Sample a taste of London
07 March 2010Just what it is about London? Samuel Johnson, the 18th century English writer, put it aptly:
‘‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
The sprawling metropolis of today is worlds apart from Johnson’s London, yet having travelled there many times over the last couple of decades, his sentiment still rings true.
A good way to explore the 1,700 square kilometres of city is to focus on one district per visit. The affluent Kensington area of west London, for example, is a perfect area for foodies in search of culinary paradise.
A cluster of artisan and specialist food shops are located just off Kensington High Street, close to Bond Street and along Marylebone Lane. A wander down these twisty streets brought us past rare breed butchers, cheese shops, chocolatiers, fishmongers and speciality bakers.
Every Sunday, from 10am till 2pm,Marylebone Farmers’ Market (Cramer Street car park) hosts the largest farmers’ market in Britain.
Many people do their full weekly shopping here for organic ingredients. Fresh fish and seafood are available at reasonable prices, while one stall sells homemade cakes which are well worth braving the crush for. The range of seasonal, good-value vegetables and herbs will inspire anyone to get cooking.
Cheese aficionados should head straight for La Fromagerie (2-6 Moxon Street, Marylebone), which is regarded as one of the best cheese shops in Britain.
The welcoming staff guide customers through the range of cheeses, most of which are sourced directly from producers.
This pushes up the prices a little, but the resulting cheeses are worth the money.
Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and pre-theatre ‘supper’ are also served here. After choosing from menus which reflect the shop’s carefullysourced produce, customers dine communally at long wooden tables.
My cheese experience at La Fromagerie didn’t end when I left London. Since returning home, I’ve visited its online cheese room. This lists regional farmhouse cheeses and provides information on how to create the perfect cheese plate, along with suggested wine pairings and accompaniments.
Close to La Fromagerie’s Marylebone store is Biggles Gourmet Sausages (66 Marylebone Lane),which was established in 1989 and describes itself as London’s first all-sausage emporium.
It s Londoner owner (whose grandmother, he told us, was from Wicklow) promises ‘‘only top quality lean cuts of meat’’ in his authentic sausage range.
Biggles won the coveted Great Taste Award Gold 2009 - considered to be the ‘Oscars’ of the British independent food manufacturing sector - for its Moroccan lamb/merguez sausage.
The shop even caters for vegetarians, with tasty meat-free sausages and shelves packed with delicious chutneys, sauces and mustards.
If this selection of uncooked delights is too tempting to pass up, pay a visit to Union Cafe on the same street - Biggles’s cooked sausages can be sampled here.
For dessert, my taste buds and I spent an indulgent half-an-hour in Rococo Chocolates (45 Marylebone High Street; closed Mondays).
As I peered at its window display of quirky chocolate treats, such as chocolate cigars, chocolate buses and asparagus sticks, the shop door opened and the heady smell lured me in.
Rococo’s chocolate-obsessed owner set up the business in 1983 to create and sell top quality chocolate. Before my visit, I was never tempted by flower-scented fondant creams, sugar-free chocolate or salt-flavoured chocolate.
But as I tasted these delicacies, I was reminded not of Samuel Johnson but of The Simpsons: ‘‘There’s a party in my mouth and everyone’s invited."
The secret to merging these flavours, according to the enthusiastic shop assistant, is to strike the exact balance of flavours. When it’s done correctly, one taste is not overwhelmed by another, and each is discernible while melting on the tongue.
We took a break from all the walking, tasting, smelling and ogling for a sit-down lunch at Villandry (170 Great Portland Street), an excellent French restaurant, bar and foodstore. Fancy a sandwich?
Choose from ciabatta, baguette, pitta, focaccia, walnut, cereal bread, bagel or wheat free German rye. Not hungry enough for a full meal? Select from French, Italian, English, Mediterranean or American canapés. We were a hungry bunch and enjoyed a delicious lunch in this minimalist-style café-restaurant.
After a day’s walking and eating, I flopped onto the massive bed in the luxurious Kensington Hotel. The hotel is very stylish, following a multimillion-pound refurbishment; and the rooms have a sumptuously eclectic, boutique feel.
A s I lay sprawled on the bed, my elevated feet throbbing with relief, I was heartened to find two chewy, handmade brownies and a flask of hot chocolate waiting on the bedside cabinet. Hoteliers out there take note: the bar of evening turndown service has been raised.
The Kensington is part of the Irish-owned Doyle Collection, which includes three top-quality urban havens around London - in Marylebone, South Kensington and Bloomsbury.
The Marylebone Hotel, which has undergone a »22 million refurbishment, is another possible base for foodies who want a little bit more as it is also close to the prime shopping areas.
In Johnson’s day, the fields and ‘pleasure garden’ around Marylebone were being steadily eroded as fashionable London shifted westwards.
The area was developed by Robert Harley, the Earl of Oxford, into an up market place for commerce and residence.
It later became home to Charles Dickens, Frederic Chopin, JMW Turner, HG Wells, Adam Ant, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Madonna, Sienna Miller, Guy Ritchie, Derren Brown, Noel Gallagher and even Sherlock Holmes.
A2 0-minute walk from Marylebone is the Bloomsbury Hotel, a lavish, neoGeorgian building with another foodie hotspot: the chic Landseer restaurant. The menu, devised by Michelin starred chef John Wood, focuses on fresh produce from across Britain, such as Hebridean scallops, Gressingham duck, Black Mountain Welsh Valley lamb and Perthshire steak.
Some of London’s most expensive streets and garden squares are located in Kensington. Edwardes Square, which was built between 1811 and 1819, is a perfect spot for a picnic or takeaway lunch on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
It’s a beautiful, three acre garden with shrubberies, lawns, grass tennis court, flowerbeds and a play area for children.
Sitting on a bench here, catching a rare glimpse of winter sunshine, I pondered how I might while away my few food-free hours. A visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum?
Or Kensington Palace and the Royal Albert Hall?
Or what about the Royal College of Music, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum or the Royal College of Art? Instead I stayed put, dreaming of my next meal.
Factfile
Where to stay: The Kensington Hotel, 109-113 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 5LR, tel: 0044-(0)-207-5896300. A superior room-only rate from £205 (€226) and studio suites from £285 (€315). Discounts of 15 per cent are available on bookings made 30 or more days in advance of arrival. The Marylebone Hotel, 47 Welbeck Street, London W1G 8DN, tel: 0044-(0)-207-4866600; superior rooms from £175, studio suites from £235 (€260). The Bloomsbury Hotel, 16-22 Great Russell St, London WC1B 3NN, tel: 0044-(0)-207-3471001; superior rooms start from £145, studio suites from £235 (€260).
Discounts of 10 per cent are available on bookings made 21 or more days in advance of arrival. Various packages for each of these hotels can be seen online at www.doyle collection.com/exclusive-packages/unique- hotel-packages.aspx
Getting there: Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus. com) flies daily from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast to London Heathrow and daily from Dublin and Knock to London Gatwick. One-way fares start from €20, including taxes and charges
When to go: the Clothes Show London is on in Earls Court, June 25-27 June, www.clothes showlondon.com. Open Garden Squares Weekend (visit gardens not usually open to the public), June 12-13, www.opensquares.org. London will host the 2012 Olympic Games from July 27 to August 12, so it is advisable to book accommodation for this time in advance Currency: £1 = €1.10
What to buy: an iPhone application called Not For Tourists London City Guide 2010 (£3). It includes easy-access information about 140 neighbourhoods, food markets, lunch spots, 4,500 listings and dozens of interactive maps). Available from iPhone application stores. Tickets for a West End show, such as the Tony Award-winning Sweet Charity at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket from April 23, www.www.trh.co.uk, tel: 0044-(0)-8454811870
Useful websites: www.doylecollection.com; www.mykensington.co.uk; www.viewlondon. co.uk/restaurants/marylebone-regents-parkarea238.html