Time of Year: Early October. I adored the weather! Light rain one day with rainbows, and blue skies waiting for me the next. Perfect mix of the quintessential UK experience and showing off!
Things to Know: Be rain ready at all times! You probably knew that already. That means a waterproof coat and some waterproof boots. Something that surprised me- reservations were needed at almost every single restaurant. The few slots we left open for last minute dining decisions kind of left us in a momentary rut as everything was completely booked up!
Something kinda groovy I found in London and apparently is only a thing in the UK was a Lager Top – it’s beer topped off with 7up/Sprite (British Lemonade?) – it was… fine. Apparently it’s a good hangover drink!
London calling! Actually London had to call me twice, because if we’re being honest here, I broke one of my own rules and did a quick stop in a major city. I didn’t have time to do anything and attempted to do a lot. But don’t worry, I regrouped. I scheduled more time and hunted down and received a ton amazing recommendations. So with your recs and my constitution for rainy weather and beer, London has become one of my favorite cities!
If London was your friend personified, it’s your friend with a huge personality, truly, one of a kind, that is a history buff, a fantastic drinker, enjoys the arts and loves butter. What a guy! I love how the culture is so distinct that from a single photo of the homes, the fashion, the cafes and pubs you know that its London Town. The moment I really felt like I was right where I was supposed to be was when I found myself on a topsy turvy side street, in the rain right after work hours. People were spilling out of their local pub taking over half of the street, pint in hand, cap on head, trench on body, just shooting the shit. It was that “oooOoo, I’m a part of this” moment. It’s that moment when a tourist secretly becomes a local in her head, until she opens her mouth and that not-so-charming Clevelaaand aaaycent comes out.
For any London locals, I know I only cover a sliver of what your city has to offer. I’m no UK pro but I tried to do my best as a visitor. I imagine if someone tried to tackle NYC as a tourist… I’d have my moments where I’d be dubious and interject with “the best pizza spot is ACTUALLY…(I’ll answer this question eventually)”. With that being said, please comment if there are some MUSTS for my next visit! London is huge and there’s so much to offer. Note – I love British food! So tell me where to find the ultimate fish and chips, meat pies, local beer… and don’t forget Indian food!
Here’s my list!
B.A.LOCAL with ESKIMOVES – Restuarants, Bars and Pubs
The Granadier – Tipped off by a local Londoner about this cozy bar located on a beautiful quiet dead-end street, lined with what seemed to be embassy housing. The pub was originally built in the 1700s as a mess hall for the Foot Guards barracks. Finding it is a little bit of an adventure! I would recommend making a reservation if you want to sit at a table rather than the bar.
Hoppers SoHo – Sri Lankan food with their signature dish being a hopper – a savory crepe with a soft egg in the middle. No reservations and often times a lengthy wait. We went right when they opened and got a seat. Entire GF menu for those that need it!
Hawksmoor Seven Dials – I was looking for the best steakhouse in London and this location popped up on several lists. It was SO delicious. Amazing meat and creamed spinach. Very lively crowd. Reservations required.
Kiln – A friend of mine recommended this Thai restaurant claiming it as one of their favorite meals ever. Hard to pass up something wearing that medal. As far as Thai food goes, truly one of the best meals I have ever had. I actually still crave it back in NYC. They don’t mess around with spice either which I love! We sat at the bar which was cool because you can see them cook right in front of you over the wood fire and clay pots. They also have seated options in the back where I think you can make a reservation. The bar has very limited seating so I would be prepared for a wait if you go at peak hours.
Gordon’s Wine Bar – A great spot to go to if you find yourself near Trafalgar Square. Considered to be the oldest wine bar in all of London! It’s first come first serve. There are outdoor seating options but I would recommend trying to snag a seat inside of the vaulted cellar. It’s all candlelit and the walls are cave like and so is the smell. The place is packed and you’ll undoubtedly remember your first wine and cheese experience at Gordon’s. If you come to the store front that says Gordon’s and looks boarded up and closed, you’re in the right spot, just keep going around the corner! Photo from @GordonsWineBar
The Marquis of Westminster – The local pub with the classic British food we were looking for.
Connaught Bar – ££££, but what’s ONE drink? I happened to be sipping on my Martini, that was made to match my obviously exquisite taste directly at my table, when they were rated the #1 bar in the world, again! The bar is gorgeous, their bathrooms are gorgeous, the staff is gorgeous and so are the clientele that sink into the plush seats with their £19 cocktails. Worth a visit in my opinion.
Meraki – Delicious modern Greek food! There’s also a secret bar/club that opens around 11pm downstairs. Great spot for late weekend dinner and then late night drinks.
Mr. Foggs House of Botanicals – I saw this bar on IG and the interior looked like where a princess fairy would go for cocktails! It was very pretty and nice to stop in for a cocktail. I think it’s a tourist spot but hey, that’s what I am!
Dishoom – One of the more popular Indian restaurant in London with numerous locations. My personal preference is the Kensington or Shoreditch location. Can’t go wrong, just order anything off the menu!
Churchill Arms – Iconic pub with a gorgeous interior and one of the most photogenic corners in London! I did not make it, sadly.
B.A.TOURIST with ESKIMOVES
Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) – A museum that houses millions of pieces – literally! There’s all kinds of chachkas and important pieces here and you can spend hours, even days, exploring. I would recommend googling most note worthy pieces in V&A museum and going on a little scavenger hunt. The admission is free so we actually ended up coming back here twice.
Borough Market – I love a market/bazaar no matter how busy it gets. I was told Padella is the best pasta restaurant in London, I went to go sit and they told me they’re booked up for the next 4 hours. If you want to eat here go right when it opens to put your name in! If you don’t get lucky with Padella, find the cheese/leek toastie spot – that was one of the best things I have EVER eaten. We also bought some cheese to fry at home, as if that was necessary.
Tate Modern – After the market, head to Tate Modern! Wonderful modern art museum. Check out if there are any exhibits during your visit and take advantage of the rooftop views.
The Shard – After Tate Modern, head over to The Shard (buy tickets in advance for sunset time slot). This is a new observation deck that gives you a 360 degree view of London from 95 stories up!
Portobello Road/ Notting Hill – Portobello road, located in Notting Hill, is home to the vintage stores and pretty pastel colored buildings! I could walk around Notting Hill for hours looking at the beautiful buildings – MAX. CHARM.
Kensington Gardens – located in Hyde Park. London’s commitment to providing parks and nature all over is something that really made me fall in love with the city. There are dozens of parks and if you happen to find yourself in the Kensington Gardens strolling along the rose gardens to the pond filled with the Queens’ Swans, I’ll be damned if you don’t fall in love with it either!
Churchill War Rooms – Something I didn’t have time to do myself but I heard this is a very fun and interesting exhibit.
GIFT IDEAS by ESKIMOVES
When I think of London I think of classic looks like peacoats, trench coats, loafers and hats. I brought back hats from the iconic British Hat Maker, Christy’s. They’ve been in business since the 1700s. It’s the perfect bit of London charm to bring home with you.
OH MY GOD ! I didn’t know London has that many thing to offer ! I can’t wait to visir it and I really want to mention that your blog is helping me so much with scheduling my vacantion ! Lots of love !
Thanks, Diana!! So happy I could help and yes, London has endless things to offer it’s kind of overwhelming!
My fav places in London were Hyde Park (people watching was fun) and the V&A. I’m a history buff so I also loved Westminister Abbey and The Tower of London (they’re always crowded with tourists but as you say … that’s what you are too 😊).
Thanks for the foodie tips as well as I do hope to.go back someday.
Another great post on a place I love 💚!
Hyde Park is so gorgeous. I have so much more to see on my next visit. Thanks for reading!
Your blog always makes me so happy and hungry. Thank you so much for doing that and I love all your pictures! I can’t wait to see visit this country one day
Very helpful.
Thanks!!
London is a great place, I loved the vibe of this city! However, the food itself was… disappointing (I blame it on the fact that I visited Italy two weeks before I went to London lol). Dishoom was the best I’ve had there. Thanks for the other recommendations! Definitely going back soon.
xoxo from Poland !
If you look in the right places and adjust your palette from Italian to British, you can find many awesome meals!
I’m from Indian and I dont know when I’ll visit London but I love the city and UK. Through your blogs, I travel the world. Thank you very much.
*India
Amazing !
Thank you so much, I’ll go there next year with friends and I’ve never tried the restaurants and the rest which are in this article, that is gonna be sooooo helpful!
I can’t wait now!
The pictures are so cool by the way!
Thanks for reading! <3
As a person whose second love city is London (after Istanbul ) I find this so very good with great recommendations. There are some places I haven’t tried and will certainly take advantage of your recs next time when I’m in the city.
I’d also recommend The Ivy to try classical English food with modern twist. Definitely make a reservation before you go, they also make killer Margaritas 😉 I love Breakfast Club Cafes; they have several in the city but I only visited the Soho one.
Saturdays there’s Portobello Road Market in Nothing Hill .The Tower of London is also a must-see with the Royal Jewelry exhibition is a cherry on top.
If you want to explore around , Brighton is just 40 minutes, Bath, Cambridge and Oxford are about 1 hour by train.
Love,
Love all these recs!! Thank you <3
What I love to do every time I’m in London is to visit one of the many theatres. There are so many unique theatres and different kinds of plays in this city it is always a hard choice though. I recommend the Bridge Theatre and the Shakespeare Globe if you like Shakespeare (which I do…a lot). The Almeida Theatre is small but always has great plays with a very good cast. And don’t miss the Westend with its many different Musicals of course! The food is great in London but there is also so much culture and history to explore. Castles/ Palaces, churches, museums…even after 20 years and as many visits I always find something new and exciting to explore. It is one of my favourite cities in the world.
I absolutely have to make it to the Shaperspeare Globe next time! I saw the play “noises off” on my last visit and it was one of my favorite plays I’ve ever seen!
Hey Esther I’m actually from the Uk myself and never knew how much London had to offer, will definitely be checking out all the places you recommended. A real inspiration for a trip back there! Love your blog as always and really enjoyed reading about your experiences looking forward to the next one. Xx
– Carmen
Thanks for reading, Carmen! Yes you’re lucky you’re just a quick ride away.
Hi Eshter, this is very nicely written. London is my absolute favorite city and I have been there many many times. You highlighted some of my favorite spots. Thank you. I am traveling to Rome in 5 weeks and wanted to know if you have a similar thing for that? I am a control freak so my days are being planned out almost by a minute so any advise would be great and appreciated.
Hi Michaela! I have a Rome post that should help 🙂 Safe travels and thanks for reading!
Thank you, I realised after I posted that there was one on Rome 😉
Love the post, I am from Belgium and with my family we will maybe go to London. And the way you describe it, it looks even for amazing. Well you have a way to show and describe the city and country that make it always more magical. I don’t particularly like blogs, you are the only one that I read and follow. Because of your blog it’s like I was traveling the world with you. And that’s something that I will love to do but I will never be able to do it. Love you so much ♡♡♡ lots of love from your number 1 Belgium fan ♡♡♡ You truly are the best ♡♡♡
awww, i’m glad you’re reading my blog!!
Well I am glad that you made the blog and grateful to be able to know you ♡
I would love to see you do a How to Pack for cold weather, like the one you did for your summer vacation. My next big trip is going to Shetland Islands in Scotland. Planning on going in Autumn but even still it will be cold. Want to be able to dress up a bit in evening and also when we come back through London for a couple of days. I hate looking like a tourist.
Tough question!! My summer trick is dresses but for winter I have found turtlenecks that are thin but very warm are one of the best ways to dress cute for the cold and take up minimal luggage space. You can get multiple colors in a style you like! Also a boot that works with both day and night outfits is key, maybe a combat boot that you can basically live in, that way you just have to pack sneakers, jeans, maybe 2 bulky big sweaters and a few pretty tops. I’m still figuring this one out….
Lovely post 🙂 I’ve been a Londoner all my life and I’ve still yet to conquer the places you mentioned. Thank you for the recs. The best time to visit London would be during the Summer season as there is soo much to do and best of all.. music and food festivals! If you come again I highly recommend checking out East London 🙂
As a NYC local, I have to say I can be a very bad tourist in my own city sometimes. Sometimes you need an out of towner to come to town to take you out of your usual spots. I would love to come in the summer 🙂
Hello 🙂
thank you for this article !! I want to go in London !
very nice article !
Love the photos! The food is truly something I will try next time I visit London. Been 5 years since I last visited so might be a good time to visit this spring. Will definitely check out Christy’s too!
I’m ready for my next visit already!
Looking forward to your next blog!
This is my favourite post😍😍😍!And I have just bought ticket to London in Summer after reading it! May I ask which part of London you were staying during your trip? Do you have recommendations on accommodations??
aww thank you! Amazing! I stayed in an airbnb in the Pimlico area. I would recommend it again.
This was great! As someone who goes to London at least 5 times a year to visit my sister, I definitely have a lot of recs!
If you go during the wintertime, you HAVE to go to Winter Wonderland! It’s always busy, but it’s so wonderful! There are so many stalls selling delicious food and drinks, stalls selling all kinds of homemade goodies-candles,jewellery,scarves etc. OH, and the rides! There are so many carousel type rides and even roller coasters! It’s truly the perfect place to spend many hours in ( there’s also an ice sculpture park that has these cool lights around each sculpture)
Camden Town is a GREAT place. Vintage bookshops,vinyl stores, clothes shops etc. The food market has some of the best international foods! You can easily lose many hours in Camden.
The Harry Potter walking tour by strawberry tours which is completely FREE is a wonderful experience.
Sushimania is AMAZING. You have to download their app upon arrival and then order your food from the ap. The sushi is sooo delicious and fresh, their udon is out of this world, and no reservations needed, at least for the ST.Albans location.
Speaking of St.Albans – a wonderful town twenty minutes outside of London by train. Has a beautiful cathedral and many shops,restaurants and pubs. The park is also beautiful,with a huge pond with little ducks swimming around.
Wow thanks for the recs!! So helpful <3
Hey Esther it’ s Max (Nathan’s friend), my dad and I are here in London for the week and we just checked out the shard, Tates Modern art museum and had lunch a Padella! They were all great recommendations and we especially enjoyed Padella for lunch. We’re staying in Covet garden and are definitely going to hit up a few of your other recommended spots like Hawksmoor Seven Dials, Kiln, and possibly Hoppers Soho! thanks so much for the info 🙂
Hi Max!! I’m so happy my guide helped you guys navigate London 🙂 Very jealous you got into Padella. Have a lovely rest of your trip <3
Hey I’m Safia 🙂 ! How are doing ? Great funny and wonderful pictures I really enjoy to travel through your pictures !! Hope going out there. You such an authentic truly person who share her trip show us good tips I like your way to share with people. I think that travel show us diversity of humain being but also that we aren’t so different on contrary how closer we can be if we open our eyes to others, others culture. The wealth of world is endless.
( my english can be a little bit broken I apologize I’m french 🙂 )
Thank you so much for reading, Safia!
This post was amazing and very insightful! I am a local, living in London and a must visit place that is absolutely PERFECT for photos is St Dunstable Church. It’s a little hard to find but totally worth it! Food wise, I love the restaurants in Soho, especially the smaller ones! Another amazing places for selfies in my opinion is Blackfriars Bridge (one of the oldest bridges in London actually). Hope you like our city! Also, next time you travel here, send me an email and I can provide a few more places to go and things to do! Perhaps we can even meet up and I can show you around the best markets!
A locals approval is the BEST kind of approval! St. Dunstable Church was marked on my list but I never made it there. Another reason to be excited to see the world again, eventually. Hope you’re safe and well!
I loved the article once again! Especially the way you write, you just add a personal touch to it that I find way more interesting than in other blogs. And your meal photos are just mouthwatering, come on, it just makes me want to try and eat everything ahah! I’ve been to London 2 or 3 times but can’t wait to return there eventually to try everything you said here where I didn’t already go to!
Just a question, would you maybe know why I don’t receive emails of your new posts anymore? The last one I got was about Queens.
I hope you and your family are well during this weird period of time!
Thank you, Nora!! I can’t wait until the time is right again to explore more corners of the world. I changed my blog from wordpress.com to wordpress.org – learned a little late in the game that there is a big difference between the two! That’s probably why you don’t receive email any longer. Hope you’re doing well <3
Hello from Romania!!!!
London Is amazing and your description makes me like it even more.
Don’t you want to visit Romania too?
P.S. congratulations for your baby❤🐣❤