Tea Time in Wonderland

Posts Tagged ‘London’

Did you know there is a pub dedicated to Sherlock Homes, a few steps away from Trafalgar Square?

In 1951 was held the Festival of Britain presented a whole part on Sherlock Holmes. Once finished, what to do with this collection? Fortunately, the brewery Whitbread & co (which still exists and owns brands such as Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Costa Coffee) proves more than happy to buy it.

In 1957, they transform this building, a hotel back then, into a late Victorian pub. Sir Conan Doyle’s family helps to recreate the books atmosphere. Walls are covred in various artefacts, letters, cartoons, replicas… The first floor welcomes a restaurant and shows Holmes’ and Watson’s study -  still an attraction for real fans.

The decoration has now aged but still – it is worth stopping by and having a quick look… Sadly, the critics on the web underline a poor service and quality of food, so it will need to be a symbolic visit.

I love walking by on a Friday evening -  customers overspill on the small square just in front and tend to use the letterbox as an iconic coaster!

Sherlock Holmes pub
10 Northumberland Street
London WC2N 5DB

Are you a true Sherlock Holmes fan? Don’t forget:
- The museum on Baker Street
- The tube station

Gourmets and Sweet Things addicts had applauded the opening of a Pierre Herme counter @  Selfridge’s at the beginning of the year.

Still, they were hungry for more. This is so refined we did not want to share it with other shoppers or varied departments. We wanted it a bit secluded, a gift to ourselves, a treasure box for these sugary gems.

And o joy, a Pierre Herme boutique has opened just yesterday in Belgravia. The splendid cakes are not there yet – something we hope is in their plans, though. The macarons are a feat for the eyes -  like a necklace a pastel pearls… Even the names are like a poem: Arabesque, Eden, Mogador, Pietra…

The shelves are loaded with wonders too. Fruit jellies to die for with exotic combinations such as Constellation: ornage-strawberry-cardamom… Jams fit for a breakfast in heaven (Envie: violet-blackcurrant… Montobello: strawberry and pistachio)… Chocolates to go mad for – try the ganache with a passionfruit layer! Even flavoured to make oyu forget Earl Grey forever… my favourite is Yu – yuzu, apple, citrus. One tends to read the descriptions in a whisper, voice rough with anticipation, mouth watering already…

Noone can resist this place: choose a selection (I paid £7.30 for 6 macarons) and have a gorgeous picnic in Hyde Park!

Love @ fist bite:
- Olive oil-vanilla: surprising isn’t it? Sweet, the olive oil is the final note. Amazingly different.
- Peach-apricot-saffron: each falvour is so very distinct. this melts perfectly in your mouth…
- Apricot-pistachio: with a pistachio praline heart. Why did I take only one of those?

Are you hesitating with Laduree? Let me put it that way. I would get a Laduree box for a variety of people as thank yous. But a Pierre Herme macaron calls for selfishness. You either indulge yourself or share it with very precious friends…

Pierre Herme
13 Lowndes St
Belgravia
London Sw1

Pssst: turn the corner, in the nearby street is the so delicious chocolatier Rococo…

Is September making you feel blue? Well, fight it, plan a heavy week-end out and pretend the holidays are still on!

- First, get yourself  a free bacon roll today to get in the mood…

- Stop @ Soho square -  Buxton has a pop up there and gives away bottles and water. You can even sit in a deckchair and relax…

- Don’t forget to do your food shopping @ the Real Food Market on Southbank…

- Looking for the perfect shoe? Have a look at Vivienne Westwood’s creations @ Selfridge’s…

- A new conception of theatre with Theatre Souk…

- Morris dancers invade London this week-end -  head for Southbank for an amazing free gig!

- Fight death penalty @ St Martin-in-the-field…

- For a lighter note, cross the street and enjoy the Liberty festival on Trafalgar: music, workshops for kids and a circus show!

- You will feel like writing on the walls with the Nothing is forever exhibition…

- Follow the art trail!

- Forget Portobello market -  there’s a whole film festival going on there with a pop up cinema until September 19th: classic movies and even premieres! Even better it is all free…

- Get your bike out of the garage -  Sunday, the city’s heart is yours with the Skyride! The map’s right here.

- Rediscover Little Venice…

- Look up and gaze at the stars @ Greenwich…

- The Globe has designed a Thames inspired menu…

You will find me in Jermyn street, turned into a garden party on Saturday… and at the Royal opera House, turning into a forest this week-end and there will be free muscical events (get your free ticket from the website!). What is your tip for the week-end?

Fancy a sweet day? The Future Gallery and the Tate and Lyle present this week-end a full-calory exhibition (how ironic -  the brand having announced recently they were selling their sugar department to a US firm!)

Artists and bakers have teamed up to presend these amazing creations. Sugar sculotures that look like elegant china, reindeer in sugar and marzipan… All are edible and it is almost a torture not to be allowed to bite in… But maybe you will be lucky as when we stopped by, visitors were offered letter shaped biscuits!

Last day is tomorrow, Sunday, hurry! It will be open from 10.00 to 18.00.

The Future Gallery
Mad Artists’ Tea Party /  Cake Britain
5 Great Newport St London, WC2H 7HY
Until August 29 2010

Starving? Go and have a cupcake at Ella’s @ Covent Garden nearby!

Trafalgar Square is noticeable from quite a distance. Just find Nelson (usually topped by a few pigeons) and on’t lose sight of the hat. The square is marqued in each corner by 4 columns,  of which are dedicated to military statues. The last one originally remained empty, by lack of funds.

But London explodes with creativity and could not let this opportunity pass – something had to be done, and why not alternate works of art? Last summer, the British could register to spend a whole hour on top. We had the chance to admire, ignore, applaude or hate artists, manifestants, even naked people…

Since then, a boat in a bottle has settled there. Urban life is busy-busy and you have to always keep on the move, my friend. One just cannot stop there and although it has only been a few month, well, it’s time to think of a replacement. sign of the times.

Army style? This one fits quite well with the theme of the square – medals and all.

Greedy? Yes, this is a giant Battenberg. Given that the cake was created for Queen Victoria’s wedding, this represents a crumbling past… but also the tough foundation of our modern civilisation. Tough choice!

Feeling blue? Head for this one. hard to guess this outlines… a male dominated civilisation! Do read the comments on the website – no way some will have a French symbol there!

Ironic? A new style of hero on a horse…

Adventurer? This one’s called It’s never too late and you can’t go back and is meant to evoque glory, conquest and the fragility of the human life…

Musical? Magritte style, I have to warn you: ceci n’est pas un orgue. No, this is an ATM linked to an organ, which will play a variety of notes each time someone takes cash out or checks his account. Yes, you have read correctly and no, I have not been drinking.

So what will it be? I do bet on the elegant horse. What’s yyour favourite?

St Martin-in-the-Fields
Fourth Plinth Project
Trafalgar Square
London WC2N 4JJ
Until october 31, 2010
Free

Haunch of Venison is one of this weird and wonderful galleries who favour fantasy. Their shows always promise a travel through a new dimension, usually fun and colourful.

And this is so true right now. Have a look at this Portuguese artist’s work, Jana Vasconcelos. Inspired by Gloria Gaynor’s great hit I will survive, she present creatiosn that will really make you smile, like this chain of braids to guide the queues! Each sculpture alternates in identity, rainbow monsters with the softness of knitting and patchwork- kids will love those. But also object covered in laced crochet, you will find an elegant piano and an amazing bee along the way. My favourite remains this entirely dark room with a maze mad of fiberoptic flowers… As they are knee high, you feel as if you are being absorbed by the floor. Mesmerizing.

In paralel, do not miss Polly Morgan’s creations. I have been admiring her for years. This very skilled taxidermist knows how to erase the morbid side to create an almost Tim Burtonesque reality.

Haunch of venison
I will survive – Psychopomps
6 Burlington Gardens
London W1S 3ET
Until September 25, 2010
Free

I’m back! Now, let’s see what’s new in the city…

- On Thursday, don’t miss this aquatic exhibition…

- …or enjoy a free curry!

- This way for a free musical @ Sadler’s Wells…

- A few dance steps @ the Tate Modern… (By the way, time Out has a 2 for 1 offer for the Exposed exhibition)

-… or an alternative village fete, maybe?

- Always a favourite: Notting Hill carnival!

- Feel nostalgic with this exhibition on Jimy Hendrix…

- I never tire of this yearly press pictures exhibition…

- Discover a few secret places in the National Theatre…

- Treat yourself to an afternoon tea with an Asian touch…

- So you think you know London?

- By the way, do you know the story of the Crystal Palace?

- Yes, pubs and opera can be in harmony, who would have thought so!

- Try to get a ticket for this fab underground dinner!

- Fed up with pop-up shops? Why not give this pop-up cinema a go? It used to be a petrol station.

- Get the kids to learn more abour bats!

- Be zen in a Japanese garden… (give this one a try too!)

You’ll find me… strolling through Chelsea Physics gardens… Testing this edible exhibition… Checking out the Natural History Museum’s 8m long knitted squid… Enjoying some retro glamour at the V&A late night… Where will YOU be?

The British keep a fascinating relationship to Xmas. From respecting splendid traditions to a terrifying commercial exploitation of the theme, or even modernizing it to the extreme (I saw fluo Xmas tress @ selfridge’s last year with sparkly reindeers)…

And they start preparing it early. I mean real early. Like now.

In August, a few cards will appear on the shelves here and there. Supermarkets will start promoting 1kg tin boxes of Celebrations and Quality Street – buy one get one free! Pubs and restaurants will hurry you to book your Xmas party, you don’t want to be late and left out, do you? In September, shops will shyly put forward their themed products too.

Even more fascinating are Selfridge’s and Harrods’ Christmas shops. At the latter, a huge room is dedicated to the occasion, thousands of decorations and cards arranged with great care… The whole place takes a leap in time:

For serial shoppers, this is true happiness. I have seen Americans buying a pile of real feathers angel wings… Japanese walking around with a basket of  bright garlands and balls… French admiring traditional candy canes…

But the real tourist hasn’t been forgotten:

Each one will find the perfect icon to decorate the tree this year…

In this country, you will even find cards for cats and dogs. Mums do not escape the fashion either:

Ideal gift for a baby shower, even if the decoration probably will only be used once.

Of course, you’ll find the perfect shoe size, er, stocking size to fit your wishlist…

Don’t forget the crackers…

…although you will find some will definitely explode your budget!

Harrods
Xmas shop 2nd floor
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London SW3 1RT

Will the sun be back this week-end? Are you staying in London or flying to more exotic landscapes?

- Take the kids to a musical -  they get in free!

- Or bring them to Covent Garden: plenty of workshop and activities for the coming two weeks, giant sandpit, face pianitng, juggling…

- The Imperial War Museum welcomes a farm for the week-end…

- Fancy going to a drive-in?

- Or a vampire picnic?

- Treat yourself to a fab breakfast -  my favourite is the Modern Pantry’s…

- get yourself some very iconic stamps…

- Are you a Bruce Springsteen fan? This exhibition is for you.

- Jazz your week-end up! (and it’s free, even better)

- Remember Charing Cross’ story? The monument is now fully renovated…

- Ooooh, a brand new sushi place, very design… Looks gorgeous!

- Or this way for jerk chicken and salsa demos!

- If you fancy a roof terrace and haven’t tried the Vista @ Trafalgar yet -  the entry is free on Sundays and Mondays (usually is a fiver but is said to be soooo worth it)

Pssst, heads up!
- Take the kids to the Lego challenge on August 17-18…
- The Savoy will reopen in October and is open for reservations -  could you resist a dinner or afternoon tea there?

Well, all roads really seem to lead to cupcakes. Even the most improbable ones.

My friend Celine, a street art specialist, took me to the Whitecross St festival. Artists had transformed the street, painted entire walls, decorated a roof with a monster,  arranged a giant washline between two roofs… Amidst this creativity show, stalls were proposing yummy food and my radar for sweets quickly settled on this:

Litterally: the cherry on the cake! Very chocolatey base with a real ganache on top, first class cacao.

It took me seconds to wite the address down. I just had to see more of this.

Step in Bea’s and you are immediately faced with a dilemna: how to choose from the counter loaded with cakes? The piles of cookies, the scumptious tarts… Or would you go for an afternoon tea? For only £9.90, you can have a signature cupcake, a marshmallow, a mini Valronha brownie and a brioche looking scone.

But it is the cupcake you will particularly fall for. Their weakness usually lies in the icing: too sugary, too chemical, too heavy, too sickening, too dry… It is easy to be disappointed. But here, no cream cheese, butter or sugar icing base. Oh  non, this is a real treat: a lemon or raspberry mousse, so very light and tasty! Now, this is a real hit and you’ll go back for more (just being professional, right, you really need to make sure the quality is equal for each flavour…)

Do try their red chai latte -  such a better alternative to the classical darjeeling. Perfect with the afternoon tea.

Only a handful of tables are available – do book if you do not want to take a chance. We were close to the kitchen and could watch the mini-meringues being prepared. Lovely!

Bea’s also proposes a great assortment of salads and sandwich during the week -  I do not think I can resist trying those much longer…

Bea’s of Bloomsbury
44 Theobald’s Road
London WC1X 8NW

Are you hunting down London’s best cupcakes? Then you need to try those:
- Ella’s
- The Primrose Bakery
- The Hummingbird bakery
- Lola’s