1901 and dining posh for less

Pleasant Company, Stylish Interiors and meals with a view

To kick off the Diamond Jubilee weekend and as a bit of a pre-birthday celebration outing for myself on Friday night, a few off us went off to the  1901    Restaurant at the Andaz hotel by Liverpool street station (which used to be the Great Eastern Hotel dating from 1884. What a wonderful setting for a refined dinner with friends. The interiors I am imagining date from, well...1901. At least it does appear to be from something early Nouveau with its huge stained glass domed ceiling, reminding you of the Galleries Lafayette in Paris.

 It would be a tad on the pricey side but for one of the wonderful 'Stardeals' from Bookatable. Three courses and 2 glasses of wine for 30 quid.  I did quite a bit of research on how to get something fancy and not get stung for too many extras. Last year i had a meal deal for The Criterion, another place with amazing period interiors (as well as Russian Oligarch diners). That one ended up setting us back 60 quid each when you factored in drinks. So word to the wise...look out for the offers including a couple at least one drink, and go and have a couple of pre-dinner beverages somewhere where mere mortals drink beforehand. 

Pre-Dinner Cocktails at Devonshire Terrace

My lovely friend Cat, over at Catnipping, trotted of the following day on another deal  to the Ivy, a well known celebrity dining spot. Tip number 2 - a lunch deal as opposed to dinner is often another way to mix with the toffs but come out relatively unscathed wallet-wise.

All in all this ended up being very good value for a special meal out. Not everyone was bowled over by their meals, though I was happy with mine, and had a very pleasant evening lording it up for a change

Needless to say I had my camera with me

For lunch for the Jubilee Saturday, I caught up with another friend (could it be the Queen?), for Dim Sum at DimT at the More London Complex

The Views from here are stunning, day or night. Right by Tower Bridge.

The Dim Sum was pretty tasty too, though service slow. I do miss Sydney Yum cha, where the dumplings come past on trolleys for you to pick at till you are full to bursting. The pork buns here though were just as good as Marigolds in Market City, Sydney. My favourite!

Somerset House

One of London's tucked away gems, best known for its Winter skating rink, it also houses the Courthould Gallery. I love the buildings, there a few such grand pieces of coherent period architecture in the city. This version of the complex dates from 1770, but the site has historical significance from a considerable time before that. It was named after the Duke of Somerset who was the protector of England while King Henry VIIIs son Edward VI was in his minority.

Dennis Severs House and a Perfect Georgian Street

Today I went to Dennis Severs house, a wonderful little place just off Spitalfields market. They have it all set out as it would have been in 18th Century London, as if the occupants have momentarily left the room. Candles burning, fires crackling, and unmade bed, a half drunk cup of tea. If you sit for a while in one of the rooms you here the clip clop of hooves outside and church bells. What a great idea.

Dennis Severs House


Afterwards I took some shots in a perfectly preserved Georgian street close by. What a wonderful address, so close to everything yet tucked away in its own little world..

A Cotswolds Christmas

The English countryside and villages, castles and stately homes, glorious architecture, history.. wonderful in almost any weather. Recently back from a lovely lazy Christmas spent largely in a cosy cottage in the Cotswolds in front of the log fire with a copy of the Radio Times and assorted mince pies and cheeses. Its so great in the UK, you can more or less pick anywhere and be sure to have an assortment of interesting places to visit within an hours drive.



I was amazed by an almost ghostly Oxford after Christmas with almost no one around and choccas with interesting buildings and the Ashmolian museum. Warwick caste is one of the most castley castles in the UK.. they do know it of course, its a tad theme parky, people in medieval garb etc etc.. great place for kids though.

The Cotswolds itself is rammed full of chocolate box villages in golden stone.. lovely to be driving through without the crowds and christmas lights a twinkling..

Grand Designs - Modern

To complement my previous post, here is a small selection of London's modern architecture - principally Lloyds, designed by the chap that did the Pompidou centre - hence the inside out look, and the Gherkin, which I cant quite make my mind up on. Its an odd shaped beastie but at the same time I do think all those curved windows are quite a feat. The great court at the British museum is always stunning. I think we can rival the louvre's pyramid with that. And the millenium bridge, i'm a fan of too, esp being pedestrian only.

Grand Designs - Period

Ah...Period England, can you beat it. Oh miss Honeyhives I do declare...

Selections from Apsley House, Blenheim Palace, Kensal Green Cemetary (tucked away gem of Victorian funerary architecture), 2 Hampton Courts - the famous one and the other one in the Country, a splash of Leadenhall Market (or the place to buy a wand in Harry Potter), and a couple of other spots.

Georgian Stepney

Which side of the street to do you choose to look at...

This is my latest outlook on life, along the lines of is the glass half full or empty. In my quest to not get sucked into the English doom and gloom machine, and living in what can be a gloomy wintery East end with horrific 60's council flats, I choose to focus on the historic Georgian terraces that many people pass by. Often facing an estate, like many interesting London buildings you could easily pass them by if you didnt take time to stop and look. Much of Stepney was unfortunately bombed quite badly, such as the street my Dad grew up on, but many fine buildings remain.

On my way to the tube from home and just round the corner I pass Stepney Green, the street after which the tube was named and the most desirable one in the area, fronted by a cobbled lane and gardens Also a Peabody Trust late Victorian housing estate building. The Peabody trust was set up in the area and there are many housing estates in London from this period that have loads of character and are lovely places to live if you are lucky enough to get on the list and get mega cheap period living. Sadly in later decades architects almost seemed to out do each other for the sheer ugliness of their mass housing projects.

On the Mile End road itself you have another couple of fantastic buildings that im sure most people walk past without giving a thought. Peering through the foliage clad gates of one to its tumble down steps, reminds one of the house in Great Expectations. Actually if you squint at some of the streets you could picture Dickensian London quite easily. Also on the Mile End / Whitechapel road you have Trinity Square - Alms houses from the late 1600's. The proposed demolition of which in the 1800's caused the start of the listed building program in England. Just next door is a memorial to William Booth, this was where the Salvation army started.

In the other direction towards Limehouse, across the park, you have Arbour Square, which could easilly have been used in period dramas, still retaining gas lamp style street lighting and build round a beautiful square. Again on one side the orginal buildings didnt make it, but in this case at least the Estate is 30's deco rather than 60's mass ugliness. Across the other side of Commercial road is yet another beautiful Georgian square.

So what do you choose to focus on when you wander around your area - the good, the bad or the ugly? Sometimes even the Ugly has a certain charm. Ive chucked in a crumbly down East end pub on the end of this slideshow. I think it has a certain character even if theres a good chance it had a Kray twin or two in it at some point!.