my london guide: the long list

everything I recommend to visitors and new locals

I just shared a video where I took you through a perfect weekend in London — the kind that I’m always looking for when I visit a new city as a girl who likes art, good food, coffee and trinkets. There’s only so much you can squeeze into a twelve minute video however, so I wanted to share a few other recommendations, including bars and pubs as I didn’t manage to visit any in this video.

For a more dynamic version of this list, I use the Step app to document my favourite places. It has an interactive map connected to your GPS, so if you’re visiting soon it might be more helpful to download it and give me a follow! I also share my most up-to-date recommendations in my london recs highlight on Instagram.

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dinner —

top recommendations for visitors —

Tayyabs, whitechapel — busy, popular indian restaurant. Expect to queue even if you book ££
Ottolenghi, multiple locations ££
Elliot’s, hackney & borough market £££
Blachette, soho — adore this french restaurant £££
Flat Iron, multiple locations — gluten-free friendly but no vegetarian options ££

more favourites —

Sushinoen, whitechapel £
El Ganso, broadway market ££
Taro, soho £
Bao, multiple locations ££
Bancone, multiple locations ££
Padella, multiple locations ££
Sager + Wilde, bethnal green ££
Sodo pizza, multiple locations — my favourite pizza in london ££
Allegra, stratford £££
Din Tai Fung, multiple locations ££
Jai Krishna, finsbury park — vegetarian/vegan & byob £
Pizzarro, bermondsey £££
Sen Viet, hoxton — vegetarian/vegan £
Paolina thai, kings cross £
Indian Lounge, kings cross — my favourite indian restaurant ££
The Waterhouse Project, cambridge heath ££££
brilliant corners, dalston ££
65a, shoreditch ££
Bambi, london fields ££
Mildred’s, multiple locations — vegetarian/vegan ££
Okko, broadway market — pacific japanese, so delicious ££
Luca, st paul’s ££££
Brutto, farringdon ££
Bone Daddies, multiple locations ££
The Aubrey, knightsbridge ££££

coffee/cafes —

Monmouth, multiple locations
Store St Espresso, Russell Square
Pavillion, multiple locations
Hackney Coffee Co, cambridge heath
Jolene, multiple locations
Pophams, multiple locations
Be-oom, exmouth market — matcha
Allpress Roastery, dalston

breakfast/brunch —

Mae + Harvey, roman road ££
Ozone roasters, shoreditch & cambridge heath ££
The Bach, broadway market — good gluten-free options ££
E5 bakehouse, london fields ££
Jones & Sons, dalston ££
Caravan, multiple locations ££
Fink’s Salt & Sweet, highbury ££
Milk, balham ££

lunch —

Roti Stop, stoke newington £
Beigel Bake, brick lane — open late so great for a drunk snack £
Papo’s Bagels, dalston ££
Forno, cambridge heath ££
Breadery, roman road ££
Dusty Knuckle, dalston ££
Its Bagels, primrose hill ££
Forno, cambridge heath ££
Pantechnicon, belgravia £££
you can get a free lunch if you find a Hare Krishna stall — they tend to pop up outside the universities in Bloomsbury! it will be some kind of vegetarian curry lol

sweet things —

Crosstown Doughnuts, multiple locations £
Buns From Home, multiple locations £
Créme, soho £
Humble Crumble, shoreditch £

bars —

Mercato Metropolitano, elephant & castle — has street food stalls, drinks and long tables £
Mare St Market, london fields — also does food ££
All My Friends, hackney wick ££
The Bar With Shapes For A Name, hoxton — delicious cocktails £££
Brilliant Corners, dalston ££
Willows, clapham ££
No. 32, clapham ££
Oranj, shoreditch — popular wine bar ££
Sager + Wilde, cambridge heath ££
Forza Vin, peckham ££
Top Cuvee, highbury ££
Peckham Arches, peckham ££
Frank’s, peckham ££
Seed Library, shoreditch ££
Three Sheets, dalston ££
East London Liquor Company, victoria park ££

pubs —

pretty much all pubs cost the same so I haven’t added a £ rating!
Bull & Gate, kentish town
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, city of london — very old, historic pub
The Scolt Head, dalston/de beauvior
The Hemmingway, victoria park
The Royal Inn On The Park, victoria park — big patio for summer drinks
The Lord Tredegar, mile end
Well & Bucket, shoreditch
The Kenton, homerton
People’s Park Tavern, victoria park
Crate, hackney wick
The Harrison, king’s cross
The Faltering Fullback, finsbury park
Defectors Weld, shepherd’s bush
The Devonshire, soho — get a guinness here
The Dove, hammersmith — walk along the river towards chiswick and stop here
Camberwell Arms, camberwell
The Compton Arms, highbury & islington
Exmouth Arms, exmouth market
The Royal Oak, columbia road

clubs/out-out —

Night Tales, hackney
NT’s Loft, london fields
Corsica Studios, elephant & castle
Sunset Bar, shoreditch — trashy, silly, carpeted
Fabric, city of london — a historic london club
Phonox, brixton
Colour Factory, hackney wick — honestly you could go anywhere in Hackney Wick and probably have a good night out
The Cause, docklands
Fold, docklands — berlin club style, stickers on phone cameras
Dalston Den, dalston
The Box, soho — if you can get in lol
Koko, camden
in general, check RA.co and see what’s on!

galleries —

Tate Modern, bankside
Tate Britain, pimlico
V&A, south kensington
White Cube, bermondsey
Whitechapel Gallery, whitechapel
Hayward Gallery, south bank
Wellcome Collection, euston

shopping —

Libreria, brick lane
Foyles, tottenham court road
Choosing Keeping, covent garden — stationary boutique
Glossier, covent garden
Daunt Books, marylebone
Space NK, multiple locations — luxury beauty
Selfridges, Bond St
Liberty, Oxford St
Magpie Vintage, angel
2&4 vintage furniture, de beauvior
Atlantis Art Materials, london fields

fun & games —

The Globe Theatre £££
Rowan’s bowling & arcade, finsbury park £
Olympic Cinema, barnes ££
Flight Club, multiple locations ££
BFI, southbank £
Everyman cinemas, multiple locations ££
the parks! primrose hill, victoria park, regent’s park, hampstead heath… visit them all £
Highgate Cemetary tour — if you’re a book person, do this ££
+ take a walk down the canals £

nails & treatments —

Shoreditch Nails, shoreditch & dalston ££
STILL london, dalston ££
Townhouse, multiple locations ££
The Dream Of, Hackney — reiki massage £££
AIRE ancient baths, charing cross ££££

where to stay —

The Standard, king’s cross — camden council’s old HQ converted into a hotel £££
The Hoxton, multiple locations £££
One Hundred, shoreditch £££
Mama Shelter, cambridge heath ££
The London EDITION, soho ££££

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I hope this guide helps you navigate my favourite city! I’ll keep this regularly updated with new discoveries along with updating my Step profile, but if you want the latest recommendations as they happen I’d definitely recommend following me on Instagram.

Let me know your favourite places in the comments and I’ll do my best to try them! I’m always looking for hotel recommendations for friends too, so if you’ve found a gem please share 🤍