Sat Nov 18
It was an early morning. We packed and left for the London-bound train from Paris’ Gare du Nord. Then we took the Underground to our Airbnb. We were able to check right in, which was great because we were starving. We dropped our bags and went to Hatch 77 in Pimlico for brunch. Afterwards, we went back to the apartment to shower and get dressed for the afternoon and evening. Then we walked over to Harrods and Hyde Park.
Holiday lights near Harrods
After wandering the streets looking at all the Christmas lights on the shops and hotels, we popped into Paxtons Head Pub. We just wanted a spot to sit for a bit, so we grabbed beers and ciders. It felt like a quintessential English pub. Then we walked to dinner at Sale e Pepe. The food was great, and the place was packed with locals (always a good sign).
Carbonara at Sale e Pepe
We walked off dinner on the way to the Langham hotel for a drink at the Artesian bar. It was so swanky and special. The cocktails had the most random ingredients in them, but they were delicious.
Artesian bar at The Langham, London
Sun Nov 19
After having navigated the Parisian Metro, we were confident we could navigate the London Tube, so we bought 1-day passes. In the morning, we went towards Carnaby Street, which was decorated with planets. We walked rather aimlessly around Soho in search of a British phone booth in prime condition for a photo op.
Carnaby Street
We sat down for high tea at Sketch at noon. The food was all really good, though it definitely leaned more sweet than savory, which isn’t usually my preference. And of course, we paid a visit to the bathroom.
Bathroom at Sketch
After high tea, we Tube’d towards the London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and Borough Market. Then to Shoreditch, for a little window shopping at Reformation and Weekday. At 5:00pm, we went to Dishoom Shoreditch. Even though it was early for dinner, they had a slight wait, long enough for us to order a drink, but that was all. We ordered a bunch of food and shared it all: lamb samosas, okra fries, broccoli salad, prawn pathia, chicken biryani, butter chicken, murgh malai, malai mushrooms, garlic naan, roti, and raita. Everything was absolutely delicious, but the prawns were hands down my favorite.
Prawn Pathia at Dishoom Shoreditch
After dinner, we went to The 411 London, only because we saw online they have a stock market night. Turns out, stock market night was Wednesday, aka Wall Street Wednesday. Oops! We stayed for one drink and went home.
Mon Nov 20
We spent the morning hitting all the high traffic tourist spots: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Palace of Westminster, and the Horse Guards Palace. This was fun for me because I’d never been to London. Buckingham Palace was swimming with tourists and we could tell something important was happening. We watched a marching band process through the mall into the palace. And we learned that the president of South Korea was visiting the following day. The mall was decorated with South Korean flags.
Front gates at Buckingham Palace
Big Ben and London Eye
We rode the tube towards Bank to grab lunch at The Trading House, which we thought had the ‘stock market wall of cocktails with shifting prices’ we had been searching for. We were rather incorrect… again. But, the inside was beautiful, with lots of dark wood and antiques. We ordered a scotch egg and fish and chips to get the full English experience. The fish was so flaky and good! And the scotch egg was really interesting. In the end, I’m glad we went there.
Then we walked through Trafalgar Square, which had its own little Christmas market setup. Then we waited in line at Buns from Home to share a cardamom bun, a chocolate hazelnut bun, and a banana bread bun. The cardamom was my favorite.
Buns From Home: banana, chocolate hazelnut, and cardomom
We did some shopping at Mango because they had a big sale. Generally speaking, the British Pound was worse for us than the Euro, so I tried to remind myself that I didn’t “need” anything, and I could shop back in Paris. We made it to Covent Garden Market which was fully decked out in Christmas. There was a huge Christmas tree and live performers throughout the market.
A quick pit stop at Seven Dials Market to use the toilet, and we were on our way to dinner at Opium Dim Sum & Cocktail Bar. The dim sum were absolutely delicious. My favorite was the sea bass and fennel, though I didn’t dislike anything we ate. We had read about the restaurant in a collaborative article with The Infatuation and Joe Jonas.
Opium Dim Sum & Cocktail Bar
Dim sum at Opium
Then we took a short walk to Swift Soho for a nightcap… or two. We sat in their upstairs (street level) bar because we wanted to sit earlier than our reservation (reservations are sat downstairs). I tried two different tequila cocktails. Both great!
Cocktails at Swift Soho
And that wrapped up our few days in London!
Streets of London