We packed a lot of eating and walking into our taste of London in 44 hours. Highlights were the Borough Market, Portobello Road and the Tate Modern.
London Calling
London called, and we answered. Our visit was short and left us wanting more. We got a sampling of the burgeoning food scene, and we got a taste of London in just 44 hours.
London does not have a long history of culinary excellence. The late comedian Bill Hicks referred to London as the land of fairies and elves and as a place where you can eat boiled pizza. Our goal was to find out if things had changed.
Taste of London Day One – Notting Hill, Meat Pies, Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben and Indian Food
On day one, we strolled down Portobello Road in Notting Hill where we ate Ginger Pig meat pies at the cocktail bar Portobello Star. Not surprisingly, the pies went went down quite easily with some beer and cider.
Portobello Road Tea Pots
Portobello Road Stand
Ginger Pig Meat Pie
Cheers!
We walked a lot, as we always do, and saw Piccadilly Circus and Big Ben.
First Peek of Big Ben
Big Ben
Parliament on the Thames
We ended the day by meeting friends Russell and Mandy for some vegetarian curry before we crashed due to jet lag.
Nan
Taste of London Day Two – Borough Market, Neal’s Yard Dairy, the Tate Modern and Pubs
Day two started late due to jet lag but was full nonetheless. We spent three hours grazing our way through the Borough Market, a world-class emporium right at the London Bridge tube station. This market is over 1,000 years old but has come into its own during the past ten years. Cheeses, meats, vegetables and all kind of treats now abound in a wonderfully overwhelming way.
Borough Market Entrance
Borough Market Map
Raclette
Cheeses
Meringues
English Muffins in England
Potted Meats Dude
Tamarillos
Tomatoes
Juices
Ostrich Eggs
Meat Pies
Meat on a Stick
Daryl Enjoying Meat on a Stick
Pimm’s O’Clock
Curries
Music at the Market
Mushy Peas
Oyster Shucker
Oysters
Wild Oregano
Mindi Enjoying Greedy Goat Ice Cream
We also visited Neal’s Yard Dairy right near the Borough Market to check out some of the finest cheese produced in Great Britain and the world. We were pleasantly surprised to bump into DiBruno’s cheesemonger, Matt Shankle. Since DiBruno’s is just blocks from our house in Philadelphia, it truly is a small world.
Neal’s Yard Dairy
Cheese Shower
Cheese Counter
Neal’s Yard Dairy Cheese Selection
Stinking Bishop Cheese
The Rake
After some tasty Kernel beers at the Rake (said to be the smallest pub in London), we got our art on at the Tate Modern where we saw the special Edvard Munch exhibit.
Tate Modern Art
Picasso at the Tate Modern
Millenium Bridge
View of the Shard Building from the Millennium Bridge
A short, drizzly walk over the Millennium Bridge took us to Fleet Street’s Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a pub that was rebuilt in 1666 and was frequented by Charles Dickens, for a couple of pre-dinner pints of Samuel Smith beers from the tap.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Sign
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub
Empty Glasses
Cheers!
We met up with friends and awesome hosts Gregg and Sylva at a neighborhood spot called the Mitre, We ended our too-brief visit with fish & chips, braised lamb shoulder and sticky toffee pudding.
Braised Lamb Shoulder with Peas and Pearl Onions
Fish and Chips
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Enjoying Sticky Toffee Pudding
Two things we know for sure: London’s food scene is happening, and we will be back soon.
Our taste of London in 44 hours wasn’t enough! We have so much more we want to do both with both food and culture, not to mention the 30 Free London Attractions on the The Trusted Traveller site. Maybe we’ll take an Eating London food tour to experience some of the best London food. What other suggestions do you have for our next trip to London?
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Comments
Travel well, remember some of us are getting our vicarious travel thrills this way. Cheesemonger. What a great word.
Great photos! That lamb looked devine. And the aroma of all that cheese must have been amazing.
Great photos! That lamb looked devine.
Makes me want to jump on a plane – NOW!
“Bill Hicks referred to London as the land of fairies and elves and as a place where you can eat boiled pizza.” 😀 Boiled pizza? Hmmm. :/
I really love this great little post you’ve written about my hometown and I really agree with lots of your foodie recommendations on here!!
What a great post, I always love to try new foods in the cities we visit. I will have to take your recommendations and make sure i taste all of these things while in London!
I have lived in England for 8 years. I used to occasionally shop at the Borough market – I could even find Sardinian produce there 🙂
No post about London would be complete without the word ‘drizzle’! It’s a shame you didn’t have longer, but I’m pleased that London left you wanting more 🙂
I only discovered Borough Market a couple of months ago. I’d heard great things about it and I wasn’t dissapointed! There’s so much food there and I can’t wait to go back on my next visit 🙂
If you only had a couple of days in London, you definitely picked two great things to do – Borough Market and Neal’s Yard. I’ve been in London now 17 years and the food scene is definitely happening! Not so much when I got here but in the last 10 years – very much so!
Wow you fitted a lot in! Coffee and cake have transformed in London too next time there are some excellent cafes to be found near the museum’s.