It’s commonly understood that the best way to explore a new place is to go straight to the locals. Each week in the Urbanist, we take that wisdom one step further by seeking out not just locals but local experts — those who are especially well versed in their cities’ newest and most noteworthy scenes — to give us insider tips. This week, we asked Anne Perry, editorial director of adult fiction at Simon & Schuster U.K. and editor of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers, and Something in the Water, by Catherine Steadman, for her recommendations in the capital city of England and the United Kingdom.
“London doesn’t wish it were Paris or New York. London is unmistakably London; it’s not a city that fades into bland urbanism if you get away from the well-known tourist spots. It’s a great place to visit because of its walkability (and overall ease of transport), and the absolutely endless array of things to see and do and eat. Anyone with any series of interests can find things to do here, from bird (or bat) watching to live music to theater to museums to shopping to, really, whatever. Though I expect Brexit won’t change much for the average tourist, I do worry that we’ll lose free museum entry — one of the most wonderful features of the country. Lots of tourists are drawn to stay in places like South Kensington, which is a good place if you’re going to spend a week or two in town: It’s close to museums and a gigantic, gorgeous park (Hyde Park) and is served by two useful Underground lines. The Victoria & Albert Museum (be sure to have lunch in the crazy gorgeous Victorian café), the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum are all around the corner from each other in South Ken. The Natural History Museum gets crazy busy, but it’s so beautiful that I think it’s worth the wait.”
Her Other Musts
Boutique Hotel
“There are some really wonderful boutique hotels. My favorite is Hazlitt’s (6 Frith St.; +44 20 7336 0931) in Soho; it and its sister hotels — the Rookery (12 Peter’s Ln.) and Batty Langley’s (12 Folgate St.) — are beautifully restored 18th-century buildings. Built in 1718, Hazlitt’s was actually two or three townhouses that they knocked together in Soho. It was where the diarist and essayist William Hazlitt lived for a long time. It’s filled with antique art and furniture. Everything about it is sort of knocked together but in a wonderful way. I once slept on a bed that dated from 1657! You definitely pay for the privilege, but it’s truly wonderful. The staff is really nice. They always decorate for the holidays. They have a little library with an honor bar with a little fire going, and they have a hotel cat named Sir Godfrey. It’s just one of those places where it’s a totally unique experience.”
Fish and Chips
“If you google ‘best fish and chips in London,’ you’ll get Poppie’s and Rock & Sole Plaice as your top hits — skip them! The former just isn’t great, and the latter used to be better. I just had a fabulous plate of fish and chips at a gastropub in Chelsea called the Enterprise (35 Walton St.), and I love the fish and chips at Swan (21 New Globe Walk). Both are really good for a nice dining experience but also a giant plate of fish and chips. The Swan is right next to the Globe Theatre, so it can be a little touristy, but it’s really beautiful. The Enterprise is in South Kensington. It’s a little off the beaten path, so you’re a lot less likely to get tourists there. It’s a really lovely pub with dark, old wood floors and ceilings and dark leather banquettes.”
Curry
“I would be derelict in my duty if I didn’t mention Dishoom. Everyone in this country is obsessed with this small family-run chain, so if you want to wait for a table for an hour or more (they don’t take reservations) … well, you could do that. Or you could not do that and go to any of a hundred brilliant curry restaurants: I adore the Punjab (80 Neal St.) in Covent Garden (they don’t take reservations either, so go early), and Hot Stuff (17–19 Wilcox Rd.) in Stockwell is absolutely worth a trip. Hot Stuff is a little family-run restaurant. The owner, Raj, will seat you, ask you what you like to eat, and then bring you ten tons of absolutely fantastic food.”
Gastropub
“For my money, the very best in the city is Canton Arms (177 S. Lambeth Rd.) in Stockwell. Seriously, the food is unbelievable. The head chef, Trish Hilferty, cans all of her own preserves. The restaurant is filled with jars that have cherries preserved in liqueur, jams, and chutneys she uses in the dishes. There’s a blackboard (seen above) with the day’s specials; some will be like “A Shoulder of Lamb Cooked for 7 Hours for 5 People,” and they only have two of them that day. We used to live nearby, and I miss it terribly.”
Afternoon Tea
“Let’s start at the fancy end of the spectrum. You can’t go wrong with tea at the Wolseley (160 Piccadilly). It’s a classic for a reason. The ones at the posh hotels, like the Wolseley and the Ritz, are really big fancy beautiful high teas with tiers of sandwiches and cakes. You can do a very formal high tea at Fortnum & Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon (181 Piccadilly, 4th fl.), or you can try something a little less elaborate in their Gallery restaurant (181 Piccadilly, ground fl.), where you can grab a pot of good tea or Jamaican blue-mountain coffee and a nice piece of delicious cake. I really like Gallery because it’s not like the terrifying giant high tea. Everything is extremely beautiful and gorgeously placed.”
Tourist Attraction
“The Tower of London (St. Katharine’s & Wapping) is one of the most extraordinary things in the entire city. There’s graffiti from all of the various prisoners that stayed there over the years. It’s very bloody. They have lots of really interesting artifacts that you can visit in the museum — suits of armor, including those of Henry VIII, which are really cool. You can see him from a slim young man to a slightly less slim middle-aged man to a rather stout older man just through his armor. They have the barrels of gunpowder that Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament with back in the 17th century. Crazy things like that. You can do it in an afternoon, and it’s right by the river.”
Bookstore
“No book lover should miss Foyles (107 Charing Cross Rd.). It’s six or seven stories worth of books. It’s one of those bookstores where you walk in and you get that sense of peace. It’s so beautifully put together. But while there, you must also hit the used bookstores further south of Foyles on Charing Cross Road: Quinto and Any Amount of Books. Daunt Books (83 Marylebone High St.) in Marylebone is gorgeous and sells a green tote bag that is the London equivalent of the Strand tote bag. If somebody’s carrying it around, they either work in publishing or they love books or both. You see a lot of it.”
Department Store
“You can skip Harrod’s, which I think is hugely overrated. I’d hit Fortnum & Mason for an upper-end shopping experience or Peter Jones (Sloane Square) for the corresponding department-store experience. It’s in Sloane Square, which, of course, is where Princess Diana lived before she became Princess Diana. They have a lot of lovely things. Apparently, Kate Middleton shops, or used to shop, there. And Sloane Square is always fun to walk around in.”
Umbrella Shop
“The best place to buy an umbrella is undoubtedly James Smith & Sons (53 New Oxford St.). This store is like 150 years old and is amazing. It’s kind of unmistakable. The shop genuinely looks like it just stepped out of 1850. It’s this beautiful, old-style shop with gilt lettering on the signs. You walk in — it’s small — and it’s just filled, floor to ceiling, with canes and umbrellas.”
Day Trips
“Take a day trip to Windsor to try to spot the royals! Windsor is great. It’s a train ride, or you could take the river bus (or a boat) up to Putney or beyond to Hampton Court Palace. If you want to go further afield, Bristol is beautiful, and the train ride takes you through some gorgeous country. Brighton is great for vintage shopping and little cafés. Bath is perfect for shopping and history and for Austen lovers, and definitely treat yourself to a bun at Sally Lund (4 North Parade Passage). The shop is super-touristy, but the buns are huge and delicious and it’s a fun hour or two. If you want to spend more time on the train, York is only two hours away. The medieval center of town is still intact, and there are plenty of great antiques stores to poke around in. Also drop in to Bettys Café; it’s a northern classic (the ‘fat rascal,’ a fruity scone with cherries for eyes and almonds for a mouth, is their most famous creation) and definitely a worthwhile experience.”
More Destinations
- The Urbanist’s Guide to Approachable, Unusual Hikes
- The Urbanist’s Guide to the Beaches of New Jersey
- The Urbanist’s Guide to Tucson