After I wrote my post about things you should know, a commenter suggested writing a list specifically about London, which I thought was a rather good idea.
I really like Novelty Automation in Holborn. It costs about 20£ to try all the machines and you can easily do it with two people together, probably takes like an hour or two.
It's very fun. Would also recommend the owners youtube channel where he has a series explaining how he uses different mechanical components https://youtube.com/@timhunkin1?si=rJVYU2N0SML4mgfD. It's more fun than it sounds and he comes across as such a nice dude :)
Minor only, I quite like Dishoom. Veerswamy is my favourite though. Also quite like staying in marylebone, south ken, weast hampstead or near angel. I've also, coincidentally, lived right around shu lala and taste of chongqing coincidentally, both excellent. The natural history museum is spectacular. The V&A across the road is quite good, also Courtaulds too. Also jazz at ronnie scotts is very good whenever I've gone. Prob St Johns vs Wiltons.
Also recommend a bunch of walks, incl embankment to the houses of parliament, through abbey, towards the strand, to piccadilly circus, to soho and route towards oxford street. And also the City is wonderful to walk around.
Ah yeah, maybe I should've mentioned St John. I really like it too, but I think it's quite different to Wiltons (proper old school English vs modern British). Staying around Islington is very nice, I'm not a huge fan of Kensington but can see the appeal.
Great suggestions here - thanks Sam. Some more if anyone wants them…
Places to visit: Trinity Buoy Wharf (includes Faraday’s hut), Postman’s Park, the Inns of Court. Things to do: join a walking tour of the square mile. It’s london’s most historic area but far less visited than the West End. Pubs: Nag’s Head in Kinnerton St, the Grapes in Narrow Street, Mayflower in Rotherhithe, the Harp in Chandos Place. Restaurants: any of the Turkish places on Green Lanes in Haringey, Master Wei Xian in Cosmo Place. Theatre: West End theatres and Old Vic are almost perfectly designed for you to have a crap seat but Young Vic and the Bridge are way better and often have great productions. I saw Jared Harris in Pinter’s The Homecoming at the Young Vic and it was spellbinding. And didn’t cost 100s of pounds!
Top tips! A really great hidden museum is the Grant Museum. Tiny and totally bizarre. Also for grub try Peninsula by Victoria station i- totally delicious Sri Lankan place. No frills. Also Raavi Kebab Drummond st. Strip lighting, feels like you’re waiting for a Minicab. Order a Nihari and a naan. Heaven!
If it’s your thing, the National Army Museum in Chelsea is excellent, and the Holocaust exhibition at the Imperial War Museum is stunning but gruelling.
Brasserie Zédel and its Bar Américain at Piccadilly are worth a look.
Not a London resident, but I have spent a fair bit of time there. I second Chutney Mary for excellent Indian food. If you like Ye Old Cheshire Cheese and Ye Olde Mitre, you should also check out The Princess Louise (Holborn) and The Lamb (Bloomsbury, Conduit Street I think). For something off the beaten path, go to University College London and see the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, whose taxidermied corpse is on display.
Going to see Bentham is great, it was a highlight of doing my MSc at UCL. I think the idea of an auto-icon is brilliant, and it is a credit to utilitarianism that it resulted in such an idea.
I really like Novelty Automation in Holborn. It costs about 20£ to try all the machines and you can easily do it with two people together, probably takes like an hour or two.
https://www.novelty-automation.com/
Great rec, haven't heard of this!
It's very fun. Would also recommend the owners youtube channel where he has a series explaining how he uses different mechanical components https://youtube.com/@timhunkin1?si=rJVYU2N0SML4mgfD. It's more fun than it sounds and he comes across as such a nice dude :)
Agree with most of this. Doubly recommend Sir John Soanes.
I'm interested to hear what you most disagree with!
Minor only, I quite like Dishoom. Veerswamy is my favourite though. Also quite like staying in marylebone, south ken, weast hampstead or near angel. I've also, coincidentally, lived right around shu lala and taste of chongqing coincidentally, both excellent. The natural history museum is spectacular. The V&A across the road is quite good, also Courtaulds too. Also jazz at ronnie scotts is very good whenever I've gone. Prob St Johns vs Wiltons.
Also recommend a bunch of walks, incl embankment to the houses of parliament, through abbey, towards the strand, to piccadilly circus, to soho and route towards oxford street. And also the City is wonderful to walk around.
Ah yeah, maybe I should've mentioned St John. I really like it too, but I think it's quite different to Wiltons (proper old school English vs modern British). Staying around Islington is very nice, I'm not a huge fan of Kensington but can see the appeal.
I don't like Kensington much either but for visitors it hits different I've found.
If you have kids with you the postal museum is a lot of fun and has an underground railway they used to transport the mailbags across London.
Great suggestions here - thanks Sam. Some more if anyone wants them…
Places to visit: Trinity Buoy Wharf (includes Faraday’s hut), Postman’s Park, the Inns of Court. Things to do: join a walking tour of the square mile. It’s london’s most historic area but far less visited than the West End. Pubs: Nag’s Head in Kinnerton St, the Grapes in Narrow Street, Mayflower in Rotherhithe, the Harp in Chandos Place. Restaurants: any of the Turkish places on Green Lanes in Haringey, Master Wei Xian in Cosmo Place. Theatre: West End theatres and Old Vic are almost perfectly designed for you to have a crap seat but Young Vic and the Bridge are way better and often have great productions. I saw Jared Harris in Pinter’s The Homecoming at the Young Vic and it was spellbinding. And didn’t cost 100s of pounds!
Top tips! A really great hidden museum is the Grant Museum. Tiny and totally bizarre. Also for grub try Peninsula by Victoria station i- totally delicious Sri Lankan place. No frills. Also Raavi Kebab Drummond st. Strip lighting, feels like you’re waiting for a Minicab. Order a Nihari and a naan. Heaven!
Otto's was the meal of a lifetime for this New Yorker.
If it’s your thing, the National Army Museum in Chelsea is excellent, and the Holocaust exhibition at the Imperial War Museum is stunning but gruelling.
Brasserie Zédel and its Bar Américain at Piccadilly are worth a look.
Nice, thanks! Bar Américain is in the list already btw!
Sir John Soanes museum is an underrated gem. As is the nearby Surgeons museum
Not a London resident, but I have spent a fair bit of time there. I second Chutney Mary for excellent Indian food. If you like Ye Old Cheshire Cheese and Ye Olde Mitre, you should also check out The Princess Louise (Holborn) and The Lamb (Bloomsbury, Conduit Street I think). For something off the beaten path, go to University College London and see the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, whose taxidermied corpse is on display.
Going to see Bentham is great, it was a highlight of doing my MSc at UCL. I think the idea of an auto-icon is brilliant, and it is a credit to utilitarianism that it resulted in such an idea.
Is it just apocryphal that Bentham is wheeled out once a year for meetings where he recorded as present but not voting?
It's not totally untrue! https://londonist.com/2013/08/long-dead-jeremy-bentham-attends-ucl-council-meeting?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Sweet Jesus, that made my day!
If you're visiting the Design Museum, Leighton House is right next door and has some stunning tiles / mosaics!
+1 ye olde cheshire cheese!!!
It's wonderful!
It's all a bit Norf London focused.
And if you see a Cockney touch them for luck, because they are rarer then rocking horse shit in this rootless doss hole.