Author: Sarah Kemp

East Street, Rathbone Place

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It is Tuesday evening and my stomach is rumbling. I leave the office and venture towards Oxford Circus to meet Jack. I walk down the escalator at Uni Qlo and find him standing staring at a rainbow of socks. He turns around, arms full of multi coloured cottons, I give him a quick peck and tell him where we are heading. You see, he has the knack of never quite knowing what we’re doing. I am in charge of the diary – all I need to do is tell him where to meet me and I’ll quite often lead him to where we need to be. The restaurant in question this evening is East Street, a newly opened Fitzrovia joint serving a range of dishes inspired by the founder’s travels across Asia. Upon arrival, Jack turned to me and said ‘this is impressive’. He was talking about the way in which the restaurant has been decorated. Multi coloured signs hang from the ceiling, long communal tables fill the main dining area and colourful chairs, food …

Sundae in the City: Chiswell Street Dining Rooms

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Published on BespokeRSVP on 7th February 2012 Walking out of Moorgate tube station, a chilling wind strikes my skin. I tighten my scarf around my neck and follow the map on my phone, past glamorous high-rise buildings, expensive gyms and the usual chain cafes. I arrive at my destination and outside, a slightly inebriated middle aged woman with red wine stained teeth touches my hair and asks if it is real before telling me how utterly gorgeous it is. I recoil before thanking and gently pushing past her to open the door to enter the bustling bar section of the restaurant. Inside I am greeted with welcome warmth and raucous laughter of City workers brandishing, no doubt expensive, bottles of wine. I find my dining companion, Qin, and we are seated at our table at the entrance of the restaurant section, which is situated just past the bustling bar area. The waitress apologises for the noise but I think it adds to the atmosphere. Chiswell Street Dining Rooms reminds me of somewhere I have been …

Best budget hotel in London? The Hoxton

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I love a good staycation. “What on earth is that?” I hear you cry. Well my friends, a staycation is a holiday, away from home, but where you don’t actually have to travel very far. Last weekend I had a staycation at The Hoxton hotel in, you guessed it, Hoxton. Based on the Easy Jet style of cheap fares, The Hoxton offers rooms for as little as £1 a night with a maximum price of £199. It is a no frills destination in a great location but with a lot of the comforts of a boutique hotel. Dreamt up by Pret a manger founder Sinclair Beecham, The Hoxton promises small rooms with a comfortable double bed, a TV, chaise longue, hair dryer and hot drink facilities. Breakfast consists of small Pret yoghurts, bananas and bottles of orange juice, which are delivered to your door at your specified time. There is no mini bar in the room but guests are provided with free bottles of Pret spring water and a carton of milk for those much …

A Korean feast at Kimchee

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If you’re a girl and feeling a bit under the weather, there’s nothing like a good old natter with a friend to cheer you up. That’s how I was feeling on Friday before I met my friend for dinner at Kimchee. I had walked past Kimchee numerous times but never made it in until now, perhaps because I work in Soho and quite often stick to the area. But the High Holborn location definitely doesn’t seem to be an issue for a lot of people. At 6.30pm, I walked through the front door to join a sizeable queue all eagerly awaiting a table. We were seated and our very pleasant waitress explained the menu and recommended a few dishes to share. We ordered one portion of Kimchee, a couple of sides, a rice dish and a BBQ dish. The idea is that diners share a wealth of dishes so that they can taste more. I am a huge advocate of the sharing plate so I was excited about what was to come. The food arrived …

Want good fish and chips in London? Golden Union is your place

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When I was younger, Friday evenings were reserved for two very exciting food events in the Kemp household. Friday night was both ‘sweetie night’ and ‘chip night’. On arrival home after a hard day at the office, my dad shook his jacket pocket. My brother and I would hear a crumple and chase him around the house until we finally caught up with him, raided his pockets and gorged on sweets. All of us would then bundle into the car to the local chippy where we’d order whatever we wanted from the menu to take home and eat at the table. Back then I obviously didn’t care about eating sweets before dinner. I can’t comprehend having a Friday night chip night now, partly because there are no worthy fish and chip shops even remotely near me, or many in London for that fact. But also because there are so many good value restaurants in London, I’m kind of spoilt for choice. Did you notice I didn’t say I can’t comprehend a Friday night sweetie night…? …