London Recommendations

When we went we looked over the Tower (north) but maybe we got that because we were staying there.
Yeah poss. I was a bit disappointed as we'd gone there for drinks with foreign colleagues and basically all I could show them was the isle of dogs :cry:
 
I'd recommend grabbing one of the river taxis. I often used to take the riverboat back after work from Canary Wharf down to Embankment, but it does go a lot further too. The views from the river on a nice day, while standing on the open rear deck with a bottle of beer in hand, are lovely.
Where can you board these from? I often have time to kill when on site and cant think if a better way to kill a few hours!
 
dumb old railway thing. the lines going into london are called 'up'.

it does not matter wherere you are, just look at a map. if you are heading north then you are going up, if you are heding south then you are going down.


science museum is crap, it used to be good but it has been garbage for years, donot waste your time.


Well I never, the railways ehh? Thanks for that, every day's a school day :)
 
Also don't worry about Oyster cards. Just use your contactless credit/debit card; it'll work out the most effective fare at the end of the day and charge you. (max of 12 quid IIRC).
 
@Jackabamba might want to narrow it down a bit to get more sensible/helpful replies. Where in "London" are you staying? Leicester Square? Wembley? Greenwich? What's your budget/interest when it comes to restaurants? Street food markets or 3 Michelin stars? :confused:

Here's my random list of new-ish places I want to try when I start venturing back into central;
  • Norma
  • Kol
  • Gymkhana
  • Sucre
  • Fallow
  • Quality Chop House
  • St. John
  • Hereford Road (Notting Hill)
  • The Black Dog (Brentford)
  • Noble Rot
  • C&R Cafe Restaurant (Soho)
  • Laksamania
  • Blacklock (Covent Garden)
Or you may as well look here; https://www.hot-dinners.com/Feature...restaurants-dining-out-londoneats-guide?idU=2

I personally wouldn't bother with anything at the Shard, unless you're that excited by the view. It's pretty touristy and expensive.
 
Sorry, So Staying in Islington, Looking for a place for chilled cocktails with the wife, Budget isnt really an issue as its a special occasion just something Smart Casual you know. Not a suit guy hahaha
 
I personally wouldn't bother with anything at the Shard, unless you're that excited by the view. It's pretty touristy and expensive.
@Jackabamba
If you want a decent view for free, go up the Sky Garden. You just need to book a ticket in advance and it's on the correct side of the river.
 
Sorry, So Staying in Islington
I'd do all the touristy stuff in central during the day and in the evening eat around Clerkenwell, Farringdon, Islington personally. Can't say I've been to many of these places but they are all very well regarded.. if you're meat lovers then Quality Chop House would be my first bet, Hawksmoor in that area has a nice cocktail bar (make sure you have a Shakey Pete!), Session Arts Club is the new 'in' place to go but doubt you'd get a table at the weekend.. Or you could head down to Granary Square/Coal Drops Yard in Kings Cross to Hoppers, Dishoom, Barafina and there's a few wine bars around there too. It's a new area so lots there but imo feels a little 'false' as it's all just been built and trendy places stuffed in.. (I'd rather go find the places like Brutto in Clerkenwell). Heck just check out these lists, literally any of them would be great if you're a foodie;
https://www.hot-dinners.com/Feature...in-London/the-best-restaurants-in-clerkenwell
https://www.hot-dinners.com/Feature...s-in-London/best-restaurants-islington-london
https://www.hot-dinners.com/Feature...-London/best-restaurants-in-shoreditch-london
https://www.hot-dinners.com/Feature...taurants-kings-cross-euston-london-eating-out
 
It comes from the time when the railways were the main travel system, all lines entering London are called the 'Up' lines and all ones leaving are the 'Down' lines, but I guess it's out of fashion now people drive more.

I've always said going down south (or London) and up north being based in the middle of the country.

To the OP, it depends on your budget, but The Ivy is a great place to eat and if you really wanted to go high end then Dinner by Heston was absolutely superb.

Thanks, makes sense once you are aware of the origin
 
I can second the Uber river bus. That's how I go to work. It's only a bit more then a train but much nicer way to travel. They even have an onboard bar with beer, coffee, cake, etc.

There are a couple of downside is there are two types of boats; one is much nicer then the other. They generally only run during commuting hours. There is a weekend service too, but the routes are changed and shorter.

I've been to Oxo a couple of times. It's ok. The view is nice. There is a view over the Thames and a few art galleries below to browse. You need to book ahead. The catch is I am cheap low class type who finds the items overpriced.

Hawksmoor is better for steaks :)

Ramsays has always been hit and miss for me. Sometimes great. Sometimes mediocre. They occasionally have offers on their site.
 
Last edited:
science museum is crap, it used to be good but it has been garbage for years, donot waste your time.
I think the Science museum is the sort of place that suffers a bit the internet era, it used to be a place of wonderment where you could learn about all sorts of cool stuff but nowadays kids will have seen half of it on youtube already.

Not near Islington (Waterloo) but a few years back I took a friend to Gillray's Steakhouse & Bar for cocktails and Jazz, very chill. Not sure if they do music on the weekend though.
 
Wetherspoons cocktail pitcher, 2 for £11, don't bother with glasses just get one each and a straw.

Whether you opt for glasses or straws, according to my younger son going into Spoons for anything other than to take a leak blows your street cred right out of the water, but to be fair, he’s more into blood orange margaritas, tequila smashes, negronis or mojitos :rolleyes:

I was always taught that you go UP to London, even if you are north of the capital, has that gone out of fashion, or was my English teacher talking rubbish?

My old man worked on Southern Railway after the war, and he used “up” as London bound and “down” as away from London.
It’s probably gone out of style now, and anyone from the North will not unreasonably say that they are going down if heading South.

It might not be the right time of year for it but I really enjoy the walk along the South Bank (even though it's the wrong side of the river) from Tower Bridge all the way along to Westminster Bridge, over the bridge and up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square and then into Leicester Square.

Wrong side? Bite your tongue! :eek:

Highly recommend food markets (Camden, Borough, etc). You find lots of food choices from all over the world, some are legendary, some are just excellent, you are very rarely disappointed.

Borough Market has lots of exotic choice, but they can ask outrageous prices.

If you are a fan of steak I would recommend any of the Hawksmoor restaurants. They're dotted about in most of the interesting places in London

There’s a good Hawksmoor in Winchester Walk, Borough Market.

Isn't this the bar, that looks out over the "wrong side" of London?

There is no “wrong side” of London, it’s all good, maybe you’re thinking of Birmingham or Blackburn? :)

Better than Camberwell :D

I catch your drift, but even that is debatable, try the top end of Camberwell Grove, toward Dog Kennel Hill.

Sorry, So Staying in Islington, Looking for a place for chilled cocktails with the wife, Budget isnt really an issue as its a special occasion just something Smart Casual you know. Not a suit guy hahaha

My kid and his wife frequent the Homeboy Bar in Essex Road, off Islington Green, and The Drapers Arms in Barnsbury Street is a great place for Sunday lunch, or at any time :cool:
 
Maybe a restaurant or bar in one of the skyscrapers for a some nice views? Shard has some good ones, Oxo tower as somebody else said also Sushi Samba and Duck & Waffle in the Heron Tower. If you're in the city the Aviary is a nice rooftop bar too
 
Gordons wine bar, I used to work next to it and would visit almost every evening to grab a bottle for my wife and I as well as some decent cheese.

It's Londons oldest wine cellar and it's based in Embankment. Certainly something only the 'locals' visit with tourists rarely there. However, I last visited maybe 7 years ago?

https://www.gordonswinebar.com/
 
Back
Top Bottom