facttime

Since I moved back to London 15 years ago, I have spent a lot of time eating my way around the city's increasingly diverse and impressive restaurant scene. To help me keep track — and for when friends and family asked for recommendations — I started jotting down my favourites in a Moleskine City notebook, which eventually evolved into a Google Sheet and then a blog post in 2016 . An update was long overdue and here it is: my 50 favourite restaurants in London.  My main criteria for the restaurants on this list are: quality of food, warmth of service and style/ambience of the venue. The list features a wide range of cuisines and price points — from budget to blow-the-budget. Because of where I live and hang out and where I worked, there's a bias towards SE and central neighbourhoods; sorry, West London, I'm working on it! I left out places where brunch is the primary focus because I already  created a guide to my favourite brunch spots . I've added links to my reviews w...

I made the most of the sunshine on Saturday by heading to the coast — more specifically, to the Kentish towns of Margate and Broadstairs. I was much too late to find any available accommodation in Margate ( Fort Road Hotel  would have been my top choice) but thanks to the high-speed trains, you can pack in a lot on a day trip. Read on for my one-day Margate and Broadstairs itinerary, including a walk along the Viking Coastal Trail and other things to do and places to eat, drink and shop. 10:00 Coffee stop and quick shop in Broadstairs I booked a return train ticket to Margate but hopped off one stop early in Broadstairs, arriving just before 10:00 am. My first priority was coffee and I made a beeline for  Forts Cafe , which is a stone's throw from the beach. As well as the house Tastyboi espresso, roasted by Origin , Will Pitts' colourful cafe and its sister location in Margate serve some excellent coffees from a range of guest roasters. I opted for a piccolo with a natural Rw...