Can anyone recommend interesting daytime places to hang out around Paddington, London?

January 14, 2005 10:19 AM

Can anyone recommend interesting daytime places to hang out around Paddington, London? Could be as far as Bayswater or Little Venice... unusual shops, cafés, restaurants? Thanks!
posted by skylar to Travel & Transportation around Paddington, England (3 answers total)

The Canal Cafe bar/theatre up in Little Venice is a lovely place, if a little pricey, with a great atmosphere during the day and usually good comedy/theatre in the evening (a load of Britain's best comedians played their early gigs there). Good range of unorthodox continental beers, last time I checked.

Um. Hyde Park. It's, er, a really big park. You probably knew about that one, though...

There's a load of good and moderately quirky shops around the Bayswater/Queensway area, although none that stands out as being particularly noteworthy. Bayswater's the only place in the area with decent shopping, really.

The Mitre, near Lancaster Gate tube (5 mins from Paddington), is one of the nicest pubs I know, and does great food too. Nothing particularly unusual about it, but it is lovely.

Can't think of anything else offhand - it's not the most fascinating area, although there's a pretty good basic standard of food and drink places - but I'll ask my mate, who lives there, if there's any hidden gems he's been keeping secret from me...
posted by flashboy at 10:57 AM on January 14, 2005

I really loved the White Hart, just a stone's throw from the Mitre, I believe. Just a pub, but I felt comfortable there instantly. Made it a semi-regular hangout while I was over there (6 months or so), and still miss it.
posted by AgentRocket at 3:13 PM on January 14, 2005

And here's a link. As they say, it's "tucked away down a mews," so you feel like you've found a little gem when you go there.
posted by AgentRocket at 3:15 PM on January 14, 2005