this section, I present you with Cubana. A small and often busy Cuban (surprise) restaurant at the end of the Cut, the atmosphere is both intimate and relaxed, if busy. The cocktails are very tasty: I recommend the caipirinha, or anything with passionfruit. The Cubana Passion especially stands out amongst the passionfruit collection. The food is substantial, and if I am not mistaken, this is the place which first introduced me to chifles. Chifles, for those of you who have not yet experienced their deliciousness, are fried plantain crisps, and so utterly addictive. In fact, even if you never step foot in this bar, the message of this paragraph could be condensed to: try chifles and you will never turn back.

Soho

Soho is filled with bars, pubs and cafés of every variety; it is also an especially LGBT+ friendly part of the city. After getting my tattoo done in a parlour in this very district, I went to Comptons on Old Compton Street with my mum and aunt, and almost immediately ended up in conversation with a guy who was moonlighting as a pole-dancing unicorn in a nearby cabaret. Suffice to say, wherever you go in Soho, you are almost guaranteed interesting company. The pub itself is also very comfortable; a traditional-style pub with an untraditional, wonderfully eclectic clientele, which combine to set a cosy and easy-going atmosphere.

The O Bar often has happy hours, and this is a good time to stock up on Porn Star Martinis; these cocktails in particular are both fitting, given the district’s history with sex and many trades relating to it, and well-made.

(One of Soho's landmarks)

My favourite restaurants in this zone have to be Ceviche on Frith Street and Wardour Street’s Wahaca. The first deals in Peruvian food, slightly edited; that is, smaller portions than someone accustomed to real Peruvian meals might expect and with a very slight touch of the nouveau cuisine. The meals, artfully designed and moderately portioned as they are, are absolutely divine in terms of taste and texture. The pastel de choclo (or corn cake) drizzled with huancaína sauce is warm, creamy and comforting, while the Don Ceviche (made with classic leche de tigre and sea bass) and Tiradito Rochoso (tuna marinated in a rocoto chilli leche de tigre) are two dishes I order every time without fail. Zingy, fresh, spicy and light, they go down a treat accompanied by a Pisco Sour or pineapple-based Sofía del Mar cocktail.

(Cocktails at Ceviche)

Wahaca is a chain (but a good chain) of Mexican restaurants serving much more authentically Mexican food than the Tex-Mex of yore. Underneath this branch is a mezcal bar called Azulito, decked out with appropriately blue lighting. But the restaurant on the ground floor is where you will find the tacos. And good tacos they are, too. There is a variety of meaty, fishy and vegetarian fillings including MSC-certified battered cod, chicken tinga, pork pibil, cactus and plantain. The plantain may be my favourite of all, although I do like the exceptionally juicy chicken tinga. The guacamole and salsa are both freshly made every day, and that comes through in the taste; treat yourself by getting both and a classic margarita. The combination of salt, lime and good silver tequila is truly unbeatable. The only bone I have to pick with this restaurant is that I have frequented various branches of it for years, and do feel as if the margaritas have become incrementally smaller over time as the business’s success has grown. Or maybe I am just greedy.

(Post-tattoo and pole-dancing unicorn margarita at Wahaca)

Camden

This is the last borough I am going to cover in this post. Camden Town is located in North London, easily accessible from Trafalgar Square via the tube (which I never take) or the 24 bus (my preferred mode of transport). The high street is predominantly missable, unless you happen to be a teenager going through a goth phase (been there! ). However, it is host to one great bar called the Blues Kitchen. It’s more or less what it says on the tin; based on a 1920s/30s aesthetic, it is shabby chic with peeling posters of blues icons lining the walls. Blues music fills the establishment, but is not invasively loud, and the food is hearty and overtly influenced by the Southern states of the US. Think gumbo, catfish, rustic chips, and hot-sauce smothered chicken wings, and you’ll get the picture. I’m a big fan, either for food or just to perch at the bar and sip a cocktail. The cocktails tend to be quite small, but with punchy flavours and a good (but not overdone) hit of alcohol. The Hemingway daiquiri, dirty mojito and pisco sour have all been dutifully tried and tested by yours truly, and are well worth a recommendation.

After leaving here, zip swiftly up the high street to the Camden Lock, and this is where things really kick into gear. Quick warning: I am about to recommend a Wetherspoon’s. Bear with me here. I am not just recommending this chain pub because it is cheap, in a city where cheap pubs are few and far between. I am recommending it because sitting by the lock with a bottle of prosecco and a friend, whilst the boats meander past, the weeping willow sways above, and the buzz of the market stalls floats from across the river is one of the most joyous and relaxing experiences I think you can achieve in the city. Chill out here with a drink for a while before bouncing over to the other side of the river and hitting the food stalls.

The food stalls serve cuisine from many corners of the globe, satisfying sweet and salt teeth alike: French crepes, Venezuelan arepas, paella, Korean dishes, curry, cakes, churros, barbeque … the list goes greedily on. Find a dish which makes your mouth salivate and your heart flutter, then take it through the arch and eat your findings sitting on the river’s edge, your legs swinging above the water. For full effect, make sure you have a bottle of beer to hand.

(Sunset over Camden Lock)

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