Sara Turner reveals good-value places to eat, sleep and play in the notoriously pricey capital.
HOTELS
Base2Stay
A few minutes from Earl’s Court tube station, Base2stay provides budget-luxury rooms with all the mod cons but minus the cost-inducing restaurant, gym and public lounge. With free wifi and mini kitchens equipped with a kettle, microwave, fridge and sink, it’s easy to manage your budget, and there’s no nasty surprises at check-out. Rooms come with wooden furniture, white bed linen and flatscreen TVs, and there’s no scrimping on amenities, with Keiji toiletries, powerful hair dryers and heated towel rails. Entertainment comes cheap, with films for £2, and the hotel has agreements with local restaurants for discounts on meals. 25 Courtfield Gardens; tel +44 (0)20 7244 2255; base2stay.com Rooms from £132Britannia International Hotel
Once you get past the dingy brown façade of the Britannia, you’ll find opulent marble, glittering chandeliers and excellent facilities – its location for Canary Wharf can’t be beaten either. The large lobby lounge stretches right through the ground floor to the waterside, with floor-to-ceiling windows and comfy sofas. Above are 442 bedrooms and a floor of conference rooms, while below is a gym and pool (£2.50 per visit or £5 for a week). Rooms are decorated in traditional English style (think pastel stripes) and are comfortable and clean, with tea and coffee-making facilities, a trouser press, and an iron/ironing board. Wifi access is free throughout, and many higher category rooms also have spa baths. There is a choice of three restaurants as well as a cocktail bar. Marsh Wall; tel +44 (0)871 222 0042; britanniahotels.com Rooms from £105The Caesar
This recently refurbished four-star hotel is on a quiet road minutes from Paddington station. The only UK property from Spanish hotel group Derby Hotels, the stylish Caesar has a relaxed feel, with original Roman mosaics dating from the fifth century displayed in the public areas. Rooms are decorated in sleek black and cream, with exposed brickwork and aged wooden beams. The hotel also has a small gym and a meeting room for up to 30 people, both bathed in natural light. There’s even a gated garden outside in the middle of the road (one of those classic London quirks) that guests can sit in and read the morning paper. In-room wifi access is free for the first 30 minutes (£7.95 for 24 hours thereafter), and there are also two computers for guests to use near reception, with free internet and printing facilities. 26-33 Queens Gardens; tel +44 (0)20 7262 0022; thecaesar.co.uk Rooms from £114Think Bermondsey Street
Think has expanded rapidly over the past year with the opening of several new properties in Earl’s Court and Tower Bridge. Think Bermondsey Street is a break away from the traditional serviced apartment offering, designed for short to mid-length stays. The 102 apartments follow a distinctive pod-style design, with a compact kitchen, bathroom and living area. They come with flatscreen TVs and free wifi – some also have iPod docks – and are ideally placed for working in the city, a ten-minute walk across Tower Bridge. Some building work will be going on until the end of the year, with a café-bar and pool yet to be completed. Visit the website for other Think locations in London. 190 Bermondsey Street; tel +44 (0)845 602 9437; think-apartments.com Executive apartments from £107RESTAURANTS
Ciao Bella
Tucked away on Lamb’s Conduit Street, this friendly, family run Italian eatery is full of atmosphere and charming waiters. The menu is voluminous and the food simple, using only fresh ingredients. The restaurant spreads through three rooms on two floors, one of which comes with a grand piano and a grand pianist. You can get a huge bowl of pasta or a pizza from £6.50, while the meat dishes start from about £10. Spaghetti with clams (£8.50) is a firm favourite. Ciao Bella is busy all week, so book ahead or expect a short wait. The pub next door, the Lamb, is a great spot for a pre- or post-dinner pint. Open Mon-Sat 12pm-11.30pm, Sun 12pm-10.30pm. 86-90 Lamb’s Conduit Street; tel +44 (0)20 7242 4119; ciaobellarestaurant.co.ukInamo
Possibly the most innovative new restaurant in London, Inamo is an Asian fusion eatery where you place your orders via a touchscreen table-top computer. The display is projected on to the table’s surface, so you can create your own virtual tablecloth or play battleships against your dining partner. You also order your drinks and food through your virtual world, with dishes projected on to your plate so you can see exactly what they look like. A set menu for £20 includes hearty miso soup, tender fried tofu, fresh sashimi salad, salty edamame beans and succulent black cod served with rice. The signature cocktail, Inamo (£6.50), is unmissable – zesty mandarin purée muddled with spring onion and shaken with Smirnoff Black and chilli syrup, served in a martini glass. Open Mon-Thu 12pm-11.30pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-12am, Sun 12pm-10.30pm. 134-136 Wardour Street; tel +44 (0)20 7851 7051; inamo-restaurant.comMasala Zone
From the owners of fine-dining Indian restaurants Chutney Mary and Veeraswamy comes this London-based chain serving authentic Indian street food. The newest restaurant, which opened in July, is in Bayswater and combines wooden furniture with bold pop art collages of firecracker labels from Sivakasi in southern India. The menu features contemporary dishes rarely found in the UK, such as dahi puri (puffed hollow biscuits filled with chick pea mash and splashed with yoghurt and chutney) and aloo tikki chaat (spiced mash cake with yoghurt and chutney), both £4.15. You can also get a decent thali (£7.80) – rice or chappati served with pickles, dal, two vegetable curries plus a curry of your choice from the main menu – the combination is never the same two days in a row. Open Mon-Fri 12pm-3pm and 5.30pm-11pm, Sat 12.30-11pm, and Sun 12.30-10.30pm. 75 Bishops Bridge Road; tel +44 (0)20 7221 0055; masalazone.com Le cafe du Jardin If you want somewhere a little more upmarket that will impress a client without blowing the budget, then take them to Le Café du Jardin. Occupying a prime slot between Covent Garden and the Strand, this elegant, buzzing restaurant serves tasty, well-presented French-inspired cuisine. Take a window seat and watch the world go by through the huge arched panes (there’s also a lower ground floor with plenty of natural daylight). Starters begin at £5.50 and main courses at £11 – try the incredibly rich twice-baked soufflé of goat’s cheese and spinach (£6.50), or the luscious slow-roasted pork belly with mustard mash and Bramley apple puree (£14). Wine starts from £12.50 a bottle. There’s also an excellent-value set menu with a decent choice of dishes, available for lunch or pre- or post-theatre dining (two courses and coffee £13.50, three courses and coffee £16.60). With last orders at midnight, there’s no rush to get there, but it’s best to book as it can get very busy. Be warned that a 15 per cent service charge will be added to your bill (the staff, having said that, are very good – speedy and attentive). Open Mon-Sat 12pm-3pm and 5.30pm to 12am, Sun 12pm-11pm. 28 Wellington Street; tel +44 (0)20 7836 8760; lecafedujardin.com Little Bay Little Bay has been delighting Farringdon workers with its eccentric décor, tasty food and bargain prices since it opened in 2002. The cosy interior is part Roman odyssey, part Parisian bistro, with classical scenes depicted on the deep red walls, intricate handmade chandeliers and candles in wine bottles dripping with wax, all presided over by a huge gold cast of Neptune, god of the sea. The menu is no slouch, either – a varied mixture of dishes ranging from duck magret with butternut squash to salmon gravadlax with beetroot salad, all served in ample, delicious portions. Perhaps the best thing is the price structure – before 7pm, all starters cost £2.25 and mains £5.25 (after that they are a mere £3.25 and £7.45 respectively). Also introduced recently is an all-you-can-eat Mediterranean-style buffet of hot and cold dishes that’s a steal at £6 during the day and £8 after 7pm. There are also Little Bay restaurants in Battersea, Kilburn and Croydon. Open daily 12pm-12am (until 11pm on Sundays). 171 Farringdon Road; tel +44 (0)20 7278 1234; littlebay.co.ukGETTING AROUND ON THE CHEAP
- Heathrow Connect offers standard open-return tickets between London Heathrow and Paddington for £14.80 and journeys take about 25 minutes with trains running every 30 minutes. First Capital Connect and Southern offer standard open-return tickets from £22 between Gatwick and Victoria – journeys take about 30 minutes with very regular services.
- The easiest and cheapest way to pay for public transport is by Oyster card. A paper ticket for a single tube journey in Zone One costs £4, while the same journey with an Oyster card costs £1.60. Pay a £3 deposit, then top the card up at machines. Visit tfl.gov.uk
- If you’re visiting London often, it could be worth joining a car-sharing scheme. Connect by Hertz was launched late last year, with members paying an annual fee of £50, then from £3.95 per hour to use the car. Visit connectbyhertz.co.uk. Members can reserve cars online or by phone, and receive an email and text message with the location and number plate of the vehicle. Other options include City Car Club (citycarclub.co.uk) or Streetcar (streetcar.co.uk).
