Going to London?

Thanks to my work as a designer, I have the great benefit of going to different citys. Here is a little guide to some of my hotspots in London. Feel free to add suggestions to the list.

Tiny at Dean Street Townhouse

S T A Y:
Finding a good hotel without paying a fortune in London is hard. I have stayed at some really shady hotels but have also found one or two good ones.
Dean Street Townhouse, 69 Dean Street in SoHo. Quite expensive but they have "Broom Cupboard" & "Tiny" rooms starting at 90 pounds.

Sanctum Soho, 20 Warwick Street. I stayed here last time in London and were pleasently surprised. Good breakfast, clean and nice rooms, but the best part is the roof top garden.

Hoxton Hotel, 81 Great Eastern Street in Shoreditch. I haven´t stayed here myself but I have heard good thing about the hotel and it looks really nice on the website.


Fernandez and Wells


E A T:
Fernandez and Wells Food & Winebar, Lexinton Street. They also have a coffebar just around the corner at Beak Street.

Daylesford organic Farmshop & Café on 208 Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill. An absolut delight to have a organic breakfast (try the eggs with whitewine sause) or snack and then just walk around in their shop.

Ottolenghi Café, Ledbury Road in Notting Hill. It is supersmall but have the best food ever. Next door you find a lovely jewllery designer, Fiona Knapp. Walking on Ledbury Road there are some small but very nice childrens clothingstores.

Story deli at Old Truman Brewery, next to Brick Lane, East End. A modern, minimalistic "shabby chic" interior with great food. I had the best organic pizza ever (grilled veggies and lots of goatcheese...) and they also sell some beautiful little items in the back of the place.

Locanda Locatelli, modern, contemporary interior and high class, inovative italian kitchen. When I was there, Madonna sat at the next table...

Hix, 66 Brewer Street in SoHo. You´ll go there for the food, the atmosphere and th trendy crowd. The place is filled with artwork from artists like Damien Hirst, Tim Noble and Sue Webster.

Moro, 34 Exmouth Market. It´s a classic that can´t go wrong. Moorish cuisine at it´s best.

Busaba Eathai, 106 Wardour Street in SoHo. I don´t know how many times I´ve been here and I never get tired of their food. Don´t worry about the line outside, it only takes a few minutes to get in. The only negative thing with this restaurant is the very noicy atmosphere.

Orla Kiely

B U Y:
If the weather is nice, I like to take a walk around Notting Hill, at Ledbury Road and Westbourn Grove. There are some small, excusive but inspiering shops. Quite a few artgalleries and excusive childrens stores.

Last year a friend of mine suggested a "new" street, not far from Oxford Street, Marylebone High Street. A smaller street with lots of nice stores such as; Conran Shop, Skandium, Monocle, Designers Guild, The White Company , LOFT design by and many more. I found it to be a treat getting away from Oxford Street and see something nice.

The furniture store with all the big names; Aram, 110 Drury Lane. If you are looking for an Eames chair or something from Eileen Gray, this is the place.

Mint, 2 North Terrace Alexander Square. A place were art and furnitures come together.

Elemental, at Spitalfields Market, East End. If you like industrial design this is the place for you.

I have a sertain love for Orla Kiely, so walking in to her store in Coven Garden at 31 Monmouth Street is a delight. Especially her home collection is something special. I´m getting the wallpaper next time I go there.

When looking for sexy lingerie, go to Myla, in Notting Hill or Coco De Mer, 23 Monmouth Street in Covent Garden. They have everything a girl would like and knows how important the wrapping and atmosphere is.

For menswear, I just found this great shop, Albam. They have one store in 111 Commercial Street, East End and a little one on 23 Beak Street, off Regent Street.

I assume that if you have been to London lately, you have visited Anthropologie in Regent Street. If you haven´t, then off you go... As always, theire stores is an experience.