As the rigour and madness that is the academic semester at University of Westminster slowly disappears, the stress of exam preparation takes over. While indisputably a fun and exhilarating time in your life, it’s important to allow yourself some treats to help you unwind and remind yourself that there is a lovely city out there that needs to be appreciated! With London being a cultural melting pot (a trait highly reflected on the Westminster Business School campus), one way to appreciate the city is its food options. Here are just a few of the tours and tastes that I wanted to share:

Southbank Centre

One of the first places that I was excited to visit after settling in was the place I’d sing about as a child – London Bridge. Starting from Tower Bridge and strolling towards London Bridge, you experience the quintessential skyline view of London – the structural marvels that are the Shard, the “Gherkin Building”, and the “Walkie Talkie” building. To me the beauty of the promenade was being able to sample some of the old history with sites such as the Globe Theatre and the nearby Southwark Cathedral. Aside from its historic charm (there are pieces of the cathedral that date back to the 1100s!), the cathedral shares the neighborhood with an equally historic gastronomical paradise – the Borough Food Market. If you want to know what bacon jam tastes like, or what kangaroo, ostrich, and crocodile would taste like in a burger, then Borough Market is the place for you! The stalls there include: cold cuts and cheese, seafood, japanese and korean food, fresh fruit and vegetable stands, craft beer and wine shops, and who can forget dessert stalls. On days that call for a celebration (like when you’re done with exams), make the walk over to the other end of the riverside promenade, closer to the London Eye and the National Theatre to treat yourself to some delightful dim sum at Ping Pong! Just a few things I got to try were steamed pork buns, three mushroom dumplings, a black prawn dumpling, and flowering tea, but I hear the drinks here are great too. Ping Pong is all about variety, where portions for dishes are very light – think of it as a chinese tapas bar and order accordingly. This is definitely a venue you want to go with when you want you and your friends to feel special. While hardly a budget eat, this place definitely deserves a mention as it provides a 15% discount to students. It also has an all you can eat dumpling offer on Sundays at all of its London chains.

Counter Cafe and Hackney Wick

An area of London that you shouldn’t miss out on is Hackney Wick, near the venue for the 2012 London Olympics. One of the first things that you notice as you step out of the overground station is how the entire neighborhood feels like an open air art installation, riddled with massive street art murals. Another selling point for me are the narrow canals with lines of houseboats, each of which exudes character and gives Hackney Wick a relaxed vibe that is best experienced in person. A walk along the cobbled pathway of the canals not only soothes the mind, but will also lead you to a bonafide brunch spot! A hidden gem, The Counter Cafe is the spot to go on a day where you feel like the big city life is too overwhelming. With some amazing brunch items available, the cafe scores high points with me for its canal-side seating which makes you wonder if you are still in London. What we ordered: Smoked mackerel, baby potatoes, poached egg, preserved lemon, horseradish cream, the Counter Deluxe, and a Bagel with salmon and cream cheese. Naturally we ordered more than one dish because breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Brixton Village

There are days when you feel the need to relax and not feel like you’ve spent a fortune on a meal and Brixton and all of its glorious offerings is the smartest fiscal option out there. If you haven’t been here yet, one of the first places you need to go to is Brixton Village. Similar to many food markets in London, Brixton Village offers a tantalizing variety of foods that cater to any taste buds, but the marketplace where it is located is probably the best venue you will find in all of London. Get together with your friends and go for juicy grills, authentic thai, a simple sandwich, or even some savoury crepes. In Brixton Village, there are two options that I’ve tried multiple times. The first, is Senzala, a Brazilian creperie. Whether it’s dessert crepes you want, or a full hearted brunch crepe, Senzala has a wide variety of mouth watering crepes. I’ve tried a few crepes here – The Cajun prawn, the Huevos Rancheros, but by far my favorite was the salmon crepe, which was light and lingered on your palate. If you’re lucky, you may even catch some of the staff dancing to the lively samba playing in the background. Another place I’ve tried out is the The Agile Rabbit, which I recommend anyone go to a Thursday evening, which is when they have some great live music bands. On any other day, they’ve still got an amazing music line up, but more importantly, they have some great thin crust pizza! An important side note, if you’re living off campus and want fresh and exotic groceries and meats for your next meal, Brixton offers an amazing marketplace that has a great variety of produce at extremely affordable prices.

There are obviously more places than just the three I’ve mentioned above, but I thought they’d be a great a start to letting you know what London is all about. As a rule of thumb, I’ve told myself that I wouldn’t try the same cuisine or restaurant twice. Next on my list, some more affordable and student-budget friendly eateries. Its cities like London that make wish I had more than one stomach!

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Jeni Stokes

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