Five of the best kept secret eateries in London

If you’re tired of the restaurant chains and desperately need to get away from the crowded tourist hotspots of London, you’ll be pleased to learn that there are a wealth of hidden treasures tucked away exclusively for those in the know. From ultra-cool hipster hideaways to quaint and quirky bistros, check out some of the best (secret) eateries in the capital with Show & Stay.

Phat Phuc Noodle Bar, Chelsea

Get your mind out of the gutter; this is not the haunt of some grammatically-challenged chav. For those of us that are cultured and/or fluent in Vietnamese, Phat Phuc (pronounced as it’s spelled) translates to Happy Buddha. And very happy you’ll be once you’ve tasted this delicious Vietnamese food from this fantastic outdoor canteen. Pho noodle soup, a traditional Vietnamese dish, is the plat du jour. It’s a rich and nutritious broth packed with as much flavour as there are vitamins. So swing by, chow down and bon appetit, or more specifically chúc mọi người ăn ngon miệng if you’re Vietnamese.

The Seagrass, Islington

What’s a trip to London without sampling some traditional tucker from the capital? The Seagrass in Islington is a trendy little jaunt that’s affectionately adapted into somewhat of a semi-permanent pop-up. What’s more, it’s BYOB. Yes, that’s ‘bring your own bottle’, a notion often unheard of in today’s society of house wine and meal deals. So nab your favourite bottle of plonk, pull up a pew and enjoy some gorgeous gourmet food with a cockney infusion.

Upstairs Bar and Restaurant, Brixton

A delectable little bijou bar and restaurant, Upstairs is simply wonderful and an absolute must when wanting to enjoy super sumptuous food in the capital. This gastronomic taste sensation takes place in a fantastically designed little flat in London’s trendy Brixton. The food is seasonal and a new menu is selected every two weeks. It can be a little pricey, but every calorie of your meal is worth every single penny you splurge. Be sure to book ahead though as this tremendously tiny treasure is becoming increasingly popular.

Fifteen Street Eats, Hoxton

It seems that most celebrity chefs have trendy restaurants dotted all over the place, like The Fat Duck by Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen to name but a few. Of course you can’t mention TV chefs without the excitable Jamie Oliver, where his amazing Fifteen has long been a hip and happening eatery for yuppies and trendsetters alike. However, the thrifty and not so cool aren’t to be neglected, as you can enjoy Jamie Oliver’s famous pucker tucker for just £5 at Fifteen Street Eats, Monday to Friday at Westland Place. This is the ideal way to grab that gastro-winter-warmer when lunch is on the go!

Paul Rothe & Son, Marylebone

This deli-come-café-come-grocery-store has been under the patronage of the Rothe family for  four generations; a family business that’s been running for over one hundred and twelve years. With an air of pleasant nostalgia and a fond homage to days gone by, the shopkeepers wear white overalls, the shelves are stacked with delicious jams and condiments and customer service is second to none, all of which make this exceptional eatery a charming little find in the heart of busy London. The father and son are reputedly ever-welcoming and known amongst the local community for being especially helpful and most accommodating to their patrons. When in the area, pop in, say hello and enjoy a perfect spot of tea and a caramel slice.

Many thanks for these quirky alternatives brought to you by Show & Stay, the UK’s best site for theatre breaks in London.

Photo credits: The Seagrass Restaurant, Upstairs, Brixton by linniekin, Jamie’s Fifteen by Eilam Gil, and Paul Rothe & Son by tiredoflondon, Phat Phuc noodle bar by Mirca23

More delicious food articles:

Veggie delights – Four favourite vegetarian restaurants in Brighton
From Cold War Canteen to Literary Salon – Five great places to eat out in Budapest
A guide to savouring the food of Cyprus

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

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London on a Budget – find out what you can do for free

Although the Olympics are starting to become somewhat of a distant memory, the resulting respect for our capital city is still strong. If you felt like you missed out on a trip to London last year, don’t let the lack of sporting events in 2013 put you off – even with a small budget you can still enjoy the best the city has to offer. Here are our top tips for sampling the delights of London on a budget!

Free Museums and Galleries in London

Despite being classed as an expensive city, many people fail to remember the amount of activities you can actually do for nothing. Not even taking into account the endless number of parks or great architecture – there are loads of museums and galleries you can enjoy without having to pay a single penny. Although small donations are often encouraged, the National Gallery, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and the British Museum are all completely free to enter.

 Eat at local food markets

Although an affordable meal in London is easy to find, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be an enjoyable one. If you’ve had your fill of pizza chains and high street clones but can’t afford a step up in price (and quality), try checking out the growing trend in street food. With places like Borough Market and Whitecross Street Markets selling affordable but downright delicious grub, it could also be your chance to sample some new and worldly cuisine.

Search for sightseeing passes

If you are interested in visiting some of London’s famous tourist spots, think about investing in a pass to help save you money on entrance fees. With some passes allowing you access to over sixty different tourist attractions, if you’re planning on being a real culture vulture, it can end up being a real cost effective option. Alternatively, if you’re only interested in visiting a few select places, search for specific discount vouchers online. For example, despite its location outside of the centre of London, Kew Gardens is one of the best destinations around; with Virgin Experience days discounts you could now take advantage of a three course meal and entrance-fee combination for less than a hundred pounds.

Alternatives to the West End shows

Although many people are drawn to the bright lights of the West End, it’s likely to be a lot more expensive than elsewhere in the city. Unless you’re paying a visit to the best eateries in Soho (and there are some real gems) we’d suggest getting your theatre fix somewhere a little off the beaten track. Instead of paying out for tickets to a musical, try searching for tickets to a play at somewhere like the Leicester Square Theatre or even for a show in the comedy circuit. That way, you’ll avoid the big price tag and still be able to enjoy a slice of great entertainment.

Whatever you fancy doing whilst in London, there are many ways to avoid constantly paying out. By simply being a bit astute about where you spend your money, you could end up enjoying a trip to remember!

These tips on visiting London on a budget were brought to you by MyVoucherCodes, providing discount vouchers for restaurants, hotels and things to see around the UK

More information about the free places in London mentioned in this article

The National Gallery Website
The Natural History Museum Website
The Science Museum Website
The British Museum Website
Borough Market Website
Kew Gardens Website

More things to do in London

High in the Treetops at Kew Gardens
Your guide to the vintage markets of London
Three great ways to spend a day in London

Photos Credit: London Theaterland by Llamnudds on Flickr other photos by Heatheronhertravels.com

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

 Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Victor Hugo – Decorator extrordinaire at Hauteville House on Guernsey

Before I visited Guernsey, I only knew Victor Hugo as the storyteller behind Les Misérables, one of my favourite epic musicals – I’m addicted to a rousing chorus of “Can you hear the people sing?”. You may have also watched the Disney cartoon, The Hunchback of Notre Dame without realising that it was based on the Victor Hugo novel, Notre Dame de Paris. In France Victor Hugo was and still is considered a literary superstar and visiting Hauteville House, Hugo’s home on Guernsey opened my eyes to the  genius that created this extrordinary house. Hugo himself said, “I missed my vocation, I was born to be an interior decorator”.

In October 1855 Victor Hugo, the celebrated French poet and novelist arrived on Guernsey braving heavy seas, wind and rain. For the three years before he had lived on Jersey, having left Paris in a hurry due to his political satirisation of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte in his pamphlet “Napeleon le Petit.” Now, because of his outspoken political views he had been expelled from Jersey too.

Settling on Guernsey, the success of his poetry in Contemplations allowed him the money to purchase this former corsair’s house set high on the hill with views over Castle Cornet and the harbour of St Peter Port. Into Hauteville House he poured his creative energies and over the next couple of years transformed it into a rich and exotic showcase, packed with antiques and gorgeous textiles. Like a magpie he raided all the local antique shops for French tapestries, Turkish carpets, Chinese silks, Delft tiles and old sea chests which were deconstructed and recreated by local craftsment to suit his vision.

Victor Hugo eventually returned to France and after his death Hauteville House was bequeathed to the City of Paris who open it to the public. The house is one of the major attractions of St Peter Port and is especially popular with French visitors. Arriving at 11am I discovered that visits to the house are only as part of a timed tour and as these quickly fill up the next available tour was at 12.30. Entry to the garden is free, but as it was raining heavily, I decided to descend the hill and have a look around Castle Cornet until it was time for the tour. At the start of the tour we gathered in the small hallway, like being in the waiting room with a small kiosk to buy books and postcards, but otherwise not much different to Victor Hugo’s day when a servant would have been at hand to take your hat and coat. The plain, flat fronted house gave no clue to the richness inside, or to the large, country style garden at the back with roses, trees and fountains.

From the dark, oak pannelled hallway we moved into the the billiard room, dominated by a large table where the rich, red walls were covered with family portraits. Two of the portraits were of Victor Hugo’s favourite daughter Leopoldine, who drowned at the age of 19, when her boat overturned on the Seine and was lamented in many of Hugo’s poems.

The next room on the ground floor was covered in Aubusson tapesties combined with more carved wooden pannelling and our guide invited us to count the number of doors in the room. Of course there were those that we entered and left by, but also the central table made out of a door and the door to the concealed photographic dark room that was used by his son, Charles Hugo. Victor Hugo loved these tapestries for their decorative effect and paid no attention to their value, cutting them up to fit the rooms or making deliberate holes in them to let in more light.

On the ground floor was also the dining room, covered with white and blue Delft tiles. Above the fireplace the tiles were arranged in an oversized H motif, signifying both H for Hugo and H for Hauteville House with a carved wooden throne built into the space between the two windows. On the back of the chair are the words, ABSENTES ADSUNT, The Absent are Present and on the wall above the door is found the Latin motif, EXILIUM VITA EST which can be read as either Life is an Exile or Exile is life.

Everwhere in the house are decorative and literary motifs that encapsulate Hugo’s belief system but the significance of which would not be obvious to the casual visitor. The H in the dining room also signifies Hugo’s main preoccupations; Homme, Héros, Humanité, while in the hall are the words AMA. CREDE. which he explained in a letter to his mistress, Juliette Drouet;

“Oh! that our spirit should always return to this: believe; and our heart always to this: love. Love – Believe. This is what I wrote above the door to my house. I am also writing it on the door to my heart, which opens onto love, and on the door of your heart, which opens onto heaven.”

Our tour moved upstairs to the first floor where there are two sumptuous receptions rooms that run together to make one large space for entertaining. The Red room is hung with opulent red damask with enough gilt statues, chandeliers and silk hangings to give the impression of a very expensive tart’s boudoir. The blue reception room was only a little more restrained, but equally beautiful with Chinese silk hangings, covered with gold beading, which covered the walls and the ceiling, as there was a craze for all things oriental in Europe at the time. Hugo wrote in his diary;

“Bought the entire lot of Chinese silks from an English officer who took part in the exhibition and who had taken it from the Summer Palace of the Emperor of China”

Up another floor onto the second floor and the oak gallery was covered with pannelling including the four poster bed of Victor Hugo’s bedroom although he rarely slept there, with the sides and lids of old carved sea chests decorating the walls.

My favourite room was at the very top of the house where Victor Hugo had made a conservatory in the sky, with views across the bay, using some of the same Delft tiles and tapestry covered banquettes that are seen elsewhere in the house. This room was called the Crystal room or Lookout and a circle of glass on the floor lets light down to the floor below. This room, which was freezing in winter and so hot in summer that the silver of the mirrors bubbled, was Victor Hugo’s favourite place to work. He would sit working at a small writing table by the open windows, even in the freezing winter. It was in this small space like a sea captain’s cabin that Hugo wrote some of his great works such as Les Misérables and Les Travailleurs de la mer (Toilers of the Sea). At the other end of the room is a small bench seat covered with embroideries and velvet where Hugo normally slept, with a little hidden cupboard for his basin of water. From up here, Hugo could gaze out to sea but also over to his mistresses house in the same neighbourhood.

Once we had completed our tour of Hauteville House, we were free to explore the large, country-style garden with views over the bay, herbaceous borders, yew hedges, climbing roses and fountains. From the front of the house, you would never guess that this garden lies behind the house and it’s ideal to look around, while waiting for your tour, if the weather is fine.

I really enjoyed discovering Victor Hugo through Hauteville House; his life on Guernsey; the outspoken political views that led to his exile; his marital arrangements with both a wife and mistress who seemed to be very much part of the family and his wonderfully exotic decorating style. He was was in my mind not only a literary giant but a decorator extrordinaire.

More to see on Guernsey

A meander around St Peter Port and our stay at Albany Apartments
Guernsey, The German Occupation and Potato Peel Pie
Family Impressions of Guerney – French, English, neither or both?

Visitor Information for Guernsey

Hauteville House
Hauteville House is managed by the City of Paris and entry is by timed guided tour. The house is open April – September  on Monday – Saturday, 10am-4pm. To book your timed tour arrive at the house and reserve the next available tour or contact  Hauteville House on +44 (0) 1481 721911 or e-mail hugohouse@cwgsy.net . The House address is 38 Hauteville St Peter Port GY1 1DG and is a short walk up the hill from St Peter Port harbour.

Guernsey Information – You’ll find more things to see and do on the Visit Guernsey website , on the Visit Guernsey Blog and @VisitGuernsey on Twitter and on the Visit Guernsey Facebook Page.

Accommodation on Guernsey – We stayed at Albany Apartments, a family friendly self catering holiday apartment in St Peter Port and we also stayed at St Pierre Park Hotel, a pleasant, 4 star hotel with golf course set in parkland beside a lake. Check hotel options and compare prices for Guernsey hotels.

Getting to Guernsey and Around – We flew to Guernsey with Aurigny Airlines who fly to Guernsey from Bristol and other UK destinations. You can also book flights with Blue Islands Airlines and take the ferry with Condor Ferries from Poole or Portsmouth. We picked up our hire car from Hertz at the airport, who are also able to deliver your hire car to your holiday accommodation.

Reading for Guernsey – You may like to explore the works of Victor Hugo, such as Les Miserables or the Hunchback of Notre Dame. A good general travel guide to Guernsey is the Landmark Visitor’s Guide to Guernsey, Alderney, Sark & Herm

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Guernsey & Sark photoset

Photo Credits: Some photos from Guernsey Images by Chris George, others by Heatheronhertravels.com

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

 Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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