All posts tagged: london

Vapiano, Soho

Published by

Where Vapiano, Soho What The third Vapiano site in London follows the same concept – homemade pasta, pizza and salad dishes cooked fresh in front of guests. Each dish is ordered using a smart card system, which is tapped onto the till every time you order, meaning an easy and efficient paying system as you leave the restaurant. The experience I bet you think I’m going to talk about a big, juicy pizza here, don’t you? Well, guess again folks; I managed to restrain myself from ordering a pizza and instead opted for a pasta dish and a salad. We arrived on a Thursday evening at 6.30pm and grabbed a seat on one of the tall communal tables straight away. The friendly host asked if we were familiar with the Vapiano system and provided us with our payment cards. For those who aren’t familiar with the system, you order what you want to eat from one of the three stations – pizza, salad, or pasta, and touch your card on the reader. When you are …

My First Meetup – Photographic Explorers, London

Published by

It took me a whole year to get my act together, but last last night I finally attended my first photo meetup. A few of us headed down after work to meet the group at Tower Bridge and we spent three hours wandering around the area, snapping away on our cameras, before heading to the local pub to share our photos and have a natter over a couple of beers. I have been interested in photography since I was a wee nipper but I didn’t get my first camera until I was into my 20s. I have to be honest, it doesn’t come easy to me and I find myself getting frustrated when I’m out and about, but the saying is true – practice makes perfect. Last night I was shooting with two cameras – a Nikon 1 J3 and a Canon 600D and you can see the rest of my pics on my flickr. Find out more about the Photographic Explorers meetup here.

Pizza Union – Super Fast 12″ Pizza

Published by

Where Pizza Union, Spitalfields What The UK’s first Italian all-day Pizza Bar. Thin and crispy artisan pizzas, inspired by the thin and crispy pizzas found in Rome, baked in three minutes in a traditional stone pizza oven. Pizzas are ordered straight from the counter, while a host of long, bar-style communal tables help create a buzzy, informal dining atmosphere to fit with the Pizza Bar’s contemporary industrial look. The experience I have a problem. I can’t stop eating pizza. I ate a total of six pizzas last week – SIX!!! Why is that a problem, I hear you say. Well it’s not the fact that I’m not getting the nutrients I need from fruit and veg and my waistline is expanding at a rate of knots just in time for my holiday in Ibiza, it is that I just can’t seem to stop. I’m always up for finding new pizza establishments and quite frequently travel around the capital to find the best. I tried Pizza Union a couple of months ago and although this is a …

The Kitchen Table at Odettes, Primrose Hill

Published by

Where Odettes, Primrose Hill What One of London’s oldest dining rooms, Odettes is situated on the beautiful leafy Regent’s Park Road in Primrose Hill. The restaurant is owned by Chef Bryn Williams, who took over the property in 2008 after beating a number of established chefs on Great British Menu in 2006. The experience I don’t know how I have managed to evade Regent’s Park Road for so long. The beautiful tree lined street features a range of small independent businesses and period terraced houses. It is conveniently situated a short stroll from Chalk Farm and a stones throw from one of London’s most famous green spaces and favourite of the stars, Primrose Hill. The lavish and comfortable dining room at Odettes is the perfect fine dining neighbourhood restaurant, with some diners having been visiting since the 70s. The recent refurbishment saw an addition of a private dining room and The Kitchen Table, where diners can watch the chefs at work under head chef Jamie Randall. I was at Odettes to sample The Kitchen Table …

Mother’s Day Treat – Afternoon Tea at Milliennium Hotel, Mayfair

Published by

I have eaten my fair share of Afternoon Tea’s over the last few years; some of them incredible and others totally forgettable. It baffles me how some establishments feel that they can serve below average food and charge extortionate amounts for what is essentially just a few slices of bread with minimal filling and unappetising cakes. Not all of them are tarred with that brush though and one that I attended recently has shot to the top of my list. It was Mothering Sunday and me and my mum, who had come down to London to visit from Nottingham, joined me and a number of other bloggers and their mums for a luxurious afternoon tea at The Millennium Hotel in Mayfair. After wrestling with what felt like the whole world on the walk from Oxford Street tube, we turned left and ventured our way down into Mayfair. The streets became wider, less busy, the cars more expensive and the atmosphere far more relaxed. To my knowledge, my mum hadn’t visited Mayfair before so I strolled …