march-2012

144 | DESTINATION GUIDES More free monthly guides available at traveller.easyJet.com
London
UK
DIALLING CODE +44
CURRENCY £
FLY FROM
Aberdeen, Agadir,
Alicante, Almería,
Amman, Amsterdam,
Antalya, Asturias,
Athens, Barcelona,
Bari, Basel-Mulhouse,
Berlin, Belfast, Biarritz,
Bilbao, Bodrum,
Bologna, Bordeaux,
Budapest, Cagliari
(Sardinia), Catania,
Cologne/Bonn,
Copenhagen, Corfu,
Corsica (Ajaccio),
Corsica (Bastia),
Crete (Chania), Crete
(Heraklion), Corfu,
Cyprus (Larnaca),
Cyprus (Paphos),
Dalaman, Dortmund,
Dubrovnik, Düsseldorf,
Edinburgh, Faro,
Fuerteventura, Geneva,
Gibraltar, Glasgow, Gran
Canaria, Grenoble,
Hamburg, Hurghada,
Ibiza, Innsbruck,
Istanbul, Inverness,
Izmir, Jersey, Kefalonia,
Kefl avik, Kos, Krakow,
Lanzarote, La Rochelle,
Lisbon, Ljubljana, Luxor,
Lyon, Madeira, Madrid,
Majorca, Málaga,
Malta, Marrakech,
Marseille, Menorca,
Milan (MXP, LIN),
Montpellier, Munich,
Murcia, Mykonos,
Nantes, Naples, Nice,
Olbia, Palermo, Paris
(CDG), Pisa, Porto,
Prague, Rhodes,
Rome, Salzburg,
Santorini, Seville,
Sharm El Sheikh, Sofi a,
Split, Tallinn, Tel Aviv,
Tenerife, Thessaloniki,
Toulouse, Valencia,
Venice, Verona, Vienna,
Zagreb, Zante, Zürich
FROM THE
AIRPORT
LUTON
TAXI
A local taxi costs
£80.
National Express
coaches leave
Victoria every half an
hour. Buy onboard,
tickets: £15.50 single;
£22.50 return.
Trains from Luton
Airport Parkway
go to London St
Pancras. Tickets: £13
(fi rstcapital
connect.co.uk).
GATWICK
TAXI
A local taxi costs
£70 to London.
The Gatwick
Express to
London Victoria runs
every 15 minutes from
4.35am–1.35am.
Buy onboard.
SOUTHEND
TAXI
A local taxi costs
£130 to London.
Regular trains
travel to
Liverpool Street.
Tickets: £15 single.
STANSTED
TAXI
A local taxi costs
£100 to London.
National Express
runs a bus service
to London Victoria.
Tickets: £17 return.
The Stansted
Express runs
every 15 minutes until
00.30am. Exclusive
easyJet discounted
fares available when
you buy onboard.
For transport in
London, Oyster
cards are available
with £20 of credit. Buy
on board, tickets: £23.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €15 Feng
Sushi (Festival
Terrace, Southbank
Centre, SE1, tel: 0207
261 0001) With a
sustainable menu that
changes six times a
year, a sushi fi x at this
very zen canteen is not
only guilt-free, but it
also throws up some
unexpectedly delicious
taste combinations:
think cucumber discs
topped with yellowtail
sashimi and a salad
of wakame, pickled
jalapeño, coriander,
avocado and yuzu
kimchee dressing. You
can also sample your
favourite nigiri and
maki rolls in 12-piece
box sets from £11.
UP TO €30 Angel
and Crown (58 St
Martin’s Lane, WC2, tel:
020 7748 5244)
Dining in busy Covent
Garden can often be
hit or miss, making this
traditional pub a real
fi nd for those looking
for a guaranteed good
eat. Downstairs is
drinking only, while
there’s room for almost
20 people to chow
down in the compact
space upstairs. The
close tables encourage
customers to chat, or
gush, over their food
– which is seemingly
British fodder but with
a few international
favourites thrown
in too. Starters of
snails or onion and
cider soup are good
options, and mains,
such as the leek tart
or something from the
specials board, should
be accompanied with
macaroni cheese,
tempura onion rings
and a glass of white.
UP TO €50
MEATliquor (76
Welbeck Street, W1G,
tel: 020 7224 4239)
This boozy haven for
carnivores is by far
the trendiest new
contender on the
Marylebone restaurant
scene. The brainchild
of the duo behind
London’s infamous
Meatwagon burger
van, the loud and
grungy interiors are as
much of an explosion
on your senses as
the mouth-watering
menu of burgers –
the dead hippie, two
mustard-fried patties
with melted cheese,
ROCHESTER
ESCAPE Charles
Dickens’ bicentennial
is one reason to
make the trip to
his hometown of
Rochester. Browse
the antique shops
and tour the 12thcentury
castle.
noodles | rice dishes | dumplings
salads and more! visit wagamama.com
is a sure winner – and
dishes inspired by
American soul food
(deep-fried pickles
with a blue cheese
dip). But as with all
cool kids on the block,
there’s a strict noreservations
policy, so
be prepared to queue.
EXCLUSIVE
Morgan M (50 Long
Lane, EC1, tel: 020
7609 3560) Already
well established in
nearby Islington,
the chilled-out chef
Morgan Meunier has
now opened shop in
the Barbican, near
Smithfi eld market. And
he’s created the same
relaxed, sophisticated
ambience in the
upstairs room.
Downstairs, the tables
overlook the kitchen
and a tapas menu is
served in a buzzier
atmosphere than fans
of the original French
eatery will be familiar
with. Guests are easily
persuaded to try the
tasting menu, and each
dish is impeccably
presented as it comes
away from the kitchen.
The winter menu’s
highlights are the fi llet
of wild sea bass served
on an imaginative, but
fantastic carrot and
ginger risotto with
lemon and saff ron
broth and the dark
chocolate moulleux
made with 70%
chocolate. Savour the
rest of your dessert
wine and coff ees with
a selection from the
locally sourced cheese
trolley – an exceptional
dining experience.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY Hive
(11–13 Brixton Station
Road, SW9, tel: 020
7274 8383) Not a bad
little spot for a drink,
just by Brixton tube
station. The popular
Brixton Academy is
nearby, but The Hive’s
tucked-away location
means that you never
have to struggle at the
bar with all the pre-gig
revellers. The venue
has a more café feel to
it than other pubs in
the area, and staff take
orders from seated
groups sipping mojitos.
If the Academy’s
programme isn’t to
your inclinations, then
maybe The Hive’s
selection will suffi ce,
which ranges from jazz
or drum ‘n’ bass DJs to
live little-known bands.
LIVE MUSIC
XOYO (32–37
Cowper Street, EC2)
On the outskirts of
Shoreditch, by Old
Street, this club was
given a kick-start
by its location alone
when it opened last
year. Now, it’s surely
the music policy
that is its secret to
continued success.
Club nights featuring
DJs fi ll the weekend
rosta, but mid-week
the stage is left
entirely to touring
bands. John Digweed
has played the decks
in the past, while
March sees MC and
rapper Wale perform
on the 27th. The room
is always crowded by a
clientèle, who seem to
be more concerned