Gents -

I find myself here in London this week for work. Was wondering if there were any local Jag owners that can either recommend a few places for dinner and a few pints or better yet join me!

Best,
Jay

 

I would have been there but am now in my winter home in the Bahamas.
You might get a reply on the UK reginal forum if you re-post there...UK & Eire - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Good luck and enjoy London.

 

Excellent tip, reposting it is. Enjoy the Bahamas - quite a collection of cars you have there too, very nice

 

Check out London Borough Market, Spitalfields Market, Gaucho, Hawksmoor, The Wolsely (very good breakfast) and Skygarden and the Aqua Shard for the views at night/drinks.

Enjoy your visit man! If I was around I'd have definitely met up to chat about Jags

 

I was in London last week, surprisingly haven't seen a single F-Type on the street. Only Jaguars I have seen were XJs and XFs.

The only place I saw an F-Type was in the Departure terminal at Gatwick Airport on display.

 

Damn, looks like I *just* missed a few members here :/

Twiz - I hear ya..lots of XJ's and XF's. No f-types...

JagSTR - thanks for the tips! And I was def thinking of you when this trip came up, too bad I can't shoot over to your part during this trip.

 

Walk east along the river from Tower Hill to Smiths Brasserie in Wapping (great view of Tower Bridge) or a bit further along the same road to Il Bordello. Then you've got either Town of Ramsgate or The Captain Kidd pubs for beers afterwards (along the same road).

Agree you don't see many F's around the city. Can only recall seeing a few in the last couple of years (excluding my own one on the days I drive in).

 

I can absolutely second your recommendation on Bordello. I used to live in Wapping (still own an apartment in New Crane Wharf just up from Bordello) prior to moving to the US 7 years ago, Captain Kidd was my local.. such great times

 

The restaurant atop Tate Modern used to be worth a look - good view of St Pauls to go with it.

 

Where in London?

 

I lived there for nearly 7 years. What part of London are you staying in?

 

If you want a proper tea service, reserve at Fortnum and Mason.

 

lived in london for some time.

one of my favourites is the aqua Nueva in regent street.

if you like good (and expensive) sushi, go to Zuma in raphael street.

 

Hi Jay.

I'm really gutted I didn't see your post earlier as I was down in town on Monday and it would have been nice to meet up!

I have a couple of recommendations for you.
Firstly how are you with Curry? It's practically the national dish now and there are some fantastic curry houses just to the east of the City of London in the Brick Lane area (check trip advisor to see which one is currently King of the hill as its a competitive market!)
Secondly you could jump on one of the river shuttles and head down to Greenwich where there is some fantastic history and very good pubs (often with a healthy overlap between the two). A pub steak and ale pie would go down a treat on a lovely cool, clear Autumn day like today.

As an F-Type owner I assume you love great design and engineering in which case I can heartily recommend a trip over to the Science Museum in Kensington even if you only have a couple of hours to spare.
It houses sone truly unique exhibits and I find every trip there an educational and humbling experience. For instance the first plane to fly the Atlantic is up on the 5th floor and I believe there's an example of our F-Types grandad in there as well.

Speaking of F-Types there'd around 9000 on the UK roads I believe which makes them quite a rare cat. Your more likely to see an Aston or Ferrari in London than an F which I very much like.

Will you be back over in the UK again soon? In which case I would love to meet up and play hits in my original home town.

Regards Mike

 

I think I was a victim of auto correct in the last line of my post above.

I think I was suggesting that we could meet up and I could play host not "hits"

Regards Mike

 

I wonder what makes the F-Type so rare there, considering I have seen so many luxury/super/hyper cars there, but not a single F-type on the street. The only one I have seen was a convertible S in Switzerland. You would think that a car made in the same country would be more prominent.

 

I think it's a lack of imagination. People I know who have sold their companies or made a bit of money working at the banks seem to immediately go out and buy themselves a Porsche. I know it' a cliche but it does seem to have a basis in reality.

Part of the problem is that, Jaguar is still seen as a boring 'old mans' brand in the UK. There's also a persisting association with dodgy second hand car dealers in sheep skin coats driving them. People never expected Jaguar to come out with a car like the F-Type.

 

Awesome recommendations guys. I'm heading out shortly to start hitting a few of these places...stay tuned

I'm actually staying in Kensington, out closer to the office I'm at. But looks like only a 20-25min train ride to most places in the city.

blackmme - tell me about it, looks like I've *just* missed a few members here! Too bad :/ I think I'm right down the street from the Science Museum, so I will definitely make time to see that. I might be able to get another trip to London out of this project and if so, will absolutely keep you posted - would be great fun to catch up!


I caught a glimpse of a white f-type coupe here last night, finally. Funny enough...I also saw a matte black Ferrari 488 just parked on the street, go figure.

 

1. Lunch - Haddock Fish and Chips at the Fountain Restaurant at Fortnum & Mason. It's pricey but a really great dining experience. Before or after lunch you can go upstairs and browse plenty of examples of interesting traditional and modern british design (polo blankets, ascot hats, christmas hampers, safari luggage, etc).

2. Tea - I would skip Fortnum & Mason as it's a tourist trap for tea and the standard has gone down. Claridges has great tea for foodies, but my favorite all-in experience (including the room) is the Savoy.

3. Breakfast - I second The Wolseley. The food is good, not amazing, but the experience is really fun.

4. Dinner - There are tons of options here as London is a dining mecca. Food is personal but I would say that Dinner (Heston Blumenthal) and the Gordon Ramsey restaurants are overrated. The Ledbury is very good. French food in London is really expensive for what it is.

5. Parks - London has some great ones. St. James is my favorite, although running in Hyde Park is pretty cool.

6. Todo - London theater and play scene is way better than NYC. Tate Modern and V&A museums offer distinctive gallery experiences that are different from NY/Paris. For over-the-top stupid parties with the euro jetset see if a friend can pop you into one of the private clubs. Be prepared to drain your credit!

 

I hope you get back again, if you do beers are on me!
Hope you have enjoyed a good few days. Let me know your impressions of the science museum.

Regards Mike