So Long, London (for now)
Ice cream, oysters, and tapas in London and the seaside. Plus, see you on Thursday!
Hi friends,
I’m started writing this on my flight back from London, a favorite creative space. I had such a wonderful time this week, seeing Taylor Swift (and Ed Sheeran and Paramore), taking seaside walks, eating great food, soaking up the London sunshine (always a treat!) and spending time with lovely people and also, myself. I was stressed ahead of this trip, waiting for my tickets to transfer and hoping they were real. When they hit my Ticketmaster account the day before I left, I shifted from anxiety to excitement. I love London so much and will truly take any excuse to visit, especially when the excuse is a bucket list concert.
Want more London content? I’ve got you (and I’m sure I’ll have another version sometime next year, already plotting the next trip).
Something to cook:
Did I cook this week? No! But my sweet parents did—they picked me up from the airport with a baked pasta full of summer vegetables and some bread for my first dinner back. It really set me up for the first few meals back, which was much appreciated.
Something to order:
I got to London and met Teal at the train station. We headed to the sea, more specifically Whitstable, a sweet seaside town that reminded me of a combo of Balboa Island and Maine. It’s super walkable and the Harbour street shops are great for browsing. Oysters are the local specialty and industry and I loved how there were signs everywhere about the health benefits of oysters (don’t need to tell me twice). We had a lovely outdoor lunch at the Lobster Shack where I had an oyster po’boy and raw oysters.
My favorite dinner was at the Whitstable Oyster Company which is a beautiful building with great seafood—we had some excellent mussels with local cider and cold white wine.
Beach towns always have good ice cream and we made multiple trips to Bear’s Ice Cream, which has creative plant based and dairy flavors. My favorite was the coconut custard with homemade rhubarb jam, summer in a cup and we did get ice cream before lunch because that’s what you do on vacation. Another favorite was Porto Wine Bar, a Portuguese wine bar that felt like someone’s living room. And we had great sandwiches at The Larder, I had a kimchi grilled cheese and browsed the fancy groceries.
Back in London, we stopped at Boxcar Bakery for lunch—I missed their avocado toast and really their eggs, with achingly orange yolks that make me question every egg I’ve eaten in the US.
The food situation at Wembley was alright—the best options are at the food trucks that set up outside so I got some snacks and picked up a halloumi wrap from a kebab shop on the walk home from the tube. Seeing Taylor was so special and I was impressed by how well organized and safe everything felt.
On Friday, I met Amy at Layla Bakery in Ladbrooke Grove—they make all their pastries with sourdough and the almond croissant was fabulous. The line gets long because this is a TikTok favorite but I got there a bit after 10 and only waited 10 minutes. They also make bread and the coffee was surprisingly good.
After a nice walk admiring all the houses, I met Rose and Mandy for lunch at Vori, a Greek spot on Holland Street. They have a set lunch menu or you can order a la carte. My favorite dishes were the feta croquettes with tomato jam and the fava bean dip with grilled sourdough (always need to be eating more fava beans).
Teal and I grabbed dinner with her friends at Jikoni, a no borders kitchen. The food was so good and the space is so inviting. The starters were particularly strong and change seasonally—we had grilled peaches, kale chaat, and a crab and kohlrabi salad. I would definitely go back on future trip and Blandford Comptoir is a lovely wine bar to get a drink before or after
I always love to see a new part of London so Mandy and I headed to Hampstead Heath for a pub lunch (and great people watching) at The Spaniards Inn, which opened in 1585. The garden is the place to be and like all pubs, the service was relaxed so we could chat and linger as much as we wanted. I got a veggie burger and they have a nice fried cauliflower starter.
After seeing a play, I got right out of Soho and had a late dinner at Twist, a tapas bar. Tapas can be frustrating in big groups but they’re perfect for a solo meal. I had pan con tomate, oyster mushrooms with chili orbs and stracciatella, and grilled romaine. The mushrooms were incredible and I loved not having to share.
Something to read:
As a Claire and Erica fan, I’m so excited for 831 Stories!
Dirty Dancing and its bungalows live on in the Catskills
Brands Love Influencers (Until Politics Get Involved)
I will take any crumbs about Mamma Mia 3 I can get!
Loved
’s take on the Jordan Chiles situation—her getting her medal stripped is ridiculous on finding joy though coffeeA winding conversation with Darren Star, The Master of Compulsively Watchable TV. I’m excited for Younger to be on Netflix.
Making sense of 40,000 dead by
I got to see part one of the Death of England in London, such an important series, I recommend it!
25 Little Ways to Have a Better Relationship With Your Phone
I read this short story collection by Danielle Evans (a stoop find, gotta love New York) on my flight home and loved it. Her book The Office of Historical Corrections was a big book a few years ago and it was a treat to read her earlier work.
I’m back home now and so tired. Please excuse any typos, I’ve been awake for many hours. I can’t wait to sleep a lot and most importantly, see you at our happy hour on Thursday at The Last Call!
xoxo, Abigail