Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with london

Eating well in Europe -- England, France, and Italy edition

Concolora — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:33:33 -0800

It's happening!! Mr. Concolora and I are flying out to London tomorrow to start our three week tenth wedding anniversary European extravanganza and I'm about to pop with excitement. We're going to be in London, Paris, Dijon, Verona, Vicenza, Venice, and Rome and we'd love some recommendations on where to eat. Snowflakes inside! We have two 'event' dinners planned, one in London and one in Paris. For those we're looking to spend somewhere in the thirty Euro per person range.

For everything else, we'd like to stay reasonably inexpensive while staying away from American style fast food. We love street food, we are incredibly adventurous eaters (offal is totally cool with us), and we actively want to eat local food. We have a small amount of French and Italian in our travelling party, and we're confident that we can pull off ordering , etc in restaurants where little or no English is spoken.

Help us eat well in Europe, AskMeFi!

Where to look for unconverted industrial space in London?

Spanner Nic — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:56:31 -0800

I would like to buy unconverted industrial/office/non-residential space in London, like a warehouse or a school hall, to transform it into live-and-work artist studios over a few years. The state of dereliction does not matter too much, nor does the location, but how can I actually find some for sale? I doubt most of these things make it to mainstream websites, as Zoopla/Rightmove hardly have two handfuls of commercial properties for sale at a given time. Any clue?

Help me find a veggie party platter for Saturday in London?

Wylla — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:35:43 -0800

Help! My foolproof plans for Eurovision party food have come to nothing. I was going to order 3 small party platters of vegetarian-friendly fingerfoods from M&S or Waitrose for my small Eurovision gathering, had catalogs in hand, and was ready to go. It turns out that all of the vegetarian food has 5-day waiting periods for pick-up (most of the non-veg items have only 2, and I apparently didn't notice the difference). The only exceptions - sarnie platters - won't work because one guest can't consume mayonnaise. I've searched in vain online for alternatives, but most seem to be caterers who won't do a small order. I can't cook more food than I already plan to, so from-scratch fingerfood isn't an option.

Does anyone know of someplace in London that I can go to get vegetarian, non-sarnie, finger foods for about 10 people on Saturday morning? I can go pick things up, but can't travel for food I can't order in advance unless its someplace sure to have things in stock (I only have limited pick-up time.) Central, West, or North London are ideal. Any type of food is OK (I am not trying to do a themed Eurovision, or anything).

Best off licence near Oval tube station

knapah — Sat, 11 May 2013 11:25:55 -0800

Which off licences near* Oval tube station in London should I go to tomorrow (Sunday) to buy from a good range of bottled beer? Preferably including London breweries like Meantime or London Fields. * reasonably close, but I'm happy to 'travel' a little if need be.

Tips and advice for a trip to London and Paris

xtine — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:16:05 -0800

I finally saved up enough flyer miles for a flight to Europe and I am super excited since I've never been. I'm planning on a week in London and then a week in Paris, advice for things to do while I'm there would be much appreciated. So I'm probably going to stay at an airbnb or hostel in London, and then take the Chunnel to meet my friend in the suburbs of Paris. I LOVE walking and wandering cities and taking various modes of public transport everywhere.

I have no idea what there is in London other than like... Big Ben? Buckingham Palace? (I am totally ignorant about England and would like to fix that.) I love cities but I also don't mind a day trip to the seaside or countryside if that is doable. But I'm pretty sure there may be well more than enough to fill my week stay in London with city stuff. Open to suggestions and things I should not miss in a week. Don't mind being a little bit of a tourist but I am most interested in local type things. I'll probably nom on all sorts of meat pies and street foods but will probably save most of my food coin for Paris.

As for Paris... I will be in the suburbs for a bit but then I plan on hitting up the Louvre for a few days and obviously see the Eiffel Tower. Other than that I don't know other things I should do. I love food, where are good places to eat that is not outrageously expensive and good for a potentially solo traveler? Not totally sure if my French friend will be joining me in Paris or not yet. I am also not picky in food and would like to try something authentic/local to the area. Oh and will probably go to the catacombs, so neat things like that too. I like museums but I like more of a balance of all things rather than spending most of my times indoors.

Oh and last question... I have an unlocked iPhone 4... what is the best SIM card I can get for a weeks data plan in England and France?

Where to exchange dollars for pounds in London?(debit-credit card N/A)

Basque13 — Wed, 01 May 2013 09:09:33 -0800

Best place to exchange dollars for pounds in London?(debit/credit card not available) I am flying to London and need to exchange my US dollars into pounds there. I cannot use my credit or debit card to withdraw money from ATMs due to severe government restrictions in my country of origin regarding foreign currency operations. Debit and credit cards issued by all banks at home are at present mostly useless abroad. If you know where I can get good rates to buy pounds in London, that would be a great help.

I'm bored with my remote online job, in a town. Should I move to a city?

molloy — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:40:30 -0800

I am wondering whether to move from a small town to a big city to boost my career. My partner has been offered a job in London, but is on the fence, 50/50, and is looking to me for the swing vote. Her salary, after London costs, would be about the same as it is now. So it's really down to me.

I am currently running a small online business in the coastal town of London, (Brighton). It's easy, pays well, I only have to work one or two days a week, but I don't feel motivated to grow it at all and I do worry about not investing in a career path at all. I am 33 so don't know what else i could/woud do. It just seems crazy to run an online business from central London that I could run anywhere. On the other hand, I do like the idea of looking for new kinds of work and perhaps being on the ground in the city would accelerate that process.

The only jobs I seem qualified for after running a small online business for 6 years, are marketing/sales type roles. Most digital roles indicate they prefer 'fresh' candidates. I get a feeling that if I was 'on the ground' I might have access to more unusual roles. But I'm rubbish with networking.

I like my town, but it's very laid back, and most people here focus more on the life side of the work/life balance. But that rubs off on me I think. IS it crazy to think that being surrounded by busy driven focused people, will make me more focused and driven?

Another thing I worry about, is that I have tried moving to the city twice for a couple of weeks or so, but both times hurried back to the coast with my tail between my legs after being uninspired by the immediate options. But I'm thinking if I commit to a 6 month contract I'd have no choice but to explore more options, as it would very expensive to live and whilst I can probably afford to cover the rent for 6 months, the pressure would be productive I hope.

But why put myself through the stress, when I can just commute up in 50 minutes? Perhaps the stress is the point, though. Perhaps stress brings out the best in people?

Looking for a good, affordable tailor in London, UK

narcotizingdysfunction — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:42:49 -0800

I've recently discovered the difference that quality tailoring can make to the quality of my wardrobe. Now I'm looking for a great tailor in London who can alter my clothes at a price I can afford. Any recommendations? Mostly I'll be needing to have shirts taken in and trousers hemmed. I'm happy to take any recommendation: a shop, a tailor working out of their home, etc.

Ideally the tailor will be located in Central or South London. By affordable I mean that a single alteration shouldn't much exceed £10 -- though a lower price would certainly be welcome.

Thanks!

Dog-friendly hotel in London, for 10kg dog?

Philosopher Dirtbike — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:40:56 -0800

I am heading to London for a few days in June, and I need a hotel to which I can take my 10kg dog. Requirements: 100-200 pound a night; near, or within easy public transport to, UCL; green space nearby (for the dog). The internet does not seem very good for this, as some of the hotels that *say* they accept dogs put restrictions (like, must be under 5lbs (!)), and a lot of the information online is old or incomplete. Does anyone know of such a hotel in London, and is certain they'll accept a 10kg dog?

Nifty, gifty shopping in London?

gallusgallus — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:45:53 -0800

LondonCommerceFilter: Business trip to London (from US) coming up, and I've got a free initial jetlag day that I'd like to spend shopping-- preferably for cool, unique, not-too-expensive, suitable-for-gifting items I'd be unlikely to find in the US. I'm specially interested in women's accessories (scarves, jewelry); toys and games; (travel-friendly) foods; tchotchkes; and used/antique books. Any must-visit shops? I'm taking a red-eye, so my primary mission that first day will be NOT TO FALL ASLEEP-- which is where the shopping comes in. Total budget of £ 150ish, and I'd like to make that go as far as possible in gifts for the folks back home.

I'll be based around St. Pancras, but wouldn't mind travelling elsewhere, as long as it's public-transportation-accessible. I'll likely not have energy for a ton of train-hopping, though, so it'd have to be just one neighborhood of relatively consolidated shopping. I'm not particularly interested in buying anything explicitly souvenir-y or British-themed, but I would ideally like to find items that I might not necessarily see in a regular mall or department store back home. Oh, and since I'm obviously not a local, some basic locating info for any suggestions (tube stop?) would be super useful, if you've got it handy. Thanks!

Can anyone recommend a London-based accountant?

piato — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 04:20:22 -0800

I'm looking to file my taxes for the year. Can anybody recommend someone reasonably affordable and London-based who does this for a living? My current accountant has just announced, after two and a half months of ignoring contact requests, that he has not yet gotten around to filing my taxes for the year - so it sounds like it's time for a new accountant! (Fines of £10 a day kick in from the 31st, and I'm already on the hook for a £100 late fee - yikes).

I'm a fairly typical self-employed person, but with some minor details (I have both private and as-a-company income and expenses) that render me scared to fill out the form on my own. On the other hand, I've already prepared a spreadsheet with all the info, so it shouldn't be too onerous for the acct - I've been quoted £1000+ for this, which seems insane.

Can anyone recommend a London-based accountant, to whom I could send a spreadsheet of my income/expenses and get them filed by the 31st?

Best place to live for three months in London without breaking the bank?

ranglin — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:50:44 -0800

As per my previous question, my wife is attending a course in London in June so we are moving from Australia for three months. We were thinking somewhere central initially, but the prices are nuts, so we will probably pick somewhere on the tube line (red or black line). Any suggestions for the seasoned London mefites in this thread that would suit our family of four (me, wife and two preschool boys). For reference, our rent here is equivalent to about 250 - 300 pound a week, but no idea how that compares. my wife would also be okay with up to a 1 hr commute, especially if we live at the start of the line and she can get a seat. Thanks all.

Cool London day courses I can take in May

storybored — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:43:42 -0800

I'm visiting London for two weeks beginning mid-May. Woohoo! It's been a long, long time since my last time and I'm super-excited. I'm going through the Ask threads and reading guidebooks. One question I couldn't find an answer to is: Are there any interesting/novel day courses on offer? I would like to mix up the sightseeing with something hands-on. Or a top-notch seminar... Any subject would be fine. The only criteria would be that it's something not found in a smaller city (like Ottawa, Canada :). I'll be staying in the Bloomsbury/Russell Square area near the British Museum and willing to travel, say, under an hour to get to the course.

What is the London equivalent of Wicker Park in Chicago

BWA — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:26:23 -0800

What is the London equivalent of Wicker Park in Chicago?

How can I get tickets to a sold-out play in London?

emcat8 — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 16:27:20 -0800

I'm going to London in May, and desperately want to see a play that's sold out for its entire run. What's the best way to get a single ticket? I'm not concerned about cost. I've never had much luck with the off price ticket booths before and I don't know they'd even have ones for a sold-out play, but it's been a long time since I was there. I don't know if hoping for a returned seat is reasonable for a high profile play (Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw). I've known folks here in the states who'd go right before showtime and look for someone selling theirs, but I don't know if that's common in England.

Healthy Takeaway/Delivery in London

emergent — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 06:30:08 -0800

I spend a bit too much time in the office, and regularly have dinner delivered there (paid for by the company, thankfully!) but am putting on too much pudge from the constant pizzas. Could anyone recommend healthy deliveries or takeaway that will service the W1 area? Thanks!

Easter Weekend, starting in London, going where?

psycheslamp — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:24:09 -0800

Due to a last-minute work trip and a big difference in plane ticket prices, I have from Thursday evening through to a 2 PM Heathrow departure Monday free to go exploring. Where should I go and what should I do? Generally speaking, I like good food, local color, places of historical interest, and pretty scenery. I've done most of the major London tourist destinations, so my preference would be to go explore somewhere new. I'll be alone, but I've travelled solo before and enjoyed it, so that's unlikely to be a concern. Planes, trains and busses are all options, though renting a car and trying to drive on the wrong side of the road is something I'd like to avoid. Time is much more a limiting factor on this trip than money, but I'd rather stay in a quirky local bed and breakfast than a bland luxury hotel. There's no reason I have to stay in the UK, though I'd like to be efficient about my travel time.

My one concern is that since it's Easter weekend, will all of the places I want to see either be closed, or booked up weeks in advance? Where would I be most likely to find open restaurants and attractions or, even better, special celebratory activities like festivals, concerts, etc? Anything else I should plan in advance around the holiday?

I'm counting on your suggestions for an awesome, impromptu holiday!

Applying for a civil ceremony in the UK

prune — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:55:59 -0800

We're getting married in a civil ceremony in London, UK this autumn and I have a couple of questions about dealing with the registrar. We're not getting married at a registry office but at another venue. The venue and date are pencilled in but before we go ahead with the booking, the venue has suggested that we make sure a registrar will be available for the date/time we would prefer. Apparently the registrars get booked up really quickly.

I've looked at the website for the registrar in question and it advises that it will be necessary to visit in person to 'give notice'. My question is, will it be possible to book a registrar for the wedding, even provisionally, and then visit later to give notice and do the rest of the checks/paperwork? Or is it impossible to line up a registrar until all these formalities have been completed? Visiting in person will be difficult for a couple of weeks, and I don't want to lose our venue slot (or be too late to book a registrar for the time we want).

Also, we are getting married in Islington, London, but live elsewhere (and not in the same area as each other). The website seems to suggest that giving notice has to be done in the area you live in, not the area you're getting married in. So do we give notice in each of our home districts, and then just book the registrar with Islington? It's very confusing!

I'll be calling the registrar tomorrow but just wondered if someone out there could advise on how this works, so that I'm better prepared for the call. Thanks.

Help me not outstay my welcome.

doiheartwentyone — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:31:13 -0800

Where in London or surrounding areas can I hole up with my laptop and work, without having to get drunk or wired, or incur the ire of the management? I work from home much of the time, but sometimes I find I need a change of scenery to stay focused. I'd like to be able to spend the occasional half day in a different location. Pubs and cafes seem the obvious choice, but as came up in this question many places (understandably) discourage campers.

So hive mind, where can I go? Food or drink places aren't completely out as long as they wouldn't mind me spending four hours there, and the consumption of four hours' worth of product wouldn't have significant...other effects....

Indoors is pretty much a requirement (been snowing today) and wifi would be good but it doesn't have to be free. I've googled desk space rental, but it seems to be always on a weekly/monthly contract basis, I'd like places I can just turn up, since I'd ideally be using a different one each time.

Although central London is the obvious place to look, I'd also be interested in particularly amenable places in commuterland. Working in Brighton for a day would be sweet.

What place to visit for a geek / otaku / goth / rpg gamer in london ?

bussiere — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 05:00:36 -0800

I would like to know if you have some place /event for me to visit in london. I'am a french otaku / geek / goth / rpg gamer. My friends already give me some address and i get somes like : The london hackerspace, namco station , forbiden planet, slimelight, the david bowie exposition. I will be there the 19 march to the 25 march mainly for the louie ck show. Regards Bussiere

Buying a new computer before or after moving abroad?

mattstan — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 16:06:54 -0800

My job is transferring me from Chicago to London in the spring. I've certainly got a lot to figure out between now and then (much of which this forum has already been a big help with), but one specific question I have involves the purchase of a new computer. My current MacBook is definitely due to be replaced -- it's six years old, so move or not, I was planning on getting one sometime this year. Does it make more sense to buy one before the move or after? Taking my laptop on trips to the UK has never been an issue, since the battery is built to handle 220V. But do any of you know of issues that I might run into in the long-term?

As far as having a localized keyboard, I'm currently agnostic but open to convincing -- I'm a programmer in finance, so I can see advantages and disadvantages in swapping those currency signs. :)

Shipping costs aren't an issue, since the laptop would be coming with me on the flight, and any accessories wouldn't appreciably add to the weight of what I'm having shipped.

As of today, the same model of MacBook Air is about $185 more expensive on Amazon.co.uk than it is on Amazon.com. Is there anything else I should be thinking about before I just grab a plug adapter and take the savings?

London, England in 8 hours or less!

fairmettle — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 04:17:11 -0800

What is the best way to spend an 8 hour stopover in London England for a family that has never been there before? We have used previous stopovers in other cities for a quick sampler and/or reconnaissance mission for future visits and know from experience that they require a higher level of planning than usual to execute well. Here are a few questions:

What is the best way (fast train/tube) to get from Heathrow airport to downtown London and which station is the best one to get out at?

What are some ideas for activities? (sights, walking routes, attractions, shops, can't miss 'ems)

What would be a good choice for a unique or characteristic lunch stop?

How much time should be budgeted for egress/ingress to Heathrow for an international flight?

Any other overall offbeat suggestions and ideas to make the most of this short sojourn would be most welcome!

Renting. It's freaking me out a little.

mippy — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:34:11 -0800

After years living in flatshares, MrMippy and I are moving in together. That part's fine - it's dealing with estate agencies and huge sums of cash that scares me. Help me calm down about it so I can think about how to furnish our flat in peace! (We are in London.) Like most people our age living in London, we are renting, and probably will be for a very long time (unless I happen to find a Monet in a charity shop), so any flat we are renting needs to be a happy and comfortable home. This means that we are looking for a flat via lettings agencies (more than one person has told me not to touch Gumtree with a long greasy pole and only go through an ARLA-registered agent which will use the deposit scheme etc, which is what we are doing.)

Here's what's making me panic a little:
- rather than the £500 or so deposit and first months' rent for a flatshare as I've been paying since 2005, I'm going to have to give them six weeks' deposit, a month's rent and associated costs for fees (sadly, unlike Scotland, they get to charge us for referencing, 'check out' and the contract, which adds up to about a week's rent). The money is ready to go, but it's more money than I've ever spent on something in my life. As in, we could probably buy a used car (and presumably live in it) with this kind of money, even with the area we are looking in being very cheap for London. This makes me feel certain something is going to go horribly wrong. And if we don't like it? We'll need to have that handy again before we can move.

- MrMippy is a lodger, but his landlord's girlfriend is moving in, so while a notice period is given, there could be a little flexibility. I am also a lodger, but my landlord will want to let the room as close to when I move out as possible- so once my month's notice is given, I'm leaving. Is it wise to give notice once your initial deposit is paid, or only once the referencing/checks have gone through? (There's no reason why we shouldn't pass, but I have seen many stories of people being asked for a guarantor regardless of income, or a month's advance rent being raised to two because there's something they don't like in the referencing process.) I can't really pay two rents at once.

- Agencies so far have been astonishingly unprofessional. I've had people deny that appointments have been made, try and get me to agree to a 10 minute slot to view a flat alongside other people, tell me I need to make an earlier appointment as 'someone is very interested already', and in one case, reply to my polite enquiry e-mail with something that looks like a 12yr old's text message. Basically, they're not doing a very good job of trying to convince us to give them money. I also have a very low tolerance for being patronised by people less intelligent or competent than myself - my job involves challenging claims and working out when people are clearly hiding the truth - so it's going to be hard to remain polite as one should. Can agents generally be expected to be awful, and is agent behaviour always a good indication fo how the flat will turn out? (In fairness, one place we are seeing on Saturday had a very pleasant person dealing with me, which is positive.)

- Flats seem to go within days of being advertised, and several I've enquired about have already been let despite being up on RightMove/Zoopla. Despite me being pretty desperate to move out of where I live, we don't want to rush into anything. How much time can we expect to take to think things over?

- What if the walls are made of fondant icing and melt in the rain? What if it all goes horribly wrong and the boiler breaks?

If you have any tips for furnishing a flat from scratch as well - as in, any products which hit the sweet spot between budget and durability - then this is welcome.

Cardiff or London? Life choices!

jujulalia — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:18:07 -0800

Mr Jujulalia and I have the option of moving to London or Cardiff. Seeking advice from colleagues/friends/the Guardian isn't filling our advice needs. Can you help? To explain further, we're in our early 30s, from a small city in Australia. We left little Australian city over 5 years ago for Europe, and have loved living in bustling cities so far (we've lived in Glasgow, London and are now in Paris). Mr Ju has a very generous job offer in Cardiff, and a less generous offer in London potentially. We're not hipsters but we go to concerts regularly, love art, markets, are painful Guardian reading types. He's in science. I'm in music. I, dear readers, will never make a lot of money in my life. We're not particularly outdoorsy, but I love parks, and miss the green of London. We're not suburby types.

We're worried we'll never be able to afford a life in London, I'll get tied back into enormous commutes, slum landlords and we'll be perpetually broke. But we loved living in London. I have always felt at home there (Mama Jujulalia is a Londoner, it's in the blood). We're worried Cardiff will be boring, suburby, without vibrancy.

We would like to find a community to be a part of and contribute to. I think we might want a house. Maybe babies. Mr Ju wants a cat. I need to think about that. Where will be better able to do that? London or Cardiff?

London: for fun, how would I go about getting cast in tv shows or movies

KimikoPi — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 23:04:46 -0800

I'm moving to London soon and I have a freelance job (totally unrelated to entertainment) which lets me schedule my week however I like. I think it might be fun to get cast as an extra or even get a speaking role in random tv shows or movies filmed in London. How would I go about doing this? Are there websites to register at or do I need to get an agent? I have zero acting experience.