"Soho is so beautiful when waking up." I'm thinking while walking to work early this morning.
I'm coming from Holborn Grind. Where I had my first coffee for the day. A flat white. This place has a great vibe. It may be the good coffee, or the guy sitting next to me who designs on his laptop, or the two gentlemen having their work chat. It may be the brick wall, or the lovely barristas, or the water jug with the mint. Or maybe the neon sign. "Love is the drug." Well, while waiting for love, let's grab a coffee here - it'll do the trick.
xO
Is where you meet your friend for a G&T on a school night. Is where you see holiday pictures, talk holiday memories and show off holiday tan. And then digress and talk jobs and dreams and boys. And talk anything that is in your head in general. Is where you "meet in an hour", where you have a favourite spot and (eventually) the waiter knows what your drink is. Is where the basement has a shelf full of board games that "we should come and play" and the ground floor plays nice music. Is the Gallery in South Hampstead and is becoming my local.
xO
Love comes in so many different ways, shapes and forms. One of its finest forms is friendship - and this is what we celebrated with V over a 3-course brunch on that LOVEly Saturday. For precious moments like that you need a place as special (and posh) as your friend (and your Saturday morning!) - this is why our brunch was hosted in the Avenue. A slick and glamorous restaurant close to St. James Park. You walk in and get escorted to your table with a glass of Prosecco in your hands and you walk out unable to remember your waiter's face (who you'll want to thank for being amazing) - you can blame the unlimited Prosecco and Bloody Mary for that. You walk in and admire the light that's coming in through the glass ceiling and you walk out unable to stop thinking of that hearty ham under your eggs Benedict. You walk in and look forward to trying this American steak or burger and you walk out convinced that a brunch is bite-sized love.
xO
...is f-antastic when f-inishing with f-riends. So it was no surprise that as soon as R called me, I trotted to the (Red) Riding House Cafe. This place is what you'd like to have as your local: sophisticated, beautifully lit and calm. It's the place where you feel you have to order a good old strong drink and admire the bartender while pouring it in your glass. It's the place where you sit on a common table and you feel the need to follow the "savoir vivre" rules. It's the place where you stop for a few drinks after work, take your first date to play it cool or just meet with your best friends for a download of your busy week. And it's f-abulous.
And for some (unknown) reason, this is the way I've been behaving all day today... After having forgotten my lunch-pack home I ended up enjoying a posh vegetarian lunch in Tibits, with S. Talking work, digital projects and professional objectives with Mediterranean accents over a £14 plate of aubergines curry, frittata, vegetable tartar and roasted vegetables. "Well, this is lovely for your starter! But where is the meat...?!" I can hear my Greek grandmother asking. Well, I can confess that I absolutely enjoyed my 500gr vegetarian plate but £14 felt a bit too much (for a Tuesday and for a cheeky lunch-break anyway). But what a nice place, with an exciting variety of dishes to choose from (they're following a buffet-style) and a lovely ambiance. Hidden away from Regent's Street's busyness, it made me feel a bit healthier this afternoon.
But my "rock it like a boss" day couldn't finish with anything less than the best gin in Soho: a girly catch up over gins and pies and laughters and stories. In the "Star at Night" where you feel like you've discovered Soho's best kept secret. The drinks are yummy (I had a gin with cinnamon and juniper and another with fig and mint - although I appreciate that the gin connoisseurs would have probably gone with mentioning the type of gin rather than the type of garnish!) and the place is so sophisticated. Service could have been better and more on top of their game, but who cares - it had been ages I hadn't seen J and As anyway...!
...and so are Sundays with friends.
And so is drinking coffee in the Clifton Nurseries cafe, between colours and scents. Where you feel like walking in a fairy tale, where the light comes in through the conservatory glass and the sweets taste like powdered sugar. Where the air is clean, people are happy and the flowers are blooming.
And so is having lunch in the Persian restaurant Kateh. Where the menu makes your mouth water and the food is full of flavour. Where the stews taste like they've been cooked by a Persian mum and the char-grilled meats are spicy and tender. And where the aubergine starter is a must-try.
And so is having N and K around. Like they never left.
xO
Friday has to end with a drink. To wrap up the (working) week and to make the weekend feel longer.
With that friend from work that you really like and enjoy talking to about people, clients (aren't clients people too?!) and other stories. You cannot bother walking further than 100 yards (I have no idea how far this actually is but for some reason I feel like I'm sounding very savvy when counting distances in "yards"!) and your office is in the centre of London, just behind the noise of Piccadilly Circus.
Ham Yard is the place to go: it's a gem, but not a hidden one. They refer to it these days as the "talk of the town" and I confirm that it's one of those places that you visit and cannot stop looking around: it's lush! Buzzy and classy and chic. The place where you sip your drink and feel good. So many different spaces to sit in and so many details to look at. You almost want to come here every week to make sure you've sat on every single armchair - it's a must.
Especially if you drink your cocktail in the colonial atrium. And if you go with L, my fellow blogger friend.
xO
...and I thought I'd use it to share my aspiration for this blog with you.
They* told me I should explain who I am and what I'm doing here, first.
I am Olga. That was the easy part.
And I'll be sharing everything/anything that inspires me with you.
English is not my mother tongue, but who cares. Some things will be lost in translation, some other things will never manage to make any sense to you and finally there will be some that will talk to you, in the same language. And it will be fun.
I'll be sharing what I see (and I'm very curious, I promise), where I go (and I don't stay put, I tell you that), what I eat (and I love my food, you'll see) and what inspires me doing all the above with you. Some of these you'll like, some other you won't. And it'll be interesting.
We (me, the blogger, and you, the reader) have one thing in common: the fact that we both want to discover London. Because we love this one characteristic that would make London the best lover in the whole world: you can never exhaust it and you can never get bored of it.
Follow me. And enjoy the ride.
xO
(*I asked noone, but then a writer should always pretend they have some sources...)
PS: This blog is born thanks to Y and R.
