Whether you’re shopping on Oxford Street or sightseeing and looking for a bite to eat, Soho is by far one of the best areas of London when it comes to food. Known for its density and diversity of choice, Soho will satisfy any culinary craving you might have.
Here is a list of the best restaurants in Soho.
Cookhouse Joe
This Lebanese influenced rotisserie is considered one of the cheapest yet best eats in the area. If you love chicken and mediterranean food, then look no further! The entire menu is a fusion of both cuisines. The restaurant interior is cramped with cheap furniture, you’ll be served tin trays but the food is the show stopper, paired with delicious cocktails. This is truly the best place to go for a drink after work or a quick bite after a day of shopping or before a show.
Zelman Meats
The owner of this steakhouse opened this place as a way of experimenting with the cooking of different cuts of meat and perfecting the art of grilling a steak. Although the menu is dominated with beef dishes, you’ll also find seafood (in homage to its predecessor restaurant). If you’re here for the meat, they offer three different kind of cuts: Picanha, Chateaubriand and rib. We recommend taking the Picanha for it’s deliciously smooth smoky and soft flavour, which costs an astonishingly low 6£ for 100g.
Banana Tree
This trendy Thai chain sells “tasty food at a reasonable price” and they deliver just that. Here, you can satisfy any asian food craving with their diverse menu covering Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai and Vietnamese dishes. You can accompany your curry, stir-fry, noodles with some delicious cocktails or cool beers. We recommend having the Red Saigon cocktail (vodka, raspberry, ginger syrup, lime, mint and fresh pomegranate).
So if you’re in London looking for something more exotic, we definitely recommend going to the Banana Tree.
The Queen’s Head
If you’re in for all things British, The Queen’s Head is a pub worth visiting for a meal. They pride themselves in having locally sourced ales and serve traditional pub food. The restaurant is located upstairs from the busy pub and, there, you will taste a variety of traditional British dishes from ethical and sustainable sources. So if you put aside your pessimism towards British cuisine, you might find yourself delightfully surprised.
Our recommendation: the Fish & Chips or the homemade Piccadilly Pies
Copita
Not many people know of this place, TripAdvisor will tell you that it’s only number 2000+ of restaurants in London but Copita will give you an amazing Tapas experience, I can guarantee it! If you are a tapas connoisseur, you will find all the typical dishes of the famed Spanish cuisine with a surprising but delightful twist. This is such a good place to spend time with friends and share food.
Our suggestion: the truffled goat’s cheese with almonds, honey and toast.
After reading our list of the best restaurants in Soho are you looking for a place to stay? EUROPEA has the accommodations you’re looking for!
Summertime opens up a whole host of fresh opportunities in the city. Outdoor strolls around London’s parks, gardens and markets are de rigueur throughout the season, but summer also brings with it plenty of exceptional but short-lived events. Catch the ones below before they’re gone!
Visit Buckingham Palace’s State Rooms
22 July to 1 October
State Rooms at Buckingham Palace (credit: 2OnTheWing)
Year round, crowds flock to admire Buckingham Palace’s beautiful façade, but it’s only in late summer that you can explore some of its exquisite interior too. The State Rooms – those rooms designated for the Queen to receive and entertain subjects and visiting dignitaries – are open from July to October, and with a Royal Day Out ticket you can gain access to the Queen’s Gallery and the Royal Mews too.
The Throne Room is a particular highlight; in recent times it’s perhaps most famous as the setting of several official photographs from the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Give summer ice cream a gourmet, personalised twist over at the Esquimau Choc Ice Bar at the Pierre Marcolini boutique on Marylebone High Street. Select from four ice cream (or two sorbet) flavours and then choose from six luxurious chocolate toppings to round it off (including smoked dark chocolate, milk chocolate with toasted hazelnut and fleur de sel or white chocolate and toasted coconut).
Experience Movie Magic At The Outdoor Cinema In Hyde Park
3, 4, 5 and 7 July
Outdoor Cinema London (credit: London The Inside)
Hyde Park’s British Summer Time festival comes with more than just musical performances. They’re also hosting four free movie nights in July on a huge open air screen, and the line-up is a spectacular combination of family fun (a sing-along of The Lion King and two of Disney’s sensational live-action remakes – 2016’s The Jungle Book and this year’s Beauty and the Beast) and grown-up modern classics (including Dirty Dancing and Back to the Future). See the schedule here – entry is on a first-come-first-served basis, so be sure to arrive early!
Channel Your Inner Patissier At The Big London Bake
Until 1 October
(credit: Immy May)
The Great British Bake Off has practically become a national institution since first gracing British TVs back in 2010. (These days it’s even gaining in popularity across the pond as The Great British Baking Show.) Whether you have a penchant for cake, pastry and all things baking or are just a fan of the series, snap up the opportunity to take on a baking challenge yourself at The Big London Bake. Set in a marquee kitchen, contestants take part in the competition in 10 teams of 2 with all ingredients provided and a professional baker on hand. No experience required!
Go On A Sensory Journey At Somerset House’s Perfume Exhibition
21 June to 17 September
(credit: Peter MacDiarmid)
If you’re a connoisseur of scent, you won’t want to miss Somerset House’s intriguing Perfume exhibition, which examines its perfumers’ modern and accessible approach to perfumery and celebrates their inspirations through visual, auditory and tactile displays. Visit one of the Perfume Lab Residencies (9 and 23 July) for a unique chance to learn more about the art and science of crafting a fragrance from an expert perfumer.
Europea’s Covent Garden residence is only a short distance from Somerset House.
Experience Theatre Anew At The Open Air Theatre At Regent’s Park And Immersive Ensemble’s The Great Gatsby
Open Theatre: schedule varies by production till September
The Great Gatsby runs till September
The Sound Of Music Performance 2013 (credit: David Jensen)
Swap the West End for Regent’s Park’s Open Air Theatre this summer, with productions including A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and the return of their 2016 sell-out (and award-winning) Jesus Christ Superstar.
For an alternative, but equally extraordinary, theatre experience, check out the Immersive Ensemble’s ‘heart-racing, immersive’ version of The Great Gatsby, held at a secret location. Don’t forget those dancing shoes!
Europea’s Primrose Hill residence is very close to Regent’s Park.
London is a veritable smorgasbord of architectural styles. 21st century skyscrapers dominate the skyline today, but nestled among them are Roman and medieval structures, Wren masterpieces from the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1666 and a whole host of elaborate architectural gems from subsequent centuries. Get inspired for your next trip our wonderful residences as we explore 10 of the greatest buildings in the city.
London icons
Westminster Abbey
The site of every coronation since 1066 and the burial place of a plethora of British royalty and intellectuals, to say that Westminster Abbey is steeped in history is rather an understatement. Originally a small 10th century Benedictine monastery, over the centuries it has been transformed by a series of monarchs including Edward the Confessor and Henry III (who rebuilt the abbey in its current Gothic style). Read more here.
Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament)
Edward the Confessor established his royal palace on this site in the 1040s, but a fire destroyed much of the original structure in 1512. Thereafter its primary function shifted to housing Parliament. The palace has since been heavily reconstructed – its iconic Gothic Revival architecture is the work of architect Charles Barry following further fire damage in 1834. Read more here.
Waters and Westminster (credit: lemerg.com)
St Paul’s Cathedral
St. Paul’s Cathedral has existed in several incarnations dating back to 604 AD, but the current Baroque building is the magnum opus of Britain’s most illustrious architect, Sir Christopher Wren. Built from the ashes of the Great Fire of London and remarkable for its survival during the London Blitz, the cathedral is a truly stalwart London icon. Read more here.
Fit for a Queen
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace has undergone considerable remodelling over its three-century lifespan. Following Victoria’s accession in 1837 it was enlarged and remodelled several times, acquiring its current neo-classical appearance with a redesign by Sir Aston Webb 1913. Read more here. If you’re looking to stay somewhere nearby, we would recommend our Westminster residence.
Sneak peek inside Buckingham Palace (credit: Peter MacDiarmid/Getty Images)
Kensington Palace
Not far from our Kensington residence, you will find Kensington Palace. It has been a royal residence since its acquisition by William and Mary in 1689, at which point it was expanded and renovated ready for royal use by Sir Christopher Wren. The palace is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Queen Victoria – it was her affection for her childhood home that ensured its survival when the palace fell into disrepair in the mid 19th century. Today, the palace is both public museum and royal residence. Read more here.
Industry and transport
Westminster Underground Station
A futuristic mesh of concrete and metal take centre stage as you descend the escalators into Westminster Underground station. The architects’ vision is poetic – they speak of weaving escalators with lateral beams and of the geological texture of the walls – but perhaps The Guardian hit the nail on the head when it vividly described the interior as ‘Blade Runneresque’. While there are a whole host of remarkable tube stations in London, this might just be the stand out. Read more here.
Battersea Power Station
This 1930s built former coal-fired power station is both a monumental symbol of London’s industry and a prominent pop cultural image thanks in large part to its appearance on Pink Floyd’s Animals album cover. Constructed in brick-cathedral style, it owes its imposing riverside presence to architects J. Theo Halliday and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. The building is currently undergoing a massive redevelopment with plans promising luxury accommodation and leisure facilities.
Battersea Power Station
Modern classics
London Aquatics Centre
Form follows function with the harmonious lines and texture of the London Aquatics Centre. Designed by world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid in 2004, the concept was ‘inspired by the fluid geometry of water in motion…[reflecting] the riverside landscapes of the Olympic Park’. As of 2014, the pools are open to the public for a small admission fee. Read more here.
Water was the inspiration for this building (credit: Zaha Hadid Architects – Domus)
The Gherkin (30 St. Mary Axe)
It took 7,429 panes of glass and 35km of steel to build 30 St. Mary Axe, designed by Sir Norman Foster in 2004.Gherkin-shaped in order to minimise wind turbulence, the towering commercial skyscraper is also very environmentally friendly with gaps in each floor creating six shafts that function as the building’s ventilation system. As well as admiring The Gherkin from afar, during special ‘Open Nights’ visitors can take in a panoramic view from Searcys restaurant and bar. Read more here.
The Shard
The fourth-tallest building in Europe (and, with the top three all in Moscow, the tallest building in Western Europe) formed an elegant, gleaming addition to the London skyline when it was finished in 2013. Renzo Piano’s striking design takes inspiration from the spires of London’s churches and the masts of tall ships in Canaletto paintings. Read more here.
Architecture tours and access
When it comes to appreciating London’s architecture, the Open House Festival cannot be beaten. Taking place annually over a single weekend in September, the festival offers a rare chance to visit hundreds of London’s buildings that are not usually open to the public – all for free. In the past, these have included 10 Downing Street, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Senate House as well as The Gherkin and The Shard. The guide for 2017’s Open House will be available in mid-August. A copy can be obtained for free in participating London libraries or pre-ordered online for a charge.
There are plenty of year-round architecture touring opportunities, too. Venture forth by boat, bike or on foot with the charity behind the Open House festival, Open-City, who run around eight tours per month. Insider London also run a couple of architecture-focussed tours, including tours on the London Underground, Modern Architecture and Sustainable Architecture.
London is an art lover’s delight. With artistic treasures spanning centuries and movements, the city’s many galleries and museums offer something for every taste. Even better, many of these innovative, beautiful and thought-provoking pieces are part of the national collection and are thus available to enjoy entirely free of charge.
Before your trip and stay in our luxury rentals, take a moment to get acquainted with some of London’s greatest artworks and where to find them.
Seurat’s monumental pointillist masterpiece Bathers at Asnières (Une Baignade, Asnières) depicts working class men relaxing on the left bank of the river Seine. The artist’s first large-scale painting, it juxtaposes the smoky industry of nearby factories with the simple harmony of leisure time spent on a riverbank. The work is suffused with a sense of hazy summer warmth and light lent by small brushstrokes and soft, muted colours. In both its subject and tones it can be seen in contrast to another of Seurat’s paintings from later the same year – A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The latter piece is set directly across the river from the Asnières scene and shows upper class leisure, this time bathed in shadow instead of light.
The Arnolfini Portrait by van Eyck is one of the most celebrated paintings in European art, renowned for its originality, complexity and air of mystery (to this day there’s disagreement about the meaning of the painting). The domestic scene it depicts seems modest on the surface, but a closer look sees each detail brought to life in skilful reproduction – from status symbols and sumptuous fabrics to the convex reflections of the scene in the mirror on the wall.
Other prominent works at the National Gallery include: Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors; Monet, The Water-Lily Pond; Botticelli, Mars and Venus; Turner, The Fighting Temeraire and Van Gogh, Sunflowers.
Though the Seagram Murals were originally commissioned for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York, Rothko was repulsed by the overtly pretentious atmosphere of the setting and withdrew from the project before the series was complete. He kept hold of the paintings and they were subsequently sold off in separate groups. Room 3 at the Tate Modern unites their own eight murals with a selection of those from Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art in Sakura and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
The wash of deep tones marked a dramatic shift in Rothko’s palette and the pieces were, according to him, intended to inspire feelings of invited entrapment and the sense of being ‘walled in’. Though they were explicitly intended to imbue negativity in viewers, there is also a quiet grandeur and warmth to the large and sombre frames.
Other prominent works at the Tate Modern include: Picasso, Weeping Woman; Frampton, Marguerite Kelsey; Kandinsky, Swinging and Matisse, The Snail.
Manet’s painting of a barmaid at a Paris music hall was recently hailed as the best painting in London by Time Out, who called it ‘one of the most psychologically-charged paintings you’ll ever see, a glittering world of misleading reflections and skewed perspectives.’ The last of Manet’s great works, its most intriguing element is perhaps the ambiguous expression of the barmaid and how that relates to the powerful gaze present in the painting (whether that of the man in the mirror or our own gaze as viewers).
Other prominent works at the Courtauld Gallery include: Degas, Two Dancers on a Stage; Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire with a Large Pine; Gauguin, Nevermore and van Gogh, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.
A Bar at the Folies-Bergères, Edouard Manet
Associated with John Taylor, William Shakespeare, c. 1600-1610 (National Portrait Gallery – Free)
The ‘Chandos portrait’ of William Shakespeare (reputed to be by John Taylor) is perhaps most distinguished by its provenance; the portrait is the only depiction of the playwright with a reasonable claim to have been painted from life. The pale skin of Shakespeare’s face almost glows against the rich background tones and his black doublet, appropriate for such an incomparable luminary of English literature. What’s more, our Covent Garden residence is close by.
Other prominent works in the National Portrait Gallery include: Unknown, Queen Elizabeth I (the ‘Darnley portrait’) and Austen, Jane Austen.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, 1767 (Wallace Collection – Free)
A sensuous masterpiece of the rococo era, The Swing (Les hazards heureux de l’escarpolette) symbolises the hedonistic and flighty spirit of the time. A young lady – gliding through the air with abandon, dress billowing and shoe flying – is observed rather indecorously by the reclining young man in the bottom left. According to the memoirs of the writer Charles Collé, this risqué composition originated with the courtier who commissioned the work, originally from a different artist: ‘I should like to have you paint [my mistress] on a swing that a bishop would set going. You will place me in such a way that I would be able to see the legs of the lovely girl…’
Other prominent works at the Wallace Collection include: Hals, Laughing Cavalier, Velázquez, The Lady with a Fan and Titian, Perseus and Andromeda.
Visiting: Grant Wood, American Gothic, 1930 (Royal Academy of Arts, 25th Feb – 4th June)
American Gothic is one of those rare paintings, in the company of the Mona Lisa, The Creation of Adam or The Scream, which has taken on a life of its own through cultural appropriation and parody. As of last year, its dour (or perhaps impassive) subjects, their pitchfork and the quaint ‘Dibble House’ backdrop, have left US for the first time. Catch sight of the modern classic at the Royal Academy of Arts America After the Fall: Painting in the 1930sexhibition, running till 4th June.
American Gothic, Grant Wood
Other prominent works at the America After the Fall exhibition include: Hopper, Gas and New York Movie, O’Keefe, Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses and Benton, Cotton Pickers. If you’re staying in our nearby Knightsbridge residence, it is definitely worth heading there.
