Highly Subjective City Guides: London

These are guides to the cities I have spent a decent amount of time in, and would definitely be useful to a carbon copy of me. If you’re not a carbon copy of me, well then, it’s all right. Not all of us can be perfect :).

Getting there and back

I used the Heathrow Express. Totally recommended if you don’t mind shelling out some extra cash for the comfort and speed of it.

Things to Buy for Convenience

• Get the weekly subway/metro pass (Oyster Card) for Zones 1&2. You will rarely go beyond that. And if you ride the subway more than once a day, totally worth it.
• Prepaid SIM Card. Either EE, Vodafone, or O2. EE is the only Prepaid card that gives you 4G, but its also the most expensive. Vodafone was the cheapest. Also something called LeBara. I did not use it, but heard good stuff about it.

Things to Know

• Lots of Cafes/Restaurants don’t have good cell phone reception inside
• There is no cell reception in the underground.
• Traffic is maniacal, and as a pedestrian, its your duty to look everywhere to avoid being run down!
• The best way to ensure it doesn’t rain is to always carry around an umbrella with you.

Good Neighborhoods to Stay

I stayed in Paddington, Shoreditch, and Covent Garden.

is decently central, but not really close to anything fun. The one really good thing about it was its proximity to Edgeware Road. The best Persian and Middle Eastern Restaurants are on this road close to Paddington. One I really liked was Café Helen.

is hipster central. If you miss the Mission District in San Francisco, then Shoreditch is the place for you.

is extremely central to everything a tourist would want to see, Picadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, Westminster (the clock and the Abbey), Leicester Square (which for some confusing reason the brits call ‘Lester Square’).

Picadilly Circus at Night

If you have the money, I’d recommend Covent Garden or South Kensington (a very similar feel).

For a bit cheaper you can stay in Paddington/Shoreditch/Kings Cross.

Good Websites/Apps

Accommodation

http://www.gumtree.com: Like Craigslist. A lot of locals listing. I found a really good deal in Covent Garden (50 pounds a night for a studio) here. It helps to have a UK number here so you can have them call you back. You see a lot of options for Kilburn and Aldgate East on this site. I would avoid them. They were very residential areas.

http://www.spareroom.com: If you want to find a shared flat. Popular over there.

http://www.airbnb.co.uk: The Staple. Always good.

Get Around & Do Stuff

Hype!: iPhone App that shows cool stuff in SoHo and Shoreditch

Yelp: I found was not very reliable due to a lack of a sizeable quantity of reviews

Tube Map: Offline London Underground App. You will need it as there is no Cell Phone reception underground.

Places to Go/People to See/Things to do:

Other than the standard touristy stuff, here were a few places I liked:

• Punjab Indian Restaurant (Covent Garden): Though in the middle of the most touristy neighborhood in London, this had good, cheap, Indian food.
• Brick Lane Restaurants (Shoreditch): Avoid like the plague. Tried it out. They were shit.
• Café Helen (Paddington): Best Shawarmas in London! Even better after a night out, as they’re open till like 4AM!
• Wild Food Café (Covent Garden): Awesome raw food place in Covent Garden. Tasty and Healthy
• Food Court (Shoreditch) next to the station. Good place with good options

Yumm Persian Food!

And here were a few places I disliked, although they were supposedly ‘popular’

• Mahiki: Ok tiki bar that my friend Ashish took me to, but supposedly attracts really famous celebrities. Can’t see why.
• Dishoom: Weird modern take on Mumbai street food. Overpriced, Undersized, and their ‘fusion’ options just were weird. Avoid. The only thing I liked there was the Roomali Roti and Chicken Tikka. Not worth the visit though.

Good Cappuccino Places

As always, I look for good Cappuccino wherever I go. London wasn’t a good place to find good espresso. Good tea is really easy to come by. But for coffee, these are the few places I found that I liked:

• Nude Espresso (a few locations, including Shoreditch and SoHo)
• Monmouth Coffee (Covent Garden). Communal Tables so you can strike up a conversation with the gay filmmaker from New York or the Old Honeymooning Couple from Chester sitting next to you. No WiFi. Which seems to be a signature move of most good cafes.
• Notes (Covent Garden). WiFi available if you sit next to the window.
• Wild & Wood (SoHo): Weird vibe, good espresso
• New Row Coffee (SoHo)
• Timberyard (Leceister Square): Apparently the place to go for discussing venture capital startups and do work. No goofing off allowed here. Amazing coffee and super fast WiFi

At Timberyard they serve you your Cappuccino on a wooden tray!

In any of these places, grab a copy of the ‘London Coffee Guide’. It has a bigger listing of good coffee shops around London.