I would like to consider myself as an honoury girl in London. I’ve been to more bakeries than a pastry chef, drunk more cocktails than Carrie Bradshaw, and shaken my arse like a pro in every London club (plus I also take forever in the bathroom according to my long suffering girlfriends!). Join me on an exploration of cakes & cocktails below where I will show you Londons best kept secrets which are invaluable (unless you’re a celebrity with access to the Movida guestlist to having a great time in this fabulous city. Now a word of warning girls. Although very well hidden these are the most fantastic places in London, and as such getting served can be like getting onto the tube in Waterloo station at Rush hour. You must fight for your way to the front! Hand bags at the ready, here we go…
The cakes
Princi – 135 Wardour Street, Soho, London
This fantastic little Italian bakery is hugely popular in Soho and visiting the eatery you can see exactly why. Perfectly European there are all manner of accents and languages to be heard. The queue is somewhat chaotic, but can be solved with a fluttering of eyelashes directed at one of the cute waiters. The cakes are utterly delectible but have a tendency to dissapear in the blink of an eye. The portions are strictly Italian (I challenge anyone to eat two portions of the tiramisu in one sitting) and within a few weeks I’ve managed to devour my way through the entire menu. You may consider £4 expensive for a slice of cake but this is true value for money.
Movida guestlist
Enjoy with a great glass of Italian white wine.
Lola’s Cupcakes – Selfridges 400 Oxford Street, London
OMG! If you’ve ever been to Selfridges you will know that they are the best department store in the whole of London and I honestly thought they couldn’t do any better. Loaded with shopping I headed for the exit and stumbled upon what was to become an addiction. A bright array of cupcakes from the sublimely small to the fantastically large caught my glance and I swept along towards a little counter hidden away near the flower department to discover the secret. Lola’s cupcakes greeted me in all their colourful beauty. The little bakery delivers to the two major stores in London; Selfridges and Harrods. The cupcakes come in a variety of flavours (as shown on the menu below) and are perfect to sit down with over a coffee either in store or as a naughty take out. When they next revise the oxford dictionary Lola’s will be the definition of cupcake!
London club
Simply the best.
The cocktails
The Experimental Cocktail Club – 13a Gerrard Street, Chinatown
Reminiscent of a truly suave speakeasy the Experimental Cocktail Club is a challenge to find, and is frequented by the full spectrum of Londoners. This is a very special special place to drink a cocktail. Being an opulent, frivolous, sophisticated, playful, french vintage drinking establishment the original started in Paris and has landed in the middle of Chinatown London and is one of our best kept secrets. One can expect to wonder through main Chinatown and notice a well dressed welcoming bouncer standing with a clip board in front of a somewhat tatty black door. From the lantern-lit main walk you will enter the utopia of cocktail bars, with lush décor and secrets in every corner, very fine drinks are served up with the requisite flair of a continental bar… pure poetry like only the French know how to deliver. The cocktails here are to die for. I’m certain that bar will serve you the finest Strawberry Daiquiri in the whole of London.
Cellar Door – 0 Aldwych, Covent Garden, London
Very rarely will you choose to walk down the hidden dark steps of a men’s public toilet looking for a bit of risky fun. But if you love the avant garde then you must discover the risque bar entertaining you with great cocktails, drag queens and some old school snuff. Boasting what the bar describes as the sexiest toilets in London, be sure to lock the door after yourself unless you wish to show everyone else in the venue what you are up to! This is a bar you have to see to believe. The venue is tiny but heart warming. So has the uncanny ability to fill extremely fast, but the trick is to arrive nice and early (8pm) to secure a seat, and some popcorn before one of the nightly acts begin. The cocktails are to die for and are wonderfully themed. Words don’t do the venue justice. Just go!
Well that’s all from me today, but if you want to check out my London celebrity gossip pages check in on my celebrity London club news column.
Ps. Top tips for the girls who are visiting London for the first time.
1. Get an Oyster Card and a Tube map – The tube system here is a labyrinth.
2. Always carry flat shoes in your handbag – You don’t want to end up heading home at 3am in heels. Ouch!
3. Keep at least 40p with you in your purse at all times – Just in case you need to use the ladies loo.
4. Always be polite to the bouncer – He is the only thing that stands between you and your cocktail!
5. English guys are shy – Approach them, they may even buy you a drink.
Author: Daniel Cooper is from www.capitalalist.com.