The Trafalgar Chelsea

When walking around Kings Road in Chelsea, you may get bored and need a drink. Go to the Trafalgar. Not only do they have drinks but they have amazing french fries too. We stopped inside to get away from the cold and grab a drink while resting our legs. Sadly with these winter days you feel like its ok to have a drink at 4pm, “hey, its already dark”. I indulged in a large glass of rose and sat in a comfortable armchair with no intention of moving again for a while. 

They play relaxing music low enough for you to have a casual conversation and not have to yell. There are so many tables that you don’t eavesdrop on anyone else either. They have about 10 different beers on tap, I challenge you to taste them all! They also do a discounted beer of the day. 

I really liked having a break there, sometimes everyone needs a little pick me up after a day in the cold. If you live around there I really recommend an afternoon in the pub with friends. 

Here’s their website: http://www.thetrafalgarchelsea.co.uk/

21 - The Market

After strolling to Covent Garden and hoping that the weather would stay warm my friends and I decided to grab a quick bite and a drink at 21 in the Covent Garden square. The restaurant has an upstairs balcony for people enjoying an after work drink. They also have tables set out in part of the square. And a little restaurant on two floors inside. 

The wine is good, the servers are really polite, and you can still sit outside into the winter months because they have outdoor heaters. But the best part of this place is their pizza. Yummy crunchy thin pizza with the right ratio of sauce to cheese. So we enjoyed our drinks, and our incredible pizza while catching up on what happened over summer. Maybe we were nostalgic of our summers and that’s why we sat outside, I don’t know. 

Either way, the ambiance is very romantic, but also relaxed, so probably a good place for one of those first few dates with someone. This is a great place to grab a drink if you want to avoid huge crowds on oxford street after a long day. Or if you’re just strolling around Covent Garden and you want to sit down and enjoy your day, then its the perfect place to go. 

Here’s their website: http://21-coventgarden.co.uk/

10 Greek Street

I’ve had to have dinner in Soho a few times and every time I drag people to number 10 Greek Street, hoping that they’ll have a table free. I’ve only eaten there 3 times, but every time I’ve left wishing I could eat there again. The food is very European, but in the right way. They source their ingredients well and even a plate of their carrots would be amazing (if they served that). 

They have a very Mediterranean feel about their food and they combine flavours very well. Its not cheap, but generally you spend 30 pounds per person with a glass of wine. The ambiance is lively around meal times, but the last time we got there at 14:45 and the place was starting to get a little quieter. If you want to enjoy food but can’t handle a loud room go during the afternoon, they serve smaller dishes at this time but everything is still amazing. 

The room is decorated very simply, the sides are lined with black tables, but the front and back walls have small with tiles on them. When you walk in you can already smell the amazing food, and after you order the wait is never long. They’re very nice about splitting the bill and they’re not the kind of place that tries to rush you out if you’ve finished your food.

The menu is written on blackboards around the restaurant, and the drinks menu is a little scroll placed in-between the table’s cutlery. Next to the cutlery there is also a dish of salt and a bottle of olive oil, showing their Mediterranean feel. 

Here’s their website: http://www.10greekstreet.com/

Pizza Union

After walking past a very full Breakfast Club my flatmate Emily and I decided to go somewhere we knew there would be space. So we went next to Nido, and found Pizza Union as well as a Japanese restaurant. Opting for pizza was a smart choice. Pizza Union is set up as a "do it yourself" restaurant. We sat outside and enjoyed the last few moments of sunlight. 

You go up to make your order, grab your drinks and pay for everything. They then give you a beeper and it lights up when your pizza is ready. The pizzas are very affordable. I think mine cost about 5 pounds. After the first bite I decided that this was probably the best pizza I've had in London so far. And that's a big statement. 

Maybe I don't go out for pizza often, but overall it was the perfect thinness, and combination of flavours. The tomato sauce still soft and the cheese creamy and not overly stringy like the bad cheeses you often get on pizza. I really like the set up of the restaurant too, everything was authentic Italian which is really strange for a "fast food" sort of place. But who cares, as long as it tastes good. 

Here's their website: http://www.pizzaunion.com/

Bukowski

On a sunny Friday afternoon a cocktail or beer was needed. So I headed to the Boxpark in Shoreditch to grab a drink. This cute little box on the upper floor was serving frozen margaritas and American beer so we had to stop there. The place was called Bukowski. The waitress was really nice and while she got our drinks ready I looked around the little box. 

They had the kitchen at the far end of the box, and they were able to fit in a few booths for people to eat in when the London weather is not so nice which happens to be most of the time. There were a few small details around the restaurant/box which made me like the place even more. My favourite detail was a light up sign saying "Bukowski" in flowing writing as though it had been hand written. 

One of the reasons Bukowski is popular is because they cook their food on a charcoal grill, and therefore the meats have more rustic flavour. Sadly they don't seem to have anything vegitarian on the menu, but if you go with some meat loving friends then you're alright. I just really enjoyed the atmosphere inside their little box, as well as on the open terrase with picnic tables on the top of the Boxpark, its perfect for a casual afternoon. Here's their website: http://www.bukowski-grill.co.uk/

Onesto: Luxembourg

Spending most of my summer in Luxembourg meant that I got to eat at some of the places I loved when I lived here full time. One of the best places to eat near the pedestrian area of the town is "Onesto". They advertise themselves as a pizzeria but they have so much other good Italian food too. Being Italian I rarely want to go out and order a dish of pasta so I always opt for things I can't make at home. Last time I went there with my friends Katie and Caoimhe, I had "frittura mista di verdura", meaning, fried and sautéd vegetables. They were cut really thin, and they were perfectly salted. I loved it. 

One of my favourite Italian dishes is fried zucchini (or pumpkin) flowers. I know it sounds weird, but you have to try them. Onesto serves them as dish of the day occasionally, and they stuff them with cheese before they fry them. Its amazing.

Another thing that is super cute about Onesto is that they have an external terace hidden in the back of the restaurant. Its like a mini oasis, you can see a few other restaurants and the back of some buildings from your seat. Its the perfect place to catch up with friends. And another super cute detail is that the chairs are all multicoloured. 

Here's their website: http://www.resto-onesto.lu/

Jamie's Italian

A few weeks ago I went to eat at Jamie's Italian in Angel with some friends. We had a table near the window on the furthest edge from the entrance. It was really full and really loud. But everyone seemed to really be enjoying their food. I glanced over the menu a couple times choosing a different dish each time but I settled with Wild Rabbit Tagliolini (pasta). I didn't really feel hungry enough to have a starter, so I waited as the others ate theirs.

Their starters looked really incredible, and I was looking forward to getting my dish. The service throughout the meal was pretty slow, and we were getting a little impatient because we already had been given so much time to choose our order, and way too much time between the starter and the main. Our main dishes did not arrive all at the same time, but instead I had to wait a few extra minutes. Once receiving my dish I jumped straight in. But after the first taste I was really disappointed. They had really over seasoned my dish, I could barely taste the rabbit due to the flavour of pepper covering all of my taste buds. 

Knowing how much people had raved about Jamie Oliver's cooking I had expected it to be good, but I guess as an Italian I really shouldn't expect much. I would have sent the dish back if the waitress had walked past our table, but by the time she had come round to check on our food I had slowly swallowed more than half of the dish because I had been hungry. I did however leave some of the pasta behind, and I really rarely don't finish what I've been given. Overall, I don't recommend it, maybe I just had a bad experience but if you want something more authentic look for somewhere truly Italian. Its really a shame because so many things on their menu seemed interesting and if it had been good then I probably would have gone back really soon after that meal. 

My Old Dutch

When Daniella was craving pancakes, one day back in December, we found this place online. We decided that before she moved away we had to go there. Its a dutch inspired pancake house, so there are blue and white printed table clothes, traditional dutch style plates and a wall with tulips printed on it. One of the pancakes is even called "Amsterdamer". 

The menu is really long and you can choose from a selection of savory or sweet pancakes. The pancakes are not made in the American way, but rather they are thinner, but thicker than the French pancakes. I chose the Italian, because It had tomatoes, oregano, mozzarella, and other cheeses. Daniella chose the Greek, which had Haloumi cheese in the dough of the pancake as well as several other toppings. Kristin on the other hand chose one with berries and ice-cream which looked a little smaller because it was folded over.

The plates were huge, but the pancakes fit on them perfectly. It was a little bit of a struggle to finish the whole thing, but at least that way I wasn't hungry later on. Also another bonus about this place, on Mondays the pancakes only cost 5 pounds instead of their individual prices written on the menu. 

Here's their website: http://www.myolddutch.com/

Nizuni

Generally I don't eat out in Bloomsbury, but I made an exception when my friends told me that they had been to an amazing sushi restaurant. How can someone pass up sushi? My friend Daniella booked the table from her phone, and we were seated on the first floor of the restaurant. The staircase has a really beautiful fountain in one of the walls, and the other decorative details are really nice. 

Looking through the menu was really difficult because everything seemed good, and i almost wanted to get one thing from each page. I ended up getting miso soup, chicken dumplings, and salmon and avocado rolls. Everything was incredibly tasty as well as beautifully presented. But I think what I liked the most is that there were very different people all enjoying the food and talking without anyone looking or acting superior, everyone was just there for the food. I love the way food can bring people together in that way.

I know I'm going to go there again, maybe when my wallet isn't so empty. 

Here's their website: http://www.nizuni.com/

Wahaca

Wahaca is a chain restaurant that has been expanding really quickly within the UK. My friend Alice took me there before we went to see her boyfriend in a play. The best thing about this restaurant is that its set up like tapas (Spanish small portions "snacks") but with Mexican food. The menu is on the table cloth and everything is labelled with a title and then a good description. 

Alice and I chose to get 2 dishes each, and then 3 sides to share, we also split a dessert a the end. I chose steak fajitas, and chicken tacos and then we shared a sour-cream and black bean side, corn on the cob, and sweet potatoes. It was a full blown out meal. The end of the meal was incredible too though, we shared churros and I had a Mexican hot chocolate, which is non dairy, and has a little chili in it for fire. Everything tasted incredible. 

The design of the restaurant is also really cute. Their catch phrase is "Mexican Market Eating" so the inside of the place is made to look a bit like a Mexican street, with colours and different shapes and booths for larger parties to sit in. The tiles on the floor change and some how everything still matches. They have a wall of different bottles reminding us all that yes we do want a cocktail with lunch. 

I know I'm going to eat at Wahaca again, because there's so much more on the menu I need to try! Here's their website: http://www.wahaca.co.uk/

Am Clubhaus Op Der Spora

Op der Spora is an incredible restaurant in Luxembourg. It’s a little hard to get to, because it’s in a forest and no buses go there. But the food is amazing. My friend once had her birthday dinner there, and since then my family and I go there at least once every time I’m back because their sushi is so good. They have a sushi chef and a normal chef because the restaurant serves European cuisine too. But it’s definitely not a fusion restaurant. The sushi is kept very far from all the other food.

One thing I love is that if you order sushi then they bring you free miso soup before, and hey, who doesn’t love free food? The staff is really nice too, and the place has a really good turnover, they probably fill every table twice per meal. They also do sushi to go, which we’ve taken advantage of a few times.

But best of all, it’s a really calm and warm place, even in winter. The fact that it’s surrounded by nature makes you feel even luckier to be there and sometimes getting away from the traffic of everyday life is good. Even if it’s just for an hour or two at lunch.

Here’s their website: http://www.amclubhaus.lu/

Leon

I've heard the name mentioned several times, but I never went into a Leon "restaurant" before May this year. I just didn't know what to expect. It looked really nice from the outside, with picnic tables and two ping-pong tables. Walking in you can tell its a chain restaurant due to the long counter, the huge number of seats and the menu shown in photos on light up screens above the counter. It took me a while to choose what I wanted, and the desserts aren't written on the screens, but I chose a chicken mix and a raspberry lemonade which seemed like a good combo. 

I sat down with my friends at a quirky table, and started noticing the cute little details placed around the venue to make you feel more at home and more like "Leon" has a story. Munching through my green salad with broccoli, quinoa, and some chicken I decided I liked the atmosphere. Everyone was busy, but somewhat cheerful, maybe its just cause it was a sunny day. The trays given to us all had cute different fruit designs, and there were books, magazines and board games laying around in case you wanted to stay and do something. 

The dressing on my food was a little over the top, but I really enjoyed the experience of this chain restaurant, because it attempts to be a little different and quirky and not everything is the same inside. I don't know if I'll order the same thing again, just because their fried mackerel looks really yummy too.

Here's their website: http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/

Thai Rice

A few weeks ago my friend Daniella and I wanted to go to Notting Hill for lunch, we ended up walking the wrong way, and somehow found ourselves walking towards Edgware Road, at this point we decided we were dying of hunger (I was) so we stopped nearby at a Thai restaurant called "Thai Rice".

Daniella had been here before, and she remembered that the food was good so after a quick glance over the menu we walked in. The place is lined with booths and tables, and we were seated in a booth. There are Ipads at each booth for people to play games, look at the menu interactively as well as look at other things online. There are also a few big screen televisions which at the time were playing a football match. The waiter is polite, friendly and really well composed for such a small restaurant. Our drinks are brought out straight away which is great. I ordered a Thai Ice Tea. They're incredible, I have no idea what they put in them but they're a super sweet tea-based drink with added milk and ice. 

As a main dish I had Pad Thai with Beef. Which I really enjoyed because the contrasting textures and flavours worked together really well. It was a quick but relaxed meal, and I really enjoyed it. Daniella and I had a laughing fit at the end of the meal because she put a mint and two ice cubes in her mouth at the same time and for some reason we thought that was hilarious. Here's their website: http://www.thairicelondon.com/

Fortnum & Mason's

In early March I went to eat at Fortnum & Mason's with my friend Tatiane. We booked a table for two online for their Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. Arriving in the shop was great, the doorman explained to us which direction we needed to go, what floor it was on, and which elevator to take. The doors opened for us on the 5th floor and we walked into a room with a small reception desk and a huge grand piano. It was really special. After a few minutes wait we were seated to our table with a huge white table cloth and plates and cutlery set out for tea. 

Looking over the menu we couldn't pass up the chance of having something savory as well as having cakes. Sadly, in the end we weren't able to have tea because we were so full, and we both still had wine in our glasses. I had an onion tart, and Tatiane had a dish with fish which she very gracefully devoured. I later got a huge slice of maple cake, and it was incredible. I loved every second of it. 

Its an expensive place to go eat, and you need to dress well to be taken seriously but once in a while everyone deserves a treat, and this is really an amazing treat. We might make this dinner an annual thing, I hope because I still dream about this food. 

Here's the Restaurant's website: http://www.fortnumandmason.com/c-54-diamond-jubilee-tea-salon-afternoon-tea-london.aspx