London is a city that has an endless selection of Restaurants, Coffeehouses, Pubs and Bars. Since there are simply too many to choose from, I will share my ten favorite spots for Food and Drinks of all those that I have discovered through all my London visits.
1. Farm Girl (£)
59A Portobello Rd
Mo-Fr 8:30AM–4:30PM
Sa & Su 9AM–6PM
Farm Girl is my favourite spot for breakfast. Two years ago, a friend of mine (that lives in London) showed me this place after raving on about all their healthy and delicious food options. I fell in love with the avocado toast and I am the biggest avocado toast lover ever since. But whenever I try to make one myself or eat one in an other restaurants, it never seems to be as good as the one you get at Farm Girl, they must use the freshest avocados out there. The toasted bread is generously filled with avocado, pomegranates and if you want; even a poached egg. Their healthy pancakes on the other hand, are something I can not recommend, since pancakes aren’t supposed to be healthy :-P and mainly because I don’t like the taste of buckwheat. I went to the Farm Girl located in the beautiful Notting Hill, but they also opened on two other locations. I prefer Notting Hill because not only this restaurant, but the entire area is one perfect picture-spot and very instagrammable.
2. Boki (£)
20 Earlham St
Mo- Fr 9AM–9:30PM (Fr until 10PM)
Sa 10AM–10PM
Su 11AM–6PM
Boki is another cute place that we discovered during our stay in London. Located in Covent Garden, this Coffee Shop is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and also serves as a cocktail bar in the evenings. This place has a wonderful atmosphere, beautiful interior and is usually not too crowded. It is simply the best place to go to when you are looking for a place to relax from this vibrating city. They have a lot of healthy food options on their menu and freshly brewed (delicious) coffee. I recommend the ‘Eggs Florentine Bagel’.
3. Fabrique Bakery (£)
8 Earlham St
Mo-Fr 8AM-8PM
Sa & Su 9:30AM-6:30 PM
There are in three different locations in London, we went to the one in Covent Garden, very close to the Boki Coffee House. You can start your visit by marveling at their delicious cinnamon buns right through their big windows. This place is rather small, since it mainly serves as a bakery, but still welcomes you to stay. The whole decoration gives it a french vibe and, in my opinion, gives it a very lovely and soothing atmosphere. I won’t necessarily say that the coffee is worth trying but I can definitely recommend the cinnamon buns.
4. Peggys Porschen Cakes (££)
116 Ebury St, Belgravia
Mo-Su 8AM-8PM
Peggy Porschen Cakes is probably the most famous food spot in London. This cute pink house attracts not only tourists but also locals and just about everyone that is walking by. When you have a sweet tooth, this is the place to go. From layered cakes, cupcakes and cookies to macaroons, the selection for something sweet is endless and I am sure they have something for everyone. This is a place where you get to have the feeling of sitting in an actual, and quite cute, doll house while having some tea with your cake (yes, it is the other way around). FYI: depending on the time you decide to go, the queue for a seat might get very long.
5. Il Tetto (£££)
400 Oxford Street
Mo-We 11:30AM-9:00PM
Do-Sa 11:30AM-10PM
Su 12-6PM
This restaurant is on the roof of the Selfridges on Oxford St. and is the best place for a typical London Afternoon Tea experience. It simply is a great place to relax after a full day of shopping. The decoration are put up according to the seasons, which makes you fall in love with this place even more. As if that wasn’t enough, you also have quite a nice view over the city centre. Afternoon Tea is rather expensive so I won’t say that this is a cheap experience, but it is definitely more affordable than other famous Afternoon Tea restaurants like Sketch or the Palm Court.
6. Duck & Waffle (£££)
Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate
open: 24h
Duck and Waffle is the restaurant you go to for the best view over the city (apart from the Shard). This restaurants/bar is located in the 40th floor and comes with an incredible view over London and a close up look upon the Gherkin tower. This restaurants is open 24/7 which means you can head there for coffee ans breakfast in the morning, but also go for drinks in the evening or to get through a sleepless night. As their name would suggest, they are famous for their waffles. Don’t forget to make a reservation if you want to have a meal in the restaurant otherwise you will end up waiting, rushing or just disappointed. It is a far more expensive place to eat then the rest of my tips, but you are mainly coming (paying) for the view and it is therefore worth the experience. FYI: the coffee is exceptionally good.
7. Big Chill King’s Cross (£)
257-259 Pentonville Rd
Su-We 11AM-12AM
Th 11AM-1AM
Fr & Sa 11AM-3AM
The Big Chill on King’s Cross is a great place for drinks and a night-out with friends. It is a restaurant/bar with a rooftop terrace that turns into a club at night complete with dance floor, DJ and everything. During the day you can come for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
8. Bar Topolski (£)
150-152 Concert Hall Approach
Su-We 4PM-11PM
Thu 4PM-12PM
Fr 4PM-1AM
Sa 12PM-1AM
Located very close to the London Eye, this bar/restaurant is great for drinks with friends and colleagues after work. The industrial design makes for a very cool atmosphere and it is no wonder that this place gets really busy at night. I recommend popping by after a walk trough the city, it is just across the bridge in front of the London Eye.
9. The Salisbury (£)
90 St Martin’s Ln
11AM-11PM
When you are in London, you also need to visit a typical London Pub. There are plenty of those all over the city and the two I recommend are located in the Covent Garden area, right across from each other, the Salisbury Pub and the:
10. Mr. Fogg’s Tavern (£)
58 St Martin’s Lane
12-11:30PM
We had drinks in the Salisbury Pub and went for a Sunday Roast in the Mr. Foggs Tavern. Both these Pubs are very affordable (for London standards) and beautifully decorated, which makes for a very cozy and typical London Pub atmosphere. (Check out the toilets, not kidding, in the Mr. Foggs Tavern)
Apart from these cool places, there are also 4 franchises that I am going to recommend, but only as a bonus (since nobody likes a top 14). You can check out these places not just in London, but in other cities (even countries) as well. Go to Joe and the Juice for the best and cheapest coffee in town, Chipotle for an incredible burrito experience, Shake Shack for cheese fries and a delicious shroom burger and for my all time favourite pizza go to Dominos (which also happens to be the most affordable one)