All of my London & Paris Recs!
Plus, hello LA
What time is it? My body has no idea. I started the week in London and came back to New York for a few short days. I’m currently on the way to LA for a wedding and to squeeze some family members.
This newsletter contains all of my recommendations from our recent trip to London and Paris (we were in Paris for under 24 hours, I have more recs here). I hope it’s a useful reference to bookmark and share and I thank you for following along and sharing recs with me!
But first, some housekeeping!
Erica and I wrote an ebook, Meal Prep Made Simple, and it’s out on Tuesday! If you preorder before then, you’ll get two exclusive playlists, a discount to our virtual launch party/fall meal prep class, and a link to download the ebook as soon as it’s out! We cannot to see you cook from this book and the countdown is on!
Last week, I shared a Q&A with the wonderful Andrea Aliseda all about origins, vegan Mexican cooking and more! Next week, we’ll be back to our regular schedule with a Monday and a Thursday newsletter.
If you’re looking to do some fall cooking, it’s pumpkin bread season! Try my family’s recipe and browse the TNHS recipe archive here (most of the recipes are behind a paywall and they’re really good).
Now, let’s dive in.
London:
We spent the bulk of our trip in London, where my cousin Teal lives at the moment. We stayed in her neighborhood of Marylebone and were on our own for the first half (she had a work trip) and then with Teal for the second half. In terms of planning, we had a big list before we arrived and then figured out our actual schedule the first day we were there. I don’t like to plan every second of a trip and it’s a big city, so you’ll always find something to do. Public transportation is fantastic and we used credit cards for everything, just make sure you have one that’s tap to pay. FYI, mask wearing is almost nonexistent there and I felt pretty comfortable because of my recent covid infection. I used some new products on my trip that will definitely find their way on to the gift guide, which is coming next month!
To do:
This was my third trip to London so we skipped a lot of the major tourist sites. I love to have a mix of activities on a trip.
The Wallace Collection: This free museum in Marylebone is a must visit. It’s in a stunning home with luxe wallpaper and furnishings and so many of the paintings are of women! They have French, English, and Dutch paintings and a whole armor section which I mostly skipped. It wasn’t too crowded and was a lovely way to spend an hour or so. I didn’t go this time, but I also love the V&A Museum. The Tate Modern is very modern and the flagship exhibits require paid tickets but there’s some cool stuff there.
Churchill War Rooms: I went back to these after visiting in 2017 and they’re still so interesting. You get to walk through the underground bunker where Churchill and his staff managed the war (and often ate and slept during times of heavy bombing). It is mostly intact because after the war everyone left quickly. There’s an audioguide included with your ticket and they have interviews with many of the people who worked there, including the female typists who had to use sun lamps since they so rarely went outside. Get tickets online to skip the line. You’ll be right near 10 Downing Street, St. James Park and Buckingham Palace so you can walk there after.
Coal Drops Yard: This is a new development in London and it’s quite nice to walk around the shops, art, restaurants, and canals. There’s also a market, Canopy Market, if you want a snack or drink. It’s right near Kings Cross so you’ll probably be near it at some point.
Grocery Shopping: One of my favorite activities anywhere is strolling the aisles of a grocery store. We visited Waitrose and Marks and Spencer (often compared to Trader Joes because most of the stuff is its own house brand) and I loved both. We tried English raspberries (so good), sweet chili crisps (incredible), new brands of oat milk (Rude Health is a great name), chocolate cornflake bites, kombucha, and more. I also browsed the spice stall at Borough Market and got some smoked jalapeño flakes to bring home. Groceries are a great gift as well!
Book Shopping: Bookstores are my happy place and I visited two lovely ones: Words on the Water, which is on a boat in the canal and Daunt Books in Marylebone, which is so well stocked and curated, with a great food section and very cute tote bags.
Carnaby Street: This pedestrian only section of Soho is super trendy and fun to walk through. A lot of the stores are ones we have in the US, but there are some only in the UK brands to check out and the Liberty store, which is stunning! It’s definitely a crowded area especially on weekends.
Park Walks: London is full of parks! Find whichever park is closest to where you’re staying and walk often (we walked so much on this trip). I loved Regent’s Park, which has lots of gardens and Primrose Hill, which is part of the park, has stunning views of London.
Bridge Walks: London’s many pedestrian bridges provide great views of the city! If it’s sunny, make sure you walk across at least one. The Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges have views of the London Eye, the city, and Westminster. Some bridges have more visibility than others (Blackfriars Bridge is under construction so the views are obstructed).
Sports: Teal works with the NFL and we got to go to a game and a few events surrounding it (one was in the crypt of a church, which was an extremely cool setting). The game itself (my first) was at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium, a new stadium that’s really lovely. I love watching live sports and it was interesting to see the crowd (lots of them were on our flight home and lots were Americans living abroad). The staff at the venue was mostly clueless about how the game worked (same) and it was a really friendly atmosphere (I’m sure a soccer game would be way more competitive).
To eat:
Brixton Market: Brixton Market is in the heart of Brixton, a historically Caribbean area. We went with Nicholas and he showed us around the market. There are tons of food options of all cuisines but we went for Jamaican at Refill. For a sit down meal, try Fish, Wings & Tings or the vegan spot right across from it. There are outdoor tables nearby. There’s so much history in Brixton and it’s absolutely worth a visit!
Borough Market: Borough Market is a must see! There are so many food stalls and treasures to purchase. You can get food or you can buy things like fish, cheese, bread, spices, fruits and vegetables. It’s an indoor outdoor set up and it gets packed so try to go on off hours. I recommend doing a lap before committing to a location. I went here with Aliya who is working on Serving Up (the publisher’s office is right by the market, #goals). She’s a vegetarian/vegan and highly recommended the cheese sandwich from The Black Pig and it was so good. It’s smoked scamorza cheese, fennel apple slaw, salsa verde, honey truffle mayo on the perfect bread. There’s also a Momouth Coffee Company location there and the grilled cheese at Kappacasein Dairy is legendary. Aliya and her coworker explained that the stands at Borough Market change pretty often as they move into more permanent locations—my first trip there I got Egyptian street food from a spot that now has its own location. So walk around and see what looks good to you as it’s changing!
Boxcar Baker: Something I love doing while traveling is becoming a regular for the duration of the trip. Dale and I did this at Boxcar—we had our first meal here and our last, which we ate on the Heathrow Express. This cafe is adorable and perfect to grab a takeaway cortado or a sit down meal. Our favorite items were the pumpkin spice cookie and the scrambled egg breakfast, which came with croissant bread (we subbed it for milk bread most days), cherry tomatoes, and either avocado or smoked salmon. Heavenly.
The Larrik: We love pubs! Pubs are everywhere and lots of them have really good food in a pretty laid back setting. We went here on our first night and had drinks, squash soup and mushroom risotto.
The Grazing Goat: Teal took us to dinner at this pub and the food was incredible (the group owns a few pubs). Everything was so high quality and comforting yet creative (all pubs have things like fries but there is also a lot of variety). We got artichoke fritters, linguine with clams, and a peach and burrata salad.
KOL: We got drinks in the downstairs bar of this Mexican restaurant and they make a great cocktail. I haven’t tried the food but the vibe was great.
Louie: This seafood focused restaurant has a New Orleans inspired menu and it was delicious. It’s definitely upscale (they use gorgeous glassware) but great for a special night. I loved the mushroom risotto and the oysters are excellent.
Granger & Co: This spot has a few locations (we went to the Kings Cross location) and it has a lighter menu than some other spots including breakfast foods and fresh juices. It’s a really pretty space as well and the menu reminded me of Jack’s Wife Freda, they even have zucchini, or courgette, chips.
The Wolseley: Located in a historic building that’s been a bank, a car showroom, and a Chinese restaurant, this spot is beautiful. We went for breakfast with Nicholas and it’s the classics done right—eggs, toast, porridge, coffee, and tea. Julianne and Ian went for high tea on their most recent trip and loved it. I’d also go for a pre dinner cocktail.
Selfridges Food Hall: Selfridges is a huge department store—like Bloomingdales on steroids. Walk past the perfume samples and find the food hall, which is full of fresh baked goods, fancy groceries, and lots of stands. Teal took us to Juici Jerk, which has Jamaican wraps that are so good (they also have bagels but I did not try thoses). The wraps, with either chicken or vegan chicken (seitan) are so good and filling—they come with a sauce of your choice and extra fillings like rice and peas, plantains, or slaw. There are some seats in the food hall or you can take them to go and eat in a park.
Dishoom: Dishoom is on every list and it is really good! The biggest downside is the lines, which are outdoors and can be long. They are really good at letting older people, pregnant people, and anyone who has trouble standing wait inside (last time I went to London, I had a boot on a sprained ankle and got to wait inside at the bar). We went to the Covent Garden location and Hitha recommended the Kensington location. The food is delicious and the NA drink options are incredible. I haven’t been for breakfast but that’s another way to reduce the lines. If your schedule doesn’t allow waiting in line, you don’t have to. There are so many great Indian and South Asian restaurants in London and lots of them take reservations (Trishna was fabulous, get the raspberry lemonade. And Dishoom is opening next year in New York!
General thoughts:
Obviously England is far from perfect and has many issues. These are my observations as a white, English speaking tourist.
The public transit is the best I’ve ever experienced (I haven’t been to Asia). We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for anything and usually it was 1 or 2 minutes. The first time I saw we had just missed a train, I was disappointed but then I realized the next train was right there. This happened multiple times. Even the buses have countdown clocks and they mostly drive in protected bus lines so it’s really fast. The buses that run 24 hours are clearly labeled too. Sit upstairs for the best views. The tube is very clean and there are so many escalators (definitely more accessible than the New York system). You don’t need an oyster card anymore—you can tap to pay with a card or your phone. You have to tap out when you leave as well. I love the tube. We were in a cab only a handful of times (uber isn’t super reliable there) but London cabdrivers are super knowledgable—they don’t use google maps, they memorize the streets of the city.
The eggs were so much better than eggs here. The yolks were so bright that the first time I saw scrambled eggs, I thought they had tomato in them because they were so orange. The raspberries were incredible and did not get mushy and moldy after two days, which is a win. I also found these tea bag like things filled with coffee beans which were convenient for making coffee without a coffee maker (it’s not the best coffee in the world but it was pretty good and so convenient). And all the coffee shops I went to didn’t charge extra for alt milks (let’s try that here)
There are vegetarian options everywhere and a lot of vegan options as well. You’ll see lots of mushrooms, halloumi, burrata, and eggplant (aubergine).
Tipping is quite different. Restaurants automatically add a 12.5% service fee to the bill and there’s no line to add more (you could leave a cash tip if you wanted). We didn’t have reservations most nights, but they were good to have for Friday and Saturday especially and could be made a few days or weeks ahead on the restaurant’s website.
Sneakers or trainers as they say are everywhere. Even in more upscale settings, sneakers were often the footwear of choice.
The Queen’s death didn’t really affect our trip as the period of mourning was over. Some shops still had photos displayed in her honor (our friends told us that nearly every shop had that during the mourning period).
Don’t get run over! Cars on the other side of the road can be disorienting so cross the street carefully.
Get to Heathrow early for your flight home! The security lines were intense and very poorly managed. They are also extremely strict about liquids, all of which must fit in a tiny plastic bag. I’ve been burned before, so I checked my carryon suitcase to protect my French sunscreen. We wound up having to go to a different line after over an hour and ended up running to the gate. Advocate for yourself if it’s getting closer to your flight time and give yourself plenty of time.
Paris:
My longer Paris guide is right here—I’m so glad we managed to go for a quick trip and of course, I always want to go back! We were there on a Monday so some things were closed, but it was still very special.
To do:
Bateaux Mouches: There are several companies that do boat rides down the Seine and we used this one. The last boat left at 10:30 and delivered stunning views of the Eiffel Tower, Musee D’Orsay, Notre Dame, and more. They sell drinks or you can bring some. We bought an overpriced mini champagne, because why not? There’s an audio tour that’s pretty minimal on the details, which I didn’t mind, but other companies might go more in depth.
Pharmacy skincare buying: This was my morning activity before catching the train home, inspired by Kristina and Charlotte’s recommendations. I got sunscreen and hand cream that’s not available in the US (or is cheaper in France). The sunscreen was my main excitement—the EU has more advanced filters that are not approved here and I can’t wait to use them. There are pharmacies everywhere—I found one within 5 minutes of the hotel. Look for the green cross.
Walk around: Paris is a great city for wandering and there’s a high chance that even the walk from the metro to dinner will be stunning, especially if the sun is setting.
To eat:
Baguette and cheese: Per tradition, our first meal in Paris was baguette and a nice, soft cheese, from the boulangerie near our hotel and the supermarket. It was delicious and you can’t beat the price (baguette prices are usually about 1 euro, though a supermarket recently caused issues with a cheaper one). As David Lebovitz says, the best baguette is the one in your neighborhood. I don’t travel to another borough to get a bagel and it’s a similar principle. We did buy a second baguette to take back to London.
Croissants: I dream of the croissants of Paris and we were staying near Utopie, which I visited on my last trip. We grabbed croissants and a pain au chocolat and holy moly, they are so good. A good croissant makes an absolute mess of flakes and it’s so buttery. Oof, I want more.
Coffee: Boulangeries don’t have seating areas and we wanted to be able to chat and people watch on our final morning in Paris. We found Cafe Obrkof near our hotel and it was the perfect spot to spend an hour. We had coffee and hot chocolate and they have some more American style items like egg sandwiches alongside house made granola and pastries. It would be a cute spot to read or do some laptop work as well.
Songo: It’s hard to pick a dinner spot for one night in Paris but we had a leg up! Teal’s friend Estelle, who used to work in restaurants in New York, recently opened Sogno, an Italian restaurant on a quiet street with views of the Eiffel Tower. Decision made. Sogno means dream in Italian and it was the chef’s dream to open this spot, where many of the ingredients are sourced from Italy. We had an incredible dinner, which was nearly three hours (on brand for Paris). We started with spritzes—mine had rosemary and lemon and arancini and then got casarecce with pesto and glasses of rosato. For dessert, we tried a pistachio mousse with raspberries and merengue and the house gelatos and sorbet (the apricot sorbet was unreal). If we hadn’t been trying to catch the last boat, I would have lingered even longer.
General thoughts:
We took the Eurostar from London and it was great. Buy your tickets in advance to save money and arrive at least an hour early (an hour and half is ideal) as you’ll have to go through customs. You have assigned seats, which is great. The wifi on the train is bad so bring a book or download a podcast.
I loved our hotel, which Ian recommended and it was in a great location only 15 minutes from the Gare du Nord and 4 minutes from a metro stop. It’s a little cheaper to book directly with them if you use the code ZEN. Don’t get the breakfast included, go get a croissant. Our room got upgraded and we had a huge bathtub which was a great surprise.
I took French in high school and understand more than I can speak. In Paris, it goes a long way to at least follow local customs, like saying bonjour or bonsoir when you enter a store (and saying goodbye when you leave). They’ll still probably respond to you in English but the effort counts.
Eating is such a ritual and part of the culture. You won’t be able to get lunch at 4 pm and service is decidedly not rushed. Lean into the schedule and the 3 hour dinners, it’s a treat.
The outlets in Paris/Europe are different than the outlets in the UK (duh). This jaunt was pretty spontaneous so we just brought our portable chargers and that was enough for a short trip. They sell converters at the train station if you need and there were UK plugs on the Eurostar.
Paris is great. No notes.
Something to read:
Green kitchens are trending and Emma Chamberlain’s house is gorgeous
Andrea wrote a beautiful essay about getting blowouts with her tita
Marie Cheslik on making wine (and coffee) more accessible
Obvious content warnings here, but did anyone get out of this time period unscathed? I did not. If You Survived the Early 2000s Without Body Issues, Congratulations
I read this book on my trip and really enjoyed it (it’s set in England which was fun). A 79 year old grandmother in the Yorkshire Dales trades flats (and lives) with her workaholic granddaughter who’s on sabbatical. They both have a lot to learn (and grief to cope with). And yes, I followed my own travel book advice.
The Great Food Instagram Vibe Shift
I was crying reading this conversation between Rachel Handler and her grandfather in law before his assisted suicide. What a gift that she got to have it and shared it.
How can I get that meaty flavour in my vegetarian chilli?
A little time with Carly Rae Jepsen, whose show I missed while away
What Is A “Hot Girl Book” & Why Is Everyone Talking About Them?
How these Chinese doughnuts helped save my refugee family
Women Across Iran Are Protesting the ‘Morality Police’
This week, my question is travel related: what’s the best thing you’ve ever brought back from a trip? It could be an item, like a mug, or it could be an idea or lifestyle. I’m so curious to hear and will share the responses next week! You can reply to this email or share your thoughts in the comments.
Thank you for reading through this monster of a newsletter! I hope it’s helpful and hope you’re having a great week!
xo, Abigail
okay, loving living vicariously through this - and RUDE HEALTH is such a good name for oat milk, indeed !