Secret London Unusual Bars and Restaurants

Secret London Unusual Bars and Restaurants is in the lengthy ‘Secret’ series, from the French publisher Jonglez. It’s one of our favourite guidebook series, and that’s because they’re fun and unconventional, and are sure to unearth places you won’t find in any other travel guide.

In fact one reviewer quoted on the back of the book says: “I put the guide to the test around Covent Garden and Soho – two of the most touristy parts of the capital – and uncovered a host of gems I’d never encountered before, despite living there for seven years.” (Rob McFarland, Australian Traveller)

I can beat that. I lived in London for about 15 years and only knew a handful of places in this book. Some of them hardly count as secret, though. Dukes Bar at Dukes Hotel is world-famous, as is Ye Olde Mitre pub, although probably not many people know that it’s technically part of the county of Cambridgeshire, right in the middle of London. They definitely qualify as unusual, however, and are both well worth a visit.

The Authors

In all there are 140 entries for offbeat and unique places to eat and drink, compiled by authors Hannah Robinson and Rachel Howard. I can’t tell you much about them as the book says nothing, but they clearly know the London food and drink scene. The book’s obviously been a success as this is the second edition with 60 brand new entries, and it’s also been translated into French.

London’s Areas

The book divides London into nine areas, starting with Westminster to Camden and South Bank to Brixton, then ending with Greater London South East and Greater London North and West. There’s an overall map showing all the areas, and with some of London’s more obvious attractions marked on it, like Buckingham Palace and The Tower of London.

Each chapter then has its own detailed map at the start, showing the entries in a logical geographical order, and with tube stations and major attractions also marked. The maps are detailed enough that you probably won’t need a street map or A-Z  to enable you to find the places.

What a Lot of Wine!

The first entry, The American Bar at The Stafford Hotel, is pretty famous and has signed photos of visiting celebrities including Dolly Parton, Gore Vidal and Bill Nighy – quite a mixed bunch there! What qualifies it as unusual, though, is that beneath the hotel is what’s thought to be London’s oldest wine cellar, built in the 1700s and holding 8,000 bottles.

Soon after comes an entry for the wine merchants Berry Bros & Rudd, who are also well-known, but what I didn’t know is that as well as having 100,000 bottles in their London cellars, they have wine worth a staggering £650 million safely stored away in the unlikely setting of Basingstoke.

Unusual Coffee Shops

If you’re visiting the British Museum then you might want to know that a one-minute walk away is the Camera Museum. So what? Because upstairs is a terrific-sounding coffee shop, which also serves soups, cakes, paninis, dim sum, and other dishes. And a two-minute walk from there is the London Review bookshop, inside which is the London Review Cake Shop. Why go to the nearest Starbuck’s (and I like Starbuck’s!) when you can get a coffee here, along with salads, sandwiches, cakes, and other dishes?

True Secrets

What’s great about this book is that it uncovers places you would never think of going. Why would you visit the Indian YMCA on Fitzroy Square if you weren’t staying there? The answer is because they have a canteen where you can get really good and freshly-made curries at bargain prices.

And you would definitely not think of visiting Brixton Prison while you’re in London, unless you had this book and knew that here they have The Clink restaurant. It’s a scheme which trains inmates to get qualifications for work in the hospitality industry when they are released. They serve breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, and a gourmet dinner (currently every other Tuesday, but check.) How about crispy pork belly, braised pork cheek, Lyonnaise potatoes, savoy and apricot sauté, pancetta and thyme sauce? That’s one of the main course options for a three-course dinner with amuse-bouche, petits fours, and tea or coffee (sorry, no alcohol) at probably the cheapest price in London.

Dine the World

If you like to sample cuisines from all over the world, as well as have unusual and original dining experiences, then this is also the book for you. London has always been a very cosmopolitan city, and you can have your own culinary world tour there. Among the cuisines I spotted – and there are probably more – were Malaysian, Austrian, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Somali, Lebanese, Polish, Ethiopian, and Korean!

And it’s not just a case of picking out a restaurant and saying “Oh, here’s a Lebanese restaurant.” That’s not unusual as there are scores of those in London. The Malaysian choice here, for example, is Malaysia Hall, a student canteen in a government building. You’re supposed to be either Malaysian or official personnel to eat there, but one of the book’s authors simply joins the queue and enjoys some fantastic Malaysian food at bargain prices. Given recent higher security at Malaysia Hall, that probably won’t be possible today.

Unusual London Bars and Restaurants

It would be very easy to give more and more examples from the book to show how good it is, and there are plenty I noted that I’d love to share, like London cab shelters and a former public toilet, not to mention The People’s Fridge! But take it from me that if you’re visiting London – or live there – and you like your food, you need to buy this book.