As we had an early flight out of Dublin, we grabbed the redeye bus from home which departed at 02:45 and got us into Dublin Airport at 05:15. Despite it being a Thursday morning and the airport not crazy busy, we still booked the T2 lounge. At that time of the morning, it’s nice having that bit of a quieter space. There’s really not much in the way of food options in the lounge, some pre-packed pastries, stale scones and questionable coffee. Still though, it’s relaxing and before we knew it, it was time to head to our gate for our flight to London.
The flight arrived into Heathrow on time and we headed straight to the Tube to bring us to the centre of London. With the new Elizabeth line, you now have another option to get into the city centre – having not travelled on the Elizabeth line, we went with this option. Once up from the underground, we made our way to the hotel. We’re staying at the iconic Savoy Hotel, bang in the centre of London, less than a 10 minute walk to Leicester Square. The plan to visit London and stay in the Savoy was something we had been planning for a few years, we had dined there before but never stayed. Of course, there’s always a concern that our expectations, which to be fair, were pretty high, will not be met, but from the moment we arrived, it seemed pretty evident that this stay was going to be special.
Despite it being relatively early, we were checked in, however, our room would not be ready for a while. We were brought into the drawing room for some tea and a snack. We had two choices now, we could wait a while longer to see if our room would be ready, or head out and explore, which is what we did. The Savoy is located off the Strand and is just a two minute walk to Trafalgar Square and also close to plenty of London attractions and shopping. As it turned out, the theatre where we had booked a show, was pretty much right across the road.
After walking around in the very pleasant weather and soaking up the atmosphere, it was time for lunch. If you’ve read over some of our London posts before, you’ll know we are big fans of Ottolenghi, so for lunch we booked his Spitalfields restaurant where we’ve dined several times. When I made the booking, I booked the bar, we had been seated there before and liked it. The staff are always very polite and professional, we got started with a mocktail, which consisted of strawberry and pepper. It was fantastic, even the pepper, which I found strange at first, but it added a really nice flavour to it.
It was then onto food, we ordered…..
As always, the food was fantastic and for dessert, we shared a caramel carrot cake, which was also fantastic. Once again, Ottolenghi did not disappoint and we are already looking forward to the next visit.
Once we finished up, we walked around the Spitalfields market for a while and grabbed a coffee. Once done, it was time to return to the hotel to check in properly. Once back at the hotel we were escorted to our room. As we walked through the corridors, any time we encountered a member of staff, they always step aside and greet you, very professional. The guest relations staff member gave us a quick tour of our room and told us that we have a 24 hour butler service and to just call for anything we need – awesome!
Our room was a really good size, spotlessly clean, with some old furnishings but also very modern, with all the lighting, window blinds etc. controlled by the iPad beside the bed. There was also a small snack waiting for us with a welcome message, but given we were not long after lunch, we popped them in the fridge to be consumed later J. As we were going to a ‘fancy’ restaurant that evening and we only had carry-on luggage, my first call to the butler service was to see if I could get my shirt pressed, as it is required for dining that evening. Within three minutes of calling, the very pleasant butler was at the door and my shirts were on their way to be pressed. I was told it would be and hour or two, but lo and behold, 35 minutes later, my shirts were back and amazingly ‘crisp’.
Having had an early start, we relaxed for a while before it was time to get spruced up for dinner. The dress-code is smart and jackets are required for men, hence why I had squeezed my shirts and jacket into my carry-on. I’m not the biggest fan of having to wear a jacket for dinner with a shirt and tie, but, sometimes, it is nice to dress up. C had also packed her finest outfit, along with fancy shoes and matching clutch handbag.
We made our way back towards the lobby and outside to hop into a cab and like the staff we had encountered in and around the hotel, the door men were so well presented and so polite.
So for our dining experience we’re heading to the Royal Hospital Road, home of the very famous three Michelin star restaurant – Restaurant Gordon Ramsay – and we’re beyond excited. Once through the front door, we were greeted and told that our table would be ready in about 15 minutes and if we’d like to take a seat and relax. There’s a small lounge area where you wait for your table and have a drink if you like. We forwent the drink and before we knew it, we were seated in the restaurant proper. I’ll let the photos do the talking and give our thoughts below…..
The above is probably the most famous course in the restaurant as it’s been on the menu since the restaurant opened. It consists of lobster, langoustine, salmon, lemon and sauce Américaine (which is a lesser known classic French sauce).
So how was Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, did it meet our very high expectations, did the food wow us, were the staff on-point? Well, to be fair, while the staff were very polite and friendly, we felt it was a tad robotic, there was not much room for going beyond the ‘routine’ and it lacked a bit of genuineness, however, it was still quite professional. But how was the food, would we rate it a three Michelin star? Well…no is the simple answer. What we had, was tasty and well presented, however, we’ve had better meals in a one Michelin star restaurant – you can check one out here. Still though, we enjoyed dining in this iconic restaurant owned by probably the most famous and best known chef in the world, but would we dine here again? Yes, we would, but there are lots of other places that we would book before making a return visit.
After our meal, all that was left to do was order a cab and head back to the hotel. Despite our early start and the long day we had, well, we were not done yet. We made our way to the Beaufort bar in the hotel for a nightcap. What was interesting was the music playing, sort of a techno, pop type of thing. The décor is dark and a tad moody, however, there is some cleverly positioned lighting which works really well. We took a seat and the very polite waiter gave us a menu to look over. There was a vast selection of cocktails on offer but, we asked the waiter what he would recommend, so we went with his choices, a lemon, gin based one for C and I had a raspberry, cream, gin based one – both were really nice. After our nightcap, it was most definitely time for bed.
The following morning, it was time to get breakfast, there are two dining options for breakfast in the Savoy, the Thames Foyer and the River Restaurant, which just happens to be operated by Mr. Ramsay. As it was our first morning, we dined in the River Restaurant. Aside from the pleasant and bright dining room, you can’t but help notice the staff who were impeccably dressed with their pristine white jackets, shirts and Dickie bows. We were first offered a choice of juice, orange for me and C asked for her usual concoction, half grapefruit and half orange – no trouble at all. Next, I went with the full English and C opted for the waffles and fruit. Everything was fantastic and nothing was a problem, more tea, juices and even the offer of Chantilly cream for C’s waffles, I mean come-on, it’s 9:00 in the morning. J
After our fantastic breakfast, it was time to hit the streets, so to speak. We made our way toward Covent Garden to enjoy the atmosphere, C had a shop she wanted to spend some time in so I perused the various market stalls. Afterwards, we made our way through the streets towards Leicester Square and Piccadilly. As we were meeting friends of ours for lunch the following day, we popped into the Lego store to buy a gift for their son. We had to wait in line for about 15 minutes before getting in. There were some really nice displays and the place while busy, did not seem too chaotic.
We popped back to the hotel to drop in the gifts rather than carry them around for the day. After, we made our way towards Camden. However, on this occasion we’re not visiting the famous market, we’re actually doing something I’m really not into, but C fancied doing something ‘different’ on this trip – we’re visiting London Zoo.
The zoo is about a 20 minute walk once you exit the Camden tube station, thankfully it’s a fantastic day so it was a pleasant walk. For me, zoos are up there with my disdain for street-performers, parades and well, a long list of other things. That aside, we arrived, paid, grabbed a map and explored. Now there is ‘one’ main reason that a lot of people would visit London Zoo – parts of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone were filmed in the reptile house.
I’m going to spare you the finer details, but the zoo was pretty dreadful. I guess like a lot of things, it’s in bad need of investment as was evident in the lack of animals in most enclosures and the general state of the place. Even the ‘special’ butterfly attraction, where you walk into an enclosure of sorts and are supposed to be surrounded by butterflies – I reckon I spotted four. J. On a side note, there was a ‘different’ type of wildlife at the zoo, but, you will have to ask us what exactly it was 🙂
We left the zoo and headed back towards the tube station, as the evening was getting on we made our way back to the hotel to get ready for tonight’s entertainment. As you well know, London has it’s famous West End which stages a fantastic variety of shows to suit all ages and tastes. We have been fortunate in the past to have been to a few shows and the atmosphere is always fantastic. However, for tonight’s performance, we’re going to one of the newest shows – Back to the Future the Musical – and I, for one, am super-excited – I mean, at the very least, it has to be better than the zoo.
As it turned out, the Adelphi theatre is pretty much right across the road from our hotel. To be fair, while I was excited to see the show, I guess you have to ask the question, how will one of the most iconic sci-fi movies in history, transfer onto the stage? We arrived at the theatre and in less than five minutes, our tickets were checked and we were in the door. In the foyer, it was laid out like a movie theatre from the 1950’s and looked really cool. Add to that, you can purchase merch and grab a drink. We made our way to our seats and the whole theatre has been designed exclusively for Back to the Future and looked really cool. Then the lights dimmed, curtains went up and just like in the movie, it starts with Marty arriving into Doc’s house…..
So how was it, was it any good? It was outstanding!! It was so well done, the visual effects, the soundtrack which included songs from the movie as well as original songs, the cast, everything, it was so entertaining – I’m already looking forward to going to see it again when next in London.
After the show, we headed back to the hotel and made our way to the famous American Bar in our hotel. We were peckish so we were hoping we could get in for a bite to eat and a drink. There were some people in front of us who were turned away, so we had very little hope we’d get in. However, once we mentioned we were hotel guests, we were escorted to a nice table and handed menus. The bar is straight out of an Agatha Christie book, think retro, Orient Express with a speakeasy type of vibe. There was a very talented piano player – seriously the guy could play anything. We ordered some sparkles and some food to nibble on – and on a side note, our food took a little time to arrive and for the ‘inconvenience’ we got a glass of Champagne on the house. We ate some sliders, fries and some chicken, the perfect late night snack washed down with some pink Champagne. All that was left to do was head back to our room for a good night’s rest.
The following morning, we mixed it up for breakfast and dined in the Thames Foyer. Again, like the River Restaurant, the service and food were excellent. After breakfast, we hit the streets, our first stop was to visit the always cool Camden marker for a wander around, then from there, we made our way to meet our chums for a spot of lunch. We met at Caravan Fitzrovia, which is one of a small chain of restaurants specialising in brunch and light bites. It was great to catch up with our friends and we also ended up on Hamleys for a wander around as our friend’s young son, was getting a new bear, at the Build-a-Bear workshop in Hamleys.
After we said our goodbyes, we made our way to visit the Churchill War Rooms. It was recommended by a work colleague of mine and it did not disappoint. Yet another great insight into World War II – it was well worth the hour long line to get in – booking in advance next time for sure. After that, we strolled around this part of London before making our way back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
For dinner, we booked the Sky Garden, one of the newer attractions in London. We got there about a half hour early and had to wait before we could go up. There’s a package that you can book, which includes dinner and well, entrance into the Sky Garden. Once up, we arrived at the restaurant and grabbed a drink before being brought to our table. While our seat was not facing out towards the view, it was still nice to see London below.
As for the food, well, we did not have very high expectations and we were right. There’s a short menu, with basic stuff such as a burger, pasta dish, veggie option, a few other bits and well, that was pretty much it. To start, I ordered the pate and C ordered the smoked salmon, they were nothing special, but not despertly bad. For our mains, we both just went with the burger, as far as burgers go, it was pretty decent, we shared a dessert of the classic Eton mess, which was fine.
After dinner we made our way to the lower floor which gives fantastic views of London, add to that, there’s a band playing and on an upper floor, a DJ – so plenty of entertainment on offer. We hung around for a while longer, enjoying the band, then we headed back down, hopped in a cab and made our way back to the hotel. Overall the Sky Garden was ‘fine’, the view is great and the entertainment, was well, entertaining. The staff in the restaurant were very friendly and the food while nothing special, was fine. It’s a place we are unlikely to return to and on a side note, it really is just a tourist thing to do.
The next morning, we found ourselves back in the River Restaurant for breakfast and once again, it was fantastic. Afterwards, we were back in our room to pack up before hitting the streets to do a little shopping before catching our flight home. We popped into the famous Fortnum and Mason store for a wander and with our last hour or two took in some of the surrounding sites.
This really was one of the most enjoyable trips we’ve had in London, the highlight, without a doubt, was the Savoy hotel, it was outstanding, it rates way up there with some other places of the same calibre that we’ve stayed in before. Yes, it is really expensive, but as a special treat, what’s the harm J. The only downside in all of this is that, next time we’re back in London, it will be really difficult to stay anywhere, but the Savoy J
Until next time,
Bye for now,
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 