Nazaudy, a spark in your curious mind

My places in London

In this article I have compiled some of the places in London for drinking and eating that I have been, and that I recommend, or not. I have also added an exquisite selection of the places I would definitely love to pay a visit while on holidays... and guess what? The list just keep growing! haha

 

Places in London I would recommend

The Abeno (https://www.abeno.co.uk/) 5' walk from the British Museum, is a great place to eat and try Okonomi-yaki food.This Japanese cuisine would be cooked just in front of your eyes. I suggest you go for the following:

  • Tempura Kakiage, a style of tempura with scallops, broccoli, carrots and onions (£8.95) If you are kind of hungry, ask to deliver this dish first, it is great for two people and nice to have just before you Okonomi-yaki
  • Tokyo Mix Duluxe, pork, squid and prawn (£14.25)  yah, it come with bacon, but once in a while is okay
  • Sapporo Mix Deluxe, prawn, salmon, scallops, squid and corn (£18.25) with lovely salmon cooked on your table beforehand

More info about the history of Okonomi-yaki cuisine can be found in this lovely article:

Bobby Fitzpatrick (https://bobbyf.co.uk/) Located in West Hampstead, this is a funky, steezy and quirky place worth a visit for a cocktails night, with a decoration based on the 1970s and areas designed as "rooms" (kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc) that will make you fall in love with this place and its cosy atmosphere at first sight. If I ever have to celebrate my birthday, this would be the place!

Cafe Lavile (https://cafelaville.co.uk/) is the absolute perfect place for a breakfast or brunch, on a weekend day morning; spot on place with lovely view of the London Canal

Clissold Arms; the not so secret place in East Finchley, great local pub for a dinner out of central London, specially in autumn, their garden is absolutely beautiful

Smith & Whistle; by Green Park, Mayfair, in between the Piccadilly and Jubilee line, I recommend this place to take someone for a drink and a chat (and possibly a walk later by the park) in central London, the place is quiet which for me is essential for chatting

 

 

Places in London I would NOT recommend, a once visit only

Darwin Brasserie; located just above the sky garden in the Walkie Talkie skyscraper, this restaurant is extremely noisy and hyper-expensive, you however pay for what you get: the views of London are amazing (specially if you managed to get a table by the window) and at least the 21-day aged stake that I ate was massive and delicious.. for £40 that dish it better be. If you can't stand the noisy got and visit to enjoy the views, but it might be worth it just to book on the actual Sky Garden bar, just a floor below but I reckon substantially cheaper as you're gonna have only drinks

Zedel, without any doubts the Bar American at Zedel is a great choice for cocktails, but again very noisy plus you can't actually book in advance, so have a queue on line for a table to be free. The restaurant is worth a visit for their Paris 1920 style, but the food is pretty ordinary and slightly expensive. Just get a bottle of French wine, get drunk and you'll enjoy it all better :)

RainForest Cafe: near Piccadilly, it is a definitely a must-see place is you got kids, with all the deco flashing the atmosphere of a rainforest jungle. I loved the "sound" ambience, with thunders and real emulation of a tropical rain downpour. It is very unlikely that will find any dangerous o poisons animals in this cafe, the only thing that will sting you (and probably very hard) is the bill: on my one visit only that I did to this place we paid over £70 for a meal for two people, fish & chips one and chicken the other. Some nachos that I ordered, and which they serve with beef, very unusual, has the tagging price of £15.95..... for just a plate of nachos...no wonder they call it "lava nachos", its prices melt my wallet. In summary, a nice place to see but expensive to eat, and nothing special about the food either. Keep moving

The Shard,

 

Places in London yet to visit

Number 1: Roof Garden on the 9th floor of the Post Building, right next to the British Museum! From here you will be able to see almost all of London. Seeing is believing! 
 
Number 2: The Garden at 120, on the 15th floor of the Fen Court building at 120 Fenchurch Street and the largest public rooftop space in the City of London, with spectacular views of the Walkie Talkie Building itself with its famous Sky Garden! 
 
Number 3: The Terrace on the 5th floor of the Royal Opera House, with an incredible view over the piazza of Covent Garden and also of the London Eye. From here the sunset is fantastic! 
 
Number 4: The rooftop terrace of One New Change, open from 6 in the morning until midnight, every day, with a wonderful view of St Paul's Cathedral! Spectacular sunrises and sunsets! 

 

Places to visit for holidays

Europe:

 

Asia:

Africa:

  • The Atolom Mnema, in Zanzibar
  • Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas. Maldives: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kurumba+Villa+Boutique+Hotel/@3.9368137,73.4860651,1115m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m25!1m16!4m15!1m6!1m2!1s0x3b3f604aa5555531:0xd76b9f422f78ccca!2sKurumba+Villa%D8%8C+Maafushi,+Maldives!2m2!1d73.4889711!2d3.9393557!1m6!1m2!1s0x3b4080368b7ca66d:0x72e03e6d78eaba24!2sThilafushi,+Maldives!2m2!1d73.4438026!2d4.1808598!3e0!3m7!1s0x3b3f604aa5555531:0xd76b9f422f78ccca!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d3.9393557!4d73.4889711
  • Merzouga, in the Sahara dessert

 

Sibiu: Lovely museum, nice forsets, "village museum", traditional houses in Romania, beautiful lake, traditional restaurants and a zoo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishikesh

Places to visit:

Amalfi Coast, but don't drive there

 

Useful links