London Tips from London Loving dealcheckers
Have you noticed there’s a little bit of hype about London at the moment? No idea why. But since all dealcheckers are pretty familiar with the city, what with dealchecker HQ being nicely placed in the action and all, we thought it would be nice to share some of our top tips for visiting the capital.
The dealcheckers Recommend Doing:
As Londoners we’ve got a couple of cheeky tips on new, cheap, or quirky ways to see the city.
Em points out that the Eye isn’t the only way to drink in London’s skyline (and it’s certainly not the cheapest). Head to The Monument instead – yes it involves a bit of a climb, but you’ll enjoy the views even more after the effort, and as Em points out, it comes at the bargain price of £3!
Stairs at The Monument – Image by joelbeachman
To explore London’s spooky side dealchecker newbie Amelia (so new we don’t have a profile page for her yet) recommends joining a tour from London Ghost Walks. Tours typically take two hours and only costs £8 – and you get to learn the true grizzly past about London’s best loved landmarks.
More walking in our designer Ergun’s recommendation: Simply take a stroll along the Thames. So many of London’s landmarks line the river, so as you head from west to east you’ll pass Royal Festival Hall, the Tate Modern, Tower Bridge… There are street performers lining the South Bank, and at low tide you might spot sand sculptures being carved in the river banks. Allow plenty of time for coffee stops.
Sand sculptures on the South Bank – Image by doubleoh2
The dealcheckers’ Favourite London Places
Surprisingly a lot of the dealcheckers’ favourite things to do in London involve not doing much. It seems relaxing, accompanied by a glass of wine and surrounded by some spectacular London buildings is the order of the day.
Case in point: Our MD Mark recommends The Tattershall Castle. Don’t be fooled by the name. This is really a boat, which is also a bar, which is moored on the Thames, with an amazing backdrop of the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament.
The Tattershall Castle – Image by davidcjones
Vanessa from our marketing team likes sitting in the Tea House Theatre in Vauxhall. When you know that they have an amazing variety of tea and cake on offer, that they’re never going to rush you to drink up and that you can catch poetry and theatre performances at the same time, well, then you’ll know why!
The dealcheckers Recommend Eating Here:
With more than one self-confessed foodie in the office, and a wealth of amazing restaurants in the capital, I’ve had a hard time narrowing down the recommendations.
Andy has generously taken it upon himself to try out the Michelin-starred restaurants of London. He rates Gauthier Soho, L’Atellier, l’escargot, the Ledbury… well, quite a lot of them actually. Clearly these rank among London’s pricier eateries, but you can often find special offers if you’re happy to go during the week or for a lunchtime sitting. Try websites like lastminute.com and toptable.com.
One of the best things about London dining is just how broad the range of cuisines on offer is. If you’re after Chinese just head to China Town (New Loon Fung is Andy’s pick). There are curries aplenty on Brick Lane, and nearby Punjabi restaurant Tayyabs is well deserving of it’s cult following – and it’s very reasonably priced too.
China Town – Image by ben hanbury
If you’re after Spanish, I can heartily recommend the tapas at Morito near Angel (and it’s common knowledge that it’s next-door parent restaurant Moro is worth a stop too). Sophie informs me that the Burgers at Honest Burgers are more than worth journeying to Brixton Village for.
London isn’t known for being a cheap city, but it’s hard to beat the value of all you can eat veggie curry at Indian Veg in Angel. It’s only £4.50 a head, there’s always something different on offer, and it’s BYOB.
For more cheap eats check out London’s food markets. Borough Market is the best known and is a delicious way to spend a day. The market is open for lunch Mondays – Wednesdays, and all day Thursday to Saturday.
Stall at Borough Market – Image by betsyweber
The dealcheckers Recommended Drinking Venues:
A fight broke out in the dealchecker office when I asked where the best (affordable) cocktail bar in London is. Zoé championed the hidden bar at The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town while Andy entered the fray with the mhasive cocktails served at FREVD.
Now they have bruised egos, bruised faces and they’re both still wrong as neither bar is quite so good as sipping a Gin Collins from a teacup in a vintage living room at Bourne and Hollingsworth.
And for when after your cocktails are done, our resident party expert Zoé recommends hitting the dancefloor at KOKO in Camden. They have lots of live bands play, some of London’s most popular party nights and to cap it all the decor from its previous life as a theatre is rather impressive.
KOKO sign – Image by psigrist
Any other Londoners got some local tips? It’s good to share!
