I found numerous references to Postcard Teas when I was writing my article on Where to Buy Tea in London but I couldn’t get my head round it…what has a postcard got to do with tea?
I had also never heard of Dering Street where Postcard Teas is located.
So this establishment went ignored until I started researching luxury within a block of Oxford Street and stumbled on it.
The Postcard Teas Shop
While the exterior has an almost Dickensian London feel with its double fronted small paned windows, there is definitely a minimalist Japanese aesthetic going on inside. One wall is lined with tea, not as you would expect in caddies but in oblong boxes resembling post cards.
The postcard drawings are a delight. They look as if they come straight out of a children’s book from the last century. There are ladies in fancy, feathered hats sitting on wicker chairs enjoying tea in fine porcelain cups, Monet style water lilies in a lake and children drinking tea poured by mum from a large tea pot.
On the reverse of these manila cardboard boxes is a detailed explanation of the tea that they contain.
I purchased the London Roast at £7.95 for a 50g postcard box.
These teas make unusual, postable presents or the perfect hostess gift for a breakfast or afternoon tea invitation.
Postcard Teas’ Description of the London Roast
Description of London Roast on rear of box
A robust blend of fine black teas that have been roasted in the UK using our unique London Roast process to create a new kind of black tea. The base material comes from a mixture of our Hijiri Black and Family Tea, as well a strong black tea from the Cubbagudta Plantation in Australia.
The result of the roasting is a rich, aromatic tea with a full body, addictive roasted taste and dark caramel sweetness that works equally well with and without milk. Out of all the blends we have made in the past eleven years, this may be the one we are the most proud of creating.
Are you also a coffee and cake eater? If so you may enjoy this post on where to buy coffee and cake in London. Of course you can have tea with your cake if you prefer.
My Postcard Teas London Roast Brew
When I was ready to brew I took out my sturdy stainless steel tea pot for one, warmed it with boiling water and put in two scant teaspoons of tea…and poured on the slightly off-the-boil water.
However, subsequently I have discovered that this tea tastes best with less tea and a shorter brewing time… 2-3 minutes is all that is needed.
The London Roast has an unmistakable almost savoury smell. It reminds me a bit of hot oxo (a stock cube) which we drank as kids. The taste is richer than standard black tea. It has a smokey, caramel aftertaste which is very pleasant.
My Postcard Teas London Roast Brew
Post Card Teas London Blends
Postcard Teas has a special selection of other London Blends
These include:
English Breakfast
English Afternoon
London Lapsangang
London Rose
My Verdict on Postcard Teas London Roast
Postcard Teas London Roast is almost addictive. I will definitely be buying more. I guess it is better to be addicted to upmarket tea than gin.
Marylebone on a budget? It can be done! Explore this little known area sandwiched between Marble Arch and Baker’s Street with a unique village atmosphere, many independent shops, a church that rivals some cathedrals and a sumptuously ornate, free museum. Here is a nuts and bolts guide on how you can have a fabulous day in Marylebone on the cheap.
Each month I show you how to plan a budget day out in an interesting part of London, I throw in some cheap eats, shopping and culture and help you do it for less than £15. If you are travelling on a shoestring budget read on…
Rules for the Marylebone on a Budget, London for £15 challenge
I don’t include tube travel …the over 60s with a London address have a Oyster 60+ card which gives them free travel on the London Underground and buses. Many working Londoners are using Oyster cards with capped daily spends and and most tourists have a prepaid Oyster card.
And I don’t include memberships. If you are a Londoner on a low budget, I advise you to stock up on every subscription and membership that you can lay your hands on…just make sure that they are for venues that you will actually go to several times in the course of the year.
Why Marylebone High Street?
Marylebone is probably the only place that I can think of in the centre of London that has a village feel with markets, charity shops, churches and museums. It has a great foodie vibe with a handful of artisan food shops with authentic produce…no E numbers or factory produce here. What appeals to me is the sheer variety of sights and activities all with the feel of London a hundred years ago.
Moxton Street – a Foodie Heaven off Marylebone High Street
Moxton Street is the epicentre of foodie heaven with some surprising budget finds. At the weekends there is a food market at the end of the road where locals buy their produce and they then stop off at La Fromagerie to recover from their exertions and catch up with friends. Bill Nighy is often spotted in the restaurant Aubaine opposite.
Ginger Pig
The Ginger Pig is renowned for offering a roast lunch which is costed by weight…pork, stuffing, gravy…roasted vegetables with minty, lemony seasonings and gravy. There are also pies worthy of any Charles Dickens novel…hot sausage rolls, Cornish pasties etc. You can easily pick up allow cost takeaway lunch here for £5-£8.
The Butchery section of Marylebone’s famous Ginger Pig.
A good selection of high quality low priced cold meat pies
Great value sausage rolls. Choose the hot ones.
Roast pork with vegetables and salad priced by weight. Infinitely more delicious than the photograph.
La Fromagerie
And then head next door to La Fromagerie which prides itself on sourcing its ingredients directly from top artisanal producers in the UK and Europe.Their food is fresh and beautifully presented. At the rear of the shop are tables dedicated to people sampling cheese boards and wine and there is a cafe with a small kitchen menu that includes the very popular Portuguese Sardines on toasted sough dough with caper berries and Amalfi lemon at £11.50…but as we are on a shoestring budget, I recommend sticking with the picnic idea from the Ginger Pig. Or to hell with it…blow your budget on a Yorkshire Salt Beef Sandwich with homemade slaw at £12 and focus on free activities for the rest of the day!
Whole Cheeses in the Window of La Fromagerie in Marylebone.
Beautiful Food Displays at La Fromagerie.
Go for the Carrot Cake a bargain at £3.20
You can return to La Fromagerie for afternoon tea. They have home made cakes with deep buttery icing that they serve in gargantuan slices…enough for two people. Their cakes are are really good value at £3-£4 a slice, approximately.
After that culinary overload you need to rest, so off to Pret. For frequent low budget adventurers I recommend the Pret Subscription as it allows you to have a free drink every 30 minutes, up to 5 times a day, for £30 a month and 10% off the food menu. Get a free barista coffee, or a cup of British Breakfast tea and leave the tea bag in to steep to get the full malty caffeine hit. I usually park myself on one of their outside tables and eat my picnic there. I know that this is frowned on but no one has said anything yet!
Charity Shops
The adjacent residential houses in Marylebone are all worth millions. They are where the super rich live. So it should come as no surprise that the charity shops on Marylebone High Street are choc full of discarded designer clothes, many unworn and still tagged from Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
Unlike the London suburbs. where you can pick up a piece of bargain second hand clothing for a couple of quid, these charity shop managers know how to price but you’d still be paying a fraction of the cost new.
Even if you don’t buy anything in the charity shops it is fun to look.
Found in a Marylebone charity shop. Is this a bargain? A £150 Pucci silk scarf.
Daunt Books
Welcome to Daunt Books which is probably the most photographed book store in London – an independent bookseller with an original Edwardian interior featuring a two storey gallery which contributes to its olde world charms.
This is the place where celebrities come to do their book signings, so be sure to check out their Events page. Boris Johnson was photographed here recently.
Daunt Books exterior on Marylebone High Street.
Gallery at Daunt BooksThere is a huge selection of London books including this one on London for free.
St James’s Church a Marylebone Church with a Beautiful Gothic Interior
St James’s Church in Spanish Place is not on the tourist circuit but it has an interior that would rival that of many a famous European cathedral. It’s in an early Gothic style. There has been a church in this site for centuries and the current church opened in 1890. There are beautiful paintings, statues and brasses. The church does a lot of work for the homeless. There is a daily mass. The church is free to visit and is a must for your Marylebone on a budget day out – you can make a small donation in the boxes provided.
St James’s church exterior in Marylebone with its flying buttress
Gothic revival interior.
Polished brass tomb covering.
Altar frieze.
Wallace Collection is Marylebone’s Glitzy Glamorous Free Museum
TheWallace Collection is the jewel of Marylebone – a gilded, glitzy, glamorous museum in Manchester Square. It is stuffed with objet d’art, hand carved furniture, armoury and marble statues. And best of all it is free to visit but a small donation is encouraged.
Visit Marylebone’s free museum and see this amazing ornate fireplace offset by red flock wallpaper.
Frans Hals The Laughing Cavalier
The grand marble staircase with gilded balustrade and burgundy carpet.
The Wallace Collection museum shop has things that you might actually want in your home which makes it a rare find in the world of souvenir type shops and it is not too pricy.
Stylish dressing gowns many with London maps or typography.
For those looking for a tasteful apron depicting a naked man.
Entry to exhibitions is currently £14 but you can buy annual membership for the Wallace Collection that would give you free entry to exhibitions for a year for £45 (single adult membership 2023). If you have a National Arts Club Fund membership you can gain admission at a 50% discount for £7. And of course, if you are on a tight budget and without the necessary memberships, there’s plenty to see in the free permanent galleries.
Harley Street and Selfridges
I ended my day with a walk down Harley Street gazing at the practitioners’ plaques and window boxes and did a bit of browsing in Selfridges.
Instead of heading south towards Oxford Street you could extend your day by going north towards Baker’s Street and visiting the free Queen Mary’s Rose Garden in Regents Park. We have a blog post entitled Queen Mary’s Rose Garden – A Sublime Floral Display.
Total Spend for my Marylebone on a Budget Day Out
My low cost day in Marylebone was only £3.20! I only spent money on the cake in La Fromagerie. I was gifted a few food samples as part of my blog research which kept me going.
If you had a picnic lunch from the Ginger Pig or one of the many cafes in Marylebone High Street, used your Pret subscription and focussed on free entry to the church and the Wallace Collection you could have a fab day out for well under £15.
There’s far more to see in Marylebone on a budget, so please subscribe so you don’t miss another London for £15 blog post in the area.
In my wildest fantasies, I imagine being gifted a hamper…not just any old hamper but a wicker Fortnum and Mason hamper bearing the chic black monogram and brim filled with exquisite treats – each one in beautiful packaging A hamper fit for a Londoner of refined taste (me). And it would be the sort of hamper that would thrill all Londoners from monarchs to the locked-down and quarantined in the London suburbs.
Fortnum and Mason Hampers are a Right Royal Treat
Today I had an email from the Queen’s grocer, Fortnum and Mason informing me of their Locked Down Lovers Hamper…a worthy alternative, in these times of virus, to a Valentine’s dinner
An opportunity for lovers everywhere to change into seductive jimjams and snuggle on the sofa with the delights of a bottle of Cote du Rhone, chocolate covered raspberries, stilton, butter biscuits, rose petal and prosecco jelly and dark chocolate macadamia nut biscuits amongst other delectables.
But in my small household of me and my cat, we have a more savoury meaty, fishy tooth, we like sharper, bitter umami tasting things, London things. A pork pie or scotch egg anyone?
My Fortnum and Mason hamper needs a good selection of savoury items like this delicious pork pie.
As a double royal warrant holder, Fortnum and Mason supplies both the Queen and the Prince of Wales. And naturally, I want whatever she is having!
I can’t quite picture Her Majesty, on the sofa, snuggled up to the Duke of Edinburgh with a bag of chocolate covered raspberries.
Anything that I choose for my perfect Fortnum and Mason hamper has to shout from the rooftops “supplied by the Queen’s grocer and fit for the Queen”.
So I have trawled through the Fortnum and Mason’s omnibus of fine delicacies, condiments and preserves to see if I could create the perfect selection, the most scrumptious of scrumptious, the most Toad of Toad Hall and the most Rupert Bear of all offerings.
Fortnum and Mason est. 1707, is a jewel box of a shop with liveried staff. Decked in an iconic turquoise blue, it screams luxury and refinement. Stopping off point for stage coaches, sender of sustenance to wars and boarding schools. Purveyor of goods to royals. A lifeline in the heart of Piccadilly.
What is the Winning Fortnum and Mason’s Hamper formula?
I analysed all Superior and Show Stopper Fortnum and Mason hampers priced £200-£2,500 and concluded that a magic and majestic hamper needs to contain items in these categories:
Tea and coffee
Preserves and honey
Savoury crackers
Pates and spreads
Ham and cheese
Chutney and mustard
Sweet Biscuits
Chocolates
Wine and spirits
A gift item eg. a cook book or a tea pot
A top of the range Fortnum and Mason hamper.
My Winning Criteria
All delicious consumables would need to pass the following test:
Something I couldn’t, or wouldn’t, make from a recipe
Delectable to the extent that I would be salivating as I tear open the packaging
Uniquely English and preferably with a London twist
True to its royal heritage and fitting for Queen Elizabeth II
Something clearly superior to a supermarket product
Here’s a Fortnum and Mason Hamper Fit for a Londoner – This Londoner! Me!
In blue, black and white – here is my gift list for birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s, Pancake Day, My Cat’s Name Day or any other special occasion. The work has been done for you!
Traditional Potted Stilton
This cheese is the celebrity of Stiltons, it is made from the last family-owned Stilton producer in the UK, and only with milk from the three ‘Stilton counties’ – Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. And the jar has cachet.
Welsh Rarebit Cheese Straws
My mother used to make cheese straws with pastry, cheddar and mustard powder.
But the best cheese straws are the ones wheeled out at the Goring Hotel. It is well worth going there for a few drinks just for the complimentary bar snacks.
Can Fortnum and Mason win a cheese straw competition? Theirs is made with cheddar cheese and hints of mustard and is perfect to enjoy alongside a tipple or two.
Piccadilly Piccalilli Pantry Jar
I like English mustard, I like cauliflower, onions, and gherkins, carrots and green beans and I like piccalilli. It’s like an adult version of Heinz Sandwich Spread. And I think it pairs very nicely with ham so this is going in.
Walnut & Seed Crackers
Traditionally, British crackers have been a bit bland. I have a loathing for cream crackers. They always seem to emerge slightly stale from the tin. I would be excited to have these bold nutty, savoury biscuits.
Pork pie, cheese, piccalilli and crackers are the perfect park picnic – just add grapes.
Jubilee Blend Tea
A special blend of tea brought out to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee.
In 2012, Queen Elizabeth had her Diamond Jubilee and we were invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.
On arrival, we received a wicker hamper containing chilled country garden soup, jubilee chicken, smoked salmon, cheese and chutney, bread and cakes with lavish servings of champagne.
It was a dreary and rainy afternoon but we feasted on blankets in the grounds, serenaded by a string quartet.
Fortnum and Mason marked the occasion by producing a special tea blend of Indian, Ceylon and China teas, creating a slightly smoky tea. Perfect for a Queen’s garden party.
Rose & Violet English Creams
Rose and Violet Creams are a London thing.Gifts inside the Fortnum and Mason hamper have their pretty signature turquoise packaging.
Growing up, I liked parma violet sweets which came in a thin tube and tasted artificial and violetty. But how much better it would be to have chocolates made with real flower essences suspended in fondant cream and enrobed in dark chocolate with their pretty crystallised flower decorations.
Floral creams are beloved by royalty. Fortnum and Mason Rose & Violet English Creams are proclaimed to be their signature chocolates.
Very English. Very Royal. Very London.
Burlington Breakfast Marmalade
No food hamper would be complete without a marmalade.
Many years ago, I was stumbling about exploring a local park in Chiswick and came across a tiny neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by sphinx statues and filled with priceless antiquities.
Chiswick House
It was Chiswick House, Lord Burlington’s summer house and here I was on a glorious Summer day overcome by the urge, not just to visit, but to work there, surrounded by the beautiful treasures that he acquired on his Grand Tour.
And each day for that summer, I sat on a carved, mahogany chair in one of the upstairs interconnecting rooms reading books about Lord Burlington.
Lord Burlington’s London residence, Burlington House (the Royal Academy) is opposite Fortnum’s which is why they decided to name a marmalade in his honour. They believe that there is a parallel between his love of 16th century architecture and the fine construction of this marmalade of pale golden jelly mixed with fine cut peel.
Who knows? But I think I would be every happy with a jar of anything with his name on it.
Blackberry Preserve
Make sure that your Fortnum and Mason hamper has Blackberry Preserve. It would be nice on fresh hot scones.
Jam used to be something that was made in every kitchen. As kids, we used to go foraging in late August for blackberries in the local fields. Then my mother would mix them with apples to make a dense, treacly jam with cellophane paper lids held firm with a rubber band. It was like a blue-blooded murder in the kitchen, all of us stained with blackberry juice.
Stirring the berries with the sugar for jam making.Jars of home made blackberry jam.Fresh scones with blackberry jam and clotted cream.Blackberry jam making
Fortunately, in the 2020s we don’t need to go to all that trouble. Fortnum and Mason Blackberry Preserve is described as “juicy and fragrant without being too sweet”. This would be amazing on warm, home-made fruit scones with a thick layer of clotted cream.
Rose Petal & English Honey Jelly
Rose petal jelly for those who like the finer things in life.
My father used to have an Egyptian friend who was addicted to the finer things in life and one of his peculiar penchants was for the Fortnum and Mason’s Rose Petal Jam. I’m still trying to get my head round this! Being curious, I ventured into a local Asian area and bought some rose jam which has been languishing in my cupboard untried for a year or so.
But I’d be keen to try this honey jelly with a fragrant rose scent. It would be memorable. Really, how many people have tasted a rose petal honey jelly? A dinner table talking point.
Lemon Curd Biscuits
Lemon Curd biscuits a Fortnum and Mason hamper staple.
This is a classic lemon curd buttery biscuit and would be moreishly delicious with a zesty flavour created from real lemon-curd. This is going in!
London gin perfect for difficult days. It’s everyone’s favourite tipple.
As I learned at a pre-lockdown gin tasting at Ronnie Scott’s, gin doesn’t have much flavour until botanicals are added. This information was gleaned before I over-tasted and things became a blur. The botanicals for this gin include bergamot, nutmeg and juniper…and it tastes citrussy and spicy. Nothing quite hits the spot after a difficult locked down day than a gin and tonic with a few nibbles.
Blanc de Blanc
A bottle of Blanc de Blanc premium champagne.
A few years ago, I went to a show at the Hippodrome Casino, an adult themed musical, hilarious in its vulgarity, called Blanc de Blanc. It ended with a semi-naked man (with very tight speedos) cavorting in a glass of champagne. It was at that precise moment that I realised that there was champagne and champagne, and that the Rolls Royce of champagnes was Blanc de Blanc.
The Fortnum and Mason Cook Book
A Fortnum and Mason Hamper must have a Cookbook.
I have been the privileged attendee at many of the events in the Fortnum and Mason kitchen shop on the first floor. Dishes are frequently demonstrated from the Fortnum and Mason Cook Book. Everything (and I mean everything) that comes out of the oven is mouth-wateringly divine and served by uniformed staff on silver platters.
This book is written by Tom Parker Bowles, a London based food writer broadcaster and restaurant critic for The Mail on Sunday and Food Editor of Esquire magazine. I like its old fashioned logic (Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch etc.) and simple quintessentially British recipes covering all the important things in life like how to cook kippers, boil eggs, and pair blueberry scones with stilton…old fashioned food at its best.
Pickled Brussel Sprouts
Pickled Brussels sprouts are clearly a Fortnum and Mason Hamper essential
I’ve got to be honest this statement by Fortnum and Mason is something I somewhat doubt,
“Deliciously crunchy and oh-so-British, we’re sure these glorious Pickled Brussels Sprouts will win over even the most ardent of sprout naysayers.”
but I’d be prising the lid off with alacrity to try them.
I could be one of the handful of people in London who has eaten a pickled Brussel sprout. Surely, it’s worth a shot?
You may also be interested in our blog post on less upmarket popular London snacks.
Where to buy a Fortnum and Mason Hamper
A Fortnum and Mason hamper and other delectables can be purchased online from www.fortnumandmason.com
Les 110 de Taillevent has one of the most exclusive lunch menus in London. Treat yourself to exquisite food accompanied by one of 110 wines served by the glass in a luxe gentleman’s club style setting.
As one of a stout and portly disposition, I find myself visiting a Wimpole Street nutritionist on the regular. We spend an hour discussing the perils of eating French fries, bread and other evil carbs all the while taking measurements, body composition and blood pressure. At the end of my appointment, I find a nice restaurant to while away a few hours as I then have a full month before I subject myself to the same medical ordeal.
Les 110 de Taillevent
The Les 110 Taillevent lunch menu displayed outside on its iron railings.
History
To be fully armed you need to have some understanding of Les 110 Taillevent history. It is the sister restaurant of the iconic Michelin starred restaurant Le Taillevent in Paris which serves classical gastronomic French food. Les 110 Taillevent is famous for its wines and has won a procession of awards for fine wine, young sommelier and best restaurant. It is the very antithesis of showy, gaudy and fashionista dining…it exudes classical and refined elegance in everything from decor to the froth on the coffee.
Location
So it was with some delight that I found Les 110 de Taillevent conveniently positioned nearby on the corner of Harley Street and overlooking Cavendish Square – a mere stone’s throw from the rear of John Lewis, Oxford Street and a convenient five-minute walk from the Elizabeth Line Hanover Square exit.
Entrance to Les 110 Taillevent
Ambiance
Les 110 de Taillevent has a reassuringly subdued stone exterior with gilded signage and neat outdoor seating under calico umbrellas. The interior is a classy moss green reminiscent of a gentleman’s club.
Moss green gentleman’s club interior of Les 110 Taillevant.
On this occasion, I enticed my nutritionist to lunch where we imbibed and munched through the very dishes and beverages that she had just spent an hour advising me not to eat.
The Legendary Wine List
110 wines are available by the glass at lunch.
Les 110 Taillevent is noted for its cellar with 110 wines served by the glass. I left my doctor friend to ponder this extensive selection and she chose well. We had a leggy, full-bodied Côtes du Rhône, Le Clos du Caillou, 2016 which had smooth, smoke and pepper notes.
Lunch Hours
The Les 110 Taillevent Lunch Menu is served from 12.00 to 14.30 Monday to Friday and contains a la carte menu plates.
Service
The first thing that strikes you about Les 110 Taillevent is the service which is suited in monochrome, discreet and friendly. Despite arriving without a reservation, the manager was keen to offer us his best available table with a view over Harley Street.
Bread
Crusty bread and salted whipped butter
My doctor friend and I looked longingly at the hot bread and whipped salted butter which is on the diet verboten list. The waiter gave us a little nudge and told us it was amazing and we were like runners off a starting block. The bread was chewy and flavoursome and the sweet butter had a mousse consistency and which was offset by flaked sea salt.
Complimentary Canapes
Complimentary canapés of cheese gougere and smoked salmon and avocado mousse tart.
The complimentary canapes of salmon and avocado and cheese puffs, precision arranged on a grey slate, were a tasty portend of things to come.
Starters
Squid in broth a jewelled work of art.
On the day that we visited Les 110 Taillevent there was a choice of a Cashew Nut Soup with marcona almonds, kohlrabi and seasonal fruits or Squid with bell pepper, chorizo, courgette in a butter sauce to start.
Our starter arrived in huge black rimmed saucers. There was nothing visually resembling squid on the plate. It looked like a bowl of gem stones garnished with black lace. The creamy broth was liberally spattered with red onion, courgette and flat parsley and garnished with delicate sheet seaweed. It was as delicious as it was visually stunning.
Mains
The Les 110 Taillevent lunch mains include Welsh cuts of lamb individually and perfectly cooked.
The menu choices were Welsh Lamb Saddle with aubergine, yoghurt, blackcurrant and a lamb jus or Cod with heritage tomatoes, basil in a tomato broth.
Our lamb was cooked to tender perfection- various lamb cuts were individually cooked some caramelised with slivers of fat, others stewed and rolled or pan fried to a perfect pink with a floral garnish and accompanied by a jug of hot jus.
If I am to criticise anything in this otherwise perfect meal, I would suggest that the mains could be served with a vegetable garnish.
We shared a side dish of glazed tenderstem broccoli with sesame seeds which was extra to the set lunch menu. This was neither chewy or al dente and the glaze and sesame seeds provided an interesting oriental flavour.
Desserts
The signature 70% chocolate mousse was the perfect ending to our Les 110 Taillevent lunch.
I was delighted to see their signature chocolate mousse with a 70% hot chocolate sauce on the Les 110 Taillevant lunch menu. The other choice was their Cox apple terrine flavoured with cinnamon and a Granny Smith sorbet.
Recalling my doctor’s earlier advice, we discussed for a nano second sharing a dessert. Fortunately, we came quickly to our senses. Our waiter was most reassuring and agreed that when out at lunch we should eat exactly what we fancy.
When the plate of chocolate pudding topped with a quenelle of chocolate mousse and hot chocolate sauce arrived we knew we had made the right call. The distinct but complimentary chocolate textures were a tastebud operetta.
Coffee
Les 110 Taillevent prepare a black Americano with a perfect crema and smooth taste
Black Americanos were a final and ineffectual nod to our diets. These were smooth with a pleasing crema.
Complimentary Petit Fours
We were presented with delicate brioches topped with a piping of chocolate mousse and juicy jellies garnished with gold leaf…perfect mouthfuls.
Bill
The bill was in the region of £190 and included service. While it is not the cheapest lunch in the vicinity it is doubtless the most elegant.
Have you enjoyed our Les 110 Taillevent lunch review? You may also like our review of the Brasserie Zedel Set Menus. Brasserie Zedel is a beautiful Art Deco restaurant in the heart of Piccadilly. It is at the other end of the lunch budget spectrum.
Walking Off the Les 110 de Taillevent Lunch
I parted company from my doctor who needed to get back to work. The Wallace Collections is a gentle stroll from here and houses delightful paintings. Browsing in Daunt Books may also be a fun post prandial activity.
We have more suggestions on how to spend a pleasant few hours in the nearby vicinity of Marylebone. See our post on Marylebone on a Budget.
Our Verdict on the Les 110 de Taillevent Lunch
We had a lovely, un-rushed afternoon with all the attention that you would expect in private dining room. While the set lunch is not cheap, it represents good value for such an elegant venue. The food presentation is exquisite. Delicate garnishes were tweezered and arranged into a veritable Monet work of art.
Contact Details for Les 110 de Taillevent lunch
Address
Les 110 de Taillevent
16 Cavendish Square London W1G 9DD
Having coffee and cake in London is one of life’s greatest pleasures. You look forward to it all morning and commence your prowl through London streets hoping to stumble upon the perfect place with the most enticing of selections.
Coffee and Cake in London
Your chosen spot for coffee and cake in London needs to have just the right mix of patisserie, fruit selections, chocolate concoctions and iced sponge cakes. Now before you get excited, I have never found such an establishment and I know London quite well. The cake situation is divided pretty much into cafes which sell old fashioned English cakes e.g. Victoria sponge, carrot cake, coffee and walnut cake and Bakewell tart. And more predominantly, there are French style patisseries that serve croissants, fruit tarts and mille feuille.
Choose London Cafes with Great Ambience Near Interesting Locations
Good cakes are never the only consideration when hunting down coffee and cake in London; we also need to factor in location and ambience…there’s no point in hounding the most exquisite cakes if they are served in a dingy, greasy spoon cafe in the back of beyond.
In the summer, there is nothing more delightful than sitting outside with a great London street view and watching people walk past casting admiring glances at your thoughtfully chosen cake.
Select Quality Coffee in Porcelain cups and Tea Served in Teapots
Honestly, I am not the sort of person who can tell a good coffee from a bad one. However, tea is a different story. Most cafes serving coffee and cake in London worth their salt will at least offer an English Breakfast tea and an Earl Grey. But I like to go for a pot of tea…none of those paper cups for me, thank you.
Very expensive, exquisite looking London cake concoctions
An embossed napkin at The Connaught Patisserie.The cherry cake at The Connaught Patisserie.
I had to try the Connaught Patisserie’s coffee and cake, having watched various YouTubers sample the jaw dropping selection and reporting on their equally astonishing prices.
The cakes are works of art category. Many are garnished in gold leaf. And at £16 plus service you’d expect them to be encrusted with gem stones.
I ordered a diminutive decaffeinated cappuccino coffee and the cherry cake with a cherry marmalade, pastry cream and topped with half a dozen perfectly sliced fresh cherries all atop a crunchy biscuit base.
Knowing the bill would be horrific, I just tapped my card without looking. I have just checked my bank account and I paid nearly £27.
Their clientele is mostly Middle Eastern. I got chatting to a lady next to me who was enjoying her strawberry cake. I asked her why there were so many Arabs in this area and she explained that the temperatures in Saudia Arabia were averaging 50c per day and many Saudis came over to London for the summer to escape the heat. They either stayed in their Mayfair holiday home or one of the local hotels. I love the diversity of London.
I asked her about paying these extortionate prices. She sounded surprised. Was this really expensive for coffee and cake in London? This establishment definitely caters for those where money is no object.
The cafe itself is small and modern in a Barbie pink and with great service.
I would say to get the full experience you need to get there in the morning when the cakes are looking their best and there is a full selection. You won’t want to pay £16-£20 for a cake with a dried out topping and then be rushed out of the door at closing time.
The Connaught Patisserie, Carlos Place Mayfair London W1K 2AL
La Fromagerie in Moxon Street, Marylebone
Surprisingly good value coffee and homemade cakes in a friendly atmosphere
The carrot cake at La Fromagerie.My slice of carrot cake and coffee served in the La Fromagerie cafe
I have featured the cafe at La Fromagerie on my blog previously. It is an artisanal grocer which specialises in expertly sourced produce. They have a small bakery selection in the back of the shop where you can choose your cake and then sit in the cafe and ask to be brought a slice and a coffee.
The cakes are hand made and use top quality ingredients. The prices are reasonable at approx £4.50 for a generous slice of crumbly, carrot cake with a buttery icing. I spotted some nice looking fresh fruit cakes and chocolate tortes: making a decision was difficult.
There are a few outside tables but I prefer to sit at the back chatting to the staff and customers…everyone I have met exudes bonhomie. This is one of the best places for a coffee and a cake in London.
While you are having your coffee and cake, why not take our quiz on Cockney Rhyming Slang?
La Fromagerie, 2 – 4 Moxon Street, London, W1U 4EW
Wa Japanese Patisserie in Covent Garden and Ealing Broadway
Moderately priced for fantastic quality, stylish coffee and cakes in London
White sesame cheesecake at Wa Patisserie. This is divine.
Wa produces the most exquisite French style patisserie with a Japanese twist.
Over the years, I have probably had all of their creations…my favourites are their white sesame cheese cake with its black sesame seed base and the Mont Blanc (chestnut cream). If you are one of those peculiar matcha lovers you will delight in their matcha tiramisu and matcha roll.
Chocolate and Praline Cake at Wa Patisserie.One of the most delicious cakes in London.
I have found Londoners grumbling about the prices here but honestly for such expertly created, stylish and photographable cakes, I will happily pay £5-7 a slice.
If you are interested in living dangerously they have a few unique and delicious sweet breads. While not stricty a cake, their An Pan is a soft white bread filled with a sweet, red Azuki bean filling. Bizarre but delicious. Are you brave enough to try their Yakisoba pan with its home cooked noodle filling topped with seaweed and dried fish flakes? At £3.20 it could be worth the risk.
The service in this coffee and cake spot is charming in a uniquely Japanese way. I love their pottery crockery and the zen-clean, white space flecked with gold lights and wood tables.
Wa – Ealing Broadway 32 Haven Green Ealing, London, W5 2NX
Wa – Covent Garden 5 New Row London, WC2N 4LH
Paul in Piccadilly and Paternoster Square
Very reasonable prices and reliable high quality coffee and cake in London with some great locations
Paul for good value, high quality pastries.
Paul may be an odd choice for the best coffee and cake in London as it is a chain bakery and cafe. However, their cakes are reliably good and rival those of the best hotels
Paul’s overlooking St Pauls Cathedral is a great find with outside tables in the historic courtyard. You get that London vibe with delicious cake at favourable prices.
Paul’s on Piccadilly is another marvellous location. If there are no outside tables, I take my cake as a takeaway and buy coffee next door at Pret. Sandwiched between the glories of the Royal Academy and the Ritz and just a short stroll to Fortnum and Mason and the Hatchards book shop…what more could any one want?
PAUL St. Paul’s, 2 Paternoster Square, London EC4M 7DX
PAUL Piccadilly Unit 6 Piccadilly Arcade & 173 Piccadilly, London
SW1Y 6NH
As usual, I have personally tried each of these recommendations. I hope that I have given you some inspiration of where to sample some of the best coffee and cakes in London.
London snacks are not to everyone’s taste. You maybe salivating when you read through this list or decide that our snacks are an abomination.
Snacking in London on Traditional British Foods
As one man’s meat is another man’s poison, l will take you through my personal snacks from heaven to hell, in descending order, with one snack that I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole.
1. Marmite
Traditional British Foods. Marmite comes top in my list of London snacks.
During the first world war Marmite was including in a soldier’s rations as it is choc full of vitamins and its treacly appearance looks like something medicinal.
Marmite is an industrial by-product of beer brewing but tastes nothing like beer. It has a distinctive savoury, almost anchovy taste.
A little goes a long way and it needs to be spread very thinly on buttered toast.
You either love or loathe it. The ones who hate it have probably tried to eat it on a teaspoon straight from the jar!
“Marmite. You either love it or hate It” is the manufacturer’s clever advertising slogan to get the masses to rise to the challenge of tasting this tongue tingling spread.
However, I don’t need any persuading….I could wake up in the middle of the night craving English Breakfast tea and Marmite on toast. I’m voting this as the acme of my personal food heaven. And if you want to know where I buy my tea from here it is.
2. Warburton’s Crumpets
Warburton’s are famous among Traditional British Foods.
A crumpet is a cold rubbery thing and extremely unappetising if eaten cold straight from the packet. Crumpets need to be put through the toaster several times until they are almost crunchy on top.
Butter is then lavishly spread. When the butter has trickled down the bubbly holes and coated the underside, they are ready to be livened up with a slathering of fruity jam like Tiptree Strawberry Preserve.
This is what all sane Londoners enjoy for afternoon tea at home on wintery days.
3. Heinz Baked Beans
Heinz Baked Beans prized among gourmet chefs.
Beans on toast is apparently the dish of choice for Michelin starred London chefs. They come home exhausted after creating gourmet delicacies in their restaurant kitchen and heat up a simple tin of beans until it is bubbling and eat them on buttered toast.
Quick and delicious, beans on toast can be greatly enhanced with a grating of cheddar cheese.
4. McVities Digestive Biscuits
McVities Digestive Biscuits. Nice with cheese, or a cuppa, or both.
Perhaps digestive biscuits are not the king of British biscuits – they are far too plain for that. However, their wheaty, malty taste and crumbly texture make them the perfect accompaniment to a British cuppa.
The chocolate versions are very popular. Milk chocolate or dark chocolate is rippled in the surface of the digestive biscuit.
I like the plain ones which make a tasty snack with a corner of cheddar cheese.
5. Nestle Kit Kat
Nestle Kit Kat. Traditional British Foods in our famous London red.
I remember reading that Pricncess Diana (she was an avid dieter) was quite partial to two fingers of Kit Kat.
This iconic British chocolate biscuit is sold in two finger and four finger versions.
I used to get great pleasure from removing the paper wrapper followed by the thin foil covering.
Snapping the individual fingers apart was also strangely satisfying.
Now in my opinion, the manufacturers have royally screwed things up. They have brought out bizarre flavours like orange, mint and apple pie. What’s that all about? And they have replaced the paper and foil wrapper with recyclable plastic. Nestle, stop interfering with our Traditional British foods!
6. Melton Mowbray Pork Pies
A Melton Mowbray Pork Pie make perfectly portable London snacks.
Pork Pies are one of those things that are almost impossible to make at home unless you are a Cordon Bleu trained cook with a few days of free time. The distinctive hot water pastry needs a deft hand. I won’t tell you how the jelly encasing the sausage meat is made. I’ll give you a clue its something to do with boiling animal feet. (try not to think about it).
Pork pies are one of the most portable of London snacks. Take them to your Ascot picnic. They are welcome in all social circles.
The best place to hunt out this snack is the Ginger Pig in Marylebone or Fortnum and Mason food hall however as we are shopping in the supermarket today, you could look for the Dickinson and Morris Melton Mowbray pork pie with the longest use-by-date ensuring that the thick pastry is at its freshest.
7. Mr Kipling Cakes
Mr Kipling French Fancies. I’m sure these used to be called Fondant Fancies.
Mr Kipling is missing a trick. He needs to bring out a selection of his favourite cakes in one special tasting box.
The top of my personal list would be the Battenberg Cake which comprises lurid coloured sponge covered in a thin layer of jam and encased in marzipan.
I am also partial to a French Fancy, which was popular in the era of Lyons Corner Houses. A square of sponge is topped with a dollop of vanilla faux cream and enrobed with strawberry, chocolate or lemon flavoured icing.
You may also want to try Mr Kipling’s almond fingers or jam tarts.
8. Quality Street
Quality Street. Please put in more purple ones.
British families have bought tins of Quality Street for decades as a Christmas treat. We would watch the Queen’s Speech on Christmas Day while stuffing our faces and fighting over the purple ones with their caramel and hazelnut centres. They don’t put enough purple ones in the box in my opinion and the fruit creams and hard toffee are left to languish at the bottom.
Now that the supermarkets have introduced these smaller cardboard boxes there is no need to wait for Christmas to enjoy them – they make great London snacks when you are on the move as they are individually wrapped.
9. Bassett’s Liquorice All Sorts
Bassetts Liquorice All Sorts an acquired taste in the world of London snacks.
Obviously, you would need to be a massive fan of black liquorice to buy a packet of these chewy, black sweets. Some of these confections have a strange beaded coating in poisonous colours like pale blue. Liquorice All Sorts are something of acquired taste. The weird thing is that whichever one you eat they all seem to taste the same. I’d put them somewhere down the list beneath other old-fashioned British sweets like pear drops and jelly babies. We are here to live dangerously, so buy a packet.
10. Walkers Crisps
The game was over for me when Walker’s Crisps introduced their new flavours. We like our Traditional British foods to be just that – traditional and British.
When I was growing up crisps came in just one flavour; plain. A small blue twisted paper was somewhere at the bottom containing salt that you sprinkled to your taste.
I then recall the traumatic introduction of the cheese and onion, salt and vinegar and chicken flavours. This is when it all started to fall apart for me.
Then I saw someone set light to a crisp which oozed fats and oils and I knew my crisp eating career was over.
Let us not forget that crisps are part of the standard British lunch meal deal…a sandwich, a bag of crisps and a fizzy drink is lunch for millions.
All those millions of Brits can’t be wrong. Or can they?
My Snack From Food Hell
Pot Noodles
Pot Noodles are my personal nemesis among London Snacks.
I want to meet the man who invented the Pot Noodle.
I mean who in their right mind would invent a snack of dehydrated noodles and add assorted flavours which come to life with boiling water and then call it lunch.
When I was at University, there was a spotty science student who acquired a bad case of malnutrition by eating Pot Noodles for every meal. In the defence of Pot Noodle, I’m sure that these are intended as an occasional snack and who knows the recipe may now be fortified with micro-nutrients.
Personally, I don’t think I have had a pot noodles in fifty years and I am not about to start now.
These traditional London Snacks can be purchased at all the major supermarkets including Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. Enjoy your London snacks.
Yesterday, I was approached by a tourist on Piccadilly who asked me where to buy tea in London. She then added in broken English, “Where do you buy your tea?”.
Where to buy tea in London?
Quality London Tea Stores
Where I buy my tea in London and where she should buy her tea are two distinct questions which, as a savvy Londoner, I shall explain.
A tourist is looking for authentic English tea accompanied with a great “buying experience”. They may want to be attended by a suited man in a tail coat who can explain, with great aplomb, the history, geography and science of tea and guide them to making a selection.
Ideally, the tea will be sold by weight and on the wall, behind our tail coated expert, will be dozens of liveried tea caddies, preferably adorned with Royal Warrants.
After all we want to drink what King Charles drinks, don’t we?
As we were on Piccadilly, I pointed my tea questioning tourist to two Royal Warrant bearing stores.
Fortnum and Mason is My Personal Choice for Tea Buying in London
181 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1A 1ER
Where to buy tea in London? Fortnum and Mason on Piccadilly
Fortnum and Mason has been selling tea since people did their shopping using a horse and carriage.
Nowhere in London will you find tea of such quality and with such exquisite blends.
You can be sure that whenever there is a Royal occasion, Fortnum and Mason will bring out a blended tea to commemorate it. Currently, they have special caddies of organic Darjeeling to mark the Coronation of King Charles III.
As I write this post, I am sipping their Mother’s Day Tea which has a distinctive blend of rose and bergamot…it’s subtle which I like, as I am drinking it black. I also have a penchant for full bodied Assam teas. I bought their Irish Tea which is a bold, in your face tea, for early in the morning when you’ve run out of coffee.
Fortnum’s makes an amazing effort with its window design. Its probably the best in London check out these amazing windows made entirely with coloured paper. If you are in London at Christmas their windows are always a delight with several aimed solely at children.
At Twinings You Can Buy Quality Tea and Enjoy its Unique Tea Sampling Bar
216 Strand London WC2R 1AP
Twinings on the Strand offers a unique tea buying experience.
Twinings is another Royal Warrant bearing, tea shop steeped in 300 years of history.
After the Great Fire of London, Thomas Twining, an astute business man realised that the upper classes would be relocating from the burnt out City to the West End. He chose this prime position on the Strand and made tea a fashionable drink amongst the upper class ladies of London.
A Twinings Tea Caddy
Ever innovative, Twinings now has a premium sampling bar where you can ask to taste teas that have caught your eye and chat to experts for recommendations.
If you are looking for a special gift, you can create your own personalised selection of tea and request that it be packaged in a deluxe wooden Twinings box.
Mariage Freres Sells a 1000 Teas from 36 Countries
38 King Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8JS
Mariage Freres has a Tea Museum and the biggest selection of teas.
Mariage Freres, founded in 1854, may be an unusual choice for a London tea store as it is proudly French!
I mention it because it has an apothecary style of service with tea experts selling tea by weight. The caddies are luxurious with their period black and cream branding.
This is the perfect store for a day of tea indulgence. It has the longest tea wall in the world selling a 1000 teas from 36 countries. On one of the upper floors there is a tea museum.
The Marco Polo blend with notes of flowers and fruits is one of their most popular blends.
A Mariage Freres Tea Caddy
If you are enjoying this post on Where to Buy Tea in London you may also enjoy reading about our recent discovery of Postcard Teas London Roast.
Where to Buy Tea in London as a Londoner?
Let’s return to the original question that I was asked by our Piccadilly tourist, where do I buy my tea?
I buy my tea in the Waitrose supermarket! Since I have cut down on dairy and caffeine I have a large selection of herbal Pukka teas. My black tea of choice is Yorkshire tea.
Londoners seem to be evenly divided on whether they prefer PG Tips or Yorkshire Tea for their breakfast blend – I am firmly in the Yorkshire Tea camp.
Before you call me a Philistine, I do have a kitchen cupboard rammed full of gifted Fortnum and Twining teas.
Londoners are a busy bunch. They rarely buy loose tea.
A quick dunk of a tea bag in stained mug is the most that we can usually manage. After all, we are are not the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey, or the Queen with Paddington bear, pouring from a Wedgwood tea pot and passing the milk and sugar.
Incidentally, if you find yourself near the budget store Lidl, I find their award winning Knightsbridge Gold tea to be one of the best.
Yorkshire Tea
PG Tips
Lidl Gold Tea
Tea Paraphernalia
It seems to have become uncouth to have sugar in your tea. Most Londoners will only have fresh cold milk (poured in last, please).
La Perruche Sugar Cubes
However, if you are using your posh tea set, you will get some kudos for offering hand cut La Perruche sugar cubes in a lidded container with a pair of sugar tongs. OK, people may think that you are a bit mad but please channel your inner Countess.
La Perruche Sugar Cubes. The perfect accompaniment to English tea.
The Brown Betty Teapot
The Brown Betty Teapot with its locking lid and non drip spout is a utilitarian design classic that dates back to 1700.
There’s a big debate on whether a tea pot should be cleaned. My neighbour was distraught when a friend scrubbed the inside of their Brown Betty teapot removing the build up of tannins as their tea never tasted the same.
A Wedgwood Tea Service
If you want to imitate Countess Crawley or Queen Elizabeth II you could do no better than buying a Wedgwood service.
A Wedgwood teapot in the Wild Strawberry design. This can be purchased from Harrods.The Beautiful Kutani Crane design by Wedgwood. Photo by Swedg.
The individual items can be pricy. A Wedgwood teapot may set you back £200 in Harrods. So think like a savvy Londoner and search for “tea sets” or “tea services” on eBay or Facebook Market Place, sorting by”Distance first” so you can collect in person.
If you develop a passion for Fortnum and Mason you may enjoy our blog post on our dream Fortnum’s food hamper May you have many happy hours buying tea in London.
Next week, I will be answering another pressing tourist question, so I will be looking friendly and approachable as I walk the streets of London. Please check back to see what thorny dilemma I address.
This is our no compromise list of cheap and free things to do in London
Free Things to Do in London
London is the city of free. We have free museums, galleries, parks and interesting streets and alleyways. Combine this with some exotic, tasty and cheap street food and you are all set to go.
1. Check out the Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum.
You won’t need to look far to find your favourite dinosaur as there is a massive beast towering above you in the Victorian foyer. In fact, the Natural History Museum is a bit obsessed with these animals as relics, exhibitions, talks and colouring books are everywhere. And best of all it is one of our top free things to do in London.
2. Find the Mummies at the British Museum
Mummies, coffins, funeral masks and all manner of useful objects that the dead took with them into the after-life are displayed in the Egyptian room of the British Museum. Look out for the beautifully engraved inner coffin of the priest Hornedjitef from Thebes 240BC and the mummy of a cat from Abydos AD 1-100.
Egyptian hieroglyphics at the British Museum
3. Explore Modern Art at the Tate Modern
There’s no need to splash a lot of cash when you visit the Tate Modern. This contemporary art museum is housed in the Bankside Power Station. There is an impressive selection of free art in its public galleries which includes works by Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. You can find out more about its top exhibits here.
If you head to the Kitchen & Bar on the 6th Floor, you can sit on a bar stool and enjoy the majestic view of the River Thames, Millennium Bridge and St Pauls – all for the price of a coffee.
Forget the touristy and expensive Hop-on Hop-off bus we have a cheaper alternative. Take one of red buses on the 9, 11 or 73 bus routes and see famous London sights for a fraction of the price. The stops and attractions on these routes are explained here. The cost of a day bus pass is currently £6 and you can check out the latest prices and child ticket prices here.
Photo by Tim
5. Discover Your Inner Foodie at Borough Market
This famous foodie market in London Bridge has all manner of delicacies sold from their more permanent stalls to their food pop-ups towards the rear of the market. You won’t be dining in a lot of elegance…there are a few tables and loos. Bring your wet wipes and paper tissues. Sauce on your chin is never a good look
Our blog post on popular London Snacks may provide you with less foodie inspired ideas that can be purchased at the local supermarket.
6. Feed the Ducks at the Serpentine
This was a favourite pastime for a generation of children growing up in the 1950s and 1960s. Parents would give kids a bag of stale chopped up bread and they headed to the serpentine to feed the ducks while their parents had coffee in the Serpentine Lido café. Why not revive this tradition on a nice Spring day.
The British Film Institute (BFI) on the South Bank has Mediatheque. This is a media viewing lab with an archive of 95,000 films and television programmes. Just go in, wait for a booth and they will give you a set of headphones. A happy way to spend a rainy afternoon when you don’t want to walk much. There are plenty of nearby interesting places and cafes all with a view of the Thames.
Harrods is one of our most outrageously expensive stores but this makes it window shopping heaven. The designer boutiques on the first floor showcase the cutting edge in fashion from Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Versace and Valentino (to name a few).
Their lingerie department is a paradise of totally unwearable intimate apparel and expensive silk kimonos. Just don’t reach for your credit card.
Exotic lingerie in Harrods
9. Walk with a Londoner
There are many free walking tours in London. Of course these guides make a living from the tips that they receive so we recommend that you tip generously.
One of the best tour guides is Barry Greene from Back in the Day Walks. His tours are reasonably priced and he knows his stuff. Barry is a born and bred Londoner who conducts the most fascinating and well researched walks all over London. I have been everywhere with him from Brick Lane to Kensington. His latest tour of Southall is truly eye opening.
10. Eat Weird Stuff in China Town
If you fancy a tasty morsel that can be held between a paper napkin and licked off your fingers go to China Town. Check out the Pleasant Lady for tasty wraps. The Evening Standard has many more great suggestions in Cheap Eats in China Town for under £10.
Red lanterns in London’s China Town
11. Listen to Live Jazz at Café Boheme
Get on your toe tapping shoes. Café Boheme is probably on one of the busiest corners in Soho and between the hours of 3-5pm they have a live jazz band playing…these are usually the hippest and most talented jazz musicians on the London scene. You can hear them for the price of a couple of drinks. See their live music schedule here
12. Take a Boat Down the River Thames
There’s no need to pay for a luxury Thames cruise just head to Embankment (near Westminster tube station) and embark on an Uber boat by Thames Clippers and set sail down the river. You’ll down the river past the South Bank, the Globe, the Tower of London and all the way to Greenwich.
After you’ve fortified yourself, strolled in the park or visited to the free National Maritime Museum you can do the journey back. Have a drink on deck and wave at the other vessels. You will pay in the region of £10-20 for a return journey depending on whether you qualify for one of their many concessions.
If you are looking for tips on how to plan a day out in London read our guide.
13. Admire the Deer at Richmond Park
When feel like a break from the great metropolis take a safari to Richmond Park. I prefer to go by car (avoid sunny days at the weekend when the car parks are busy). You can take the tube to Richmond and the 65 or 371 bus.
You will see ancient trees, lakes and a herd of red deer. It’s all on a scale that is breath taking. You almost feel that you are on an African safari. The park is free with several very good value cafés and ice cream vans. Our blog post on Richmond Park will give you more information.
A herd of deer at Richmond Park
14. Become a Groundling at the Globe
In Shakespeare’s Day, the poor who couldn’t afford the more expensive, covered seats would elect to stand for a performance. The same is true today. Ditch the pricy seats in favour of a £5 ticket and experience the play like the Elizabethan peasants. The groundlings are closely monitored, so you’ve got no chance of sneaking into the seated area, sitting on the floor or leaning against a balcony. Standing means standing. Not many people can last the whole performance and you’ll be at the mercy of the elements but you can leave anytime you like.
Groundlings at The Globe Theatre
15. Ogle the Street Performers at Covent Garden
Covent Garden, our famous fruit and vegetable market of days gone by, now has a new speciality…street performers. You’ll find jugglers, musicians, human statues, theatre troupes. Take your camera and small change for tips.
Our original inspiration for this blog post came when we experimented with going out in London on an extreme budget of just £5 a day. Find out more about it in our post on London on the Cheap.
16. Watch the World go by on Piccadilly
This is great activity on a sunny day when you don’t feel like walking much. Head to Pret or any of the other outdoor cafes on Piccadilly. Get yourself neatly sandwiched between Fortnum and Masons, the Royal Academy and the Ritz. Then sip iced coffee and people watch. You’ll see celebrities, tourists, business men, tramps and people from out of town dressed in their best. When you feel like a break you can visit the free galleries at the Royal Academy. Or take a stroll down St James’s and find the shops with Royal Warrants who supply the King and the Royal Household.
The Royal Academy on Piccadilly
17. Eat a Salt Beef Beigel in Brick Lane
Eating a salt beef beigel at Beigel Bake is like going on a religious pilgrimage. It must be done at least once in your lifetime. And you’ll join the queue with actors, royalty, office workers, police men. They all know a bargain when they see it. You’ll get a massive bun stuffed with salt beef, gherkins and a tingly mustard which you can eat while walking down Brick Lane looking at the menus of the Indian Restaurants,
Salt beef Beigel from Beigel Bake in Brick Lane
18. Check out Graffiti Art in the Leake Street Tunnel
Banksy popularised the Leake Street Tunnel under Waterloo station. It is the only legal graffiti wall in London. Local artists are encouraged to bring their spray cans and paint here. You’ll now find an ever-changing display of street art as new artists paint over existing exhibits. If this is your thing, be sure to check out our blog post on the Leake Street Tunnel.
Graffiti street art in Leake Street
19. Walk Across Tower Bridge
Before braving this iconic London landmark, I recommend going for a leisurely stroll to St Katherine’s Wharf. Have lunch of a drink overlooking the harbour. This is particularly idyllic on a warm Summer’s day. Then put your tourist hat on and walk over Tower Bridge. It’s a marvel of Victorian architecture. If you are lucky, you’ll see the bridge rise to let a tall ship pass.
Tower Bridge, a London landmark
20. Visit Temples and Sample Dhosas, Bhagis, Pakoras and Samosas in Southall
Southall is an Asian area in West London. In fact, it used to be so Asian that it was rare to see any other ethnicity. However, it’s recently become a stop on the new Elizabethan line. This will mean almost instant gentrification…new homes and a fast journey time to the City will attract many young professionals. Why not make use of this interim period and stroll around the Indian wedding dress shops?
If you bring a head scarf you can also enter the local temples.
When you want to rest, find Spice Village . This award winning Pakistani curry house. Or do what the locals do when shopping…sample the huge variety of samosas, pakoras, bhagis and other, mostly deep-fried, Indian snacks which are sold outside shops and from food stalls. These are in the range of £1-2 per portion. You can top this indulgence off with an Indian sweet from Royal which is arguably the king of Indian sweet treats.
Additional Resources for Free Things to Do in London
The Londonist produces a weekly newsletter of cheap and free things to do in London. Sign up here.
Traditional British puddings like treacle sponge, jam roly poly, spotted dick, trifle, rice pud are the greatest dishes in the world. If you thought that English food was bland and unappetising. you haven’t properly studied the dessert section of any self respecting London restaurant menu…
The History of Traditional British Puddings
Here’s the low down on how the traditional British pudding came into existence. In days of yore, puddings were bits of bread, foraged fruits and miscellaneous odds and ends that were boiled in sheep’s intestines. Fortunately, our ancestors then discovered that a pudding cloth worked just as well.
Poor families up and down the land filled their rumbling stomachs, after a meagre main course with pudding. These were cheap concoctions of flour, fat, sugar and jam or fruit, steamed for a few hours on top of the stove. To counteract the sticky texture that would cling to the roof of the mouth, puddings were often served with custard.
Another great inventor found that instead of using expensive eggs and cream to produce a vanilla flavoured custard sauce cornflour with artificial flavourings would give a similar result. Custard powder was mixed with hot milk. Eureka, the great British pudding with custard was born.
Custard powder is mixed with milk to form a pudding sauce.
Custard is heated in a saucepan until it is thick.
In the dead of a frozen winter, you may find yourself in a pub, gazing longingly down the menu at the pudding section. Maybe the inn keeper has one of these delicious puds with your name on it…
Spotted Dick with Custard is Such a Traditional British pudding that it is served in the Houses of Parliament.
Spotted Dick Pudding
Spotted Dick is a boiled suet pudding dotted with currants or raisins. The dried fruit are the “spots”. This pudding is also known as Spotted Dog. To avoid hilarity and school boy humour, in the Houses of Parliament it is called Spotted Richard. Dick is an abbreviation of the name Richard. Our politicians can be quite puerile.
Treacle Sponge Pudding
Jam Sponge Pudding
Chocolate Sponge Pudding
Other steamed British puddings are treacle sponge, jam sponge, marmalade pudding and chocolate pudding. All of them are made with the additions of pantry staples such as golden syrup, jam, marmalade and cocoa powder. Prior to the fast food revolution, these puds were not only served in homes throughout the land but also made in gargantuan rectangle tins by school dinner ladies. They served them with a dollop of custard issued with force from a ladle. Some people went back for second helpings!
Traditional British puddings are gaining a resurgence in popularity. They cost pennies to make, freeze well and can be reheated in a microwave for 30 seconds. This means a pretty profit for a restauranteur.
Jam Roly Poly is a Traditional British Pudding Almost Universally Loathed by School Children from the 1950s-1970s.
Jam Roly Poly Pudding
Congratulate yourself if you see this traditional British pudding on a menu. A Jam Roly Poly (otherwise known as Dead Man’s Arm or Dead Man’s Leg) is a great rarity. Basically, suet (shredded beef fat) pastry is flattened into a rectangle, then smothered with jam, rolled up like a Swiss roll and boiled in an old shirt sleeve. Much beloved by Mrs Beeton (the Jamie Oliver of the 1830s) and dreaded by school children up and down the land.
Christmas Pudding
Christmas Pudding is the most famous of the Traditional British Puddings.
Christmas Pudding is the most famous of the traditional British puddings. It is is usually served after a heavy Christmas dinner. A lead ball of a pudding that is made months in advance from mixed dried fruits steeped in half a bottle of brandy according to Mrs Beeton. Dark treacle is added before boiling for many hours. This gives the pudding its distinctive dark colour and taste. Traditionally, a 6 pence coin was added to the mixture and was given to the person who found it. You do wonder how many people choked on that coin.
Crumbles
Apple Crumble
Crumbles come in many different forms, the most popular are apple. Usually it is made with the Bramley cooking apple because it forms a white fluffy puree when cooked. Crumbles may also be made from rhubarb and plum. Restaurants make the most of fruits in season and add a crumble topping of flour, rubbed with butter and sugar. The dish is then oven baked until the fruit is soft and the topping golden.
Bread and Butter Pudding is a Retro Traditional British Pudding that is Making a Come Back.
Bread and Butter Pudding
Bread and Butter Pudding
Thrifty families use up stale bread in this recipe. Bread is buttered and sprinkled with sultanas or raisins before adding an egg custard, flavoured with grated nutmeg. Today you may see restaurants offering a croissant, panettone or brioche bread and butter pudding which enables them to use surplus bakery items from breakfast.
Rice Pudding
Rice Pudding
Another one of granny’s favourites is a baked rice pudding. A short grain “pudding” rice is baked with full fat milk, sugar and flavoured with cinnamon or nutmeg. The secret to cooking it is to let it cook on a very low heat. I have seen versions made with basmati but these are not retro at all.
English Trifle
English Trifle
English Trifle
A trifle is made using leftover or dried cake. This is doused in a sweet sherry and layered with bruised or squashed fruits, fruit puree or jelly. Followed by a layer of custard and whipped cream. Lurid red jelly and tinned fruit trifles are typical of the 1960s-1980s offerings at cheap hotels and restaurants throughout the land!
Tinned Fruit Salad
Canned Fruit Salad. Where is the cherry?
Tinned fruit salad is a personal favourite although you won’t see this on any menu. It is chopped pears, peaches, grapes and pineapple with a few cherries buried deep in the tin. We used to fight over the cherries as children. Served with a trickle of evaporated milk. If you were lucky you may get thick tinned cream.
So before you scoff at the idea of these traditional British puddings give one of these a try.
Find Out More About Traditional British Puddings
Rice Pudding and crumble are some of the easiest puddings to make at home but if you are feeling adventurous why not try your and at a few others. This is our favourite pudding basin for steaming and it is made by the iconic British brand Mason and Cash.
The Brasserie Zedel Set Menu is the star of the show. Brasserie Zedel has to be one of my favourite venues in London. Hidden away in a Piccadilly basement, it has the feel of a luxury Art Deco transatlantic liner with beautifully remodelled 1930s interiors. For such splendour and luxury, it’s amazing to find that it has a couple of fixed priced set menus that are surprisingly good value.
The Brasserie Zedel Set Menu
Brasserie Zedel Set Menu is Surprisingly Good Value
The first thing to say is don’t be suspicious…I have studied the Brasserie Zedel staffing and the chef is a fully trained expert in those unctuous cream and wine sauces and crispy, slender frites that epitomise French cuisine. Each member of the waiting staff has a full week of training and embodies all the service values of luxury hotels and dining establishments. And the small details of authentic Parisian glasses and bespoke linens transport the diner to another place and age.
Brasserie Zedel Table Setting
Luxurious Surroundings
Gilded Ceiling Cornice
Crystal Chandelier in the Restaurant Foyer
Corbin and King, who own many upmarket restaurants including Colbert in Chelsea and The Wolseley in Mayfair, have kept true to the history of Brasserie Zedel with very democratic pricing.
And now on to the menus…
The Brasserie Zedel Set Menu
The Brasserie Zedel Set Menu Options
Brasserie Zedel has a three course Menu Formule which at £27.95 includes a glass of wine, or bottled water, and the Prix Fixe at £16.95 or £19.75 which is a two or three course menu and doesn’t include a drink. Note that ordering tap water here raises no eye brows. If you were thinking of a glass of house red or white with your meal you will find that both of the Brasserie Zedel set menus work out at about the same price.
First Rate Service at the Brasserie Zedel
Wine is included in the Menu Formule
French Bread and Butter
This is arguably the best part of the meal! I have friends who are on strict low carb diets who devour the entire bread basket and are on their second basket before the starter arrives. The French bread has a deep, slightly sour crust and a soft spongy interior. I defy anyone to find better bread in the whole of London and it comes with a small porcelain dish of butter with a paper seal. And the best part of it is that the restaurant does not charge extra for bread and butter on either of the Brasserie Zedel Set Menus.
The Delicious French Bread and Butter
The Brasserie Zedel Bread Display
If you are looking to read about another French Restaurant at the other end of the price spectrum read our review of Les 110 de Taillevent.
The Formule
Celeriac Remoulade
Celeriac Remoulade is a big hit with the French and hardly known over here. The grated root of the celery tasting like a cross between fresh celery stalk and turnip or swede, is mixed with a mustard mayonnaise. I like it and sometimes make it at home using a Jamie Oliver recipe. Some may find this an acquired taste but on the occasions when I have asked for a swap for something else on the menu it has been refused.
The Celeriac Remoulade
Blanquette of Lamb or Fillet of Sea Bream
I am hugely impressed with the main course of the Formule. The sea bream in is nicely cooked and seasoned prior to pan frying.
Tarte au Citron
Forget those bland English lemon meringue pies that taste of cornflour or worse still Green’s packet mix, this generous portion transports you to the finest of French patisseries. It has a delicate, lemon cream custard filling on a pastry base with an oozing soft meringue topping with just the right degree of caramelisation.
The Tarte Au Citron
My Verdict on the Brasserie Zedel Set Menu – Formule
I have to give this 9.5 stars as I can’t really see how it could be bettered…although I personally would prefer the pea soup for a starter. It represents astonishing value for money.
The Prix Fixe
Carrot Salad
Many people expect a mound of raw grated carrots and are surprised by the flavour imparted by the dijon mustard dressing.
I am personally delighted that they have added the Minted Pea Soup with Creme Fraiche as an alternative starter option.
Minted Pea Soup with Creme Fraiche
Chopped Steak Américain
The hamburger of minced steak comes with the option of having it cooked either slightly pink (medium) or well done, served in a cream peppercorn sauce with a side serving of a cone of finely cut, hot salted, crispy, French fries.
Chopped Steak Américain
The Crispy Frites
Absolutely delicious!
Brasserie Zedel has now added a vegetarian main course to its set menu. This is Butter Dhal.
Chocolate and Caramel Tart
The Manjari tart has a crisp biscuit base with a chocolate ganache filling. It is very rich and chocolatey and the perfect end to the meal.
The Chocolate and Caramel Tart
My Verdict on the Brasserie Zedel Set Menu – Prix Fixe
Whenever, I am in Piccadilly I find myself on autopilot heading for the brasserie to have this set menu. So this menu also gets a 9 star rating from me! Maybe it could do with a green salad but this can be purchased separately for £4.75.
If this food was purchased individually on the A La Carte Menu it would cost in the region of £18.
The one thing that used to amuse me at Brasserie Zedel is that they offered the French menu to everyone regardless. The French speaking staff probably entertained themselves with the hilarious, customer mispronunciations. I now see that the menu is in English and no translations are required. To see the full menu online click this link Brasserie Zedel Menu
If you have enjoyed this blog post on the Brasserie Set Menu you may want to look at our piece on The Swan at the Globe which is a Modern British restaurant.
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Jam Roly Poly Pudding
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