Rosa's

Rosa's is a cute little Thai restaurant tucked between some shops in between Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane. What makes it stand out from everything else?  It's painted bright red! After walking past it a few times and noticing the crazy queues outside I knew I had to eat there. So when my Friday classes got cancelled I knew exactly where I was going for lunch. 

Upon walking in you notice all of the beautiful wooden tables, and get seated at one of them. On the edges of the restaurants the tables are set up with one side sitting on a connected bench against the wall. The others however, do not get the chance to lean on a wall. The menu is very clear, describing the different dishes they offer for lunch and dinner and one stood out to me, the sweet and sour pork. It had been ages since I had anything that was labelled "sweet and sour" so I went with my gut, and ordered that. 

After taking my order the food was ready in 10 minutes, I didn't event have time to read much of the book I had brought with me. They serve most of their dishes with white and brown rice and a good mix of vegetables. I recommend that if there are a few of you, grab a few starters to share. Sadly, they include service tax on their bill, but we'll let that one slide because the service is actually pretty good. 

Here's their website: http://rosaslondon.com/

Kahaila

Before Christmas time my friend Matilda set up a make your own head-band workshop, where a group of people from her class and a group of outsiders got together to make any random type of head piece. I was going to attend a Great Gatsby themed party, so of course I went along and made something, or rather, 4 things. 

This workshop was held at the back of a cafe called Kahaila on Brick Lane. My flatmate Charlotte calls it her favourite place on Brick Lane. It's a cute home-y coffee shop that offers a variety of food and drinks, and cake. The indoors is similar to my flat in the sense that they have the same brick walls as we do. But not only that, they have these amazing wooden tables which are really worn out, but not in the sense that they're about to collapse but in a beautiful "I have lived" sense. 

One of the beautiful things about Kahaila is the artwork hung up inside it. They have temporary shows of different art from around the community. Oh and I forgot to tell you, it's a charity coffee shop. Which means they give all their profits to supporting local community projects. So stop by, grab a cake, enjoy the art and feel like you're doing something to help others while enjoying your self. Their sandwiches are good too.

Here's their website: http://kahaila.com/

Brick Lane Bookshop

A few weeks ago I got an insane craving to go book shopping. I wanted to skim through the pages of a book and fall in love with the writing before choosing what to buy. I tend not to like buying books online so the last books I bought were at Broadway Market. Walking into the Brick Lane Bookshop I didn't know where to start looking. They had a huge selection of unusual Christmas cards, and books about East London at the entrance.

After picking up and looking at a few books on the history of East London I already knew I'd have to come back with my dad. My dad is probably one of the best bookshop companions, he tends to know which books should be read and which ones you can leave on the shelf. And the thought of him pulled me towards the back of the book store, to the travel section. Guide books may be a little outdated especially if you're travelling to a city but if you're going somewhere distant where you wont have internet the guide book acts as your life vest or seat belt. 

But again I got distracted, I saw a pile of memorable books from this past century and it reminded me, I haven't read anything by Charles Bukowski and I really should. He seemed to know exactly how to say things in a way that I'd understand. On my next trip to Brick Lane I'll be sure to pop in the Bookshop and pick up a few books to read during the winter months. 

Here's their website: http://bricklanebookshop.org/

Dark Sugars Chocolate

When I'm in London I tend to walk down Brick Lane at least once a week, a few weeks ago a new and intriguing chocolate shop opened. The first thing I noticed was of course the chocolate truffles in the window. After that I looked up at the name of the place, Dark Sugars Chocolate. The store has a very earthy look, all the chocolate is propped up on these amazing pieces of wood. 

Sadly for the relaxed shopper going there on a Sunday means its really really crowded but I was able to distract the guy behind the counter long enough to get a hot chocolate. And let me tell you, not only are they incredibly kind and friendly but their hot chocolate is amazing. I wasn't very adventurous so I went for the plain hot chocolate, but next time I'll pick something a little more "out there". They have all the normal coffees but their selection of hot chocolates are amazing, you can get it with chilli, cinnamon, and a bunch of more exotic flavours. Their cups are tiny, but I really didn't mind, it's worth the money for the amazing after taste you'll have in your mouth all day. 

I'm really excited about going back, but all I can do for now is fantasise about how amazing it was, and plan when I can get some more.

Here's their twitter (their website is still in the making): https://twitter.com/DarkSugars

Poppies

When people ask me “where can I get the best fish and chips in London?” I rarely have to think more than a second. Poppies is the best. If you get your food “to go” I recommend getting a regular portion of chips. The chips are amazing, traditional, English, chips. They serve them in a cup, wrapped in a newspaper tube, and fill it up quite a lot. Trust me, a regular is enough, I’m never able to finish them alone. Their fried codfish always smells amazing, and the one time I tasted it I vowed to eat there again. 

Unfortunately it’s in between Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane Market, so I rarely stop there to eat because there’s so much to choose from in that area on a Sunday afternoon. If you happen to walk past though it’s worth the stop. I think of it as one of London’s mini landmarks of English culture that every tourist should taste. To add character to their restaurant the waitresses are dressed in adorable 50’s diner clothes and always look fabulous.

Also, a true “Englishman” covers the chips in vinegar and salt, try it if you dare. 

Here’s their website: http://poppiesfishandchips.co.uk/

Stolen Space

When returning home one rainy afternoon I happened to notice the "Stolen Space" gallery. And as a way to get out of the rain I went in. The show was very interesting and different. The artist Haroshi named the show "pain". His pieces are made out of old and broken skateboards. Using the wood as layers to create images reflecting common pain in our lives. One of the pieces was a broken heart, smooth and perfect on the exterior, but with some major cracks and breaks in the middle. 

The work was really interesting to see because you couldn't see how much time Haroshi put into each piece but even if a piece looked simple it was so powerful that you could feel the pain and the work put into it. I hurt my ankle the day after I saw the show, so the images I saved from the show helped me feel like I would get over my physical pain quickly and I'll also heal like the used wood. 

Overall, I think this gallery will continue to show very interesting things especially since most of the pieces on show were already sold. Definitely a place to watch for diverse up and coming art. 

Here's the gallery's site: http://www.stolenspace.com

and here's Haroshi's website: http://haroshi.com

Life

Life is a yoga place on Brick Lane. At least that's what I thought it was, one day they handed me a flyer. I generally take flyers and then look through them when I get home just so I make sure I don't miss out on anything I'd like to attend. The flyer advertised that they have a bar and "garden". We wanted to escape the madness of Brick Lane so we went in. The bar section is really nicely decorated and there is a lot of fresh fruit at the bar but the garden section isn't too nice. 

We sat in the garden section anyways, even thought it was really a smoking section. We ordered 2 smoothies and the barista brought them out to us, he also came by later to check if we liked them which I found quite nice since they usually only do that in restaurants. I had a super food smoothie called "sexy" which had berries and yogurt, and Daniella had a "ginger zinger" which had quite a kick of ginger to it.

Overall I liked being in that secluded area because it was a really good break from the crowded streets. They also do a bar night on Friday nights, so I might go to that, or maybe attend a yoga class.

Here's their website: http://lifeshoreditch.com/

Brick Lane Market

Brick Lane is usually just a long street with a lot of Bengali restaurants, but on Sundays it changes completely. It's invaded by what seems like half of London filling the streets and giving the food court sections a lot of money. Some celebrities have been caught shopping at Brick Lane market, if you like that kind of thing. But most of all I love the diversity of this one street.

Everyone seems to interact so well. You have to start from the food court. You can get an incredibly diverse meal for about 5 pounds. If you want a drink you may need to spend a little more, and the sushi is slightly more expensive. But you can get amazing Italian calzoni, or Turkish halloumi wraps, and now they even have a stand with blue lemonade and skinny round slices of potatoes on a stick. Everything is a little quirky. 

Under the food court there is a section where there are vintage clothes, and the first time I ever went there I found Christian Louboutin shoes for 200 pounds (so cheap!) but you can find a few other cool things. My favourite stand is a jewelry one that does two items for 10 pounds. Allowing me to have increased my earring collection a lot. There is also another warehouse type building with stands of individual artists who sell their t-shirt designs as well as their jewelry and cards. I really like a girl that does drawings of birds in hats, this is her site: http://birdsinhats.blogspot.com/. The market is only every Sunday, from about 10am, to 5pm, but its really worth going. You can even buy old records, and old cameras for affordable prices. 

Here's the website for the market: http://www.visitbricklane.org/

Beigel Bake

One of the reasons I wanted to live near Brick Lane was the two Bagel places or as they say "Beigel". They are open 24/7 and the staff is always nice no matter what time it is. There are no tables for you to sit and eat, there's a sort of bar area which you can lean against while you eat. But it doesn't matter because these bagels are amazing.

They make the bread freshly themselves and they have huge packages of all the toppings. They do tuna and sweetcorn, ham, cream cheese, smoked salmon, cucumber, salt beef, and a few others that I haven't tried. One salmon and cream cheese bagel only costs 1.60 pounds. Which I think is incredible, even Tesco food isn't that cheap, and the quality of these bagels is so good. They also make cakes, and pastries, but honestly I'd rather have two bagels than cake. They also have drinks, for reasonable prices too unlike other places which charge 2 pounds for a Coca-Cola. 

Its set up in a way that you walk in a line up at their glass cased bar, and stand on your tiptoes to see over the bar to talk to the people serving you. If its full the queue starts outside, but even when the queue is bad the longest I've had to wait is 10 minutes to be served, and queuing gives you time to know what you want to order. Here's their timeout page: http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/brick-lane-beigel-bake

Benets

Benets is at the end of Brick Lane. Its a beige building with tables always outside. The signs on their windows say "ice-cream" and "pancakes" so of course I walked in. My friend Emily and I had just spent the whole afternoon on Brick Lane and we were so happy to finally sit down and relax.

This place has incredible ice-cream. I was contemplating getting crepes with extra ice-cream but I thought that was a little over the top. So instead, I asked to try a few of the ice-cream flavours. I ended up deciding on a mandarin sorbet. And let me tell you, it was amazing. The cups are 2.5 pounds but its worth it because you get to find out which flavour you want before, and they fill them up quite a lot. 

Other than the amazing ice-cream the location is pretty cool too. They have a few bikes hung to the ceiling and other small quirky details but it also reminds me of a stereotypical french bistro with wooden floors and tables and the colours brown and beige being reflected throughout the interior. Next time I go there I am getting crepes! 

Rokit

Rokit on Brick Lane takes up 3 shop windows. I've walked past it a lot because I went in there with my parents once and I didn't like it. With my flatmate Emily, I decided to try it out again. The first and last door lead to small vintage shops and the middle door has really modern clothes from small English clothing labels.

The vintage sections are really cheap, with the clothes divided really well by cut, length and type. All the cropped t-shirts are together, that way you don't have to spend ages in the shop looking for them. The women's wear spreads into the men's wear section a bit. There's at least one of everything in every colour you just have to be lucky enough for the colour you like to be your size but I guess that's always the case with vintage clothes.

The middle store is beautiful, its divided into mini boutiques where each small label has its specific section. All the clothes are hung in size and colour order. So you don't even have to sort through to find the thing you want. Everything has an interesting design or print. There was this one sweater I really wanted. But I think I'm going to try to survive without it because after all it does cost 40 pounds, and I don't really need it.

I thought it was really cool that the shop is divided because it helped me shop better in each individual one and I could focus more on what I needed to buy instead of what I thought I might wear. You can shop online at http://www.rokit.co.uk 

Brick Lane Coffee

Walking along Brick Lane at least once a week I've noticed the flashing lights of Brick Lane Coffee before, many times. I don't know why I never stopped before, I think every time I walked past I had a different destination. Anyway, this time my friend Charlotte and I went. I was really thirsty so I knew I had to get something to drink. 

I chose to get an Arizona ice tea because I know they actually quench my thirst unlike the blue lemonade I had earlier that day from a stall in Brick Lane market. We sat down on a couch side by side discussing what we were up to and talking about our flat for next year. I was really relaxed due to the perfect couch, the chill music and the good conversation. 

Everyone inside the coffee shop looked like some kind of an artist and I loved it. The man sitting across from us was drawing something, and seemed very focused. The venue is pretty small but there are several cute details that make it home-y and special. I really liked the drawings on the walls, the different mismatched seats and that everyone seemed to be doing something. I'm glad I finally walked in.

Here's their website: http://streetcoffee.co.uk/pages/bricklane.php

Bengal Cuisine

I've lived next to Brick Lane now for about 8 months and I love it, everything is just so close, and there's always good food. Brick Lane is known for Indian and Bengali cuisine. I've only ever eaten at two restaurants on Brick Lane, Cinnamon, and Bengal Cuisine. Bengal Cuisine also does take away, and you can order their food online, and by now the staff there recognizes me and my friend Daniella. Its really funny, they call us the "American girls". 

Anyway, for dinner out, with a nice clean white table cloth and very pleasant staff its worth the price. Unfortunately Brick Lane restaurants have the tendency to charge you for every tiny thing you get. You're charged 50 pence for Papadums and 50 pence for the assorted sauce tray that comes with them. But the main dishes are about 7 pounds each, so it makes up for the mini extra costs. You can also ask for free tap water.

The food is brought out to you on a little rolling table, like the ones you see in movies when they bring you room service. They always remember who ordered what, and they place everything close enough to you, but also giving you a large plate to mix all the food on. I really like this because it makes everyone try each other's food, and its a good way to try new things without having to eat a whole dish of something you might not like. Also, they always always figure out some discount to do which I think is really generous of them. If you order food to go they give you a free wine bottle, its really cute. 

Here's their website: http://www.bengalcuisine.net/

All Star (Bowling)

I recently went to the All Star bowling alley on Brick Lane. You have to push through a really heavy door and walk through a restaurant but when you get to the bowling area its really nice. You can tell everyone is having fun the second you walk through the door. 

The inside of the bowling alley is styled very old school American, and everything seems out of a movie. The metal bar that collects the bowling pins says "eat, drink, bowl" on it. And there are several other cute details. Their drink menu is very elaborate, so you can spend half an hour just choosing your drink. 

My friend Emily was the best in our round, but everyone had at least one round where we didn't get any pins down. The bowling balls are all really heavy, so if you don't remember how hard bowling was when you were a kid you're in for a surprise. 

One other thing I love about bowling is that everyone is wearing the weird bowling shoes, therefore you all have a sort of sense of belonging with your group of friends. It costs 8.95 per person to play one game, and I recommend you reserve before going there because there aren't many lanes. 

This is their website: http://www.allstarlanes.co.uk/