Already excited about taking the “Foodies” City Jogging Tour of London, I
was even more so after learning that 60
of the city’s restaurants made the 2013 Michelin guide, including four restaurants
receiving three stars and eight with two stars.
The tour runs past more than 20 top London restaurants and two of the city’s park, though the route was slightly abbreviated for
me since I was in recovery mode and had a plane to catch.
My guide Andrea, has run 7 marathons – Paris, New
York, Berlin and London (4 times) – and is as serious about her meals as she is
her miles. While she took it easy on me in my delicate post-marathon
state, she held nothing back when dishing about London’s restaurant scene and
offered plenty of anecdotes about wonderful meals she’s enjoyed and
recommendations for restaurants to try.
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| Photo credit: Google Images |
Recently opened, this Parisian style brasserie with an Art Deco interior and
cocktail and jazz bar is the latest offering from Corbin and King and is a more affordable alternative to their other restaurant,
Delaunay.
hall is one of the oldest and most famous stores in Piccadilly and a favorite
of the royal family.
Beyond the whole foodie thing, Fortnum & Mason is a
must for the fantastic décor alone, as Miss P can attest.
When we were in London a few weeks earlier, we passed by and Miss P was completely enchanted
with the shop’s window display.
Wolseley Motors Limited, London’s restaurateurs of the decade, Corbin and King, purchased the building in 2003 and renovated in style that harkens the
palatial splendor of cafes of 19th-century Europe.
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| Photo credit: Google images |
restaurant, and named Zagat Favorite Restaurant for 2012 and 2013.
chandeliers, strict dress code, and the only place in London that still has weekly
dinner dances, it is the epitome of grand.
While The Ritz may have weekly
dances, don’t expect to just waltz in there on a whim: reservations for the
dances and afternoon tea must be made weeks, sometimes months in advance.
restaurants: The Gallery at Sketch and the two Michelin-starred Lecture Room.
Though
my dining experience
is limited to the tea salon, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have recommended
Sketch to friends visiting London.
I also tell them to be sure to go to the
restrooms because the collection of bright white, egg-shaped, space-age pods
(you know, as in “pee” pod) are definitely something to see.
more than 140 years ago. It received the Tea Guild’s Top London Afternoon Tea
award in 2010, which means it is officially fancy. Or should I say posh. I’m thinking you should probably figure out that pinky up or pinky down thing
before you go.
pass on the tour. With five Michelin stars to his name, Ramsay is
without a doubt one of Britain’s most successful chefs. The bad boy celebrity
chef is a runner who has run the London Marathon several times, and has even been
known to strap on a backpack full of potatoes for training. I wonder if he then
cooks the potatoes and serves them at
one of his restaurants afterward. Hmmm. Food for thought.
the London Marathon several times. We
ran past Roux’s restaurant, Roux at The Landau, which is a collaboration with his father Albert and the Langham Hotel.
appropriate that several of their restaurants served as mileposts, including Le Gavroche (Roux), Maze and Savoy Grill (Ramsay).
neighborhood, the glitzy wine shop Hedonism stopped me in my tracks. Andrea had
to turn around and get me, as a stood transfixed in front of what is basically
the world’s most blingalicious wine shop.
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| Photo credit: www.instagram.com/beareed |
Since this was the foodie tour and
not the boozy tour, it was not on the itinerary, but it needs to be. Any foodie
worth her salt knows that a great meal is only made better with the right wine
pairing.
On with the tour, but not before I mentally added Hedonism to my
London gastronomic gps.
do. Can you say carbo load? And I can’t think of a better way to fuel up than on
croissants, baguettes and cakes, and the family owned Maison Bertaux looks like the perfect place to get them. Founded
in 1871 by Parisian immigrants, Maison Bertaux bills itself as the oldest and
best patisserie in London.
considering Robuchon holds 24 Michelin stars in restaurants
spread across
three continents, 2 of them at this London restaurant.
Sounds like he’s trying to run the culinary world. I can
appreciate that.
in Paris, and would like to go to the one in London to do a comparative study
of the two, especially after Andrea described
in mouth-watering detail, a meal she’d recently enjoyed there, including the
dessert, which she says was probably one of the best in her life.
small side street on the edge of Covent Garden.
In 1990 The Ivy was a run-down dive when it was bought, refurbished and
restored it to its former glory by Corbin and King.
But don’t let the
non-descript façade fool you; the interior is opulent and glamorous, and the
restaurant is a favorite haunt of celebrities.
tour. After 5 miles of running and
discovering some of London’s finest gastronomic institutions, Andrea and I
parted ways, but not before she gave me a listing of the restaurants on the
route. And an energy bar.
Disclosure: City Jogging Tour provided me with a complimentary ‘Foodies’ City Jogging Tour. And energy bar. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
