Aesop

I fell in love with Aesop products after The Olde Bell came into my life (their gorgeous rooms are stuffed with Aesop products). So stumbling across this gorgeous gesture at their Borough branch last week, really made my day. How seductively savvy!

This then led me to their site, which has the most glorious imagery and the most wonderful voice. The brand has such a great ethos that you will fall in love, even before you sample their products. And wait till you see their stores! Hmmm, i feel another post coming on... 

Check out their A-Z of London, see how many you can tick off...Maybe plan a visit to The Olde Bell...

Kipferl - my cold weather saviour!

This is proper cold weather food! I have been dying to try this Austrian cafe in Angel for so long and this weeks cold snap gave me the perfect excuse. Although i must say, i will carry on visiting throughout all seasons! As is the trend for London restaurants at the moment, prepare to queue, especially at weekends -  although, you can actually book ahead. Here are some delicious words, in every sense, to get the juices flowing...Sacher Torte, Apfelstrudel, Weiner Schnitzel, Spatzle...hungry yet?

The Sampler Wine Merchant and my quest for Vin Jaune

All my plans were thrown out of the window last weekend, thanks to Raymond Blanc. Well, his new TV programme that is. I got so caught up in his delicious description of Vin Jaune , that i made it my mission to hunt a bottle down. And i love a challenge! Now, he also said the combination of Vin Jaune and Comte was (to be said in a French Accent) ''ze must evvenly match on urse. Even a five year old boy would enjoy it''. Any wine and cheese combination that appeals to a five year old boy, MUST be good! I was sold! So after a few strategic phone calls, the man and me finally located the prize at The Sampler Wine Merchant, in Highbury and Islington.  

This place is awesome! There are hundreds of wines to choose from, but the best bit is you can try before you buy! The sample is proportionate to the price of the bottle and with prices starting at 30p, you can really get stuck in! It was actually really nice to try wines that i would never normally go for, especially the expensive ones... 

If you need any extra advice, there are loads of wine related books, to sit and peruse at your pleasure, plus the staff are super friendly and knowledgeable.

The vibe was good too. It was rather amusing to see the place slowly fill up with Arsenal fans, who had obviously just made their way, on a high, from the match that afternoon - a subsequent check on the old iphone revealed they had thrashed Blackburn Rovers 7-1! A much more sophisticated celebration than a pint in the pub...maybe that's how they do it in north London!

 Another plus... i love any establishment that has a resident dog! Say hello to Ivy...

Oh Angel, your thoughts make me smile...

Thoughts of Angel.com

abandoned bread!

Now, The Garrison has its quirks, but i am pretty sure this lonely baguette was not part of the decor...You can just imagine the couple it belongs to saying; 

''Where shall we put our beautiful baguette?''

''I know, why don't we put it on the radiator?!"

''Oh, you're so clever darling! That fits perfectly! But let's not forget it!''

Or something along those lines...

I kept thinking that any minute, a distressed looking couple would come running through the door, crying, ''My Bread, My Bread!'' Alas, no such outburst took place. I wonder how long it took them to notice that they'd left it behind. Begging the question, how far, is too far, to turn back for bread?

I like to think that this Baguette ended up in a good home...

mighty mouse 2

Now, this hungry little fella had some balls! Let's call him Bryan... 

So there I was, minding my own business, when Bryan practically runs over my foot! And I didn't have to worry about being quick on the shutter, because Bryan here, was perfectly happy to munch away, whilst i practically blinded him with the flash. 

I like to think that everyone/everymouse has a story, so here is Bryan's...Bryan is Northern. He followed his sweetheart (also a mouse) down from Manchester on the Virgin train to Euston. Now, when Tracey got to London, she decided that Bryan was no longer cool enough, so she had an affair with a dirty rat! Poor Bryan was devastated and subsequently turned to binge eating for comfort. Therein lies the story of Bryan, the brave, binge eating mouse. Long may he find food.

remember mighty mouse of Euston??

The Garrison Pt2

Bizarrely, whilst writing The Garrison pt1, i started to get the strangest case of deja vu. I could have sworn that i'd never been there before, but after seeing their website and trawling through my photo archive, I came across these...

Upon further brain digging, it transpired that i'd actually been a couple of years ago, for a private function. Either the place looked different back then, or someone put a bag over my head as they led me downstairs... i'll go with the latter. Far more exciting!

The room downstairs can be hired for private functions, but also hosts a Sunday Cinema Club. Imagine filling your belly with scrumptious food, a few cheeky glasses of red, then wandering downstairs to bags a comfy seat and settle in for a good movie. What Sundays are made for!

The Sunday Cinema sessions are every, erm, Sunday, @ 7pm AND it's free to diners!

The Garrison

A horrible head cold, called for a major pick me up last weekend. As my head was full of mush, the man was in charge of coming up with the goods. And he did good! 

Seeing as all i was capable of doing was bitching (i don't do ill gracefully), he thought the best tactic would be to occupy my mind (and mouth) with food. Enter The Garrison. Now this gorgeous pub is somewhere we constantly lust after, but as Bermondsey is choc full of awesome eateries, it had never made the cut before. How silly of us! 

You know when you step inside a place and it just kind of talks to you. Well, this place did just that. There are so many little eccentricities and quirky goings on, that even before the food was served (which was damn fine by the way), i was hooked! So this is more of an interiors post, but my God, the yummy noises i made whilst eating were so obscene that the poor couple next to me started to blush! And they were French! 

Eat there! 

I am very nosey. So finding myself sitting next to a wall mounted cupboard made my fingers twitch. Yes, i am the kind of person to root through your bathroom cupboard, so a restaurant cupboard is no different! I almost yelped with delight when i found that the contents were a random shoe (yes, a shoe!)and loads of wonderful messages from previous table dwellers. This is part of the eccentric gorgeousness of the place. So after brunch, we piled up all the scribbled notes and lingered over them with a second cup of tea. Pure Joy!