Tying up loose ends was the order of the day. First we headed over to Liberty, in search of a couple more skeins of yarn to match some acquired earlier in the trip. A manager was summoned to sort out a glitch with the register and he tempted us with some absolutely fantastic chocolate truffles shaped like eggs. His sneaky salesmanship led us downstairs to the candy department, where we ended up being plied with even more samples. We finally escaped with a small bag full of delectable delights and proceeded on our quest for additional items on our checklist.
Just out the back door and down the passage is one of my new favorite pubs, The Clachan. With a line-up of ten cask ales to choose from you can have an epic pub crawl and only walk as far as from your seat to the bar. The atmosphere is open and lively with a fair mix of locals and tourists. Warnings are posted to beware of thieves and pickpockets (they love tipsy tourists who don't keep track of their belongings) so keep your wits about you, just in case. If you have someone in your crowd who is keen to do some shopping at Liberty this is an excellent place to drop anchor and have a pint or three in a pleasant atmosphere while you wait.
A specific type of souvenir was on the list, which led us to the tourist tchotchke mecca of Piccadilly Circus. If you look at a map it appears to be a trek from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus, but in reality it's a leisurely stroll of about ten minutes or so. There will probably be crowds, regardless of the day. As previously mentioned, keep your wits about you and maintain control of your belongings. Since I'm not terribly souvenir-centric and the shops were crowded I did a bit more "research" and located a nearby pub that I was previously unfamiliar with. (Pro Tip: If you need a restroom, pop in to a pub and grab a pint, problem solved! Alternatively, if you need a pint, just use the restroom as an excuse to go in the pub.) The St. James Tavern was a bit crowded with a large percentage of tourists, which isn't surprising given the proximity to Piccadilly Circus. If your pub-fu is anywhere above novice level the staff will breathe a sigh of relief over not having to repeat the same tutorial for the eleventy-hundreth time today. They have several cask ales available at any given time as well as an assortment of lagers and ciders, so you should be able to find something to suit your taste.
Laden with packages (and wondering how I was going to re-pack to accommodate the new purchases) we made our way back to the hotel to drop off everything and freshen up before dinner. When something works why mess with it? As has become a London tradition for us at this point, we made dinner reservations at Côte for our final night. If you're a regular reader you have probably seen previous reviews and comments from prior trips and understand why we keep coming back. If you're a new reader, thanks for joining us, here's a summary!
Côte is, simply, one of those things that is just "right" in the world. Amazingly well done French cuisine served by uniformly convivial staff, offered with an approachable wine list at budget-friendly prices. This is still London, so "inexpensive" is an adjective reserved for rare situations. Côte isn't inexpensive (That's a £4 meal deal at Tesco) but it is quite affordable and represents exceptional value. Many locations attract a large pre-theater crowd, so I suggest dining later or making reservations (which are generally easy to obtain if you don't wait until the last minute.)
Just out the back door and down the passage is one of my new favorite pubs, The Clachan. With a line-up of ten cask ales to choose from you can have an epic pub crawl and only walk as far as from your seat to the bar. The atmosphere is open and lively with a fair mix of locals and tourists. Warnings are posted to beware of thieves and pickpockets (they love tipsy tourists who don't keep track of their belongings) so keep your wits about you, just in case. If you have someone in your crowd who is keen to do some shopping at Liberty this is an excellent place to drop anchor and have a pint or three in a pleasant atmosphere while you wait.
Laden with packages (and wondering how I was going to re-pack to accommodate the new purchases) we made our way back to the hotel to drop off everything and freshen up before dinner. When something works why mess with it? As has become a London tradition for us at this point, we made dinner reservations at Côte for our final night. If you're a regular reader you have probably seen previous reviews and comments from prior trips and understand why we keep coming back. If you're a new reader, thanks for joining us, here's a summary!
Côte is, simply, one of those things that is just "right" in the world. Amazingly well done French cuisine served by uniformly convivial staff, offered with an approachable wine list at budget-friendly prices. This is still London, so "inexpensive" is an adjective reserved for rare situations. Côte isn't inexpensive (That's a £4 meal deal at Tesco) but it is quite affordable and represents exceptional value. Many locations attract a large pre-theater crowd, so I suggest dining later or making reservations (which are generally easy to obtain if you don't wait until the last minute.)
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