Wednesday

At the suggestion of Leandra’s cousin Courtney, we tried Coppa for dinner as it was an easy 15 minute walk from their flat.  I ordered the bucatini carbonara while Leandra went for the flat iron steak. We split a bottle of rose for the table. No photos because we were too busy catching up with Courtney and her boyfriend!

Tuesday (following week)

Before heading to Gordon’s wine bar we decided to grab a light snack, so Leandra suggested the Port House, a small tapas place near our hotel. Everything we chose was tasty, especially the chickpea stew with sausage. We were glad we were able to get a table without reservations as it was a weekday late lunch.

At Gordon’s Wine Bar we snagged the last table in the place, then moved into the cave when we noticed another couple leaving. We each started with a glass of wine, me their house white (a Bordeaux) and Leandra got the Smiling Donkey, a Portuguese blend of traditional grapes. Because our seats were so nice (and we were in no hurry), we decided to hang out in the cave a while longer, so we split a bottle of the Nina sparkling (notes of rose with a meaty sweetness) paired with a Dambuster cheddar cheese board.

After a Christmas concert we headed over to the Sessions Art Club as a suggestion from my aunt. We were all disappointed in their pretentious and limited menu. For example, the names of the dishes just listed the ingredients with no notes on preparation and they were out of two items. Sharing plates (as suggested by our waiter) wouldn’t have been easy as the portions were small. And even though there appeared to be a full bar, there was no juice available for custom drinks… My Colston Bassett stilton was nice but overpriced. I think this place would be better for drinks by the fire place than for dinner.

underneath all the flowers was an okay potato dish with a ‘hint’ of eel – for £18

Wednesday

Due to a 7pm show we decided on an early dinner at Chick n Sours. We each started with ‘The Tart’ cocktail, then split a special drink from the board that looked pretty much the same but tasted slightly different – still good though. My chicken strips and fries were on point and Leandra enjoyed her spicy chicken sandwich.

Thursday

When Leandra scored 11:15am reservations at the Covent Garden Dishoom we were expecting lunch but instead got a limited breakfast menu. Many of the options seemed to be way too much food, so we each tried a roti – the vegetarian sausage (too sweet, little other spice flavor) for me and the (only crispy) bacon in London with her choice (nice and crispy, balanced with sweet) for Leandra. Overall it was underwhelming and I don’t think we would rush back.

Trying to find a place for drinks before our evening show, we noticed the sidewalks were more like a Friday or Saturday night, where every pub was packed, even with people outside in the cold. In hindsight, reservations would have been good! We did find a Simmons cocktail bar with some standing room that wasn’t packed yet. They happened to have a happy hour deal that was for two-for-one, so we each had a Sex on the Beach clone (pretty sweet but good). Reasonably fine, but one was enough.

Following our show we had a 9:45pm reservation at Cork and Bottle, and wow, it was busy when we arrived! We each ordered a sparkling (reg and rose) while we picked out our food choices. I got the ‘famous’ ham and cheese pie and Leandra got the paté plus the French blue cheese with a baguette that was sliced too warm (smushed). For our second round, my Riesling was lighter than expected, while Leandra’s South African red was nicely balanced.

Note for future visits, always make reservations when possible!