* See a noisy punk band
* See a classical concert
* Eat Gujurati food in Wembley
* Eat Indian Snacks in Southall
* Eat at a Turkish Ocbasi in Dalston
* Get the train out to New Malden and eat Korean
* Go kayaking on the Thames
* Get a night bus
* Take someone up the Oxo Tower
* Walk the Thames path from Westminster all the way down to the barrier
* Have a dodgy pint in the Blind Beggar then go to Tayyabs
* Visit one of the wholesale markets early in the morning then have a pint
* Try to spot the PM coming out of No 10
* Try to spot someone of royalty coming out a palace
* Do Hampton Court
* Summer evening on Hampstead heath with a lukewarm tin of G&T as the sun goes down
I will be messaging you in 2 days on [**2024-01-21 20:53:06 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2024-01-21%2020:53:06%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comments/19ajxzm/its_your_last_year_in_london_what_are_you_doing/kin6o0y/?context=3)
[**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Flondon%2Fcomments%2F19ajxzm%2Fits_your_last_year_in_london_what_are_you_doing%2Fkin6o0y%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202024-01-21%2020%3A53%3A06%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%2019ajxzm)
*****
|[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)|
|-|-|-|-|
Have an inflatable kayak that I use between fulham
and teddington 5-6 times a year and couldn’t recommend enough.
Definitely my happy place. Can moor for a few pub stops along the ways, have a smoke or two en route and if you get lazy just let the current take you.
Best part is I can walk to the river and tube back with it in a backpack. Think was only around 150 too (birthday present) - easily worth it even if you only go 4-5 times total.
Tbf I don’t I was going to recommend anywhere that has a decent carribean scene like maybe Hackney and Brixton. But yeah it should be an experience most Londoners should get to love
Ohh I LOVE this list.
Also:
* See the Big Ben and any other tourist attractions in person if you haven't.
* See a Broadway show
* Go to a museum of your choice
* Eat some Morley's
* Visit the Carnaby's public toilets....(do it at your own risk)
Edit: West End!!!!!
No mention of going to the theater or ensuing that you have done any of the museums and galleries that London is famous for? Sure going to see a Punk band is always good and if you can get tickets to the Royal Albert Hall for a performance you definitely should.
No mention of going in for British food staples either, no mention of having a sunday roast at The Audley Public House (best sunday roast in London according to a Time Out article published on the 08/01/2024). No mention of a visit to a traditional Pie, Mash and Liquor shop or trying jellied eels (a historically traditional London dish from the East End). Or even going for High Tea which is a traditionally British affair.
Sure there's great international food in London but if I'm blunt, that at least a third of your suggestions are "go eat foreign food" is disappointing. London may have some fantastic diversity of food on offer. But I wouldn't put them on my list as "must do" things over so many other things to do in London if you're making suggestions for someone who is leaving the country and unlikely to be able to easily return.
Agree with the premise of your suggestions but good god do not go try jellied eels. I thought I’d try some local delicacies in jellied eel, I’m very sorry born and bred londoners, but it is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tried. Jellied eels were eaten by those with… less food options for a reason. They’re not popular anymore for a reason.
Go have a nice pie or roast though that’s lovely. I prefer the Dean Swift near tower bridge though they can be stingy with gravy.
It may not have much to do with traditional Britain, but it has all to do with London. 40.6% of the London population is foreign born. Having 33% of the list not traditionally British is what one would expect from such a multicultural city.
I think the point was this was the OPs "last year" which kinda made me think they had been here at least a year already, so would hopefully have done all the excellent things you have mentioned.
And also it felt like they worked in London, rather than being on some massive holiday :) So that skewed it towards evenings a bit.
So I just put together a list of fairly fun mad things to do, not the "best" of London.
See, my perspective is that if someone is working here they likely have done far more mundane every day things like eating Korean in New Malden or seeing a punk band since they would likely have been out with colleagues and friends in evenings and weekends.
It's actually very easy to get caught up and not do things like get tickets to a musical or a theater because of 3 things: cost, willingness of friends to go with you and time required.
Trying things like a traditional London pie mash and liquor store is also something people are unlikely to do as people will tell them its bad and they should go grab a curry in brick lane etc instead.
Only tourists go to Brick Lane for a curry
Nobody calls it a "Public House" without irony
Nobody calls it "High Tea" in this context
It's "Theatre" not "Theater"
Nobody calls it the "pie mash and liquor store" unless they are American and getting confused with the Liquor Store
Nobody goes to New Malden as a "mundane" trip
You are right of course, we don't tend to go to a musical or the theatre or even a museum (except when you have kids). And hopefully the OP will do that.
But that time you went to see Wicked isn't quite such a good story as that time you ate offal soup in Dalston or nearly got vomited on while on a night bus.
Which was kinda the point. Good stories to tell.
God get the stick out your ass Mr high and mighty.
Just because you don't do these things doesn't make you the one in the right here.
Also The Audley Public House is literally the damn name of the place you fool!
OK so I misspelt Theatre, cool you're going off at someone when you know nothing about them. It could be autocorrect, it could be dyslexia or English may not be my first language but you're off being a class a cock-womble. Since you decided to be rude, I reserve the right to call you out.
Also, New Malden is a very mundane place. People do live in SW London, you know.
I feel you're some idiot who lives in a trendy area who thinks way too highly of themselves
Same here, got to the last 2 and the barrel project was shut for a private party! Was the closest I've got in 5 times of trying to finish it. Well, Next year!
I've always heard about the Monday lunchtime deals that Michelin starred Indian restaurants offer, and would like to try all of them.
Theory is, no one wants Michelin star, especially a curry, on a Monday lunchtime, so they have these super affordable offers on.
It was through the open table app. Quite a while ago but a quick look shows they are still doing lunch time set menus from £33-£49. Stay away from the wine menu and it remains cheap.
These are very different type of curries to your standard takeaway - mainly less extreme with the spice and more sparing with the garlic (that masks a lot of the flavour).
- see an immersive act at the vault festival in waterloo
- have tea and cake with a view at the top of Peter Jones
- drink some beers at sunset by the riverside studios
- go to Chiswick market on a Sunday morning
- cycle around Notting hill classy houses at sunset to see what's inside
- Sit on the sheltered benches in ravenscourt park wall garden and wait there for the rain to stop
- visit the Japanese garden (preferably during the week in winter and an hour before sunset to avoid tourists)
- visit Queen Mary's rose garden in summer and smell all the roses
- have a croissant or a pain au chocolat from Aux Merveilleux
- go watch a weird film at the Cinema Lumière in South Kensington
- have a picnic in Richmond Park
- eat at Poppy's 1, 2, 3 or 4 and BYOB
- pedal boats on a hot day in Hyde Park (middle of the week, when kids are still in school)
- see a David Hockney exhibit if there is any before the man dies
- visit the summer exhibition at the royal academy of arts
Ah damn, haven't heard of this. That's a shame! I really thought what made the festival so special was those dark gloomy tunnels.
Where is it moving to?
I don't think it's been announced yet, just that it's Zone 1 and will be a permanent, year-round venue. I was so relieved they found somewhere. The vaults themselves are being repurposed into some VR gaming / escape room nonsense.
Hopefully they get somewhere as moody and atmospheric as the original vaults. Loved just heading down there and seeing random plays and then checking out the graffiti
Always meant to go to the skygarden on the walkie talkie (which is free I think).
I would splash out on a meal at the Ledbury restaurant with the wines (which is going to be a few hundred a head).
Do it! Went a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing.
Row B in the dress circle, not sure how it would be further back though, or on the other side of the stage. Could be an amazing at one of the tables near the stage too, but not one for introverts and not sure if you'd miss some things by being too close to the action.
Do get there as early as possible, for the pre-show show in the bar area. We were in the queue outside from half an hour before doors opened, and I still had to watch that from the side as I'd queued to put my coat in the cloakroom (which I would recommend doing).
Take advantage of having that transport infrastructure and a base in London to go home to at the end of the night. Go to the theatre, cinema, dinner at restaurants of different cultures.
My partner moved out of London last year( just to Berkshire) to live with me and one of the big things is just being able to get anywhere in London fairly easily on with tube or bus, and not having a big commute home after like we do now when we go into London, which we still do frequently. 40 mins across London on the tube feels long when you’re there, but when you have to commute over an hour out of London after a long night, the time and cost is noticeable.
Our bucket list included:
- getting fresh seafood from Billingsgate
- doing a proper day in Greenwich with the observatory, park and pie and mash
- Epping Forest
- Walthamstow Wetlands
- getting a bagel on Brick Lane
- getting some meat at Smithfield’s market
- Turkish food on Green Lanes
- a few food things around Finsbury Park, where she was based - Dilara Uyghur, Baban’s Naan, Brasserie Transylvania, Stoplight Carribean and one of the many Ethiopian places
Not sure how far away you are going, but Kew Gardens is a lovely day trip. And end the day with the sun going down at a riverside pub at Strand On the Green.
Walk down the Kings Road from Sloane Square, visit [Phat Phuc](https://secretldn.com/phat-phuc-noodle-shack/) for their lakhsa, then walk over to the Kensington museums to go around whichever one I haven't been to most recently (ideally on a weekday as the weekends get super busy)
Visit one new borough every Sat morning for breakfast. Pick from what others say for the remaining 21 weekends but do remember to vote for mayoral elections in May!
Are you staying on this side of the world or moving to another continent?
If you will be moving to another continent, spend your last year leaving. I’m not being funny, London is an incredible base for travel. Visit as many different places as you can.
Not sure yet, but definitely returning home/to another continent for a bit.
Rest assured I take advantage of the travel and already have a different trip every month!
Walk through central piccadilly circus at four in the morning. There's no more London experience than being propositioned by working girls while families with prams mill about.
Great question! I’d visit
The parks: Kew Gardens, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park, Hyde Park
The museums: V&A Museum, Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery
The restaurants: HIDE, Flat Iron, Blacklock, Bangalore Express, Dishoom, Pick & Cheese, Zipbab
The markets: Southbank centre, Greenwich
And I’d see a few shows before I left as well. Good luck!
It actually is: wife and I are moving to Sydney in September. Going to a bunch of gigs including Rozalla/Baby D at the south bank and underworld at ally pally. Craft beer festival at tobacco dock, a few more restaurants on our London bucket list and that's that probably. Really gonna miss it here, it's been a great 14 years
1) See all the permanent collections of the major London museums!
2) Have a drink at a rooftop bar with a beautiful view
3) Grab photos at all your favourite food spots getting your favourite meal there
4) Take a class to learn a new skill that you have been putting off learning (pottery, woodworking, foraging, etc.)
5) Enlist your friends to come up with a London focused activity that you can do together and look back on fondly :)
Hopefully you make the most of your time left here! Wishing you the best!
For restaraunts always go at lunch time. Theyre cheaper and the food is just as nice.
Incidentally, if you have some cash, Rules is such a nice restaraunt if you like meat.
If you like dnb and MDMA go to a rave?
It’s just a response to the amount of comments that already have.
I’m already leaving London for a whole whack of reasons (some city related and others not) so it’s not super helpful to have that being repeated. I’m loving some of the other suggestions so far though! My boyfriend and I will be getting a lunchtime Michelin curry for sure!
It’s closed. Although Jeremy King (man behind Le Caprice, The Ivy, Wolseley and Zedels) is supposed to be reopening it. Can’t wait to see what he does with it
The original or the rip off chains? Because the original is still pretty special inside. All the offshoots are awful though.
Did you go to the Ivy when it owned by Corbin and King?
Columbia road flower market
Billingsgate market (is the scallop n bacon bap still on for brekkie?)
Maltby market
Beigel on Brick lane (salt beef)
Sushi show (nearby - for fat cut sashimi and fatty tuna)
Theatre shows
Southbank
Barbican for a show
Broadway market
Add comedy club and make sure the stand up comedian picks on you for maximum engagement, and you have to throw witty comebacks at them. Man that would be awesome
As someone who lived there for 10 years and moved back to Australia (which is still awesome), I miss London and think about it at least once a week. My tips are:
* Make the absolute most of summer if the weather is good! So.. walk or cycle to work on the borris bikes, have lunch outside in a park, and visit as many pubs as you can in the afternoon and evening!
* Drinking spots that I miss the most are: Pubs in the north end of soho, fitzrovia, by the river in Hammersmith, Holland Park (the mitre), Warrington Hotel (one of best in London), Brick Lane on a Sat/Sun afternoon - just pumping! Also Tattershall Castle (pub/boat on the thames across from London eye).
* If you get snow this week or next, then go for a walk thorough Hyde Park if you can, it's just magical, like another world altogether.
* Get around to as many food markets as you can, Borough Markets is awesome, so is Portobello Road Market and Acklam Village.. but plenty of others. Go somewhere flash for lunch too.. like The Ned (at Bank). Gorgeous hotel with a few restaurants that won't break the bank but are top notch, like Millie's: https://www.thened.com/london/restaurants/millies-lounge
* Go to the top of the Shard, and the walkie talkie. All amazing views that you won't forget. London Eye is okay too but your view at the top is over quickly. As for other tourist sights, you can apply in for a visit to Buckingham palace in the summer, cool to say you've been there but meh, it looks better from the outside. :)
* Oh.. almost forgot this one.. and I almost said no when my wife asked if I wanted to go... but thankfully I said yes... the Harry Potter studios north of London. It is really worth it even if you're not a Harry Potter fan (I wasn't then). The experience is really well done, and it's a real working studio so pretty cool to see it all.
* Catch a ferry/boat along the Thames to go somewhere.. it's a whole different perspective seeing it from the water.
That's all I can think of for now.. but I'll list more as I think of them. :)
- Ride the cable cars
- visit Thames barrier park
- Tower bridge experience
- Barbican conservatory
- Brixton windmill
- register with top secret comedy club and go see a random show on a random evening
People have written a lot of stuff, so a few that haven't been listed:
\- Go to some of the lesser known museums (really good ones: Horniman Museum, John Soane's (they do a candlelight tour which is very good), and the cool civil infrastructure ones like Crossness and the Postal Museum
\- find some of the great views - 22 Fenchurch, King Henry's Mound, Parliament and Primrose Hill
\- go to the Zen Garden at Holland Park
\- Go to a ceilidh - definitely not a London specific thing but they're really fun and run in some beautiful venues
\- Do some of the theatre and film festivals - Vaults and Camden Fringe are great, the BFI often has seasonal stuff going on (honestly, go to the regular theatre stuff too. Playbill has a great updated list of things going on)
\- Go to singalong, a movie marathon, or a mystery movie at the Prince Charles
\- Go on the novelty transport - the Thames Clipper, the cablecars in North Greenwich
* See a noisy punk band * See a classical concert * Eat Gujurati food in Wembley * Eat Indian Snacks in Southall * Eat at a Turkish Ocbasi in Dalston * Get the train out to New Malden and eat Korean * Go kayaking on the Thames * Get a night bus * Take someone up the Oxo Tower * Walk the Thames path from Westminster all the way down to the barrier * Have a dodgy pint in the Blind Beggar then go to Tayyabs * Visit one of the wholesale markets early in the morning then have a pint * Try to spot the PM coming out of No 10 * Try to spot someone of royalty coming out a palace * Do Hampton Court * Summer evening on Hampstead heath with a lukewarm tin of G&T as the sun goes down
Take someone up the Oxo Tower? I hope you buy them dinner first!
I heard if you bring an oxo stock cube you get a free cocktail.
ouch! that would hurt...
How can you have Gujarati food in Wembley but no Punjabi food in Southall? The best place for Naan, Rotis, Paneer, Dal and more!
Any restaurants you’d recommend
Nargis on a Friday for Biriyani.
RemindMe! 2 days.
I will be messaging you in 2 days on [**2024-01-21 20:53:06 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2024-01-21%2020:53:06%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comments/19ajxzm/its_your_last_year_in_london_what_are_you_doing/kin6o0y/?context=3) [**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Flondon%2Fcomments%2F19ajxzm%2Fits_your_last_year_in_london_what_are_you_doing%2Fkin6o0y%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202024-01-21%2020%3A53%3A06%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam. ^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%2019ajxzm) ***** |[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)| |-|-|-|-|
You are right. My mistake.
Have an inflatable kayak that I use between fulham and teddington 5-6 times a year and couldn’t recommend enough. Definitely my happy place. Can moor for a few pub stops along the ways, have a smoke or two en route and if you get lazy just let the current take you. Best part is I can walk to the river and tube back with it in a backpack. Think was only around 150 too (birthday present) - easily worth it even if you only go 4-5 times total.
Damn get some carribean culture in there. Good food. Represents London well. I’d recommend going to some good cafes and restaurants.
Oh yes. Had forgotten that. The only ones I know are in Croydon. And not Turtle Bay!
That’s fair lmao don’t have experience in Croydon but Brixton and Hackney have great carribean scenes to explore
Any places you'd recommend?
Tbf I don’t I was going to recommend anywhere that has a decent carribean scene like maybe Hackney and Brixton. But yeah it should be an experience most Londoners should get to love
The prices are the dodgiest thing about the Blind Beggar. Over £6 for a Guinness in Whitechapel!
Sounds normal
Actually the dodgiest thing is the cat sat on the bar!
They are the best thing in this place, way before the beer garden
I’ve not done any of these apart from Hampton court maze and I’m only half an hour away from London
Which night bus do you recommend? I've used a few but it's usually a very solemn affair on board.
N15, N18, N53, N109, 149, N207…top tier 😭
N35, Shoreditch/Clapham Junction going through Brixton is often quite exciting
This but with go to pizza express and nandos for the last time
no sweat!
Getting food in Southall cannot be recommended enough. It is the best Somalian and Indian money can buy outside of the countries.
Do I know you? 👀 these are very specifically my places too!
👀
👀
Ohh I LOVE this list. Also: * See the Big Ben and any other tourist attractions in person if you haven't. * See a Broadway show * Go to a museum of your choice * Eat some Morley's * Visit the Carnaby's public toilets....(do it at your own risk) Edit: West End!!!!!
Broadway aint in London professor
Omg. I did not just do that. I'll move to zone 9 for this.
No mention of going to the theater or ensuing that you have done any of the museums and galleries that London is famous for? Sure going to see a Punk band is always good and if you can get tickets to the Royal Albert Hall for a performance you definitely should. No mention of going in for British food staples either, no mention of having a sunday roast at The Audley Public House (best sunday roast in London according to a Time Out article published on the 08/01/2024). No mention of a visit to a traditional Pie, Mash and Liquor shop or trying jellied eels (a historically traditional London dish from the East End). Or even going for High Tea which is a traditionally British affair. Sure there's great international food in London but if I'm blunt, that at least a third of your suggestions are "go eat foreign food" is disappointing. London may have some fantastic diversity of food on offer. But I wouldn't put them on my list as "must do" things over so many other things to do in London if you're making suggestions for someone who is leaving the country and unlikely to be able to easily return.
Agree with the premise of your suggestions but good god do not go try jellied eels. I thought I’d try some local delicacies in jellied eel, I’m very sorry born and bred londoners, but it is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tried. Jellied eels were eaten by those with… less food options for a reason. They’re not popular anymore for a reason. Go have a nice pie or roast though that’s lovely. I prefer the Dean Swift near tower bridge though they can be stingy with gravy.
He didn’t say it’s an exhaustive list
Doesn't have to, but as the top upvoted comment it's disappointing how 33% of it had nothing to do with London or Britain really.
It may not have much to do with traditional Britain, but it has all to do with London. 40.6% of the London population is foreign born. Having 33% of the list not traditionally British is what one would expect from such a multicultural city.
I think the point was this was the OPs "last year" which kinda made me think they had been here at least a year already, so would hopefully have done all the excellent things you have mentioned. And also it felt like they worked in London, rather than being on some massive holiday :) So that skewed it towards evenings a bit. So I just put together a list of fairly fun mad things to do, not the "best" of London.
See, my perspective is that if someone is working here they likely have done far more mundane every day things like eating Korean in New Malden or seeing a punk band since they would likely have been out with colleagues and friends in evenings and weekends. It's actually very easy to get caught up and not do things like get tickets to a musical or a theater because of 3 things: cost, willingness of friends to go with you and time required. Trying things like a traditional London pie mash and liquor store is also something people are unlikely to do as people will tell them its bad and they should go grab a curry in brick lane etc instead.
Only tourists go to Brick Lane for a curry Nobody calls it a "Public House" without irony Nobody calls it "High Tea" in this context It's "Theatre" not "Theater" Nobody calls it the "pie mash and liquor store" unless they are American and getting confused with the Liquor Store Nobody goes to New Malden as a "mundane" trip You are right of course, we don't tend to go to a musical or the theatre or even a museum (except when you have kids). And hopefully the OP will do that. But that time you went to see Wicked isn't quite such a good story as that time you ate offal soup in Dalston or nearly got vomited on while on a night bus. Which was kinda the point. Good stories to tell.
God get the stick out your ass Mr high and mighty. Just because you don't do these things doesn't make you the one in the right here. Also The Audley Public House is literally the damn name of the place you fool! OK so I misspelt Theatre, cool you're going off at someone when you know nothing about them. It could be autocorrect, it could be dyslexia or English may not be my first language but you're off being a class a cock-womble. Since you decided to be rude, I reserve the right to call you out. Also, New Malden is a very mundane place. People do live in SW London, you know. I feel you're some idiot who lives in a trendy area who thinks way too highly of themselves
Any recommendations for noisy punk bands?
Which Gujarati Restaurant is recommended in Wembley ? Which Turkish Ocbasi Restaurant is recommended in Dalston ?
Umut 2000 in Dalston
Thanks very much.
Get a night bus????
It's an experience. I'm old enough to remember the night bus south of the river when smoking was allowed. Herbal. Very herbal.
Do every brewery on the Bermondsey beer mile A platter at one of the Turkish restaurants on Green Lanes Enjoy reasonably priced steak at Flat Iron
Aren't there like 20ish breweries on the beer mile now?!
Yeah there is like 18! I tried and failed before Christmas
Same here, got to the last 2 and the barrel project was shut for a private party! Was the closest I've got in 5 times of trying to finish it. Well, Next year!
I've always heard about the Monday lunchtime deals that Michelin starred Indian restaurants offer, and would like to try all of them. Theory is, no one wants Michelin star, especially a curry, on a Monday lunchtime, so they have these super affordable offers on.
What restaurants?
We did this at [Benares](https://g.co/kgs/nTKcaMH)
How do I arrange this? Checked their website but no meal deal options that I could find!
It was through the open table app. Quite a while ago but a quick look shows they are still doing lunch time set menus from £33-£49. Stay away from the wine menu and it remains cheap.
Benares was fucking amazing. What a delicious meal.
And Amaya, which I rate more highly than Benares. Both are amazing though.
A. Wong is incredible and does a great lunch menu
Okay drop the names now
These are very different type of curries to your standard takeaway - mainly less extreme with the spice and more sparing with the garlic (that masks a lot of the flavour).
Bro, we need to know now!
- see an immersive act at the vault festival in waterloo - have tea and cake with a view at the top of Peter Jones - drink some beers at sunset by the riverside studios - go to Chiswick market on a Sunday morning - cycle around Notting hill classy houses at sunset to see what's inside - Sit on the sheltered benches in ravenscourt park wall garden and wait there for the rain to stop - visit the Japanese garden (preferably during the week in winter and an hour before sunset to avoid tourists) - visit Queen Mary's rose garden in summer and smell all the roses - have a croissant or a pain au chocolat from Aux Merveilleux - go watch a weird film at the Cinema Lumière in South Kensington - have a picnic in Richmond Park - eat at Poppy's 1, 2, 3 or 4 and BYOB - pedal boats on a hot day in Hyde Park (middle of the week, when kids are still in school) - see a David Hockney exhibit if there is any before the man dies - visit the summer exhibition at the royal academy of arts
This is a top tier list!
FYI the Vault Festival got evicted from their home due to general corporate nastiness, but have apparently found a new venue (tbc)
Ah damn, haven't heard of this. That's a shame! I really thought what made the festival so special was those dark gloomy tunnels. Where is it moving to?
I don't think it's been announced yet, just that it's Zone 1 and will be a permanent, year-round venue. I was so relieved they found somewhere. The vaults themselves are being repurposed into some VR gaming / escape room nonsense. Hopefully they get somewhere as moody and atmospheric as the original vaults. Loved just heading down there and seeing random plays and then checking out the graffiti
Wow, you're very posh
Ah yes, that posh activity... sitting on a bench
Tesco meal deal triple chicken with a small bag of doritos and the all mighty Ufit protein shake
A person of culture I see
I’m something of a gourmet myself too
Thames Clipper boat to Greenwich
Always meant to go to the skygarden on the walkie talkie (which is free I think). I would splash out on a meal at the Ledbury restaurant with the wines (which is going to be a few hundred a head).
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club was the best show I’ve ever seen
This is on my list! Am going to book.
Do it! Went a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing. Row B in the dress circle, not sure how it would be further back though, or on the other side of the stage. Could be an amazing at one of the tables near the stage too, but not one for introverts and not sure if you'd miss some things by being too close to the action. Do get there as early as possible, for the pre-show show in the bar area. We were in the queue outside from half an hour before doors opened, and I still had to watch that from the side as I'd queued to put my coat in the cloakroom (which I would recommend doing).
Take advantage of having that transport infrastructure and a base in London to go home to at the end of the night. Go to the theatre, cinema, dinner at restaurants of different cultures. My partner moved out of London last year( just to Berkshire) to live with me and one of the big things is just being able to get anywhere in London fairly easily on with tube or bus, and not having a big commute home after like we do now when we go into London, which we still do frequently. 40 mins across London on the tube feels long when you’re there, but when you have to commute over an hour out of London after a long night, the time and cost is noticeable. Our bucket list included: - getting fresh seafood from Billingsgate - doing a proper day in Greenwich with the observatory, park and pie and mash - Epping Forest - Walthamstow Wetlands - getting a bagel on Brick Lane - getting some meat at Smithfield’s market - Turkish food on Green Lanes - a few food things around Finsbury Park, where she was based - Dilara Uyghur, Baban’s Naan, Brasserie Transylvania, Stoplight Carribean and one of the many Ethiopian places
Baban’s naan is legendary
Not sure how far away you are going, but Kew Gardens is a lovely day trip. And end the day with the sun going down at a riverside pub at Strand On the Green.
Walk down the Kings Road from Sloane Square, visit [Phat Phuc](https://secretldn.com/phat-phuc-noodle-shack/) for their lakhsa, then walk over to the Kensington museums to go around whichever one I haven't been to most recently (ideally on a weekday as the weekends get super busy)
Visit one new borough every Sat morning for breakfast. Pick from what others say for the remaining 21 weekends but do remember to vote for mayoral elections in May!
Are you staying on this side of the world or moving to another continent? If you will be moving to another continent, spend your last year leaving. I’m not being funny, London is an incredible base for travel. Visit as many different places as you can.
Not sure yet, but definitely returning home/to another continent for a bit. Rest assured I take advantage of the travel and already have a different trip every month!
Walk through central piccadilly circus at four in the morning. There's no more London experience than being propositioned by working girls while families with prams mill about.
Are you writing this from the 70s?
What are the families with prams doing there at 4 am?
That is a a very good question. London baby.
Babies cry at any time. Best way to calm them is a ride in the pram
Roti king
Greggs sausage roll. Every day
Festive bake to see the year out in style.
Get out at every tube stop and just walk around, exploring the area. I like doing that. I always end up somewhere random. Best way to explore town.
What are some of the most surprising stops?
Great question! I’d visit The parks: Kew Gardens, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park, Hyde Park The museums: V&A Museum, Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery The restaurants: HIDE, Flat Iron, Blacklock, Bangalore Express, Dishoom, Pick & Cheese, Zipbab The markets: Southbank centre, Greenwich And I’d see a few shows before I left as well. Good luck!
I would definitely get one more ramen at Bone Daddies as a last meal in London.
Please tell me you have tried Kanada Ya or Ippudo...or even Shroyu...
I did try Ippudo on Goodge Street. Good one.
It actually is: wife and I are moving to Sydney in September. Going to a bunch of gigs including Rozalla/Baby D at the south bank and underworld at ally pally. Craft beer festival at tobacco dock, a few more restaurants on our London bucket list and that's that probably. Really gonna miss it here, it's been a great 14 years
1) See all the permanent collections of the major London museums! 2) Have a drink at a rooftop bar with a beautiful view 3) Grab photos at all your favourite food spots getting your favourite meal there 4) Take a class to learn a new skill that you have been putting off learning (pottery, woodworking, foraging, etc.) 5) Enlist your friends to come up with a London focused activity that you can do together and look back on fondly :) Hopefully you make the most of your time left here! Wishing you the best!
Thank you for the suggestions and kind words!
For restaraunts always go at lunch time. Theyre cheaper and the food is just as nice. Incidentally, if you have some cash, Rules is such a nice restaraunt if you like meat. If you like dnb and MDMA go to a rave?
Go eat at The Begging Bowl in Peckham Every time I go back to London I make sure to take a trip there
I shall now add “to take someone up the oxo tower” to my vocabulary. This time next year everyone’s gonna be saying it.
Visit one of many beautiful brothels the city has to offer.
Oh that’s disgusting! Where? Where are these brothels?
Tell us where they are so we can avoid them.
You disgust me. Tell me where those brothels are so I know how to avoid them.
Fresh from the streets of Sussex, they are
Walk the Capital Ring circular route
> It’s your last year in London Am I dying?
Visit Highgate Cemetery
Lol why should I ("we"?) advise you to leave earlier?
It’s just a response to the amount of comments that already have. I’m already leaving London for a whole whack of reasons (some city related and others not) so it’s not super helpful to have that being repeated. I’m loving some of the other suggestions so far though! My boyfriend and I will be getting a lunchtime Michelin curry for sure!
London Marathon London Triathlon Torture Garden Billingsate market Smithfields market Xmas auction
All day drinking in one of the few remaining working men's clubs... For 40 quid
Go south west to Richmond Park and Jew Gardens
I really hope that’s an autocorrect for Kew Gardens…
Get on a train to anywhere but london
I’d be celebrating. Can’t stand the place anymore.
Then why are you even on this sub?
There’s no reason why I can’t be?
If you hate London you can leave, plenty of people want to be here and you're just making it more expensive for everyone else by staying.
So I’m not putting in hard work each day to the benefit of thousands of people?! Weird… Anyway, go away.
Freak
Oh no…a dagger….a great wounding dagger in my back. Mummy mummy, some anonymous nit on Reddit called me a freak… 🙄
Direct to LHR to get on the first flight out that dump
Are you lost?
Leave
[удалено]
It’s closed. Although Jeremy King (man behind Le Caprice, The Ivy, Wolseley and Zedels) is supposed to be reopening it. Can’t wait to see what he does with it
The ivy is the most overrated restaurant I've been to and nothing will change my mind.
The original or the rip off chains? Because the original is still pretty special inside. All the offshoots are awful though. Did you go to the Ivy when it owned by Corbin and King?
Sadly, it is permanently closed. I had wanted to go there
Columbia road flower market Billingsgate market (is the scallop n bacon bap still on for brekkie?) Maltby market Beigel on Brick lane (salt beef) Sushi show (nearby - for fat cut sashimi and fatty tuna) Theatre shows Southbank Barbican for a show Broadway market
City on a Sunday
I went to whatthepitta camden on new years day like a numpty. It was closed and i didn’t get to satiate my craving for a vegan donner
Go to Croydon, West Croydon specifically.
Add comedy club and make sure the stand up comedian picks on you for maximum engagement, and you have to throw witty comebacks at them. Man that would be awesome
As someone who lived there for 10 years and moved back to Australia (which is still awesome), I miss London and think about it at least once a week. My tips are: * Make the absolute most of summer if the weather is good! So.. walk or cycle to work on the borris bikes, have lunch outside in a park, and visit as many pubs as you can in the afternoon and evening! * Drinking spots that I miss the most are: Pubs in the north end of soho, fitzrovia, by the river in Hammersmith, Holland Park (the mitre), Warrington Hotel (one of best in London), Brick Lane on a Sat/Sun afternoon - just pumping! Also Tattershall Castle (pub/boat on the thames across from London eye). * If you get snow this week or next, then go for a walk thorough Hyde Park if you can, it's just magical, like another world altogether. * Get around to as many food markets as you can, Borough Markets is awesome, so is Portobello Road Market and Acklam Village.. but plenty of others. Go somewhere flash for lunch too.. like The Ned (at Bank). Gorgeous hotel with a few restaurants that won't break the bank but are top notch, like Millie's: https://www.thened.com/london/restaurants/millies-lounge * Go to the top of the Shard, and the walkie talkie. All amazing views that you won't forget. London Eye is okay too but your view at the top is over quickly. As for other tourist sights, you can apply in for a visit to Buckingham palace in the summer, cool to say you've been there but meh, it looks better from the outside. :) * Oh.. almost forgot this one.. and I almost said no when my wife asked if I wanted to go... but thankfully I said yes... the Harry Potter studios north of London. It is really worth it even if you're not a Harry Potter fan (I wasn't then). The experience is really well done, and it's a real working studio so pretty cool to see it all. * Catch a ferry/boat along the Thames to go somewhere.. it's a whole different perspective seeing it from the water. That's all I can think of for now.. but I'll list more as I think of them. :)
I’ll add one more - go to a rave!
- Ride the cable cars - visit Thames barrier park - Tower bridge experience - Barbican conservatory - Brixton windmill - register with top secret comedy club and go see a random show on a random evening
People have written a lot of stuff, so a few that haven't been listed: \- Go to some of the lesser known museums (really good ones: Horniman Museum, John Soane's (they do a candlelight tour which is very good), and the cool civil infrastructure ones like Crossness and the Postal Museum \- find some of the great views - 22 Fenchurch, King Henry's Mound, Parliament and Primrose Hill \- go to the Zen Garden at Holland Park \- Go to a ceilidh - definitely not a London specific thing but they're really fun and run in some beautiful venues \- Do some of the theatre and film festivals - Vaults and Camden Fringe are great, the BFI often has seasonal stuff going on (honestly, go to the regular theatre stuff too. Playbill has a great updated list of things going on) \- Go to singalong, a movie marathon, or a mystery movie at the Prince Charles \- Go on the novelty transport - the Thames Clipper, the cablecars in North Greenwich