Our trip to London started from Edinburgh by train which despite all the planned disruption went ahead. We actually travelled on a LNER train which was fantastic. Really friendly, helpful staff and although a limited selection of food options, it was a really enjoyable journey. We arrived into Kings Cross station bang on time, hopped on the tube which thankfully was running and headed towards Earls Court to our hotel. We usually stay in this part of London as the prices by London standards are pretty good plus our hotel (Hotel Indigo) is a one minute walk from the tube station.
Once checked in, we had about an hour to kill before getting ready to hit the centre of London where we had arranged to meet two friends (from home) who were in London for another concert at the same time. Once spruced up we made our way towards Leicester Square where we arranged to meet our two chums. First things first, a pre-dinner drink in a rooftop bar which offers really good views of the London skyline and despite it being a tad overcast, it was a warm evening.
After our drinks, we made our way towards our dining option for the evening – The Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay at the very fancy Savoy hotel. C and I have dined here a few times but this was a first for our friends. The interior of the restaurant has a real art deco look to it and is nicely lit and has comfortable well-designed seating areas. The menu is short but reads really well as you would expect. We ordered some drinks – kir royals of course, then ordered our food. To start, I went with the simple heirloom tomato salad, C and one of our chums ordered the smoked haddock soufflé and the other the duck foie gras. My salad was as expected, tasty and fresh, the foie gras rich and really tasty, however it was the haddock that was the star it was delicious. For our mains, two of us went for the duck and two of us ordered the beef wellington. We ordered some fries, pommes purée and charred cabbage as sides. While the duck was good the beef was outstanding. Dessert was next on the list, we ordered tart tartin, cheesecake, rum-baba and a cheeseboard. All fantastic, to say we were full would be an understatement but it did not stop us from hitting a late night bar to finish off a splendid night.
The following morning, C and I grabbed a late-ish breakfast (given the late night) we went to a local bar in Earls Court just on the corner from our hotel called The Blackbird. I opted for the full-English and C had the avo on toast with eggs. Perhaps it was our slightly groggy state but the breakfast was great and just what we needed.
After breakfast, we made our way to one of the most famous roads in not just London but also the world – Abbey Road. I’d always wanted to see the famous crossing from the Beatles album of the same name and despite visiting London on numerous occasions, I was only getting to it now. Sure, you can do the tourist thing and re-create the famous walk as some people were doing but we were happy to take a photo and visit the Abbey Road gift shop.
After checking out the road, we hopped back on the tube and headed towards Holborn. We grabbed a coffee and after we visited Sir John Soane’s museum. He was a collector – or hoarder depending on your perspective of basically stuff. He was an architect by trade and travelled the world collecting a variety of random items. The house is pretty interesting and was worth the free entrance fee.
Our next plan was to grab an early dinner before heading to the Olympic stadium for our concert. We decided to chance a walk-in at a restaurant called Rovi, which is owned by Ottolenghi – we’re fans and always try and get to one of his restaurants. We arrived just after 5:00pm as it opened for dinner service. We luckily got a table as by 5:45, the place was full. The menu consists of nibbles; small plates and mains and everything is meant for sharing. We ordered…..
After stuffing our faces, it was back on the tube and headed towards the stadium to see Green Day. The concert was electric. They put on a banging show with some fantastic pyrotechnics not just on stage but all baround the stadium. Once finished, we joined the 75,000 plus crowd and made our way back towards the tube station. Despite the slow going, crowd control was well organised and we were back on the tube making our way back to our hotel before long.
The following day, we had a light breakfast at the hotel, just some tea and toast. Once done we spent some of the morning hanging out in the always interesting Camden – with its famous markets. There’s been a lot of building work done in the area since we last visited and it looks great with even more places to shop and eat. After we went back to our hotel to get a little dressed up for our next culinary venture, afternoon tea at The Connaught hotel. With our friends joining us again.
The afternoon tea is served in a really nice conservatory at the front of the hotel and we had a window seat which was nice. To kick things off we ordered some sparkles which went down really well and as one would expect, the service is top notch. As I’ve stated before on our blog, I’ve been disappointed with afternoon tea in the past – it always seems to promise a lot but usually fails to deliver- so how was the afternoon tea at The Connaught hotel. Well, thankfully, not too bad, nothing outstanding but decent. The sandwiches were fine, they could have done with more of a punch of flavour but otherwise they were fine. There were two scone choices, plain and fruit served with clotted cream, strawberry jam and spiced marmalade. Again, these were ok. However the pastries were the best part.
After tea, we said our goodbyes to our chums and C and I strolled around Mayfair, Soho and Caranbery street for the evening and did some window shopping. We also had a dinner booking for much later that evening in a place called Fallow which is a one minute walk from Piccadilly.
The culinary scene in London is pretty good and after doing some research prior to going, Fallow seemed to be well rated as it is owned by two former chefs who worked in the famous Fat Duck. We arrived in time and were brought to our seats. The menu consists of small plates and some mains and it looks really good. We ordered some frozen margaritas to kick things off and for our food we ordered the corn ribs which are served with a wedge of lime, the smoked sausage which was fantastic, Tartiflette flatbread with cheese and black garlic, the halibut fish, the Fallow burger and the fall off the bone beef ribs which were fantastic. Yes, we ordered too much food, the ‘small’ plates were a lot bigger than we anticipated, but we give it a good go.
The food overall was really good, definitely one of the better places we’ve dined in, in London and will certainly consider going back when next we’re in town.
The following morning we checked out of our hotel and went to a local place for breakfast called the Black Rabbit. I ordered a coffee with a egg and bacon toasted bap and C went with the avocado toast option served with bacon and an egg . The food was fine and the coffee pretty decent. After, all that was left to do was hop on the tube once more and make our way to the airport for our flight home.
London was as fantastic as ever and It was so good to be back in a city we love visiting, we are already planning our next trip over. We had some fantastic food on this trip and the Green Day concert was fantastic, add to that it was great hanging out with some chums from home.
Until next time,
Bye for now,
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 