London, UK

Living in London was quite an experience. London has got anything you want (except for good Mexican food haha) but everything is so spread out. Here is a list of my favorite places if you want to branch out from Dishoom (which is a fantastic place that you should definitely go - bottomless chai, fried okra, black dal, chicken ruby, and their breakfast sandwiches) and Gail’s (cinnamon buns and any flavour turnovers). I will remember my time here fondly for all the fun things one can do, but I definitely won’t miss the rental market. This is a working list as I remember some of my other favorites.

Index
★ = Solid choice.
★★ = A nice treat.
★★★ = Must visit!

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Coffee

☕ WatchHouse Seven Dials (★★)
7 Upper St Martin’s Ln, London WC2H 9DL, United Kingdom
A very nice coffee chain for nice drinks and beans. They also offer geisha pour overs but I haven’t tried them before. I like this location because I like Seven Dials but the other locations are great also.

☕ Omotesando Koffee (★)
8 Newman St, London W1T 1FB, United Kingdom
Great Japanese pour over spot. Minus point for not having a lot of seating and no toilet.

Bakery, sweets, brunch

🧋 HEYTEA (New Oxford St) (★★★)
45 New Oxford St, London WC1A 1BH, United Kingdom
This is my favorite Chinese boba chain for their fruity slushy drinks (their milk tea drinks are good too but just fairly basic). I like to order the Mango Coconut Boom or the Cheese Grape Boom. They have several other locations in the city as well, but this one just has the coolest decor.

🥐 Arôme Bakery - Mercer Street (★★★)
9 Mercer St, London WC2H 9QJ, United Kingdom
Fantastic Asian-inspired bakery. Everything is so good here. My favorites are the Honey Butter Toast and the Vanilla Chocolate Brioche (which is essentially a Maritozzi and better than the one from Fortitude Bakehouse imo).

🥐 Happy Sky Japanese Bakery (★★★)
94 Askew Rd, London W12 9BL, United Kingdom
A Japanese bakery on the Askew high street in Acton. They also recently opened a new location on Tottenham Court Road. It’s a little pricy but such a nice treat! I love the matcha ribbon with mochi inside and the chicken karaage surprise box.

🥖 The Dusty Knuckle Bakery (★★)
Abbot St, London E8 3DP, United Kingdom
I really like their potato loaf. They do sell out quickly (by 3pm) so get their earlier in the day. They also have pizza which looks great.

Lunch or dinner

🥩 Blacklock Soho (★★★)
24 Great Windmill St, London W1D 7LG, United Kingdom
I think Sunday Roast is one of the best things the British cuisine has to offer. This is the original location of the Blacklock chain and was previously a brothel (haha shout out to Soho). If you want actual Sunday Roast here, a reservation is required for at least a month ahead. Go with a few people and order the All In which include a mix of beef, pork, and lamb with all the trimmings. Fantastic!

🍲 Yi-Ban (★★)
London Regatta Centre, 1010 Dockside Rd, London E16 2QT, United Kingdom
The best dimsum in my opinion - everything is so good that you and your party will not speak a word to each other when the food arrives. No reservation so best to arrive at noon when they open to avoid the long queues. Minus one point from being perfect because it’s literally at the London City Airport which is so so far away.

🍣 Sushi Bar Makoto (★★★)
57 Turnham Green Terrace, Chiswick, London W4 1RP, United Kingdom
This place might be one of my favorite sushi spots in the world but definitely my favorite in West London. Walking in reminds me of being in Japan. The sashimi slices are huge and incredibly fresh. I freaking love their negitoro because they are so fatty and sweet - great in maki rolls or bowl (huge). Their eel is also so well flavoured that you can tell they use their own sauce recipe.

🥞 E Pellicci (★)
332 Bethnal Grn Rd, London E2 0AG, United Kingdom
A cute and homey Italian restaurant that offers a fantastic Full English. The Cannelloni is also great. Be prepared to queue a very long time. Cash only?

🥩 Three Uncles (★)
12 Devonshire Row, City of London, London EC2M 4RH, United Kingdom
Great Cantonese barbecue meats in a lunch box. They also have a location within Brixton Market.

🥩 St. John (★★★)
26 St John St, Barbican, London EC1M 4AY, United Kingdom
An iconic restaurant that put British cuisine on the map. They were known for head to tail eating and a seasonal menu with lots of fun ways to enjoy offal (like roasted bone marrows with a zippy parsley salad). I also love their dessert - the date loaf (sticky toffee pudding) and freshly baked madeleines are fantastic! They have a two other locations in Marylebone and Spitalfields but I think the OG is the best.

🍲 Fatt Pundit (★★)
77 Berwick St, London W1F 8TH, United Kingdom
Yummy creative Indo-Chinese food. Get the crispy spinach - it was probably one of the most unique things I’ve put into my mouth. Heard the wings are great too!

🍲 Kiln (★★★)
58 Brewer St, London W1F 9TL, United Kingdom
Northern Thai food with a wood-burning oven and a fantastic drink list. I love the glass noodle clay pot, stir fried greens, the cull yaw skewers, sausage, and the grilled chicken - basically everything is very yummy. The music selection is also fire! Tt can get quite busy so try to get there when they open so you can sit at the bar and watch them cook.

Drinks

🍻 Cloudwater London (★★)
73 Enid St, London SE16 3RD, United Kingdom
This brewery has probably some of the largest menus on the Bermondsey Beer Mile (great fun!). It does get busy though.

🍸 Cahoots Underground (★★★)
13 Kingly Ct, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW, United Kingdom
A cute speakeasy bar that looks like the London Underground inside. Very cute for the holidays and lots of fun drink options.

🍷 Gordon’s Wine Bar (★★★)
47 Villiers St, London WC2N 6NE, United Kingdom
A dark cellar wine bar with lots of drink options. Probably not for the claustrophobic. Quite a unique experience but a long queue.

Random

🧺 Fortnum & Mason (★★)
181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER, United Kingdom
A department store that supposedly supplies for the Royals. Their hampers are good gifts for fancy occasions and this is in general a nice place to shop for gifts (tea, biscuits, jam). The holiday displays are always really cool looking.

🧺 Brooks & Gao (★)
The High Parade, 28 Streatham High Rd, London SW16 1EX, United Kingdom
A cute little shop for fancy food things if you are ever in Streatham. Nice natural wine, cheese, baked goods, and freshly made sandwiches.

🖼️ Dulwich Picture Gallery (★★)
College Road, London SE21 7AD, United Kingdom
One of my favorite small art museums. Their special collection usually has really cool storylines are very well presented. It does cost money for entry though, unlike many of the larger museums in Central. Can grab lunch at the cute little Dulwich Village nearby.

🎬 Riverside Studios (★★)
101 Queen Caroline St, London W6 9BN, United Kingdom
This is a cute independent cinema slash arts studio (that has something to do with the Doctor Who franchise?). They have really cheap student tickets for film screening and the ambience is great. The films usually run for about a week, so you will need to pay attention to their scheduling a bit.

🕯️ Earl of East (★★)
33 Redchurch St, London E2 7JB, United Kingdom
A very nice shop for nick-nacks and great smelling hand-poured candles (or oil for diffuser). My favorite scent in Onsen. Redchurch street has lots of other cute shops. There is also an Earl of East location in Coal Drops Yard (behind Kings Cross).