It's been a long time coming, and for some reason this particular travel entry was the hardest so far. I think because I know so many of you who read this are based in
London, I worried that by not including or only sticking to my known stomping grounds it would seem biased somehow.
Anyway, I'm over whatever thoughts I was having and finally got my favourite spots in this city I get to call home, in a post for you.
London is HUGE, and I really believe that it's one of those cities where when you choose to live in a certain area, that's essentially where you do everything. You really live and breathe your area unlike cities such as Madrid or Paris where you live within all the boroughs daily. To me, it is too big and too populated to go far afield for dinner or gym classes and so I remain in roughly a 1.5 hour walking radius from where I live. This guide is me sharing my favourite spots, so they pretty much all fall into that category...
Let's start with some food categories:
Brunch-
Granger & co. - multiple locations but my favourite is Pavillion Road
Haya - Notting Hill
Duke of York Square farmers market to browse and eat from different stands
Claridge's hotel
(These restaurants are also great for lunch and dinner)
Lunch-
Palomar for Middle Eastern - West end
La Famiglia for Italian - Chelsea
Cross Keys Pub - Chelsea
Petersham Nurseries after a long walk for fresh, seasonal British food - Richmond
GOLD has something for everyone - Notting Hill
Colbert for French - Chelsea
Padella for pasta - London Bridge
Dinner-
Bar de Pres for a real treat. It is French / Japanese fusion - Mayfair
Oliveto for pizza, pasta and a great family spot - Belgravia
Kutir for Indian in the cosiest setting - Chelsea
Skully’s for a show and great food - St James's
Kai for Chinese - Mayfair
Los Mochis for tacos - Notting Hill
Lurra for meat lovers - Fitzrovia
For drinks-
The Connaught Bar - Mayfair
The Lalee - Chelsea
Mr Foggs - Mayfair
The Berkley hotel bar - Knightsbridge
Blakes hotel - South Kensington
Coffee spots-
Hjem - Kensington
Hagen - Various locations
KAT coffee - Chelsea
Roasting party - Chelsea
Moxy brothers - Mayfair
ARRO - Marylebone
Tease - South Kensington
Smoothies & Salads-
Juice baby - Chelsea
Cpress - Chelsea
Juice press - Chelsea
Atïs - Belgravia
Baked goods-
Cedric Grolet at The Berkley hotel for the best patisserie in town - Knightsbridge
Hjem for their cardamom bun and coffee- Kensington
Buns from home - Chelsea
Bread ahead for donuts - Chelsea
The Connaught bakery for their croissant or pain au chocolate- Mayfair
Söderberg for Scandi perfection - Soho
Ice Cream-
Olivogelo- Belgravia
Ice Cream Union - Chelsea
Snog (frozen yoghurt)- Delivery
Food Markets-
Pimlico Green farmers market- Chelsea (Saturday morning)
Duke of York Square Market - Chelsea (Saturday till 3)
Bute Street farmers market - South Kensington (Saturday morning)
Portobello market - Nottinghill (Saturday)
Borough Market - London Bridge (daily)
Classes & Studios-
KARVE - Kensington
KXU - Chelsea
Vita Pilates - Chelsea
Heartcore Pilates - Various locations
Soul Cycle - Various locations
The Body Lab - Kensington
Re:mind (for meditation and workshops) - Belgravia
Museums & Galleries-
The Royal Academy
V&A
Saatchi Gallery
The Wallace Collection
Tate Modern
Tate Britain
If you'd add anything to this list please write your recommendations in the comment section below so that I, and other readers can try them out!