I left London a decade ago. It is a strange feeling when I return because it holds so many memories and I truly think of it as my birthplace (I was born there and left when I was 25 years old) yet I’ve also become a stranger to the city. Much to my chagrin, I left London just before it started to explode and reinvent itself from tired, old and drab to new and exciting all over again. In the last 10 years London has become a gastronomic playground. Simple British food has been re-embraced and given a twist, brilliant ethnic food lurks all over the city and really good cocktail bars are going strong.
I spent most of my trip on the go and was too knackered to blog but here’s a lowdown of where I wined, dined and cocktailed.
Wine
Not far from Borough Market, a very cute, independent wine shop that’s worth checking out is Waterloo Wine Company. The wines are well priced (if you ignore the terrible exchange rate) and they have a good selection of small-producer wines. I spotted Dom du Closel and Clos du Roilette on the shelves and though I was tempted to stick to the tried and true, I ventured into unknown territory instead and lucked out on a bargain Languedoc wine (Plantation 1905, Vin de Table) made from obscure old vines, also had a pretty Chiroubles (Chateau de Javernand) and an excellent Chinon, all from producers I’d never heard of.
Food
Borough Market was, of course, excellent but packed with tourists. We got the most amazing ground beef (to make burgers) from the Ginger Pig butcher, a shop that sells all local pork, beef and lamb. Quality was so clean, it could have been devoured raw. Borough Market isn’t quite like the local Greenmarket. They tout edibles from all over Europe. So you’ll find epicurean bacon from Spain, cow’s milk cheeses from Switzerland and France, olives from Italy and so on – it’s still worth the visit if you can deal with crowds.
Coffee
If you’re a coffee aficionado, a stop for espresso at Monmouth Coffee Company, just opposite the market, is essential. (The original branch in Covent Garden still stands and is also worth seeking out.) The whole upscale, geek coffee movement isn’t as big in London as it is here in NYC but this place is on par with the best coffee enclaves in Manhattan.
Rochelle Canteen
On a quiet backstreet of East London, the former school houses designer and artist studios, along with a glorified canteen headed by Chef Fergus Henderson’s wife, Margot Henderson. We loved it for it’s absolute simplicity, rustic dishes and chirpy staff. We had pork rillettes (pate), grilled mackerel and I had braised lamb shoulder and a rhubarb panna cotta for dessert. They don’t have a liquor license so it’s BYOB and they’re only open for lunch.
The Fox
Of course I had to get a gastro pub or two in. After cocktails in Shoreditch at the Hawksmoor (worth a visit if you’re into mixology) we dined at The Fox. Owned by the same folks that opened the Lansdowne, one of the early gastro pubs that I went to while I was still living in London, the Fox is part bustling old-school pub downstairs and casual but elegant restaurant upstairs. The food was good, hearty and nourishing, while the wine list is dull but then so many places in London have unfortunately crappy wine lists.
Tea
Also in Shoreditch, just around the corner from Spitalfields Market, there is a fantastic tea place called Tea Smith. Along with Postcard Teas near Bond Street, this is a place for major tea fanatics. Funny enough we were served by a Monmouth Company Coffee alumni who had ventured into tea. We talked about good tea places in New York and she knew of the Tea Gallery on Allen because the owner has a great reputation on the tea circuit. At Tea Smith I told them that I liked light fragrant oolong teas and she recommended two: the Tsguanyin Classic and Phoenix Classic. Both were amazing and perfect after a day of walking around and getting lost in the city.
Cocktails
My brother Manick and I went out for a night on the town. It’s become a bit of a tradition whenever he is in New York or I’m in London, for us to go to a fabulous cocktail bar without the rest of the family and catch up on everything. On this night we checked out Montgomery Place in Notting Hill. I had heard it described as the “Pegu Club of London.” Pegu is a hard one to follow but Montgomery Place comes close. The drinks were fantastic. I tried not to balk at the prices – 9 quid for a cocktail means almost 20 bucks for us – and allowed myself to enjoy the balanced drinks and good brotherly company.