Eating and Drinking in London in April, Part I

I arrived into London bright and early on a Thursday morning — April 28th, 2011. Feathers had kindly offered to put me up out in Blackheath, but I wanted to be central and it was, after all, my birthday weekend. So I had every excuse to treat myself.

I put myself up in one of the small rooms at the ueber-lovely Dean Street Townhouse. I am not the sort of tourist that expects my room to be ready so early in the morning, so I was prepared to take to the streets with my camera for a while.

I started out with some tea and macarons at the lovely lo-fi Yumchaa on Berwick Street in Soho.

I forgot I was still shooting with custom white balance, but in hindsight, the colors matched my mood. Just a little blue…

Still not fully caffeinated, I stopped into Fernandez & Wells on St. Anne’s Court for a latte or two, where the staff and I discussed donuts and why there aren’t more donut shops in London. (Cue oncoming onslaught.) I miss Fernandez & Wells.

I popped back into the Dean Street Townhouse on my way to lunch and admired the tile work in the ladies’ loo. Chicago just doesn’t do restrooms like this. I can’t get enough of white subway tile.

Then it was over to Spuntino for lunch with Chris and EuWen. Spuntino gives you free popcorn. I love Spuntino, so I’ll be writing a separate post about it.

Not the best photo — the server does have arms but it’s an action shot. The inside of Spuntino reminded me in an odd way of the older part of Highgate Cemetary. It boasts original tilework that they haven’t touched, giving the tiny little restaurant/bar an air of managed neglect.

After lunch, it was back to the Dean Street Townhouse for a quick nap.  I loved my room. More about the Dean Street Townhouse in a later post too.

After my nap, I met Niamh down in the Dean Street Townhouse bar where I got to see all the proofs for her new cookbook, Comfort & Spice. Pretty darn exciting. Lee met us there too.

Lee and I said goodbye to Niamh and headed over to Nopi for dinner with the girls. You might know I am a fan of all things Ottolenghi. Nopi did not disappoint. I especially loved the complimentary babaganoush! Note the lovely golden napkin rings…I wonder how many have been swiped.

Nopi is all white and gold. The bathrooms are a carnival lover’s fantasy…a hall of mirrors from which you cannot escape.

After dinner, we all headed our separate ways out into the night and I took one more picture of the Union Jack bunting over Oxford Street. Gorgeous.