Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

During the day people bring their laptops or books and work, read and drink coffee sprawled over one of the many mismatched sofas or lounge chairs. At night tea candles are lit and hot drinks are swapped for alcoholic drinks as people unwind and meet friends in what was once the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane (check the Brick Lane article). In summertime, people swamp to the outside picnic benches and the alleyway, though there is always a lovely cosy feel inside.

The boho and versatile venue opens at a very early 06:00 for breakfast and soups, jacket potatoes and sandwiches are on offer for lunch and dinner. Live music attracts a younger crowd with indie bands on Tuesday and jazz on Wednesday. Bands play in the smaller room at the back on Sunday and a dj spins tunes on Friday and Saturday.

Cocktails made with fresh fruit are available on the weekend and all year round you can grab a burger or corn on the cob from the grill stand outside. Tables and benches outside in front are great for people watching or smoking.

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Café 1001 | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks, Restaurants (intern.)
1 Dray walk, 91 Brick Lane | East | +442072479679
Mon – Sat 06:00 – 00:00, Sun 06:00 – 23:30

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

Abeno Too is a fantastic find in the centre of London next to Leicester Square tube station. The small restaurant has a few tables but the best seat is at the large circular bar. While most people associate Japanese food with sushi, Abeno Too serves the other side of the cuisine. You won’t have heard of many dishes, but that’s part of what makes this sweet simply decorated restaurant so intriguing.

Their specialty is the delicious ‘Okonomi-yaki’, a savoury pancake made of cabbage, egg, dough, spring onions, ginger and a ‘tempura’ batter. You can choose extra ingredients such as tofu or prawn, and it’s fried right in front of you on metal hot grills.

They also have a great selection of hot and cold sake which is served in a ‘masu’, a traditional wooden box. The staff are very friendly and welcoming, and eager to advise on food choices and answer questions.

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Abeno Too | Snacks, Restaurants (Japanese) | Prawn Okonomi-yaki £ 9.80
17-18 Great Newport Street | Central | +442073791160
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 23:00, Sun 12:00 – 22:00

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

Little Bay calls itself a bistro, which fits well with the cosy tavern-like setting. The décor is faux royal – gold painted banisters and ornate picture frames are ubiquitous. But there is no pretension. Red dripping candles in wine bottles adorn every table and copies of centuries’ old masterpieces have been lacquered on to the tabletops.

The layout of the restaurant is very unique. There are semi-hidden tables, some which are suspended in the air with their own staircase. You can find very intimate seating and romantic coves, but also open wooden booths. There are two other larger rooms attached next door so the restaurant can accommodate large groups.

While the atmosphere is great – the place was packed on a Thursday night – the food is even better. Or perhaps the price of the food is. If you dine before 7pm a two-course meal only sets you back a measly £7.50. Dishes range from pan-fried fillet of salmon with crashed new potatoes and avocado coriander salsa to char-grilled lamb steak with honey-glazed vegetables and green peppercorn sauce. There are plenty of vegetarian options too.

There are four Little Bay restaurants in London. Check out their website for more information.

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Little Bay Kilburn | Restaurants (European) | Pan-fried fillet of salmon £ 5.25
228 Belsize Rd | North-West | +442073724699
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 00:00, Sun 12:00 – 23:00

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

If visiting Queen’s Park and need a big breakfast to cure your hangover, Jack’s is the perfect spot. It’s a small café in the style of an American diner which serves all-day breakfasts, sandwiches, burgers, soups and salads. What makes Jack’s stand out from most cafes is the bottomless cups of coffee and tea; only a handful of places across London offer it.

Thick ice-cream milkshakes, pancakes made from imported batter mix and real maple syrup make it distinctively Yankee and it’s no wonder, as the owner’s wife is half American. At night candles are lit, alcohol is served and burgers, salads and daily specials are served. It has recently expanded to include a back room and also currently has a patio which is one of the area’s highlights in the summer.

The prices are reasonable and the location, just down the road from Queen’s Park means you can walk off your fry-up in a picturesque setting.

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Jack’s | Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Breakfast) | English breakfast £ 4.95
101 Salusbury Road | North-West | +442076248925
Mon – Fri 07:00 – late, Sat 08:00 – late, Sun 09:00 – late

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

An unlikely spot for a bar, at midnight the small back room of this kebab shop turns into a venue for drinking and live music. When hordes of hungry post-pub drinkers pile into the fast-food joint for a late-night burger, the ones in the know are sat in the back, in a dark cavernous room with an old cabin feel and a ceiling that drips with mini stalactites.

Drinks are simple – beer or spirits & mixer, and reused Jack Daniels bottles turned candle holders set the mood in this cosy bar. The musical line-up includes live jazz every Friday and Saturday and rock & roll the rest of the week.

I was highly skeptical when my friends first dragged me through the grease-covered take away stop, but now I’m a convert. Once you’ve gone, you feel just a little special – and will be eager to show others this marvelous disguised drinking hole.

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Marathon | Bars, Music | Gin & tonic £ 3.00
87 Chalk Farm Road | North-West | +442074853814
Sun – Thu 00:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 00:00 – 03:00

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

On a street in Kensal Rise where there are four Indian restaurants practically next to each other, Bawarchi stands out as the top quality contender. Recently reopened after being redesigned into a sleeker and seemingly more upmarket restaurant, but the prices hardly reflect it. I ate here with another person and we each had a drink and the total was only £24. We ate vegetarian, but still, the prices are very low for the quality of the food.

I recommend the Begun Fry, whole baby aubergine cooked whole in a spicy tomato and onion sauce. Their Bhindi Jeera, stir-fried okra with cumin seeds and onions is the greenest okra I’ve seen in an Indian restaurant. Usually you can’t distinguish the vegetable due to overcooking and excess sauce. Their side rice dishes are delicious. The garlic rice has fresh and cooked pieces of garlic with onions and spices.

The service is fast and mains range from a reasonable £4 to £10. No wonder they were a winner of the Archant London Food & Drink awards in 2008 for best restaurant.

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Bawarchi | Restaurants (Indian) | Begun Fry – vegetable side £ 2.50
68 Chamberlayne Road | North-West | +442089609608
Sun – Thu 12:00 – 14:30 & 18:00 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 12:00 – 14:30 & 18:00 – 00:30

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

At the top of China Town is London’s best cinema. The prices are less than the outrageously priced Hollywood junk shown in Leicester square and the venue is so welcoming people hang out here without even watching a film. The Soho Curzon is part of a chain of five similar cinemas, though my personal favourite is the Soho edition as it’s the most central and the layout is most inviting.

At street level a retro-styled café has over 20 different pastries and cakes and serves hot soup, coffees and organic wines. Downstairs a spacious bar is adorned with brown leather sofas you sink down into and tables where you can find people having pre-movie drinks, post-movie chats or just enjoying the artsy atmosphere.

The three cinemas in the basement show a selection of art house independent and less commercial titles. The Soho Curzon regularly hosts Q&A sessions with film directors and script writers along with special previews. Film festivals and a monthly quiz are also on the agenda.

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Soho Curzon | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Ticket £ 12.00
99 Shaftesbury Avenue | Central | +448717033988
Box office 11:00 – 21:00 daily | Bar 11:00 – 23:00 daily

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Image by Kake

Just off the bustling Oxford Street is Hari Krishna run Govinda, a delicious and healthy vegetarian Indian cafe. While there are posters everywhere inviting you to “join the party”, luckily there is no other type of religious propositioning, and the focus is just on delicate flavours and fresh food.

Aside from the salad bar, food ranges from veggie or paneer (Indian cheese) burgers to onion bhajis, mango lassis and sesame covered spinach rolls. The best deal is the Thali though. Thalis are a selection of little dishes on a tray. For £7.50 you can choose two curries, a rice, bread roll or popadoms and sweet chutney.

Service is efficient and fast and the place offers a nice respite from the chaotic nature of London’s biggest shopping street.

Picture by Kake Pugh

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Govinda Restaurant | Snacks, Restaurants (Indian) | Thali £ 7.50
9-10 Soho Street | Central | +442074374928
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 20:00

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

Brick Lane offers a multitude of choice in terms of bars and nightlife but Casa Blue sticks out, not least because of all the fairy lights and candles glowing from within.

A lacquered wooden panel of peacocks is hung next to a watercolour painting of a naval fleet. 50′s memorabilia is plastered wearily to the wall. While the predominantly red kitsch bric-a-brac decor means your eyes don’t know where to settle, the kooky collection of plastic chandeliers, hanging baubles and blinking strings of light make a unique setting.

Even though the music ranges anywhere from the Beatles to Manu Chau, the tunes are familiar and well-chosen. There are comfy plus sofas and yummy cocktails. Food is also available. While the menu is limited, the house specialty comes in platter form – international mezze for two or more people. For only £5 each, sharing platters come with a selection of hot and cold tapas and you can choose Mediterranean, Indian or Greek cuisine.

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Casa Blue | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks | Cocktail £ 6.00
228 Brick Lane | East
Sun – Thu 12:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 12:00 – 03:00

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

This Brick Lane (check Brick Lane article) staple has been around for years, and serves as a remnant of the area’s Jewish past. While the bakery is not somewhere you would want to hang out long for – the bright white lights give it a clinical feel – the bagels are ridiculously cheap and very tasty, so it’s worth a visit.

A bagel and cream cheese will only set you back a mere £1 and they are made the proper way, by boiling then baking, creating the dense chewy consistency which is so more-ish. This makes a much welcomed change from most bagel store chains, who essentially serve bread rolls with a hole in the middle. Other fillings include smoked salmon, chopped herring and hot salt beef. Donuts and pastries are also made fresh daily.

Service is super quick and it’s open 24 hours, so after a night out on Brick Lane you can wander in for a bite, and find throngs of like-minded party-goers doing the same.

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Beigel Bake | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Bagel cream cheese £ 1.00
159 Brick Lane | East
24 hours daily

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