London Life
23
Breakfast, lunch and tea
Vince Burke gets a taste of daytime London
One of the many great things about London is its wonderful array of eating options at any time of the day.
I was recently lucky enough to have breakfast at an iconic London landmark, Sunday lunch with a difference and afternoon tea with one of the capital’ s most famous residents( though not all on the same day!)
Hearty
I tucked into a hearty breakfast at the historic Simpsons in the Strand. The much-loved‘ temple of food’ reopened earlier this year after closing down during the pandemic and is soon to celebrate its 200th anniversary, having opened in 1828.
It was a privilege to follow in the footsteps of famous past patrons such as Charles Dickens, PG Wodehouse and Winston Churchill and enjoy a wonderful range of breakfast choices.
This included its headline act,‘ The Ten Deadly Sins’, the fullest full English you could ever hope to enjoy, served by smartly uniformed staff in Simpson’ s‘ Grande Dame’, the glorious Grand Divan restaurant.
Traditional
I like a good dollop of history with my food and was therefore happy to step back to the 1930s and enjoy a traditional Sunday lunch aboard a lovingly restored British Pullman luxury train. Starting with a pre-departure aperitif, we set off from Victoria station before gliding through the countryside on a wonderful five hour round trip.
The time flew past thanks to the excellent hospitality, beautiful views, luxurious surrounds and jolly chats with fellow passengers and friendly staff.
Amongst the many lovely touches was the entertainment provided by The Wild Tonics, a flapper-style trio. Their repertoire included a 1930’ s version of the 1970s Bee Gees’ classic‘ Stayin’ Alive’.
The journey involved crossing Kent to reach the historic towns of Rochester, Canterbury and Broadstairs before heading back across the South Downs to London.
Plush
Between four excellent courses, I marvelled at the plush upholstery, linencoated table set with bespoke cutlery and glassware, the superb art deco lamps and wine coolers as well as the elegant marquetry in our carriage( named Gwen).
I believe it once conveyed the late Queen Elizabeth II to Brighton and I hope she enjoyed its comfort, craftsmanship and the wonderful views of southern England on her trip as much as I did on mine.
Whistle-stop
The late Queen famously celebrated her Platinum Jubilee with Paddington bear so if it was good enough for Her Majesty, it was good enough for me.
I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea of savoury and sweet options( including
the‘ best ever’ marmalade sandwiches) on board an iconic London Routemaster double decker bus.
I was joined by Paddington fans young and old during the 90 minute tour which started in Trafalgar Square and took us on a fun whistle-stop tour of central London, taking in all the major tourist sites including the Houses of Parliament, Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace.
As well being hugely enjoyable, the tour was educational. While everyone knows of Paddington’ s Auntie Lucy, I never knew that he had an Uncle Pastuzo until this trip.
Unrivalled
My recent food trips were another reminder of London’ s unrivalled status as one of the world’ s greatest city for tourists and locals to enjoy.
As the famous Londoner Samuel Johnson maybe should have said, when a man is tired of eating in London, a man is tired of life.
www. simpsonsinthestrand. co. uk www. belmond. com / trains / europe / uk
https:// b-bakery. com / london / bus-tours / paddington-afternoon-tea-bus-tour
Vincent Burke is a communications consultant, journalist and podcaster
www. linkedin. com / in / vincent-burke- 7b98968