Last Saturday, I took a day trip to Leigh-on-Sea: a new-to-me seaside destination that's just a 45-minute train journey from London. Once a busy fishing port, Leigh has stacks of character with its cobbled streets, historic buildings and wide array of wonderful restaurants, cafes and shops, as well as some great specialty coffee spots and a lovely sandy beach. Just be sure to check the tide times if you fancy a swim!
Colourful houses, a legendary carnival, a world-famous market and, of course, that film with a certain H. Grant and J. Roberts. These are just a few of the images London’s Notting Hill neighbourhood conjures up. But there’s a lot more to the area than elegant architecture and *that* movie. My one-day itinerary will help you uncover Notting Hill’s rich cultural and social history — and make the most of its excellent dining and shopping.
While I was back in Oxford last weekend, I finally made a long-awaited visit to Green Routes, the flagship cafe of local roaster Routes Coffee. Located on Magdalen Road, Green Routes serves top-notch specialty coffee and brunch in a cosy, multi-level space. It's well worth the stroll (or short bus ride) from Oxford city centre to East Oxford.
London's Borough and Bankside neighbourhood, on the South Bank of the River Thames, has long been a popular destination for locals, tourists and food lovers alike. And in recent years, exciting new openings have made the area a specialty coffee destination in its own right. Whether you're after a post-market caffeine hit or want to elevate your lunch-break coffee game, this guide has you covered.
While spending a long weekend in Riga last month, I checked out some of the Latvian capital's many excellent specialty coffee shops. Most of the cafés I visited were located in the Art Nouveau district, although there are also some good options in the Old Town. Sadly, Easter Monday closures meant I didn't make it to all of the venues on my list, but read on to discover my favourite Riga coffee spots.
Today I'm sharing the most delicious and caffeinated of my end-of-year recaps, where I pick my favourite specialty coffee shops, eateries and bars from among those I visited for the first time in 2024 — in London and on my travels around the world.
Whenever I visit New York City, specialty coffee shop hopping is always on my agenda. I've been visiting the city's coffee shops for over two decades and it's a pleasure to go both to a coffee shop I've frequented for 21 years and to a whole host of much newer specialty coffee spots on the same trip. NYC's coffee scene has continued to evolve with my own tastes and I always discover new cafes and roasters to check out. My most recent trip was no exception!
The final stop on my two-week tour of Sri Lanka was Colombo. Located on the west coat, the bustling and sprawling capital makes an excellent place to start or end your time in Sri Lanka — especially if you've been craving city life and culture. Like many other visitors, my itinerary only allowed for a 24-hour stay in Colombo but there is plenty to see and do, as well as many great places to eat, drink and shop.
Although I've been drinking coffee from Sussex-based Pharmacie Coffee Roasters since 2018, somehow it took me until this month to visit their roastery and coffee bar in the heart of the South Downs in Lewes. To be fair, even though they've been around a lot longer, the roastery has only been in Lewes since 2021 and suffice it to say, my visit was well worth the wait.
As the end of 2023 hurtles towards me, I am frantically typing up the 13th edition of my annual specialty coffee and food awards, in which I share my favourite coffee shops, eateries, bars and individual dishes from among those I visited for the first time in 2023 — in London and on my travels around the world.
Glasgow has been on my to-visit list for some time — as a destination for both a city break and a specialty coffee tour. I recently spent a long weekend there with my mum and was able to explore the vibrant and diverse specialty coffee scene of Scotland's largest city. Read on to find out more about the coffee shops and roasteries I visited on my trip. As usual, my very favourites are marked with an asterisk and have purple icons in my map below. Stay tuned for a separate post about all the other things we got up to during our stay in Glasgow.
Welcome to my guide to spending a perfect caffeinated weekend in Birmingham. My family is from the West Midlands but I didn't spend a lot of time in Brum growing up. I've been remedying this in recent years — often when en route to Wolverhampton Wanders matches. On these stops, I prioritise specialty coffee and food (in that order) but a long weekend in Brum a few months ago inspired me to create this itinerary. Read on for industrial heritage, quirky museums and plenty of great places for food and coffee — and there's a map and downloadable one-page cheatsheet at the end!
Since I moved back to London 15 years ago, I have spent a lot of time eating my way around the city's increasingly diverse and impressive restaurant scene. To help me keep track — and for when friends and family asked for recommendations — I started jotting down my favourites in a Moleskine City notebook, which eventually evolved into a Google Sheet and then a blog post in 2016. An update was long overdue and here it is: my 50 favourite restaurants in London.
When planning my recent day trip to the Kent Coast, I had earmarked two new-to-me specialty coffee spots to visit: Forts in Margate...and its sister location in Broadstairs. Better still, I could walk from one Forts to the other by following the Viking Coastal Trail along the beach. And because good things come in threes, I was also excited to pay a visit to Curve Coffee Roasters, an old favourite of mine, which had moved to a new location since I was last in Margate.
I made the most of the sunshine on Saturday by heading to the coast — more specifically, to the Kentish towns of Margate and Broadstairs. I was much too late to find any available accommodation in Margate (Fort Road Hotel would have been my top choice) but thanks to the high-speed trains, you can pack in a lot on a day trip. Read on for my one-day Margate and Broadstairs itinerary, including a walk along the Viking Coastal Trail and other things to do and places to eat, drink and shop.
