The View From The Shard, SE1

Okay. So, just be aware that when you buy a ticket to go up the the 69th floor of The Shard, you are essentially paying £25 to go in a lift. Two lifts (that travel at a whopping two floors per second!!!!) and four flights of stairs if you want to really spread the cost out and feel like you're getting your monies worth, but let's not get pedantic here. As a complete lover of London and somebody who is a sucker for a pretty view, I say it's totally worth it and it is something you'd only ever need to do once. Admittedly, it could be a lot cheaper, especially compared to the $14 or so it costs to go up the Empire State Building, but whatever.

As you can probably (hopefully) tell from my pictures above, the views are absolutely spectacular and totally breathtaking. I mean, I love a good skyline at the best of times but this is really something else. There's an inside viewing platform on the 69th floor and you can walk in a complete circle so you can get views of the city from every angle. Then, if you like, you can climb up those three flights of stairs and go to the "uncovered" platform on the 72nd floor. That's pretty much the same as level 69 but a lot colder and so windy. I stupidly thought it'd have no glass, thus making photos a lot better because there'd be no reflection, but obviously there is glass because otherwise it'd be TOTALLY UNSAFE. DUH. I don't think my pictures turned out too badly though, I am quite proud of my ones of Tower Bridge and East London. I especially like the way you can see the way the Thames bends.

The View From The Shard is something that you kind of have to experience for yourself to actually be able to appreciate it in it's entirety. I'd recommend going up later in the day, I think watching the sunset over the city would be beautiful, but going up when it's properly dark is the best. Everything just looks so much prettier when it's lit up.

I think slots do get booked up pretty quickly so it's probably worth planning your trip instead of just rocking up on the day, and it's worth bearing in mind that you can spend as long as you jolly well please up the top too.

Bill's Restaurant, W1

A lot of people seem to be visiting Bill's recently and most of the reviews I read are quite similar: lovely atmosphere, friendly staff, good food, decent prices. Which is good. I paid my second visit to the Soho branch, on the corner of Lexington Street and Brewer Street earlier this week with my friend, Klee, and had a rather pleasant experience. I'd highly recommend going to one of the three London restaurants if you're around (or to one of their other non-London branches - of which there are more than I realised, see here).

We went around 6pm on a Tuesday evening and we were seated straight away even though we'd not booked, and I think we'd have got in easily had there been more of us. I did notice it started to fill up quite quickly though so it might just have been sheer luck. This is one of the (seemingly few) places in Central London you can book though so it might be worth doing so just in case. The atmosphere was just as I remembered: low-lit lighting, candle-lit tables and a generally cosy place to be.

After ordering an Amaretto Sour each (£4.50) we skipped starters and went straight for a main course. I chose the Haloumi and Hummus (£8.95) and Klee went for Bill's Hamburger with Monterey Jack Cheese (£9.95 + £1.20). Our meals arrived quickly and were good, mine was really good. Haloumi is one of my main weaknesses though so if it had have been rubbish I might have just broken down in tears! Klee enjoyed hers too - or at least I think she did, she didn't say otherwise. We weren't actually in there very long, maybe just over an hour or so, which was fine, especially since we didn't feel rushed by staff. It wasn't until after we'd paid though that we noticed the optional 12.5% service charge, and had either of us paid attention we'd have probably asked for them to take it off and left money on the table instead just out of sheer principle, not because we were disappointed with anything.

Bill's is also right at the top of my Places To Visit For Brunch list too, people in the office often go for breakfast meetings because it's two minutes from Cosmo HQ so makes for the perfect place. I've heard their French Toast is to die for. Mmmm...

Primrose Hill, NW1

Primrose Hill, North London. It may well be one of my most favourite places in the whole of the capital. Home of amazing cafes (the coffee Melrose and Morgan serve is incredible), pubs, cupcake shops (The Primrose Bakery being the best) and, most important of all, the breathtaking views of London's skyline. I plan to own a flat on Gloucester Avenue one day, you know, just as soon as I have a spare £600k+. And I wasn't going to mention the celebrities but er, one day I do plan to bump straight into Harry Styles or David Beckham as I wander the streets. Not in that way...

Working in Soho means I kind of take central London for granted and I try to avoid it at weekends if I can. I could spend hours walking around the streets of Primrose Hill though, getting the Northern Line up to Chalk Farm, taking a right out of the station and over the railway bridge. Camden is a ten minute walk the other way and the sheer difference in the two places never fails to amaze me - the hustle and bustle of Camden market, the music blasting out of shops and the general feel of the place is a world apart from the brightly coloured townhouses and the quiet, quaint streets of Primrose Hill.

The street leading up to the hill itself, Regents Park Road, is home to a bunch of quaint and kitsch shops as well as a variety of independent cafes and restaurants (I recently went to Greenberry Cafe and paid £10 for a plate of posh ham. Had I visited before 3pm, the menu would have been a lot better - take note!). There's also one of Mary Portas' Living and Giving charity shops along the way too which is always nice to have a look round.

So, in short, if you haven't been yet, WHY NOT? Tell me the places in London you love visiting, exploring and getting lost in and I'll add them to my ever-growing list...

Burger and Lobster, W1

 

There has been a lot of hype around Burger and Lobster recently, so my friend Sascha and I decided to pay a visit to see what all the fuss was about.

We went on a Friday evening, straight from work. We’d heard about the two hour+ wait to get in (no bookings allowed for groups less than six, y’see) so, as we both work in Soho and finish at 5:30, we dashed straight over to Dean Street and managed to get in without having to wait a ridiculous amount of time – good start.

We were sat down at a nice little table for two and given a drinks menu, but no food menu. We picked a cocktail each, I went for Mulled Mai Tai and Sascha had Winter in the City (£9.50 each). A waiter then came over and explained the ordering process. There are three things on the menu, burger (that you can have with cheese and/or bacon if you wish), lobster (steamed or grilled, served plain or with lemon butter) or lobster roll. I went for the burger (cooked medium with cheese and bacon – it was a Friday night after all!) and Sascha had lobster (grilled, with lemon butter). Our cocktails arrived not too long before the food and we were both suitably impressed by their presentation. They tasted pretty good too!

Then our food arrived and the portions were a decent size. Each main is served on a silver tray with a bowl of salad and chips. My burger was okay, nothing amazing, similar to something Byron would serve up. I did find it was very greasy though – you know when the bottom half of the bun goes soggy and inedible because of the amount of grease? That. And my chips could have been a bit warmer. Sascha didn’t enjoy her lobster but that was partly because she’d never tried it before and decided it just wasn’t for her. I had a bit and I wasn’t much of a fan either. For a lobster lover it may well have been perfect!

We decided to go wild and order desserts (£4.50 each); there were a choice of two, both homemade. I can’t remember exactly what they were but one was a chocolate mousse with a layer of caramel and peanuts at the bottom and chocolate covered cornflakes on the top. The other was a cheesecake-esque thing, almost banoffee flavoured. Both were equally as nice though.

We were only in the restaurant about an hour and a half or so and the service was pleasant, we didn’t feel rushed and there was a good atmosphere. However, the bill comes with a discretionary service charge of 12.5%, and when we came to pay, we asked if we could take that off and we’d leave cash on the table. The waiter said that was fine, but moments later the manager came over to ask what our problem was. Er, what? We were told that staff have to inform a manager if a customer chooses not to pay the (so-called discretionary) service charge. Surely that defeats the whole point of it? It’s also very embarrassing for both parties involed – there was nothing wrong with the service, the food was slightly disappointing but, even if we had enjoyed it, we would never have left almost £10 in tips.

To be honest, had the manager not got involved (why couldn't the waiter have told her after we’d left? It’s not like we refused to pay for what we’d eaten and drank!) it wouldn’t have been an issue. In a way, that ruined the whole experience. Neither of us were mad keen on the place anyway, and I'm not sure I understand why the hype has been built up around it. We paid £32 each, each main course is £20 and to be honest, I wouldn’t say the burger I had was anywhere near worth that – maybe more around the £12-14 mark.

I doubt I’ll be going back again in a hurry. And I certainly wouldn’t wait more than ten minutes for a table.