London Unlocked
The real joy of London is uncovering her secrets and former London resident Norah Casey shares the real joys of eating and drinking in this bustling, fast moving city.
I love London. It was my home for 18 years. The pace of change is fast with new streetscapes, restaurants, transformations of old buildings and dramatic architectural newcomers. There is nothing subtle about London’s pace of change. There’s a restlessness about the city, a need to constantly reinvent the old, stay relevant, surge ahead with fearless and edgy concoctions. This is a city where the stale and tired get left behind as a new army of experimentalists surge onwards whether it's the arts, architecture, food or fashion. And I’m still at home there. Even though I feel out of the loop despite regular visits. So I relished the challenge of getting back into the swing of London life, revisiting old haunts and hanging out with the cool kids on the edgy fringe. So here goes my best of the old classics, the crazy new stuff and the ‘wild but somehow it works’ secrets of my eating out in London.
Old Favourites
Corrigan’s Mayfair
Back in 1998 myself and a small group of Irish women in London began meeting regularly at Richard Corrigan’s former restaurant, Lindsay House in Soho. We hatched a plan over many long lunches to launch a women’s Irish network in London (WIN), partly because we wanted to create a fun club to connect with other like minded Irish women but also to raise funds for the Irish Youth Foundation. Our first breakfast was at the Langham and James Dyson was our guest speaker (he was a neighbour of fellow founder and brilliant writer Polly Devlin). It is one of the most amazing women’s groups and even though I sold our house in London a couple of years ago I still stay close to all my great women friends in London through WIN. So during this visit I interviewed Rachel Allen in front of a live audience for a WIN breakfast at Richard’s flagship Corrigan’s Mayfair on Grosvenor Street. I virtually live at Richard’s other great restaurant, Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill in Swallow Street, when I am in town so it was great to reconnect with the plusher and more sophisticated sister. Head to Corrigan’s for a special treat, from door to table, service is impeccable. The clubby Mayfair décor has a hint of quirkiness but best of all you get to sample Richard’s stunning gourmet cooking. corrigansmayfair.co.uk
The Wolseley
A return visit to The Wolseley on Piccadilly reminded me how much I loved it. There was a time when only the rich and famous could bag a table at this classic old car showroom, except for those of us who knew Sean Sean McDermott the Irish-born doorman (from Cappawhite inTipperary). Sean has since moved on to that other London IT restaurant, Scott’s. The food is still wholesome and the people watching even better. We enjoyed Dungarvan Oysters, perfectly cooked steaks and soaked up the buzzy atmosphere of this great haunt. Even better, we persuaded the waiter to part with some gossip. Annie Lennox was enjoying dinner over to our left and Blur’s Damon Albarn! had just sauntered past our table. Our man in the know says that David Beckham and Victoria are regulars but apparently they usually share a bowl of soup and two glasses of champagne (so that’s the secret to dining out on a diet). Kate Middleton pops in sometimes and mingles with the rest of the diners, very low key, he tells us. Not like the vulgarity of those American superstars he says scornfully, who bring an entire entourage of security. He laughed when he heard we were Irish and said that Louis Walsh used to come in and one night he nearly got knocked down crossing the road (we weren’t sure why that was funny). Make a booking just in case and enjoy equal amounts of great food and great people watching. thewolseley.com
Roka
Another classic I wanted to revisit was Roka. I was a fan of the Charlotte Street original which opened about 12 years ago to much fanfare as the brainchild of award winning chef Rainer Becker of Zuma-fame. I love Japanese food and I had clearly missed that Roka had opened new sister restaurants in London (including Aldwich and Mayfair) and globally in Dubai and Istanbul with Kuwait and Mallorca coming this year. The traffic and crowds of this busy corner of London recede as you enter the Zen-like contemporary interior of Roka Aldwich. Natural stone and wood dominate the entrance with a perfectly aligned display of Saki bottles hinting at the Japanese precision in all things, culinary and otherwise. The pop of bright orange and purple from the statuesque bird of paradise arrangements are stark against the cool gray colourscape. We ate at a table next to a wall adorned solely with precise rows of empty glass jars with muslin caps secured with twine and brown paper tags. If the restaurant is the set, then the kitchen is the theatre with blue-uniformed chefs cooking live with the charcoal robata grill the centre of all the action. We had the set lunchtime menu, the Hayameshi Teishoku for £27 per person. It’s a great choice if you want to keep the price down while sampling a selection from the chef - sashimi, some of the robata grilled meats and dumplings. You won’t be disappointed. The dishes are impeccable as was the service. (my guest assured me the cocktails were famously good here). rokarestaurant.com
Cicchetti
Every now and then I go somewhere I wished I had discovered sooner. A friend had been to London recently and suggested I try Cicchetti, a small plate Italian restaurant in Piccadilly (there is one in Knightbridge and Covent garden also) with a menu created by chef genius Aldo Zilli. Cicchetti are typical of Venetian bars where small places are served to share.
I liked the place from the moment I entered. Its bright and stylish with sleek Italian marble table tops centre stage to contemporary yellow leather chairs. It’s bright and fun with Italian meats hanging from hooks, oversized melons on display and a bright red tomato adorning each table. While a venetian styled marble bar dominates one side of the dining room a wall of horizontal gravity defying wine bottles adorns the other. And along the top runs a ticker tape of scripted menu morsels listing the likes of Risotto Zucca… Gamberoni Piccante – all to whet the appetite even further. The backdrop of the open kitchen and wood burning oven at the end of the dining room grounds Cicchetti in its Italian roots with oodles of London style. The menu is traditional Italian with a nod to most regional dishes. The small plate concept is so much better if you want to have a leisurely evening eating as much or as little as you want.
We enjoyed some fine Italian staples, bruschetta, Sicilian gamberoni, Risotto Pumpkin with saffron, pepper and black truffles, lamb cutlets with rosemary and thyme and sea bass with fresh clams and homemade gnocchi.
There’s a lot of style and Italian flair about the interior and the staff from the warm welcome to the charming and engaging chats over choices and between courses. sancarlocicchetti.co.uk
The Groucho Club
I’ve been a member of the Groucho Club for years and now the bedrooms are all refurbished, along with the rest of the Club, it is my base in London. The only problem is you never get to bed because the bar is full of fun and people I know. But it’s a lot tamer now than it used to be. The Groucho follows no rules except a line from its namesake Groucho Marx who allegedly said: "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member". So ironically those who strive to be members are more likely to be rejected. Money won't buy you access and neither will fame. You have to be a ‘Groucho kind of person’ to fit in and that makes for a mix of strange bedfellows.
I could write a book about some crazy nights at the Groucho over the past twenty years – I had my welcome to London party there and my farewell to London party there and in-between I learned many life lessons. James Nesbit and a few other Irish expats including myself hit upon an idea to leave art paper, charcoal and paints behind the bar and persuaded almost every celebrity at the club to draw a picture or do a painting to raise funds for a great charity in Northern Ireland. Amazingly we got nearly 200 - from some amazing pieces by the talented Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin to the strange squiggles of rock stars. Anything could happen at the Groucho and mostly it did. Back in the day you were as likely to bump into Bono as Princess Diana and Bill Clinton. Rod Melvin has played the piano at the Groucho forever and on occasion we persuade him to do a stint for Bloomsday or the like. He’s played for all the greats with a lot of patience during those all nighters. The new Groucho has shades of the old. I don’t get lost any more so they must have connected the corridors better, it has a lift and the décor isn’t pretentious – better still it still has incredible art and a down to earth restaurant which still serves the best fish and chips. And you don’t have to be a member to stay and enjoy. thegrouchoclub.com
Something Different
Digital dining
Head to Inamo in Soho or Covent garden for Asian food with a difference. This is where ground-breaking technology enhances the food experience. You can set the mood, add some graffiti, read and order the menu and even enjoy a live chef-cam feed via interactive projections on your table surface. inamo-restaurant.com
The Thirsty Bear in Stamford Street on the South Bank says it is revolutionizing pubs and self service with iPad ordering from the comfort of your table. Designed pre-covid but definitely on trend post-covid, you can pour your own pint, order some great pub food, along with an extensive beer menu. A pretty cool place for a DIY evening (you can even order your own music). thethirstybear.com
Underground supper
For something completely different why not have supper in a 1967 London underground carriage. You can book your own supper club on the tube for a ‘food journey from Mexico to Patagonia’. Open three nights a week, the old Victoria line tube carriage is transformed into a quirky restaurant where a carefully curated playlist and dimmed lights set the atmosphere The supper club is at the Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum. supperclub.tube
Dine in the dark
Dining in the dark is one of my all time great experiences and there is nowhere better than Clerkenwell based Dans Le Noir. Here you will be served in total darkness guided and served by blind people designed to create awareness along with a unique culinary experience. Sharpen your senses and enjoy something different. danslenoir.com
Sex shop speakeasy
Enter a sex shop in Soho and discover La Bodega Negra, great Mexican food (street, beach and free style) and very cool vibe loved by the likes of Kate Moss and Lily Allen. labodeganegra.com
Sacramental cocktails
Not sure about this one but it’s fun. The catholic guilt thing makes for a bit of discomfort but Communion Bar is a basement ecclesiastically themed cocktail bar complete with lots of iconography, sacramental wine and communion wafers. Your mother would kill you! churchstreethotel.com
Jeans at the Ritz
I used to have a heart attack if someone suggested meeting at the Ritz because the dress code is tougher than Ascot so I was delighted to hear that the newly refurbished and infamous Rivoli Bar has ditched the dress code but not the magic. The cocktails aren’t cheap but as a special treat you can’t beat it for opulence. Dont miss the Rum Manhattan! theritzlondon.com
Panorama Dining
For drinks with a view head to the sky pod bar in what Londoners call the walkie-talkie building at Fenchurch street in bank. Sky Garden and the sky pod bar have expansive views of the city of London. The dress code is stylish (to match the smart contemporary glass fronted space) and while they accept walk-ins for breakfast or at quieter times the waiting list for cocktails and dinner with the best views open 30 days in advance – so book ahead. skygarden.london
I have never mastered the art of being relaxed at Sushi Samba but it is the most spectacular location for dinner and the highest outdoor dining terrace in Europe. And it has plenty of wow from the enormous orange tree sculpture at the heart of the bar to the open bamboo ceiling with floating lights. If you can get past the panoramic glass lifts that hurtle you skywards you’re in for a rare treat. I guarantee you will have never experienced anything like it. Sushi Sama is in Bishopsgate and the food is a heady mix of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian. sushisamba.com
Best Boho Street Dining
Exmouth Market
Take a walk on the wild side and sample the retro bars, restaurants and shops on Exmouth Market. I used to think Marylebone High Street would be my favourite place to live if I returned to London but it seems tame by comparison to the edgy vibe of Exmouth Market. About ten years ago the street reenergized its foodie heritage and brought back the street market which in turn attracted all manner of café bars and restaurants.
Coffee at Caravan which roasts its own coffee is unmissable as much for the windows which offer the perfect vantage point to marvel at the theatre of regulars who frequent the market. caravanonexmouth.co.uk
One of the strangest and compelling windows are those of Macellaio RC a hybrid Italian Butcher and Restaurant that boasts Damien Hirst style suspended frozen tuna in one window and shanks of meat hung in the other with two blood red leather chesterfield sofas offering outside seating. macellaiorc.com
Spanish and middle eastern cooking from Moro at 34 Exmouth Market (moro.co.uk ) and next door its walk-in tapas-style sister restaurant Morito (morito.co.uk ). If you fancy some East End grub then head for Clerks which serves jellied eels with pie and mash (46 Exmouth Market).
If football is your thing then enjoy some table footie at Café Kick 43 Exmouth Market (cafekick.co.uk). Coin Laundry on the corner at number 70 (coinlaundry.co.uk) is a retro gem serving Chicken Kiev amidst kitsch 70s memorabilia. More traditional but great Sunday lunch to be had at the heart of the market is The Exmouth Arms 23 Exmouth Market (exmoutharms.com ). And look out for the Irish element! Award winning goldsmith David McCaul and his brother Barry were born in Portmarnock but 56 Exmouth Market is now home to their contemporary bespoke jewelry business (mccaul.com)
Follow us on Instagram
