We are currently in London, landed last Friday morning early. I think going forward we will book our lodging for the night prior. Too old to wait for my room till 2:00 pm.
We were able to leave our bags at The Cove on Cannon Road after our train from Heathrow. We found Where’s Fred Coffee & Wine Bar in one of the side streets across from the Cove. Good strong coffee and tea, caramelized banana over yogurt and avocado toast with eggs. Gave us the strength to climb on the #15 bus as far as Westminster for a short walk around.
Headed back toward Cannon in hopes that our room might be ready early. No dice, so we grabbed a coffee at a Caravan coffee shop. Kept us going and we finally got the OK to formally check into the Cove, a series of studio apartments with stove, oven, microwave, fridge, washer/dryer combo.
We had a quick nap and headed to Haz, a Turkish restaurant. A really nice meal, good service and pretty reasonable. The babaganoush was excellent, not as roasted dark as I see in the states, a very nice bright taste. I had a grilled king prawn on a bed of pepper and carrot sauce with spinach and chickpeas. Very balanced and a little spicy. The prawn was cooked perfectly, with the head included. DH had the chicken kofta with yogurt and tomato sauce , with rice and broccoli. Also a success, we had leftovers this evening, splitting the last of of it. Dessert was the kanzandibi, not one of my favorites but was a hit with DH.
Saturday was a slow start, coffee and yogurt in the room . Then a walk over the Millennium Bridge to the Borough Market. Wow! Lots to look at and lots to eat. We did split a salted beef sandwich from one of the butchers, on a slab of bread with pickles and yellow mustard. It was great, messy, salty, briny and all things my doctor would warn me about! And I would do it again in a heartbeat, Washed it all down with a fresh passion fruit drink. The market was great, so much to see and consider. That was about all we ate, but did get a nice quarter loaf of bread, french butter and cheese and some strawberries and tangerines.
After the Titus Andronicus performance in the Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, which was really well done, we had dinner at Casa do Frango, small plate Portuguese food, Bread w/olives, butter, carrots, beans; piri piri prawns, cole slaw, fish cakes, empanadas, and mushrooms. The stand outs were the cole slaw and mushrooms. I love a good cole slaw and this one really was. No mayo, just vinegar and seasoning, very bright and tart. The oyster mushrooms were just as good. The rest was fine but not anything we rush back for. The room was lively and loud in a good way, good wine list and overall a good experience.
We ended the evening at the Golden Fleece on Queen Street for whisky and wine.
Sunday had us up early for a 9:00 am entrance to the Towers. A morning well spent, crown jewels, castles, armour and mayhem. We had our Sunday Roast dinner at the Lamb Tavern in the Leaden Hall market. I might of been a little concerned when we walked in based on the ambience, but the food was just want we wanted and so well done. We both did the beef. It came with goose fat roast potatoes, roasted cauliflower and carrots, kale, gravy, Yorkshire pudding and horseradish sauce. Perfect! Vegetables were fresh and seasoned, potatoes were crunchy outside and creamy inside and the gravy was more a pan sauce than a thick gravy, which I much prefer. Good wine list but they were missing a few items, so no desserts or much in the way of starters. But the coffee was pretty good.
Overall a good start to our trip. Looking forward to museums, the French House, Dishoom and whatever else we stumble across.
