Tag: foodmarket

A Day In London; Afternoon Tea, Selfridges & Seven Dials

August 31, 2025

Nothing is more typically English than going for Afternoon Tea in London followed by a shopping trip to Selfridges, then finishing the evening in Covent Garden at Seven Dials Market. We only live an hour train ride from London Waterloo, so a day trip into the city is always a fun way to spend a Saturday.

Our Afternoon Tea was booked for 3pm at The Bloomsbury Hotel on their gorgeously aesthetic Dalloway Terrace.

We met my colleague and his partner as this occasion was kindly gifted from the hotel following a number of events we have hosted there previously .

All of us opted for the Champagne Afternoon Tea menu and so we started with a lovely glass of Champagne to kick things off.

We also chose our tea and I went for the classic English Breakfast blend, because nothing beats a proper brew from a silverware teapot and cute teacup with saucer.

They then brought out the finger sandwich selection which was a classic mix of smoked salmon with mascarpone, coronation chicken, cucumber with cream cheese, devilled egg mayonnaise and toasted emmental cheese with tomato chutney.

Next up were the sweet treats including a strawberry & lemon tart, blueberry & vanilla choux, dark chocolate ganache, rum punch baba and blackcurrant madeleines.

Served on the classic cake tower they were wonderfully presented and tasted amazing, but it was a lot of sugar to manage in one go, so I had a taste of everything but couldn’t finish them.

And not forgetting the iconic scones which were served warm at the bottom of the cake tower complete with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time together and it was nice to do something different as I’m not a big Afternoon Tea person, but it is a nice treat every once in a while.

After finishing up at The Bloomsbury, we hopped on the bus down Oxford Street to Selfridges for some early evening retail therapy.

I love going to Selfridges with my boyfriend as there’s so much to explore for both of us from the designer clothes and shoes, to the fancy food hall and lower ground tech section.

My boyfriend bought his Dad an awesome Hugo Boss X Aston Martin t-shirt for his birthday, whilst I resisted buying more Celine jewellery. Of course a Celine handbag is always high on my wish-list but that needs some real thought on which style to go for, as it would be a timeless piece I’d have in my wardrobe forever.

We then found ourselves having a glass of Champagne at The Fount Bar nestled amongst the designer bags on the ground floor of Selfridges.

What a chic location for a glass of Champagne, I was in heaven!

To finish our day we headed on the Tube over to Covent Garden where we went to the Seven Dials food market.

It was buzzing on a Saturday evening so we got a drink from the bar and wandered around to choose from the wide variety of street food vendors.

We were still quite full from the Afternoon Tea, so my boyfriend ordered a Thai Penang Curry with rice and prawn crackers which we shared.

Before we knew it it had already gone 9pm and it was time to get the train back, so I grabbed a mini bottle of vino and a fruit pot from M&S at Waterloo Station and we caught the 9:42 back home.

We had a wonderful afternoon and evening in London and whilst it is exhausting spending a day in the city, there is so much to do there and it’s always an exciting day out ❤

Borough Market Brunching

October 5, 2020

Strolling around the markets before indulging in a late brunch is my idea of the perfect Saturday scenario in London. As one of the oldest wholesale markets located in the historic buildings of Southwark, Borough Market is a foodie’s heaven with over 100 vendors offering fresh produce, imported foods and freshly made dishes from all corners of the world.

With its vibrant, buzzing atmosphere attracting an eclectic crowd of locals and tourists, it’s a wonderful experience perusing the maze of stalls as the aromas of delicious meals, baked goods and freshly ground coffee infuse the air.

Arriving at 12pm on a weekend, it was heaving and neighbouring pubs were already pulling pints for those early birds! We however hadn’t even had our morning coffee yet, so were keen to find a good little spot still serving brunch.

We stumbled upon a cafe Stoney Street by 26 Grains with the perfect corner for us to sit back and watch the market madness from afar. In fact the cafe’s original site in Neal’s Yard, is a favourite of mine serving up seasonal, wholesome dishes, including some epic twists on the average porridge bowl.

I was a lot happier once I finally had my coffee in hand and food on its way! The simple, striped back aesthetic of the cafe interiors alongside their rustic crockery, echoes the 26 Grains goal to serve up quality, everyday food and drinks.

My autumnal bowl of apple and ginger compote, cardamom granola, Northiam dairy yoghurt and maple was perfect for a chilly fall afternoon and just like having a desert for brekky 🙂 The scrambled eggs on house rye bread topped with Ogleshield cheese which my boyfriend had was excellent too. You can tell how fresh the eggs are when they are so orange like that.

We sat and sipped our coffees as the hustle and bustle of the market continued to thrive. Fuelled up and ready for the day, soon it was time to hit the shops of Oxford Street. However I underestimated the drop in temperature that weekend as I tried to clasp onto the end of summer and decided to wear a skirt, brrrr!

Wondering the market was the perfect way to kick off our weekend in the city – we even spotted a couple from our favourite reality TV series Made in Chelsea. Needless to say, Borough Market is a trendy place to be seen and a must-visit as one of London’s most historical events in such an iconic location.