bourne & hollingsworth

Unsuspecting but intriguing, Bourne and Hollingsworth has realised a goal that many cocktail bars strive for but rarely manage to achieve; it is, quite simply, different. Yes, it may be so small that there’s hardly enough room to swing a cat, let alone dance to a gramophone record - and yes, it may be teetering slightly on the worse side of shabby chic - but its dedication and enthusiasm for quirky cool in the heart of media London makes this a stand-out venue.

After several recommendations from friends and colleagues, and finding ourselves near Goodge Steet and in the mood for a cocktail one Friday night, we decided to pay the small bar on Rathbone Street a visit. Tucked away in a basement on a street corner next to a busy restaurant, it's very easy to miss completely; we ourselves had mistakenly wandered past twice, ending up, confused, near the BT tower or down some long-forgotten alleyway.

Realising after we ventured down the stairs to the Bourne & Hollingsworth basement that we'd be sharing the place with exactly eight others, we soon found that a situation which would have been off-putting in any other Central London bar at 10pm on a Friday actually felt strangely and intimately endearing at Bourne and Hollingsworth.

After all, set out like a crazed long-lost great Aunt’s lounge that was in need of a spot of decorating some 50 years ago, it’s definitely a step away from the loud pubs and booming music of the modern world outside. This place has a way of warmly luring you in, with teacups on tables, floral wallpaper, frilly lampshades and framed needlework on the walls. Oh, and the promise of a Jammie Dodger with your cocktail, of course.

Propped up against the bar, we listened to the DJ - a choice of entertainment which may seem slightly out of place, but, like everything in this strange juxtaposition of a Central London bar, it just works - and examined the origami-like folded paper menu. Pleasantly surprised by the variety of different and unique cocktails that were on offer, little symbols by each cocktail to show how it’s served is particularly appealing if you're someone who chooses drinks on appearances and names over the actual contents. Alongside the normal cocktail glass, there are drinks in an array of different objects, and we chose one in a jam jar and one in a tea cup - a floral tea cup, no less, with a saucer and a piece of shortbread. Impressive, and tasty, the cocktails themselves are strong and not really too expensive for London prices - we paid just under £15 for two.

Incredibly friendly barmen are also on hand to take pity on any bewildered first-timers gazing round in bemused wonder at the place, and it’s certainly good fun to watch staff who wouldn’t look out of place in a modern bar making cocktails next to plates of biscuits, paper napkins, cupcakes and china teapots.

This is all very quirky and endearing, but why, really, does Bourne & Hollingsworth work so well? Apart from its individuality and its good, strong cocktails, its best feature must be its immediate appeal to the latest craze for all things vintage-inspired; although, like similar venues elsewhere, it refrains from doing this in a pretentious way, and instead evokes a kind of effortless chic. It has the ability to feel like your own little secret hideaway, whilst being extremely popular and doing a very good trade; and that’s quite some paradox to pull off.

Is it any coincidence that almost everyone who’s recommended me to go to this place has, at some point, lived in Brighton? Not at all; it has a sense of the hippy eccentric about it, and you can’t help feeling that Central London could do with more naturally quirky places like Bourne and Hollingsworth amidst all its commercial chains.

Or maybe, instead, the point is that B&H really is one of a kind - maybe it is that, after all, which makes it one of Central London’s most effortlessly cool bars.

If you’d like to visit, have a look at Bourne & Hollingsworth’s website - it’s an extremely basic landing page, but, again, this is all part of the charm.

And a P.S: a little name check here for Alex, the first person to mention Bourne and Hollingsworth to me.

brick lane sundays

I'm going to be a total London-based blogger cliché now, but it has to be said: I love Brick Lane market on Sundays.

So as mentioned in my previous post, last weekend my friend flew over to London from France and me and her, along with two of our close friends, had an amazing girly weekend in London. We went shopping on Oxford Street, had delicious pizza, a great night out with lots of cocktails and afternoon tea at Liberty's (seriously amazing - look here for proof!)

On Sunday, we somewhat drowsily made our way around Brick Lane market - the perfect place to browse when you're feeling a little delicate and just want to look at pretty and interesting things. For those of you not native to London/the UK, Brick Lane is an area in East London which, aside from having an amazing range of curry restaurants, also has so many interesting vintage-inspired shops and a must-see market on Sunday mornings. Visit to find clothes, art, crafts, vintage goods, jewellery, photography and, well, a lot of other things too. It has such a great atmosphere, very chilled and relaxed (quite like Brighton in that way, actually - very refreshing compared to the normal hustle and bustle of Central London) and brings with it a unique and multi-cultural experience.

While I was extremely good and refrained from buying anything at the market (due to massively overspending on Oxford Street the day before), the main things that caught my eye at the market on Sunday included lots of vintage white lace dresses, beautiful pendants and little pocketwatches on chains, brown vintage briefcases and some really gorgeous bow headbands. Lovely - and, honestly, the perfect hangover cure!

What's your favourite place to buy vintage finds? Have you ever been to Brick Lane? And can you recommend anywhere amazing around there?

como agua para chocolate

The last weekend before Christmas, I caught wind of the fact that there was a chocolate festival in London. Yes, that's right. A chocolate festival. A celebration of all things chocolatey. Rows and rows of stalls of the stuff being sold - complete with free samples and tasters galore. And, being a girl who fits the term "chocoholic" in every single way, it was really no surprise that I soon found myself down at Southbank, wandering around in awe.

As amazing as the Chocolate Festival was (and it was amazing, as I hope you can tell by the sheer amount of yummy photos I took), we were a little dismayed at how expensive everything was - after all, we're only just out of the student lifestyle and mentality, and are used to thinking of Lindt chocolate as "splashing out a bit" in terms of price (oh dear).

Imagine my face when, after I had a free sample of what I can only describe as heaven - luxury lemon curd dark chocolate - I went to buy some, only to find out that a small box would set me back nearing £20. Ouch.
Our cunning plan was then to taste as much as we could, and treat ourselves to one expensive bar of chocolate; because it all tasted so delicious, it would be worth the price. And so, a few hours, a hot chocolate, a box of churros con chocolate and a whole load of free samples later, we came away from the festival with two bars of the best chocolate I have ever tasted in my life - from pioneering organic chocolate company Original Beans.

I really urge you to check them out, if you're a chocolate lover - or, to be honest, even if you're not, because this stuff will convert you. Not only is the chocolate actually the most delicious I have ever tasted (and I've tasted a lot), it's completely organic, and each bar has a fantastic system whereby for each bar that is sold, the company will plant a tree. Simply enter a code on the back of your bar into a form on their website and you can see where your bar's tree has been planted - love it! So: great chocolate, great for the environment, and great for the local people in the countries that produce chocolate too - have a look at this article for more information.

What's the best chocolate you've ever tasted?