thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 1, 2024 20:38:25 GMT -6
H and I will be in London in a few weeks, and we have our itinerary mostly set, but I need some recs. Mostly for food. Because I love food.
The only restaurant that has been highly recommended to me is Dishoom. We plan to go to the Covent Garden location because that closest to our hotel, I think. If you recommend a different location for the ambience, I’m all ears. Any other restaurant recs are appreciated, can be anywhere within maybe a 30 minute radius of Waterloo area.
We are staying very close to Big Ben and the London Eye. We have plans for one tour that is a tea service and bus tour combined (Brigit’s Bakery), but didn’t have another tea planned. If there is a highly recommended one, I may add it to our plans on Friday.
We also have all day Friday open, leaving Saturday. We already have a Tower of London tour and plan to visit Westminster Abbey as well. We will do London dungeon and London Eye one of the evenings as well since those are close to the hotel. Any other tour recs or things to see? We may just shop and walk.
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 1, 2024 20:38:51 GMT -6
Oh our Tower of London tour includes a short Thames cruise so we have that, too.
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Jan 1, 2024 20:47:43 GMT -6
The Albert (pub)
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elle
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Post by elle on Jan 1, 2024 21:05:39 GMT -6
If you like red meat/steak, I highly recommend Flat Iron. There are several locations in London, including Covent Garden, so it should also be easy to work into your itinerary.
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emma
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Post by emma on Jan 1, 2024 21:45:45 GMT -6
Make sure to book at Dashoom and go for brunch instead of dinner.
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emma
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Post by emma on Jan 1, 2024 21:50:07 GMT -6
If you like cheese, Pick and Cheese inside Seven Dials Market (in Covent Garden) is a conveyor belt cheese bar! I haven’t been but I’ve heard good things
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 1, 2024 21:54:21 GMT -6
If you like cheese, Pick and Cheese inside Seven Dials Market (in Covent Garden) is a conveyor belt cheese bar! I haven’t been but I’ve heard good things Ooh that sounds fun!
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jaidit
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Post by jaidit on Jan 2, 2024 1:50:15 GMT -6
The Wallace collection is a museum that has a nice tea in their courtyard. I also love the V&A museum - they have the best temporary exhibits.
Liberty London is such an iconic store and fun to peep around/ souvenir shop.
The Churchill Arms has a super pretty facade and is fun for a pint.
Gordan’s wine bar is the oldest in the city and has slabs of stinky cheese ready to eat with a large list of wine and beer. (Gordan’s is also right next to Big Ben)
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caer
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Post by caer on Jan 2, 2024 3:23:37 GMT -6
We stayed right across from Big Ben, also. Our first day, we walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. It’s an easy walk from that location and there’s a lot to see along the way.
As for food, I really wanted to try Borough Market but we ran out of time. It’s supposed to be a really cool setting and have lots of good food options.
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Post by toebeans on Jan 2, 2024 4:27:05 GMT -6
I don’t know if you ever go to the other board but if you do there is a whole post on the travel board dedicated to England with lots of information about London. We’re going in August so I’m anxious to follow along in this thread!
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 3, 2024 13:46:00 GMT -6
I don’t know if you ever go to the other board but if you do there is a whole post on the travel board dedicated to England with lots of information about London. We’re going in August so I’m anxious to follow along in this thread! Which board? I looked on the travel board here and didn’t see anything, so I assume you mean one of our former iterations lol. And thank you!
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 3, 2024 13:47:01 GMT -6
We stayed right across from Big Ben, also. Our first day, we walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. It’s an easy walk from that location and there’s a lot to see along the way. As for food, I really wanted to try Borough Market but we ran out of time. It’s supposed to be a really cool setting and have lots of good food options. Borough Market seems pretty close to where we will be, adding it to the list! Thanks!
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Post by toebeans on Jan 3, 2024 14:40:17 GMT -6
I don’t know if you ever go to the other board but if you do there is a whole post on the travel board dedicated to England with lots of information about London. We’re going in August so I’m anxious to follow along in this thread! Which board? I looked on the travel board here and didn’t see anything, so I assume you mean one of our former iterations lol. And thank you! pandce.proboards.com/thread/639873/london-travel-post
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mapleme
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Post by mapleme on Jan 3, 2024 18:06:58 GMT -6
We stayed right across from Big Ben, also. Our first day, we walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. It’s an easy walk from that location and there’s a lot to see along the way. As for food, I really wanted to try Borough Market but we ran out of time. It’s supposed to be a really cool setting and have lots of good food options. Borough Market seems pretty close to where we will be, adding it to the list! Thanks! 10/10 I would recommend the Borough Market. It's been a market for 1000 years and has been in that particular location longer than the USA has been a country. The Barrowboy & Banker is a gastropub right next to the Borough Market and was the best stereotypical British food I had when I was there. I had a steak and ale pie with peas and mashed potatoes (that my kids still rave about). DH had bangers and mash. It was so good. We also did a boat tour on the Thames that went under the Tower Bridge and I think was run by the same company as the Eye and that was a lot of fun. Oh and we saw Matilda on the West End and it was incredible. I would also highly recommend the Tower of London. There is so much to see there and none of it disappoints. I wish that we had been able to spend more time there.
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frlcb
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Post by frlcb on Jan 3, 2024 18:28:11 GMT -6
London Dungeon is pretty cheesy, and i would personally skip it. Churchill War rooms is really interesting and I would add that if possible. Borough Market is one of my favorite places in London.
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 3, 2024 18:56:57 GMT -6
Borough Market seems pretty close to where we will be, adding it to the list! Thanks! 10/10 I would recommend the Borough Market. It's been a market for 1000 years and has been in that particular location longer than the USA has been a country. The Barrowboy & Banker is a gastropub right next to the Borough Market and was the best stereotypical British food I had when I was there. I had a steak and ale pie with peas and mashed potatoes (that my kids still rave about). DH had bangers and mash. It was so good. We also did a boat tour on the Thames that went under the Tower Bridge and I think was run by the same company as the Eye and that was a lot of fun. Oh and we saw Matilda on the West End and it was incredible. I would also highly recommend the Tower of London. There is so much to see there and none of it disappoints. I wish that we had been able to spend more time there. We are doing the Tower of London! Our tour includes seeing the opening ceremony and also a Thames cruise.
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 3, 2024 18:57:46 GMT -6
London Dungeon is pretty cheesy, and i would personally skip it. Churchill War rooms is really interesting and I would add that if possible. Borough Market is one of my favorite places in London. lol the London Dungeon was my fave when I visited when I was 16, so I’m really only taking H to see it. I will add the Churchill War rooms!
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emma
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Post by emma on Jan 3, 2024 19:13:00 GMT -6
London Dungeon is pretty cheesy, and i would personally skip it. Churchill War rooms is really interesting and I would add that if possible. Borough Market is one of my favorite places in London. lol the London Dungeon was my fave when I visited when I was 16, so I’m really only taking H to see it. I will add the Churchill War rooms! I love the Dungeons since they opened the new version!
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Cher
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Post by Cher on Jan 3, 2024 21:56:14 GMT -6
The Ledbury is really worth it.
And The Ivy for Shepards pie.
That’s for food. Church’s War Room for sure. And I legit spent 2 days in Harrods and had one of the best burgers of my life there. If not for shopping, just for people watching.
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Post by AnnPerkins on Jan 4, 2024 9:59:51 GMT -6
The Tower of London was much larger and more interesting than I expected.
We did not do the Eye because my husband doesn't handle heights well. Even walking across the clear panels on Tower Bridge was a bit too much for him (I thought it was neat and it's right next to the Tower of London if you want to stop by).
Westminster Abbey is lovely and literally packed with history and dead people, but I preferred St. Paul's in terms of being a visual show-stopper. If you don't mind walking up a million stairs, you can go to the roof and walk around the dome. Or cling to the building while yelling at your spouse for taking pictures over the edge like DH.
On our first night, we made a spur of the moment reservation at the Sky Garden bar. Since it's within a sturdy building, it didn't make DH's palms as sweaty. Our reservation was right about when the sun was setting so we got to see day vs night views overlooking the whole city.
The V&A Museum has no right to be as gorgeous as it is. It was my favorite museum, followed by the National Galley. The British Museum was fine. It was incredibly crowded, so that may have colored my opinion on how enjoyable it can be.
I implore you to go to Highgate Cemetery because it is so beautiful, but understand if you can't make it because it's a bit of a trek out of the city.
House of MinaLima is a small shop that features artwork and props created by the set designers of the Harry Potter movies. It's worth a stop just to look around if you're in the area.
Padella had wonderful pasta. It's right by Borough Market. You can build your own mashed potato bowl with your choice of sausage or pie at Mother Mash, then indulge in a decadent pudding. You will definitely find cheaper fish and chip options, but we really liked The Mayfair Chippy. They also had a delicious cheddar pie with caramelized onions.
I can give you a list of everything I ate there, but like, even the hot dog stand outside of The British Museum was good, so I think you'll be more than fine.
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 4, 2024 10:55:27 GMT -6
These are awesome ideas, thank you, everyone! I’m planing to pack a lot in lol. 1.5 of our days and one of our nights will be in Paris, so we really don’t have a ton of time in London, but I’m hoping to make the most of it.
The Churchill War Rooms are a 15 minute walk from our hotel so definitely making time for that.
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wedding
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Post by wedding on Jan 7, 2024 16:00:04 GMT -6
London Dungeon is pretty cheesy, and i would personally skip it. Churchill War rooms is really interesting and I would add that if possible. Borough Market is one of my favorite places in London. lol the London Dungeon was my fave when I visited when I was 16, so I’m really only taking H to see it. I will add the Churchill War rooms! I loved it at 16 and loved it again last year and my family did too. It was a lot of fun and a nice change from the usual tours.
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 22, 2024 15:06:01 GMT -6
Just wanted to update everyone since H and I have been here a day and a half how (but somehow have packed a lot in!) I followed some of your recs for yesterday/today. Yesterday- we walked to The Albert pub, which was a lovely walk right by Parliament square. The atmosphere at the pub was fantastic- cozy but lively. The service was great. We each got beers, and H got the fish and chips and I got a chicken sandwich. The sandwich was fine, but the fish and chips were excellent and I had regrets about my decision. On the walk back to the hotel, we had an awesome view of the Eye and County Hall from Westminster bridge (our hotel is right next to county hall). Today we started the day early and went to a power walk class at Peloton Studios London. It was a very cool experience and H said he was glad I made him go. 😂 For breakfast I just looked up breakfast spots in Covent Garden, and we landed on 188-189 Drury, a little coffee and breakfast place on Drury Lane that was apparently rated highly on TripAdvisor. It was great. I highly recommend it. Maybe I was just extra hungry because I had been up in 3 am due to a crap sleep schedule. But all the staff were so sweet, and the flat white was perfect. For lunch, we did a Brigit’s Bakery tea bus tour, was had been recommended to me in another group. It was a lot of fun. H and I had the best seats, right in the front of the bus. They gave us way too much food, and we brought some back to the hotel with us for later. At sunset, we went to Sky Garden, which was just incredible. It was popular today, maybe because the sun was out. AnnPerkins I wouldn’t have known about this place otherwise, so thank you! We then went to Kings Crossing station to Platform 9 3/4 so I could pick up some Harry Potter stuff for my sister and nephews. (Btw, being from California, I am LOVING how easy the Underground system is to use.) For dinner, I wanted to go to Padella, but the wait was 70 minutes and we were hungry. So we went to Leon’s nearby for some quick food. It was pretty good. Those are my reviews so far! I am impressed with how much we packed in in basically one day here. And I have that vacation wired energy where I can exist on almost no sleep. It’s weird and I don’t understand it. I love sleep.
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STP
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Post by STP on Jan 22, 2024 15:11:09 GMT -6
The Ledbury is really worth it. And The Ivy for Shepards pie. That’s for food. Church’s War Room for sure. And I legit spent 2 days in Harrods and had one of the best burgers of my life there. If not for shopping, just for people watching. Tea at Harrods is great for that, it's pricey but it's fun.
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Post by ldubhawksfan on Jan 22, 2024 15:13:06 GMT -6
Timely since we just booked London and Paris yesterday! I will definitely come back to this thread for reqs. We are bringing the kids, so I’ll have to take that into account. thatgolfb I love the pics! Thanks for sharing!
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Post by blurnette989 on Jan 23, 2024 0:27:08 GMT -6
Timely since we just booked London and Paris yesterday! I will definitely come back to this thread for reqs. We are bringing the kids, so I’ll have to take that into account. thatgolfb I love the pics! Thanks for sharing! with kids I love the London Transport Museum. Full size trolleys, busses etc they can play on.
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Jan 23, 2024 10:00:17 GMT -6
thatgolfb, yay I'm glad you liked The Albert!!
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 23, 2024 11:07:06 GMT -6
thatgolfb, yay I'm glad you liked The Albert!! It was great! Sorry, I couldn’t remember who gave the rec, and was too lazy to go back and look. 😂
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Post by AnnPerkins on Jan 23, 2024 19:56:15 GMT -6
Yay! I'm so glad you're having fun and enjoyed the Sky Garden. I think it's probably the best view of the city you can get.
Also, ALWAYS get the fish and chips.
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thatgolfb
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Post by thatgolfb on Jan 23, 2024 23:57:40 GMT -6
Yesterday we did a bunch of fun touristy stuff-Tower of London, Thames boat ride, Westminster walking tour that ended at Buckingham Palace (all one tour), and separate Westminster Abbey tour. It was great. Our guide was awesome. We saw a helicopter land at Buckingham palace, but unsure if it was a royal lol.
Westminster Abbey was something we didn’t get to do when I was a teen, and my mom remains bitter about it lol. It was just one of those fascinating historical things that blew me away. I’m really glad we opted to tack that tour on.
We ended the (long) day with dinner at Dishoom, and omg I’m so glad we did. It was SO good and definitely lived up to the hype. We ordered so much food and it was all fantastic!
We are off for our quick trip to Paris now. 🙂
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