London Travel Blog

London has been on my bucket list for a while now, I’ve heard incredible things about the city and let me tell you, it lives up to the hype! My husband and I finally got around to taking a trip there and I’m already trying to find a time to go back. There’s truly so much to do, see, and eat in London. Plus if you’re lucky enough to get some time out in the countryside you’ll fall even more in love. We spent 5 days there and were able to see pretty much everything we wanted to. Here is my London travel blog guide:

Also something I didn’t expect when going to England was how much more accommodating they are for dietary restrictions. For me following a gluten free (and mostly dairy free) diet I always stress about traveling because 1) I don’t know what I’ll be able to eat and 2) I feel like I’m not able to truly experience new places because of those dietary restrictions. London was so far ahead of the US when it came to offering gluten free options on a menu or being able to accommodate meals based on your allergies.

Here is a rundown of everything we did, saw, and ate in London

What we ate

• Gymkhana – This restaurant is in Mayfair and is truly the best Indian food I’ve ever eaten in my life. They have 2 Michelin stars and are 1000% worth trying to get a reservation at. Every single thing we got was incredible. However, I’d skip the drinks – they were 18 pounds and not worth it in our opinion.
  • What we ordered:
    • Kasoori Chicken Tikka, Moong Sprouts & Kasundi Kachumber
    • Tandoori Masala Lamb Chops, Walnut Chutney
    • Pork Cheek Vindaloo
    • Dal Maharani ** This was both of our favorite dish

• Brasserie Zedel – This restaurant is a Parisian brasserie in Piccadilly hidden underneath the ZL cafe. The atmosphere of Zedel was absolutely amazing. It was the perfect night out type of dinner. The building it is in is decked out in authentic art deco, there was a band playing and the food was delicious.
  • What we ordered:
    • Escargot with garlic and parsley butter
    • Fresh bread (they offered gluten free bread as well!) Dip the bread in the garlic parsley butter from the escargot and thank me later.
    • Grilled fillet of sea bream with ratatouille and a black olive tapenade

• The Fox & Pheasant – This was hands down our favorite restaurant and meal of the entire trip. So it was obviously a must on my London travel blog guide The Fox & Pheasant pub is located in Chelsea and is the perfect classic, cozy spot for a Sunday roast. The food was to die for and the staff were incredibly friendly! They were also so accommodating to me being gluten free and have a full gluten free menu available.
  • What we ordered:
    • Scotch Egg
    • Pardon Peppers
    • Sunday Roast – We both got the roast beef sirloin and horseradish sauce. The traditional roast that my husband got came with yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, parsnip puree, crushed carrots & swede, green beans and gravy. The gluten free didn’t have the yorkshire pudding and came with a red wine jus
    • “Say When” Choccy mousse – I will dream about this mousse. It was so incredibly creamy, light, and delicious. They come over to your table with a big bowl of mousse and literally tell you to “say when”. Gus had to stop me or I would’ve had them just give me the whole big bowl.

• The Royal Oak – This gastropub was located in Marylebone and was rated for having the freshest produce so you know I was in immediately. A perfect casual spot for lunch.
  • What we ordered:
    • Roast beef sandwich with mustard mayonnaise, mozzarella, pecorino peppers, rocket and triple cooked chips – Gus absolutely loved this sandwich.
    • Aged beef burger with triple cooked chips – I got this without the bun and it was good, pretty on par with most good burgers. Next time I’ll get the curried chickpeas which sounded phenomenal but we were getting Indian food that night.

• Fish! At Borough Market – I really wanted to get fish & chips on this trip and found that there are a good amount of places that offer a gluten free option. We ended up going to Fish! because we were exploring Borough Market and it was a stall there, it was really good! I always read great reviews about The Mayfair Chippy and Hobson’s Fish & Chips.
  • What we ordered:
    • Gluten Free Cod Fish & Chips with Tartar Sauce
    • Haddock Fish & Chips

• Farmer J – I went to Farmer J multiple times while we were in London. It was a great fast casual option with healthy, locally sourced seasonal ingredients. The food was seriously incredible and I want them to open a location in Chicago! Plus almost everything is gluten free and dairy free, they also had vegan options. You can get either a field tray or field bowl. For the field trays you can choose a base, protein, two sides, and the choice to add a sauce.
  • What we ordered:
    • Field tray with brown rice, chermoula chicken + tahini, kale miso slaw and roasted cauliflower with tahini.
    • Field tray with brown rice, charred harissa chicken, roasted cauliflower and broccoli with tahini.

• Ottolenghi – We didn’t get a chance to get anything from Ottolenghi. However, I love him as a chef and we did pop by one of his locations in London. The salads looked incredible and so did the pastries. Plus they have some flourless gluten free options!

• Cafe Kitsune – While walking around Kensington/Chelsea area we stopped with Cafe Kitsune for a matcha and a fresh mint tea. The matcha was one of the best I’ve ever had. Plus you could tell it was the highest quality ceremonial grade. The fresh mint tea was literally made with beautiful, fresh mint leaves and was so good as well.

What we did

• Afternoon Tea – Another must for my London travel blog guide. One of my all time favorite things that we did in London was afternoon tea at The Promenade at The Dorchester. This was such an amazing experience and the staff made us feel so special. They had an option to do a full gluten free tea and the food was all incredible, I’m a sucker for scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Gus did the normal tea and he loved it all as well. I tried both the earl gray tea and a peppermint, fennel, and ginger tea – both of which were so good! Gus got the Dorchester afternoon blend and the Cherrywood tea.

• British Museum & National Gallery of Art – There are so many museums for this London travel blog but two that are an absolute must are the British Museum (you can see the Rosetta Stone here which is super cool) and the National Gallery Art with beautiful artwork and fun events. Others that were on our list were The Tate Modern Art Museum and The Imperial War Museum.
• Classic Landmarks – You can’t have a London travel blog without mentioning the classic landmarks. We are typically not people who do “touristy” things when traveling, we would prefer living like the locals. However, when visiting London for the first time there are things you absolutely have to see! We spent a day seeing all of the classic spots: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, London Bridge, and the Tower of London. It continued to strike me just how beautiful and regal the architecture is in London.

• Borough Market – A must on any London travel guide. Borough Market is a historical market in central London. It is one of the oldest and largest! Plus I loved that they have an emphasis on the best quality food, sustainable production, and social connection. We had a blast checking out all of the local vendors. I wish we would’ve been able to buy fresh produce, meats, and other products while we were there. However, being in a hotel that didn’t make sense. There are also multiple gluten free options – Fish! for gluten free fish & chips, Free From Bakery (A fully gluten free bakery. Everything looked amazing), and Le Pepia (Gluten free arepas, salsas, and tostadas.)
• Hyde & Regents Park – There are so many beautiful parks in London to take a morning walk. Hyde Park is the classic and you have to stop by to see the massive swans and have a picnic. It is truly beautiful. My favorite park was Regent’s Park. It was down the street from our hotel and had these beautiful maintained gardens and ponds. Regent’s Park was also less busy which I liked.
• Shopping – I’m not a huge name brand shopping gal, I’d much prefer local boutiques, bookstores, and home store. But, whatever your shopping preference, London has it all! For more designer and name brand shopping there is Oxford Street, Kensington, Pavilion Road. My favorite local spots were Daunt Books, Goodhood, Luna & Curious Boutique, Glassworks, Choosing Keeping, and America Vintage. (A lot of these came recommended to me and I’m so happy they were).

• Country Day – Something we really wanted to do was get out to see the English countryside (we live in a city so we really crave the quiet nature aspect of anywhere we visit). We took the Great Western Railway to Bath for a morning at The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa. At Royal Crescent we got massages and enjoyed the thermal bathes which was lovely. Then we explored the town of Bath which my husband and I both fell in love with. While in Bath we ate at The Raven which was a pub and had delicious food (Gus got a pie and I got soup & chips).

• Oxford (or Cambridge) – During our country day we looped in a trip to visit Oxford. It was as old and beautiful as I expected! While in Oxford we stopped in for tea and treats from The Vault & Garden Cafe. This is an incredible organic cafe with locally sourced food located in a beautiful old building. Gus had a remarkable scone with clotted cream and jam. I had a delicious gluten free caramel fudge brownie. Then we shared a fresh lemon and ginger tea. The lemon ginger tea was the best I’ve ever had. After this we walked around campus before heading back to the train to get back to London.

Where we stayed

• We stayed at the Langham London and it was such a beautiful old hotel. It was also in the perfect location to walk all over the city! We didn’t spend much time at the hotel because we were out exploring. However, when we were there we were always greeted and taken care of by the wonderful staff. Ian the doorman and Alex the concierge were truly incredible during our stay. We booked using amex which gave us free breakfast each morning at the hotel and $100 credit. We used the credit at the hotel pub The Wigmore. The Wigmore had delicious pub food and a fun environment.

While we did so much in London on our visit, there is so much we didn’t get a chance to do, eat, or see and I can’t wait to go back! Until then I will happily reminisce on our amazing English vacation. I hope you enjoyed this London travel blog and it is helpful for your trip to London.