I'm off to London on Friday for the night and most of Saturday with the missus.
Other than the general tourist stuff, what are the best things to do and see? We'll most likely be going for dinner and out to a bar somewhere Friday night, any suggestions of which parts of London to look into for this? I'm not made of money but not being cheap at the same time. Any nice places I can take her on the Saturday?
I've only ever used the tube system in London, never actually been outside. So tube-wise i'm fine, actually knowing what places are good I have no clue
Depends what sort of thing you like really, walk by the river maybe? Wandering along the Southbank is quite nice although obviously the weather is shite at the moment. There are tons of galleries and museums that are free but I'd imagine you've heard of most of them, both The Tate and The Tate Modern are worth a look if you're into that stuff.
If you're in proper central London and want to get away from the crowds of twats and endless consumerism there are lots of nice little pubs tucked away, I usually find the nearest Sam Smiths and duck in for a pint when I'm in town.
Also it is very "hipster" but it's quite fun wandering around East, Brick lane, Spitalfields market and that, lots of pubs and places to eat, street art everywhere.
As I say though sort of depends what you're into really and also whereabouts you'll be staying as travelling after the last tube can be a ball ache.
>>3019 >travelling after the last tube can be a ball ache
Ah, I hadn't thought about that. We're staying above a Victorian pub in Charlton so I think that is about 30-40 minutes out of the centre of the London.
Just checked the weather and its not looking too gloomy this weekend, which is nice. The hipster type thing will probably be what we'll end up doing. Thanks for the ideas for those places, just had a look and they seem like places worth taking a wonder down.
Dovetail http://dovepubs.com/aboutdovetail/ if you like an interesting choice of beers (mostly Belgian). They do very nice food as well, but tend to get a bit too packed for that on Saturdays. Nearest tube station is probably Old Street.
Two Floors http://www.twofloors.com/ which do decent beer (Camden Brewery) and are tucked away enough to keep the usual tourist crowd at bay. Nearest tube station is Oxford Circus.
The Crown and Shuttle http://crownandshuttle.co.uk/. Again, decent beer and a nice fully roofed and heated garden in the back. It tends to have bouncers at the door but they are for show and won't turn you away unless you look completely smashed. Never tried the food there. Nearest tube is once again Old Street.
Lingo http://lingocuisine.com/, a Japanese restaurant with good food at reasonable prices. Don't trust the website quotes. The sushi is good to great, though they don't always have the more exotic stuff (e.g. otoro, urchin) in stock, but the staff will let you know as you order. They don't open late.
Maison Bertaux http://www.maisonbertaux.com/maisonbertaux.com/Maison_Bertaux.html do cakes, particularly cheese cakes. It's a bit artsy, especially the upstairs in the main place and downstairs in the next door but that only matters if you're there during the day. It's a bit of a fixture. Again, doesn't open late.
If you have a bit of a sweet tooth, then La Gelateria http://www.lagelatiera.co.uk/lagelatiera_contact_us.html does phenomenal ice cream, including some rather unusual concoctions (they had basil & chilli in the past which was really rather nice). Not sure which station is closest (I usually end up there after food) but Leicester Square probably isn't far off.
>>3025 This is a great post, I'm not the OP but that looks like all the types of places I'd be interested in visiting. I usually rely on friends to guide me around London, or wander around Brick Lane or Shoreditch on my own until I find something I want to eat. Thanks for taking the time to type all that out, I'll use it as a starting point for when I'm next in the capital.
