england :: london :: general

[mike lowrey]

Hey guys I'm new to Sufu but have been following some threads for awhile. I'm going to London in March and staying at the New Linden Hotel in Bayswater for about a week. Anything good to do around there? I've only been to London once but for 2 days only. Thanks.

¨

are you looking for something specifically around there..? I dont think theres anything that exciting really, just hop on the tube.

What about live music, is there an online gig guide /ticket outlet to check out?

http://www.timeout.com/london/

[123ok]

what do people think of barfly and the macbeth? I was thinking of might going to see Rubies but they are playing two days at the macbeth and barfly. is there any difference in what i choose?

http://www.myspace.com/rubies

[trustnoone]

I've canceled the guesthouse in walthamstow ... now I stay in kensington. just a few pounds more but in zone 1 ... I think it's better.

do you know if a oystercard or a 7-day ticket is cheaper?

[sybaritical]

Good choice, Kensington is great for central london and transport is so much easier.

Oyster cards are cheaper, though you gotta be sure to touch in and out even when the gates are open or your money will disappear doublequick.

[readytoignite]

bumping this back up - heading over next weekend and staying in south kensington. already planning on hitting up soho for some uk exclusives (bmr, size?, jd, dsm, etc) - any recommendations on grime / dubstep parties (or where to find used records of the same type now that reckless is closed), crazy discounts on c&j handgrades, good casual eateries where you can lunch alone, etc, etc would be much appreciated. fwiw i'm in nyc (anyone looking for similar advice coming over feel free to drop a line)... thanks in advance

[123ok]

i dont know how casual you want it but we've sometimes eaten at wagamama as it's not expensive but it can be pretty hit or miss foodwise while the atmosphere is...annoying.. i've also enjoyed eating at some cafe called bento box(i think) up in camden whenever going to jazz cafe where they had good service and their gyoza were pretty good too. And I normally try to take a stop at maison bertaux to have a slice of cake which are great. I'm pretty sure the locals like t.highstreet can give you alot better info on eating and everything else.

[fre-co]

Fuck wagamama, that place is hell.

What sort of food do you want?

In Soho, if you like Japanese food there is a place called Donzoko on kingley street which is not bad... just around the corner from Size?

Near south Kensington on Kings road there is a place called The Big Easy where you can see how the English do American food.

Also on Kings road there is the Stockpot which is hella cheap and decent enough english/italian/cafe type food.

Good Japanese food can be had at Sakana-tei on Maddox street round the corner from Oxford circus.

There is a fucking great old-school wood panelled english restaurtant on Jermyn street, pretty much opposite C&J if you want to spend some money and lord it up.

C&J handgrades can be had at discount in their factory shop but you have to travel all the way to Northampton for it only on a Friday or Saturday morning and it can be hiit and miss there.

I have no clue about grime/dubstep but there are some decent record shops around Berwick street in Soho and around Portabello road.

[seraphim]

blackmarket records in soho, in the basement for dubstep.

and http://ilovefwd.com/

[readytoignite]

thanks to all for the tips... already had bmr (and uptown) on the list, i'm annoyingly missing fwd because i'm taking the redeye and landing on saturday morning. portobello is a little out of the way and from my vague recollection it was mostly a couple of record & tape joints which have a low digging to gold ratio?

i'm not too particular about the kind of restaurant as long as it's good - i meant casual / quick because i'll spending most of the time jet-lagged and trying to fit as much shopping as possible on saturday before i crash... from past experience i'll get so tired i'll just pop into a pret or random curry place which can be a little dispiriting. it just occured to me that chowhound has overseas boards but in the meantime your recs have been / will be noted with gratitude... if it helps i would definitely stop by st john bread and wine if i were that way. btw i had no idea that japanese places were so popular in london.

that jermyn place sounds appealing although not enough to double my luggage to carry real clothes!

[fre-co]

This place in soho (near BMR etc) gets good reviews if you like some Carribean food. http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/11005.html

I go to cafe Italia in soho for some of the only decent italian coffee in london, with a 50's machine and some good cakes. There is fairly decent italian pizza place that is cheap called italian graffiti nearby too.

Again pricey but well reviewed is Lindsay House in soho, but thats proper eating out. The chef is a famous Northern Irish guy who uses a lot of local stuff and does some stunning food. If you like St Johns bread and wine type joints.....

Portobello had/has a few good spots but it's rare to get great stuff. I didn't know reckless had disappeared from Berwick street, but I always thought it was over priced there anyway.

[mike lowrey]

the new Mr Jerks ("original") is nice, the old place had a better vibe (old and crammed up), but the food at the new one is equally good.

[Kelvin1000]

some random London info....

best curry house in london is the Lahore Kebab House off Commercial Rd near Aldgate East tube.... and its bring your own alcohol (theres an off-license next door).

agree that Donzoko on Kingley St is great...laidback and cheap. Salmon Sashimi and the salmon rice balls are fantastic.

record shops - in Soho, Berwick St is good, - Sister Ray, Vinyl Junkies...for dance theres and place called Phonica near Blackmarket records. Also Sounds of the Universe (i think thats the name - formally Soul Jazz and headquarters of that label) its opposite Agent Provocateur. The Endurance is a great pub on Berwick St and great people watching on a Saturday when the Vege market is in full flow.

in Portobello there is Rough Trade on Talbot Rd...and theres a bigger Rough Trade on Drays Walk near Spitalfields....there are also loads of decent independant shops around the whole Spitalfields/Brick Lane area plus some good boozers for a pint or ten....incl Ten Bells opp the market and another one just up the road towards shoreditch house.

Camden.... the Lock Tavern is great. Proud is a late night bar opposite in the Stables that has recently reopened and used to be good. Theres not much in the way of record stores in Camden really, though there is a Music and Video Exchange on the main drag which is always good for a trawl.

hope thats of use to someone visiting the Dirty Ol Town.

[cosmicflop]

"There is a fucking great old-school wood panelled english restaurtant on Jermyn street, pretty much opposite C&J if you want to spend some money and lord it up."

Do you mean Wiltons? No prices on the menus.

I ate there once, on expenses, and I heard this familiar braying female voice behind me and when I turned around to look, it was Thatcher! Aaaaargh. Never been back.

[fre-co]

yeah thats the one. that would be unpleasant, I don't suppose she gets out much now though....

[readytoignite]

unfortunately i didn't get a chance to try out any of the food recs (esp mr jerk) but did end up in an unbelievably great iranian restaurant called mohsen out in earl's court. the only thing that would have made it better is if i had known it was byo ahead of time.

uptown was good though what is it with bassline? i had to listen to 3 dozen crappy singles to find one and a half decent ones. did ok on the dubstep front though.

the exchange rate is ridiculous, i ended up meeting a friend for dimsum lunch and it ended up being 45 usd. i thought they were taking the piss. i was talking to someone at a shop and he was getting misty eyed about a two week trip he spent in the us where he loaded up on ben sherman.

also the oyster card is great until you get hammered at a football match and forget to tap in at the overground station on your way back into central london

anyway thanks again and feel free to hit me up if you need pointers in nyc.

[AA60322]

Tried a search, couldn't find anything, but are there any consignment stores in London like Tokyo 7 or INA in New York? Not looking for regular thrift/vintage stores that sell a bunch of trash from 30 years ago, but more like used designer clothes. Thanks.

[fre-co]

Yeah there is one on Monmouth street in covent garden, just off seven dials. No idea what it's like though.

[MatBoy]

Hi guys

I'm going to london in a couple of days and have some shopping to do.

I know The shop at Bluebird, Liberty's, Browns, Margaret Howell, Matches, Garbstore, Dover street Market...

Looking for stuff like Robert Geller, Woolrich, Engineered Garments, Rag & Bone... Is there any good store i am missing?

Ay opinion on Tonic on Portobello? On Start?

Thanks a lot !

[xcoldricex]

so i should be stopping by for the first time. probably less shopping than chilling for a few days. places to stay (not doing the hostel thing), places not to miss?

found mike lowrey and someone else's recs for places in another thread... any other options?

for very centrally located ones, The Sumner should be excellent. its a block away from marble arch, very modern classic with only 20 rooms, might be hard to get one on a short notice though. roughly £140.

Theres a couple of Radissons very well located, The Berkshire is right opposite of Bond St. station and Radisson Sussex is right behind Selfridges. I've stayed at both and they are decent, nothing spectacular but a good stay for a reasonable price.

For something cheapish, theres a place called Arosfa near Goodge St. thats very moderately price (£60), its a very basic bed&breakfast but nice and friendly.

if you're willing to ball (£300), go to a Firmdale. The Soho Hotel should be pretty sick, their user ratings are always of the charts. Always wanted to stay here..

My best recommandation would be the B+B Belgravia, must be 100£ a night, great minimal design and excellent value for money.

Also The Zetter in Cleckenwell (about160£ a night) would be a good choice. More Stylish, excellent breakfast.

[mike lowrey]

if you can fork it, go to Sumner. I was pissed there were no rooms when I was in town last time.

[M4TM]

fuck - i'm going to be in london for the month of january. am i gonna freeze my ass off?!?

seriously. i don't deal all that well with cold... (from hawaii and working in HK now.)

[fre-co]

Yes you are going to freeze. We are due for a cold winter this year apparently. Buy a big parka.

[mike lowrey]

I think january averages at around 4-5°C

rains roughly every other day

[Tyro1]

its been pretty cold there, friend told me it's been dipping under zero degrees lately

[fre-co]

fucking brass monkeys today!

[homeboy]

fuck - i'm going to be in london for the month of january. am i gonna freeze my ass off?!?

seriously. i don't deal all that well with cold... (from hawaii and working in HK now.)

It depends. Overall the winters in London are very mild. Right now we are unlucky to be caught up in mad cold temperature but by mid January temperatures increase gradually ushering us into spring. You could walk without a jacket during the second half of January this year. It shouldn't be cold to the point where you cannot spend time outdoors.

[xcoldricex]

what's going on for NYE?

[readytoignite]

i debated creating a new thread for this but i'll be spending a number of days in oxford over the festive period and wondering if you urbanites had anything to recommend there (esp wrt the superfuture pursuits of eating & shopping - gear and records). the one thing i've turned up is ryouki but any other comments would be greatly appreciated.

also will be in london from NYD to the 4th if anything happening is, well, happening.... i see i'm missing the fwd/rinse jam on NYE and then the sunday residency as is typical

however i'll be seeing spurs 3 times in one week so i guess i can't complain

[JoyDiffusion]

Yeah there is one on Monmouth street in covent garden, just off seven dials. No idea what it's like though.

The Loft, I think you're talking about... I was in there not too long ago.

It's not bad, may be worth a look for anybody interested (I know that's an old post). Some of the stuff is a bit too flashy/Italian for my liking (lots of Gucci, Versace, etc. when I stopped in). Everything is in very good shape though... near new.

[thomas_highstreet]

drinks tomorow[today] SUN 11th ~ MON 12th anyone? tweeds? yet to hold your hand.

give me a bell, wont be online till evenings and then ill probably already be on the boozes.