London, Innit?
My boyfriend and I recently traveled to the beautiful, rainy city of London, England and I have one thing to say: Smashed it! lol
London is an amazing city with so much to offer, from culture, food, vibes, scenery, etc. We had a great time and I’ve listed out everywhere we ate, danced, and explored for you to have an equally amazing experience. I also have a vlog on my YouTube for visuals!
Flight Tips:
Depending on where you’re flying from the flight can be minimum 5 hours from the US, so I recommend wearing compression socks. This is something I should’ve had for our 17 hour flight to Southeast Asia and wasn’t going to make that mistake again. They are a HUGE help when you’re sitting for hours on end. My legs didn’t cramp at all with these socks on, and I felt more comfortable in my seat then I would have if I was wearing regular socks.
Make sure you download some entertainment for the flight. We love to watch a movie that takes place in the country or city we are visiting. It’s a tradition we have, and it gets us excited for our trip. If you’d also like to partake in this fun activity, I’ve listed my recommendations below:
The Parent Trap - Disney Plus
Last Night In Soho - Amazon Prime or Apple TV for rent/buy
Kingsman - Netflix or Disney Plus
Love Actually - Amazon Prime
Bohemian Rapsody - Netflix or Disney Plus
Harry Potter Series - MAX or Amazon Prime
Slow Horses - Apple TV
If you can book a redeye flight, do it. You get to sleep during the night and wake up around noon once you arrive. Which is perfect because it helps you easily adjust to the time difference. You still might feel a little tired but your chances of being jet lagged will decrease significantly.
Eat before your flight! Especially if you have a redeye. Grab some dinner at the airport and drink lots of water. You want to stay hydrated for long flights.
Definitely bring snacks for the flight, if you’re on a redeye you probably won’t need them. I still say it’s great to have just incase you need to munch on something.
Stay:
We spent 4 days in London in a Kindred close to Shoreditch. If you' aren’t familiar with Kindred, it’s an apartment swapping platform where you can list your apartment or house and earn credits for every day it’s listed and rented out by someone else of the platform. You can then use those credits towards stays in other cities, countries, that have Kindreds available. It’s kind of like Airbnb but nicer because people are more courteous and considerate of your belongings. The place was very nice and located close to the bus and train stations.
If you aren’t on Kindred, I’m sure there are plenty of airbnb’s to choose from if you’d prefer to do that over a hotel.
Tourist Attractions To See:
London Towers (aka the London Bridge)
Tower of London Castle
The West Minister Abbey
Big Ben
The Eye
Buckingham Palace
Hyde Park
Where To Go Out:
Hackney for Pub night
Shoreditch for shopping and vibey dinners
Oxford Street for shopping
Soho for clubs and a late night out - Arts Theatre Club, Old Coffee House
Where To Eat:
Dishoom - Indian restaurant with several locations. It was good, but it wasn’t mind blowing. I think there are other indian spots that would’ve been better. I felt like it was lacking spice, and that is a major reason why I enjoy indian food (not necessarily spicy but the depth in flavor). I definitely recommend going if you’re in London because it is worth the visit. The pricing isn’t bad and the vibes are there. Definitely get the papaya colada and chili chicken, as well as the monkfish curry and garlic naan. Skip the cucumber salad, it sounds refreshing (which it is) but it doesn’t have much going on.
Brat - This spot was so delicious. Everything we ordered was perfect, I have no notes. Get the steak tartar, the mussels, the grilled cabbage, the bread, the dory fish, and the steak. You won’t be disappointed! They grill basically everything so you get that char flavor on most of the dishes. The price is also reasonable for the amount and quality of food. With wine, it was about 100 pounds per person.
Coco Inchibanya Curry House - If you’re familiar with my Wandering Asia blog then you know how much I love this restaurant and wish there was one either in Miami or New York. The London location is good, and tastes similar. The spice levels are different, so if you like spice, level up! I wish the creamy crab katsu cakes were on the London menu because they are my favorite things to order. There are a few items on the London menu that aren’t on the Japan one and visa versa, but the katsu chicken and pork are classics and you most get at least one of them.
Raavi Kebab - This local Pakistani restaurant in Camden was incredible. Homemade, authentic Pakistani food for an affordable price. The place is very small and casual, be prepared to order a bunch of food because everything looks and is so good. We ordered their traditional lamb, chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, with chile garlic naan and biriyani rice. Delicious!
My Place - This is a restaurant/bar in Soho that is open pretty late. The food is really good and the drinks are strong. A great place to grab a quick lively bite before heading out into Soho for more drinks and dancing! Get the burger, you won’t regret it if you like smash burgers. The croquettes and fries were great also.
The Hansom at Saint Pancras Renaissance - We had Afternoon Tea here. It’s in a beautiful setting with live music. The day we went they had a Harpist. The price is prefixed but affordable, at 70 pound per person for unlimited fresh tea, sandwiches and desserts.
Places We Wanted To See/Eat But Missed:
HOKO Hong Kong Cafe - Hong Kong Restaurant
The Little Scarlet Door - Cocktail Bar
Candelia Tea Room - Afternoon Tea
Coupette - Cocktail Bar
Trishna - Indian Restaurant
Chishuru - Indian Restaurant
Queen Of The South Pub - Pub with Food
The Flygerians - Nigerian Restaurant
Manteca - Italian Restaurant
Eggbreak - Breakfast/lunch Restaurant
Pimlico - Shopping