Archive For The “Bars and Pubs” Category
Cyclists with helmets and dubious shorts; office workers with laptops; meeters and greeters This is a PopUp so don’t spend time reading the rest of this piece. Just go before it closes! One might think that sparkling wine is for the connoisseur, those with money and a dictionary of posh wine terms. Fiz Bar aims…
The name ‘lobby bar’ might give the impression that this is something of an after-thought. Perhaps a venue through which to pass. A prequel to the main event. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It now has a trolley! One Aldwych and its Lobby Bar occupy one of the most important Edwardian buildings in…
London’s Chinatown is broadly found between Shaftesbury Avenue to the north and Lisle Street to the south. It’s not far from Leicester Square and Theatreland. It’s a neighbourhood with a long history stretching back to the Great Fire of 1666 in which much of London was destroyed. In 1677 Lord Gerrard, the owner of the…
One might not have heard of Anise Bar but it’s likely the discerning diner will have heard of Cinnamon Kitchen by Vivek Singh. Perhaps one might not have heard of Devonshire Square but everyone has heard of the City of London. There are associations with India in the very fabric of the buildings here. Between…
Borough has been known for its food markets since as far back as the 11th century. First the stallholders were trading on old London Bridge, but then in the 13th century they were moved to what became Borough High Street. A market has been here ever since. Borough Market has grown to over 100 individual…
The town of Godalming is situated in the countryside in southern England but not far from London. Its narrow streets are lined with many historic buildings. It’s a town with history. The name means “of the clan of Godhelm”, and the Saxon settlement of Godalming was first recorded in the will of King Alfred the…
Covent Garden takes its name from the convent garden which was in this area back in the Middle Ages. The garden belonged to Westminster Abbey and in the sixteenth century this land was acquired by Henry VIII and then granted to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford. The existing Piazza was planned in 1631 by…
“The hotel bar which some say concocts one of the world’s best Martinis” – New York Times talks about Dukes! There are many great hotels in London. There is a host of memorable boutique hotels in London. There are several with stylish bars in London. There is only one Dukes Bar in the whole world….
Dean Street is a famed Soho thoroughfare. It runs between the retail hub of Oxford Street to the north and Shaftesbury Avenue to the south. The street has a colourful history. Mozart gave a recital here in his youth. The French House was the unofficial headquarters of Charles de Gaulle and the French Resistance during…
Dukes Hotel is found unobtrusively tucked away in one of London’s most prestigious neighbourhoods. The stunning building graces a quiet corner of St. James’s and is a stone’s throw away from Clarence House. In fact the site can trace its history back to 1532, and around the 1660s the courtyard in front of today’s Dukes…
Perhaps Robin Hood had a local, and if he did I would suppose it looked just like The Fleece Inn. This isn’t a Disneyesque themed facsimile of an ancient public house. This is the real thing, and stunning it is. The Fleece Inn has an idyllic rural location on a picture-perfect village square. Lots of…
The Phoenix is an attractive and traditional pub. Just the sort that tourists long to find and locals want to have as their local. These establishments were becoming thin on the ground but thankfully there are many pubs now that are returning to those old-fashioned values that made British public houses so celebrated across the…
This was our first visit to this most charming of central London hotels. Its location is hard to beat, being on Piccadilly and between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner Underground stations. It graces a plot opposite the aforementioned Green Park and extends that theme of verdant lushness to its very walls. Yes, The Athenaeum…
Previously a down-market Frog and Firkin, The Elgin is another pub that has recently been taken over by Geronimo Inns. Fortunately the group has maintained the striking Victoriana and attracted a different clientele. The sports-bar atmosphere has disappeared along with its dubious drinkers, or at least the drinkers here are no more dubious than in…
That nasty Mr. Hitler did a good job of destroying iconic and untouched Victorian pubs. That was in the early 1940s so there were plenty around and probably most in their original condition. We saw, or at least those of us of a certain age did, the modernisation of Britain in the 1960s. Some changes…
London’s Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 opened on 27th March 2008 to a less-than-glorious start. I am sure most travellers have received their baggage by now but the memory of that ignominious first week will remain with those who were closely associated with it. But now it really is just a memory, and Terminal 5 is…
Today I have a review of a smart restaurant conveniently situated about 2 hours outside Paris. Good transport links with easy access to city shops. Superb food and waiters who speak English, and a menu in English as well. Yes, that’s got your attention, my dear Anglophone reader! Even better news is that, if you…
You might say you like “Mexican” food. You might have had “Mexican” food on trips to the US and Taco Bell might be your favourite fast food but, dear reader, your experience is probably a faint shadow of the real extravaganza awaiting you at Mestizo. Mestizo Restaurant and Tequila Bar has a convenient location just…
We have what Jeni Barnett would call a “nearasdammit” son who is Catalan (note: I do not say Spanish). This has given us the advantage of having the address of our boy’s (well into his 30s now) favourite tapas bar in Barcelona. The Cerveceria Catalana is a bit off the beaten track (Carrer Mallorca) but…