https://www.vic-london.com/food daily 0.75 2026-01-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/9882d642-f6e0-45f9-86f9-5c8b9af2e465/Screenshot+2025-12-30+at+07.13.51.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/bf381791-3390-4724-a498-49b6f1e69d09/518103.bin.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/8db70386-61b1-4854-a494-7089df9deb4a/Screenshot+2024-02-10+at+13.14.43.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/176efee5-d845-4aa0-b74c-c8ff19ad74d4/Screenshot+2026-01-12+at+10.24.34.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/eed5d032-2b5f-4cc4-9735-3d998c495a35/Screenshot+2022-07-31+at+13.16.46.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/b20fed03-0d29-40e4-bf32-2e517b3d5f9b/Screenshot+2025-08-06+at+09.12.05.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/0d2cd69d-9833-4178-ae16-116520365ec1/Screenshot+2024-11-12+at+11.35.40.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/8f2944f2-62fd-4f8e-b03b-552ed05c1e5f/Screenshot+2022-06-10+at+12.27.45.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/ff25bf9f-efda-4d4c-88c0-72ebe85cb729/Screenshot+2025-08-05+at+14.08.33.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/58d234a8-0414-4e2c-bbee-665c400b5e03/IMG_20190113_132827.jpg Food & Drink in the East End - Little Duck The Picklery. The large marble table in the centre of this ‘fermenting kitchen’ also doubles as a display area, with jars and plates in the middle and chairs along one side. Anywhere you sit, expect an eyeful of the pickling projects. There’s even a muslin bag suspended from the ceiling, containing the Picklery’s own labneh, of course. Little Duck/ The Picklery lives up to its name – it’s basically a sexy, edible version of the Grant Museum of Zoology. (littleduckpicklery.co.uk) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/fe7bb165-f0ec-4a17-89fd-994abce35af5/bistrotheque-info.jpg Food & Drink in the East End - Bistrotheque Bethnal Green, 30-minute walk up the canal from the flat, (www.bistrotheque.com): Modern European restaurant in white-painted converted warehouse, with bar and private dining room. It’s housed in a converted clothing factory in the East End (a street away from where I ran a warehouse gallery in the early 90s). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/9f6dd0b6-5428-4891-978a-fbeb5af528e3/casa-fofo-1.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/07f61a92-dee5-460d-9fc5-be2265acae0a/Screenshot+2025-12-30+at+07.05.49.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/1cfb316a-75dd-4a80-9ef7-a2da161f81c8/Clove-WORLD-2019-INTERIOR.jpg Food & Drink in the East End - The Clove Club. The Clove Club, Shoreditch (www.thecloveclub.com): Britain's highest-ranked entry in the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards. Located inside Shoreditch Town Hall, a space now transformed into an arts and events venue, The Clove Club opened in March 2013 thanks to a successful crowd-funding initiative. The restaurant prides itself on its relaxed atmosphere where guests don't have to worry about being "hassled" by staff. The Clove Club earned its Michelin star in 2014. Fairly expensive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/911567c8-8d05-45b1-9f4a-cacb8e3358e0/photography-94.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/9fd44cdc-8dce-492c-a151-15057311a8e7/image.png https://www.vic-london.com/pubs daily 0.75 2026-01-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/f0bc661a-4304-4fe0-ac26-60bbb588b6d3/the-grapes-downstairs-pub-2018-web.jpg pubs - The Grapes. Our local pub on Narrow Street, now part-owned by Ian McKellen, who is often there hosting the Monday night quiz. He lives next door. (www.thegrapes.co.uk): They have a restaurant upstairs, seats about eight, cozy and the food is good, simple, British and fish-focused. Very worth a pint downstairs. It's tiny and has a very small deck over the Thames. You look out to an Anthony Gormley sculpture that is almost submerged at high tide. On some particularly high tides the bar staff have to mop up the floor between serving pints. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/1295548c-4627-4d36-b7e0-72d608b55499/Screenshot+2022-06-10+at+17.16.24.png pubs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/fef22d20-70b6-4f12-a6a5-d99e85afba5f/Palm-Tree.png pubs - The Palm Tree. A relic of a pub, the Palm Tree has no time at all for the modern trappings most east London hostelries. Don’t expect the crispest of pints or the most chivalrous service either. But people still traipse to this middle-of-nowhere Mile End venue for something money can’t buy – the Palm Tree provides a Cockney experience. It’s in half a dozen London police procedural dramas. It’s 15 mins walk from the flat. (127 Grove Rd, Bow, London E3 5BH - no website cos it’s trad). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/a9d30498-8c78-4acf-840f-f4f75d26e157/DSC08573.jpg pubs - The Gun The Gun on Coldharbour (www.thegundocklands.com): We haven’t eaten here in a couple of years, but it’s a great pub. I tried to buy it when it was derelict in the late ‘90s. An amazing waterside location far from the maddening crowds, with assured cooking, considered ales and a global wine list. The pub dates back to the early 18th century but took its current name from the cannon, which was fired to celebrate the opening of the West India Import Docks in 1802. In the late 18th century, Lord Horatio Nelson acquired a property just up the road (still known as Nelson’s House) and he regularly visited the docks to inspect the guns up until his glorious death at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Lord Nelson would frequent The Gun and regularly meet Lady Emma Hamilton in an upstairs room (now called The River Room) for their secret assignations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/dc2ce90f-e180-440d-8032-b1d3b99bddce/Wapping_prospect_of_whitby_1.jpg pubs https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/3ef89ac5-26f2-45a8-8f62-2a9a9a3b3a42/Screenshot+2022-06-10+at+17.13.24.png pubs - The Empress The Empress of India (www.empresse9.co.uk): High-ceilinged 19th-century pub with exposed brick walls, serving a Modern British menu - and a good menu hense why it’s in the food section. But it’s also a very good pub a nice walk up along the Regent’s Canal, through Vic Park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/1411862a-5a96-4e00-bca5-5793babe469a/Screenshot+2022-06-25+at+12.12.45.png pubs - The Mayflower. The Mayflower pub is a hidden gem in the heart of Rotherhithe, London (www.mayflowerpub.co.uk) A traditional English pub surrounded by cobbled streets, the outside decked jetty and cosy candlelit restaurant have stunning river views. You can spot the original 1620 mooring point of the Pilgrim Father’s Mayflower ship, warm yourself by the open fire and imagine who may have been sitting in your seat 400 years ago. The food menu offers delicious, classic British dishes using local and fresh ingredients and is complemented by a great range of well-kept traditional ales, craft beers, local gins and fine wines. https://www.vic-london.com/food-1 daily 0.75 2022-06-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/a2b6c939-efd1-4cad-85ea-2f2bd73cb1e5/251036672.jpg South London Food - Bar Tozino. Maltby Market under the railway arches (www.bartozino.com): It's not actually a bar, it's a jamon bodega. You can sip from a small but fabulous selection of Spanish wines and Jerez, while nibbling on the fine hams – all of which have been curing over your head. It's the only such place in London, but it turns out that railway arches are a great place to cure ham. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/f805cb36-3f85-44de-9517-8e837f2b1b91/Screenshot+2022-06-13+at+12.07.06.png South London Food - Wright Brothers. Borough Market (www.thewrightbrothers.co.uk): It's a traditional old London oyster and porterhouse. Both Wright Brother is ideal if you are going to go to the Globe to see some Shakespeare or the Tate Modern gallery. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/2c285651-c9d3-4e94-8c63-0192dc12c437/Screenshot+2022-06-13+at+12.10.29.png South London Food https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/0a54c305-f57b-48bb-8687-804c42cd2602/Screenshot+2022-06-13+at+12.21.14.png South London Food https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/498eb9ce-7847-4a99-8be8-085cfbe509af/Screenshot+2022-06-13+at+12.25.31.png South London Food - Jose Pizzaro Bermondsey: Not far away, where once you could sell stolen goods between the hours of dusk and dawn. On Bermondsey Street are two great Spanish restaurants owned by the one guy – Jose Pizzaro. (www.josepizarro.com). Pizzaro is the restaurant and Jose is the tapas joint. Very, very good food and let them guide you on jerez. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/5853e065-61d4-4c0b-8194-024eb60f8137/249395472_281874530495380_8925716296342816544_n.jpg South London Food - Manze Okay, super traditional and don't be surprised that if you try jellied eels you may never love London again, but you don't get more traditional than a pie and mash shop. Manze is one of the few remaining real ones (www.manze.co.uk). It's been there for 112 years – I have no idea who these people are but they clearly didn’t eat the eels. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/b8b32e07-7d9a-4fbf-9f2d-cefac466d59f/Screenshot+2022-06-13+at+12.35.06.png South London Food - 40 Maltby Street Bermondsey (40maltbystreet.com): For wine—whether red, white, orange or sparkling—made without fertilizers or pesticides, plus small sharing plates (often cooked with wine). “The food that issues from the postage-stamp-sized kitchen is all pretty much faultless: not a beat is missed” https://www.vic-london.com/west-end daily 0.75 2025-08-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/c8426538-f15f-4ee1-93d5-e744ff46d432/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_13e20-1024x683.jpg West End https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/30f28dac-93b7-4f1c-913d-cb31010b205c/MG_4994-copy-2-2000x1333.jpg West End - Ikoyi Ikoyi (ikoyilondon.com) Ikoyi builds its own spice-based cuisine around British micro-seasonality: vegetables slowly grown for flavour, sustainable, line-caught fish and aged native beef. Our kitchen aims to serve produce in its optimal state, harnessing as much flavour as possible while respecting the true nature of the ingredient. The foundation for our menu is a vast collection of spices with a focus on sub-Saharan West Africa, which we have meticulously sourced over the past few years. We explore ingredients such as Grains of Selim, a smoky peppercorn with the scent of eucalyptus, plantains and scotch bonnet chillies, which we ferment, burn and pickle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/f859d680-ae29-4e44-bcf5-5b6664a0fe25/Chishuru%2Bdishes.jpg West End - Chishuru. Chishuru (www.chishuru.com): Adejoké (Joké) Bakare Joké’s desire to work in food harked back to her university years as a student in Nigeria, where she studied biological sciences and ran a fish & chip cart in her spare time. Having moved to the UK with her family 20 years ago, she worked in a number of fields including care, health & safety and property management, before starting in food with a van outside her church in southeast London. She ran a supper club or two, and then won a competition to win a three-month restaurant popup in Brixton Village, south London. Joké opened Chishuru in Brixton in September 2020 as a three month popup, after winning a Brixton Village competition When Jay Rayner from the Observer came in and gave the restaurant a rave review, the popup became permanent. The Brixton site closed in October 2022 and Joké then operated popups at Quality Wines, Carousel, 180 The Strand and the Globe Tavern in Borough Market, before moving Chishuru to its permanent new home in Fitzrovia in September 2023. In February 2024, Michelin awarded Chishuru a Michelin star, making Joké the first black female Michelin-starred chef in the UK. Joké was named ‘Chef of the Year’ at the National Restaurant Awards 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/08c86c50-0cce-497f-9cdd-d02917f2c25d/wine-bar.jpg West End - Noble Rot (noblerot.co.uk): Bloody excellent Parisian-style wine bar nook for a vast list of wines served with a concise, seasonal British menu. Amazing pork. It is located in an atmospheric townhouse on Bloomsbury’s Lamb’s Conduit Street. Head chef Paul Weaver and consultant chef Stephen Harris from the Michelin-starred The Sportsman in Whitstable oversee a full à la carte menu of fine Franglaise-style cooking in the restaurant, and a selection of small dishes in the bar. The wine list ranges from deliciously undervalued wines by the glass to hard-to-find gems from the world’s leading winemakers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/0257733a-6cb0-4723-b6f6-17ef9874d173/Screenshot+2022-06-19+at+16.18.13.png West End - HIDE. You’ll find this on Piccadilly casually overlooking Green Park. Open from 7.30am until late, it’s a three-storey, multi-million pound restaurant that has an army of staff, thousands of wines to choose from, a private lift from the car park, and a sweeping oak staircase. It’s split into three defined spaces with their basement bar, mildly casual ground floor situation, and the part you really need to know about, Hide Above - their high-flying formal upstairs dining room that serves the £140 eight-course tasting menu. (Very good food, not our favourite atmosphere - I’d prefer Pidgin in the East End) (hide.co.uk) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/507e695c-16ec-4ee8-a05a-a00c0a59d7c2/Screenshot+2025-08-05+at+14.15.19.png West End - Duck Soup. Duck Soup, in Soho (www.ducksoupsoho.co.uk): Duck Soup in Soho is a hidden gem that effortlessly blends rustic European charm with a laid-back, Soho vibe. The menu, handwritten daily on a piece of paper, showcases a rotating selection of seasonal dishes crafted with simplicity and flavor in mind. From the rich and comforting gnocchi with wild mushrooms to the tender pork belly paired with braised fennel and peach, each plate is a testament to the restaurant's commitment to quality ingredients and thoughtful preparation. The intimate setting, complete with a record player that invites guests to bring their own vinyl, adds to the cozy, community feel of the space. With a curated list of natural and biodynamic wines, Duck Soup offers a dining experience that's both relaxed and refined, making it a must-visit for those seeking a genuine taste of Soho https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/d315af06-c0a2-4736-bd6d-40cc3cb0ad71/GH9A2051-1000x1000.jpg West End https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/c0c7be0f-ed29-4cc7-923e-328a7e9bf17e/c7c4de1e-abf4-47be-ad45-a1bd465250c6.JPG West End - 10 Cases. Near Covent Garden. This smart little metropolitan bistro is a real draw for wine lovers, thanks to a policy of fair mark-ups that even extends to fine wines and fizz. What’s more, the restaurant stocks only 10 cases of the 10 reds and 10 whites on its list – before moving on to 10 new options. With everything available by the glass, why not indulge in a spot of food matching: the day’s chalked-up menu features unpretentious, well-sourced choices along the lines of snails on toast, full-flavoured goats’ cheese and red onion tart (served warm with an oven-roasted fig), or juicy Barnsley lamb chop with a side of buttery cavolo nero. Readers also appreciate the ‘fun atmosphere’ and ‘extremely efficient service’. (www.10cases.co.uk) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/096536f6-78dd-41b9-b444-d233c6190292/restaurant-interiors.jpg West End https://www.vic-london.com/posh daily 0.75 2023-01-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/ae9a3ab6-fa6c-49f8-8df3-8b4a8b4c9a47/IMG_0030.jpg Posh & Tea - The Ledbury (www.theledbury.com): Not only is The Ledbury the 14th best restaurant in the world, it has been voted the UK’s best restaurant more than half a dozen times and holds two Michelin stars. It is also just as famous for being the place where chefs and waiters armed with rolling pins and frying baskets fought off a masked mob during the 2011 London riots. When it comes to Notting Hill, I’ll take my carnival on my plate and my riots in my flavours, thanks very much. Scottish langoustine wrapped in shiitake with cauliflower is one of the best things I have eaten all year, either in the UK or anywhere else in the world. A chubby finger of langoustine tail is tiled with slices of shiitake mushroom like the armoured scales of an armadillo, with a savoury cauliflower purée to balance out the sweetness. It is one of the most ravishing plates of food you will find anywhere, but the atmosphere at The Ledbury is too upbeat to stay staring at your dinner for long. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/95e84fa6-cc55-40e9-9496-435a2887389f/41938357.jpg Posh & Tea - Aqua Shard. Afternoon tea at Aqua Shard, London Bridge. (aquashard.co.uk): It’s all about the views from the thirty-first floor of Renzo Piano’s glass spike, with London served up as a glorious dish of buildings. But the team here aren’t prepared to be outdone by a load of bricks and mortar. From the imaginative selection of hearty finger sandwiches (rye bread and chive cream cheese is our fave) to the Earl Grey opera cake and deconstructed apple and blackberry crumble, everything is beautifully executed and impeccably served. Not really my thing but a fab view. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/4f991271-d064-44a6-8376-692197e66d7a/afternoon-tea-at-brown.jpg Posh & Tea - Browns “There are Afternoon Teas, and there are Afternoon Teas fit for a queen. Queen Victoria loved to take hers at Brown’s, in our irresistibly elegant Drawing Room.” - So they say, gets good reviews but I haven’t tried it because I can’t be arsed with afternoon tea. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/11e4445b-7a2f-446f-aa66-e9795f7a555f/IMG_3525+2.jpg https://www.vic-london.com/a-day-of-walking daily 0.75 2022-06-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/8d79b164-431a-4571-9a39-61864a14d237/Screenshot+2022-06-15+at+12.45.50.png A Day of Walking - The Tate is built in a repurposed power station that closed in 1982. It’s one of my favorite galleries of all the many I have visited. The turbine hall is massive, compelling even when empty and such a superb surround for the likes of Louise Bourgeois or Anish Kapoor. They have recently opened up the tanks that were previously used to store oil when the gallery was a power station. These huge circular spaces in the foundations of the Blavatnik Building have kept their rough, industrial feel to now house new art. No longer generating electricity, the Tanks generate ideas, creative energy and new possibilities for artists and audiences. These raw, industrial, subterranean spaces, each measuring over thirty metres across and seven metres high are the world’s first museum galleries permanently dedicated to exhibiting live art, performance, installation and film. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/364b4c17-88b4-4b69-bf6e-e3b5a2d58179/Screenshot+2022-06-15+at+12.56.27.png A Day of Walking - From the Tate you can walk to Borough (and Borough Market), along the south bank of the river. Passing the Globe Theatre (www.shakespearesglobe.com), The Clink and remains of Winchester Palace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/8e181d92-c1f7-4c31-9b3b-3b6ca5d4d6c9/london-city-wall-tower-hill-1.jpg A Day of Walking - Across from the Tower, hidden next to Tower Bridge Tube is part of the old Roman Wall that surrounded London from about 50 AD. The London Wall was the defensive structure built by the Romans to protect early Londinium from the wild British natives since the new town was a strategically important port, due to easy access to the sea. Londinium, the original Roman name, is very likely why we Londoners still pronounce London as: Lun-dun and not Lon-don. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/112a836b-1cc3-4b1e-9f88-d66984720e3d/7269525940_873a9504cf_b.jpg A Day of Walking - After the Roman conquest of southern England in 43 A.D., Boudicca's husband Prastagus ruled over the territories of the Iceni as an independent vassal of Rome. The Roman procedure at the time was that when a vassal king died the Romans took over the area. On his death in around 59 A.D., Prasutagus tried to side-step this by bequeathing his lands jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor, however the lands of the Icceni were annexed to Rome and when Boudica protested she was flogged, her daughters were raped and the Romans seized the wealth of many of the Iceni. Boudica and the Iceni, in alliance with the Trinovantes and other neighbouring tribes, rose in revolt against the rule of Rome. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/b86ac7a1-15a4-4df8-955f-e17c87382de8/43991742740_be450d5636_k.jpg A Day of Walking They first marched on the Roman colony of Camulodunum (Colchester). The Britons besieged the temple to the former emperor Claudius for two days, regarded by the local native population as a citadel of everlasting tyranny, it finally fell after which the city was methodically demolished. Hearing news of the uprising, Romans began to flee Londinium (London). Boudicca and the rebels burned it to the ground, no prisoners were taken and no mercy was shown, all those left within the city were slaughtered. Modern archaeology has revealed a thick red layer of burnt debris covering coins and pottery dating before AD 60 within the bounds of Roman Londinium. Skulls dating from the Roman-era unearthed in the Walbrook (site of The Mithraeum) in 2013 were potentially linked to victims of the rebels. The victorious rebels then turned on Verulamium (St Albans), a city largely populated by Britons who had cooperated with the Romans, which was also destroyed. In the three settlements destroyed, between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed. Boudicca proudly addressed her army from her war chariot, stating that their cause was just, and the gods were on their side. She stressed that she, a woman, was resolved to win or die rather than live in slavery to the Romans (Mithraeum pictured left). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/20ebef93-5d11-4685-a151-16f807f9ec07/Screenshot+2022-06-16+at+10.10.57.png A Day of Walking - Further East Further over east: The Thames Barrier is worth checking out, even if only by boat. These are enormous gates, which can be raised in case of exceptionally high tide to save central London from floods, and it is a marvel of construction, but it is now nearing insufficient to keep the high water out 30 years later. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/880c5d64-be66-4d89-9b65-c12ab37ee6d7/greenwich-foot-tunnel-4-e1626790894293.jpg A Day of Walking - Foot Tunnel Greenwich Foot Tunnel (East London), taking you to Greenwich: The tunnel took four years to build and was opened in 1902. The tunnel replaced an expensive and sometimes unreliable ferry service and was intended to allow workers living on the south side of the Thames to reach their workplaces in the London docks and shipyards then situated around the Isle of Dogs. To get there you would need to take the Docklands Light Railway (DLR www.tfl.gov.uk). It’s a driverless train system that runs in the east. You would need a DLR train heading to Lewisham and you’d get off at Island Gardens. On your way back from Greenwich, you can take the DLR back across the river, without having to walk back through the tunnel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/075c3b70-bd96-44d7-aa93-c7f5c8700c16/F8571-040.jpg A Day of Walking - Maritime Museum. Or you can walk from the flat, following the Thames Path. Walking takes 40 mins, for those with a brisk step. In Greenwich there’s plenty to look at (www.visitgreenwich.org.uk): National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House, the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich Market and Cutty Sark (www.rmg.co.ukcuttysark). The view across London from the Royal Observatory (where Greenwich Mean Time is set) in Greenwich Park is fab. Buenos Aires Café is well worth stopping in for lunch; it’s at 15 Nelson Road. You could also take the Thames Clipper back from Greenwich, catching it at Greenwich Pier. For home, get off at Canary Wharf Pier; for the Tate Modern (Globe and Borough), get off at Bankside. The route to the Tate passes under Tower Bridge, and past Traitors Gate, through which Anne Boleyn was taken to be executed, among many (www.thamesclippers.com). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/dc6d6dff-596a-4ed5-b6ba-184af7ef74c8/image.jpg A Day of Walking - Wilton’s Music Hall Wilton’s Music Hall, Shadwell, (www.wiltons.org.uk): This is not too far from Tower Bridge, but I’d suggest a venture over if there’s something on that you fancy seeing. It’s London’s oldest music hall and really feels that way. They often hold free live jazz nights in the tiny bar. Wilton’s Music Hall’s crumbling interior beautifully evokes an otherwise vanished past. It’s rather excellent, I must say. Pictured left. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/4d4b3a0c-e9f9-4fa1-9970-2f67bb6bb10e/GettyImages-148858807-58fbe13d3df78ca159a2ed01.jpg A Day of Walking https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/ef1b7c64-0cc8-4e8c-924e-db10e06d7f14/Whitechapel_hero.jpg%2C1600.jpg A Day of Walking - Whitechapel Gallery. Whitechapel High Street and the start of Brick Lane (www.whitechapelgallery.org): This is an excellent local gallery, showcasing mould-breaking contemporary art. Runs lots of workshops too. Founded in 1901 to “bring great art to the people of the East End of London,” the Whitechapel Gallery occupies a distinctive Arts and Crafts building designed by Charles Harrison Townsend. It has no permanent collection, but a rolling programme of several exhibitions each year. The programme has ranged from showcasing art from Africa, India and Latin America to premiering emerging figures such as Picasso, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. The gallery holds a triennial open submission competition, which has recently been relaunched as The London Open. Rachel Whiteread's beautiful commission for the facade of the building, Tree of Life, created with support from the Art Fund, was unveiled in June 2012. The artist's first permanent public commission in the UK, it features clusters of leaves, cast in bronze and plated in gold leaf, emblazoning the gallery's facade with shimmering foliage. The work was inspired by both the Tree of Life, an Arts and Crafts motif adorning the gallery's towers, and “Hackney weed,” the urban plants that grow on buildings in the area. Because you can: Moo Canoe (www.moocanoes.com): Hire a kayak or canoe and explore the canals around our flat. Paddle outside our living room window with the coots, swans and moorhens. https://www.vic-london.com/walking-transport-routes daily 0.75 2022-06-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/e502d45b-82bd-44d0-82fe-b4ccfb8a81be/Screenshot+2022-06-25+at+13.30.35.png Walking & Transport Routes - Borough Market by foot. This route from the flat will take you along the river to Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, part of the Roman wall & Southwark Cathedral. You can duck off earlier and head to 40 Maltby Street, Bar Tazino or José places on Bemondsey Street. You will also walk past Restaurant Story. In Borough Market you have Padella, Wright Brothers and Turnips. (See South London food section for details). This route will also take you by the houses of Helen Mirran and Graham Norton in Wapping. Ian McKellan lives next to The Grapes pub. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/c8356fa4-b3bf-4616-a977-a9d95097f19d/Screenshot+2022-06-25+at+12.53.11.png Walking & Transport Routes - Take the Thames Clipper from Canary Wharf to the Strand or the Tate or wherever. It’s worth taking this for the interesting view you get of the city from the river. Depending on the tide, the boat may be level with contemporary London, medieval London, Roman London, or Anglo-Saxon London. From the stop at the end of Pixley St (leaving the flat and turning right on Copenhagen Place and right on Pixley and left at the end of very short Pixley St, to the bus stop there), you can get the 277 to Lauriston (Ginger Pig, Empress of India, also past the East London Liquor Company). That’s about five stops for the ELLC, and seven for GP. Also from here you can get the D6 to Cambridge Heath for Morito and the Laughing Heart. Or walk up alongside the Regent’s Canal and get off at Mile End Park, just after the bridge for Roman Road. It’s at the end of the park. (See East London Food section) We now have the Elizabeth Line running from Canary Wharf. This currently does not go all the way to Heathrow without changing at Paddington - but it will be fully connected by October 2022. The Elizabeth will get you to Tottenhan Court Road calmly, coolly and very quickly. Which is handy if you simply want to get up West for the theatre or such. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/84b07593-9c79-4967-810f-3169dd750590/Screenshot+2022-06-25+at+12.59.22.png Walking & Transport Routes - Take the Docklands Light Rail (DLR) from either Limehouse or Westferry in the direction of Tower Gateway (not Bank). At Tower Gateway, you have to exit the DLR and cross the road (Tower Bridge and the Tower of London will be on your left). The tube, Tower Hill (District & Circle line) is on the right behind the Roman Wall. Take either District or Circle Line. Get off at Westminster (or wherever you fancy). Westminster is at Westminster, unsurprisingly. You can walk up Whitehall/Parliament St to Trafalgar Square and the West End (past Downing Street, Horse Guards, Churchill War Rooms, etc.). You can also walk down to Westminster (very short walk past Number 10 Downing Street) from Trafalgar Square where the number 15 bus route terminates. If you see the 88 when up west, that’s the bus route I used to drive. There’s also Mile End Tube, on the Central Line. To get there: leave the flat and go right along Copenhagen Place and then right on Pixley Street. At the end of Pixley Street turn left onto Burdett Road and keep walking for 10 mins or so. The Mile End park will be on your left for much of the journey, once you are past the go-cart track. Turn right at Mile End Road (there’s a big yellow bridge to your left), the Tube is on the right. If you want a quick trip to Noble Rot, get off at Holborn or Chancery Lane and it’s a 10-minute walk from there. For the budget busting Core and Ledbury, you can get off at Notting Hill Gate and both are 10-15-minute walk from there. For all in Shoreditch, get off at Liverpool Street Station. For the West End, get off at Holborn and walk 10 minutes. https://www.vic-london.com/west-end-1 daily 0.75 2022-06-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/30f28dac-93b7-4f1c-913d-cb31010b205c/MG_4994-copy-2-2000x1333.jpg West End (Copy) - Ikoyi Ikoyi (ikoyilondon.com) Ikoyi builds its own spice-based cuisine around British micro-seasonality: vegetables slowly grown for flavour, sustainable, line-caught fish and aged native beef. Our kitchen aims to serve produce in its optimal state, harnessing as much flavour as possible while respecting the true nature of the ingredient. The foundation for our menu is a vast collection of spices with a focus on sub-Saharan West Africa, which we have meticulously sourced over the past few years. We explore ingredients such as Grains of Selim, a smoky peppercorn with the scent of eucalyptus, plantains and scotch bonnet chillies, which we ferment, burn and pickle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/08c86c50-0cce-497f-9cdd-d02917f2c25d/wine-bar.jpg West End (Copy) - Nobel Rot (noblerot.co.uk): Bloody excellent Parisian-style wine bar nook for a vast list of wines served with a concise, seasonal British menu. Amazing pork. It is located in an atmospheric townhouse on Bloomsbury’s Lamb’s Conduit Street. Head chef Paul Weaver and consultant chef Stephen Harris from the Michelin-starred The Sportsman in Whitstable oversee a full à la carte menu of fine Franglaise-style cooking in the restaurant, and a selection of small dishes in the bar. The wine list ranges from deliciously undervalued wines by the glass to hard-to-find gems from the world’s leading winemakers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/d315af06-c0a2-4736-bd6d-40cc3cb0ad71/GH9A2051-1000x1000.jpg West End (Copy) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/c8426538-f15f-4ee1-93d5-e744ff46d432/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_13e20-1024x683.jpg West End (Copy) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/c0c7be0f-ed29-4cc7-923e-328a7e9bf17e/c7c4de1e-abf4-47be-ad45-a1bd465250c6.JPG West End (Copy) - 10 Cases. Near Covent Garden. This smart little metropolitan bistro is a real draw for wine lovers, thanks to a policy of fair mark-ups that even extends to fine wines and fizz. What’s more, the restaurant stocks only 10 cases of the 10 reds and 10 whites on its list – before moving on to 10 new options. With everything available by the glass, why not indulge in a spot of food matching: the day’s chalked-up menu features unpretentious, well-sourced choices along the lines of snails on toast, full-flavoured goats’ cheese and red onion tart (served warm with an oven-roasted fig), or juicy Barnsley lamb chop with a side of buttery cavolo nero. Readers also appreciate the ‘fun atmosphere’ and ‘extremely efficient service’. (www.10cases.co.uk) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/0257733a-6cb0-4723-b6f6-17ef9874d173/Screenshot+2022-06-19+at+16.18.13.png West End (Copy) - HIDE. You’ll find this on Piccadilly casually overlooking Green Park. Open from 7.30am until late, it’s a three-storey, multi-million pound restaurant that has an army of staff, thousands of wines to choose from, a private lift from the car park, and a sweeping oak staircase. It’s split into three defined spaces with their basement bar, mildly casual ground floor situation, and the part you really need to know about, Hide Above - their high-flying formal upstairs dining room that serves the £140 eight-course tasting menu. (Very good food, not our favourite atmosphere - I’d prefer Pidgin in the East End) (hide.co.uk) https://www.vic-london.com/the-quirks-of-the-flat daily 0.75 2026-03-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/b26bb14b-460a-4978-b011-5d0859881d0a/IMG_7023.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/652f19f3-31a6-4051-a7bb-c97faa064afc/IMG_7018.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/0bf53eff-d91d-4ebe-84c6-bd2fe937ad92/IMG_7019.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/73a9ef69-00df-4539-b302-7979a0e4e724/Artful-Dodger-Oliver-Twist-pocket-amazement-illustration.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/59eec9d1-a633-47d0-8b23-d089ca8b38d1/IMG_7022.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/42a025f7-c2fa-4eb4-af3f-4ceae039d04f/IMG_7056.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/24dcc55c-0e5c-492f-8dea-a0eac740d731/IMG_7020+2.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/083810d4-ef00-4969-bba2-9d1eb8c7ef9e/FullSizeRender+5.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/575bd319-ae0d-478d-97c8-9a08ea11504d/IMG_7025.jpg https://www.vic-london.com/birds-foxes daily 0.75 2022-08-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/f5328542-1fbd-425c-912c-f7869a34f400/coot-1.jpg Birds & Foxes - The Coot A familiar bird of our wetlands, the Coot is often seen on park lakes, ponds, rivers and canals. It spends more of its time on the water than its relative, the Moorhen, and will dive to catch small invertebrates. Unlike ducks, Coots will bring their catch to the surface before eating it, leading to squabbles over food. Coots breed in spring, laying between six and nine eggs in nests made among emergent vegetation. Coot chicks are black with orange fluff around the face and body; they are independent within two months of hatching. The Coot can be distinguished from the similar-looking Moorhen by its larger size, entirely black body (with no white patches), and bright white bill. Coots spend much of their time away from the bankside, diving for food. The are also extremely bloody noisy and argue with anything that passes by. The hate seagulls, those robbers eat their babies. You’ll soon learn the alarm call they make when a herring gull passes over head. I love them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/e7cbee4c-24c7-48d5-8411-094a3935ea80/swan-on-the-regent-canal-in-london-philip-pound.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/575f50f2-8d82-4552-94c0-dae5c038c3cc/_methode_times_prodmigration_web_bin_ebe4c39d-b0bc-3a91-8a26-9c43fa63dfd9.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/4f991271-d064-44a6-8376-692197e66d7a/afternoon-tea-at-brown.jpg Birds & Foxes - Browns “There are Afternoon Teas, and there are Afternoon Teas fit for a queen. Queen Victoria loved to take hers at Brown’s, in our irresistibly elegant Drawing Room.” - So they say, gets good reviews but I haven’t tried it because I can’t be arsed with afternoon tea. https://www.vic-london.com/map daily 0.75 2024-11-29 https://www.vic-london.com/indian daily 0.75 2026-01-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/32b776ac-cf6d-446e-8fad-0291e6c11641/Screenshot+2026-01-19+at+10.40.22.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/ee24f8d0-2c2b-4fa3-a153-36de4e5af164/Screenshot+2026-01-19+at+10.43.01.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a1f7c3156ee249c9a54fc8/84e89b04-a2df-446a-add0-683e7f56f326/Screenshot+2026-01-19+at+10.49.53.png Indian