The Sneaky Magpie

Soho can be a big such a tourist trap but it surely does have some great spots. I work just across the street so am a regular in this area and this is my little Soho food guide.

Dehesa – an excellent tapas restaurant, sister of Salt Yard. Meat lovers paradise but they also do courgette flowers which I could easily become addicted to.

Le Pain Quotidien – a great choice for breakfast, lunch or tea. Delicious salads on summer day, hearty soups in winter, best carrot cake in London and don’t even get me started on their breads and praline spread. It is a chain but a good one.

Nordic Bakery – I often go to places and order exactly the same thing over and over again. Nordic Bakery does the best cinnamon buns and this is what I always buy there, the smell is amazing and the buns are always freshly baked, you can buy them piping hot out of the oven. They also make superb rye bread open sandwiches.

Fernandez & Wells – lovely little cafe on Beak Street and good wine with tapas on Lexington Street.

Maletti Pizza – this little shop sells the best pizza in Soho, they are very strict that you don’t use your mobile phone when in the shop, in fact there is a note that the staff are allowed to humiliate you if you do. The queues are very long because it is so worth it. 26 Noel Street, W1.

The Chippy – best fish and chips in Soho, long queues on Fridays. 38 Poland Street, W1.

Bar Italia – proper espresso and good Italian cakes, fantastic atmosphere.

There are three Japanese restaurants that I go to in Soho: Donzoko (15 Kingley Street, W1), Taro (61 Brewer Street W1) and Ramen Seto (19 Kingley Street). Donzoko is particularly good for sushi. All restaurants are authentic and inexpensive.

Aurora – a pleasant little restaurant in Lexington Street, nice European food. 49 Lexington Street, W1.

Princi – Italian bakery, lovely cakes and good bread. Gets very busy during weekends.

Yauatcha – good dim sum, fabulous cocktails and decadent cakes.

Milk Bar and Flat White – great little coffee places.

Yalla Yalla – new kid on the block, fabulous Lebanese street food in the heart of Soho.

Tea at Liberty – great selection of teas and English cakes in beautiful surroundings.

Barrafina in Frith Street – an amazing tapas bar, there is usually a queue but it moves fast and you can start your bottle of wine and snack on few nibbles while you’re waiting. Once seated you can enjoy a selection of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes, all equally delicious. I had a couple of specials: razor clams and sea bream – great flavours, the tortillas are wonderful too. An absolute must go if you find yourself in the area.

Polpo in Beak Street – also tapas but this time Italian. Tasty and inexpensive for a quick bite when in town.

Bocca di Lupo in Archer Street – another Italian addition to Soho. A truly amazing restaurant specializing in regional dishes like grilled girolles from Lombardia, grilled squid with gremolata from Liguria or rather ghastly sounding pig’s blood pate and chocolate with sourdough bread for dessert from Abruzzo. If you ever wondered where to sample all those dishes from Jamie’s Italian trip – this is the place to go.

Hix in Brewer Street – as the name suggests this is another addition to Mark Hix’s empire. A restaurant on ground floor and a buzzing bar in the basementthis place serves excellent British dishes in great atmosphere.

I am sure I have forgotten few places worth mentioning, Soho can be such a maze.

Had such a nice sushi last night, went to So Sushi (nothing to do with Yo, Hi or similar bad sushi places!). The restaurant is in Soho’s Warwick Street and serves one of the best Japanese food I ever had in London. The fish is incredibly fresh, we had a sashimi selection with fish, prawn and amazing scallops, followed by spicy tuna and salad roll and scallop and avocado roll. All to die for. Friendly staff too. I stuck to green tea however the cocktails looked fab. Love the place.

The Observer listed 50 best places to eat and hang out by Erin Wasson, read it here. They all sound pretty good and very unpretentious. Given how cool she is you can only expect the best. What really caught my eye was at no 9 the Brixton Market, I never go there even though it’s probably only 15 minutes away on my bike. Rosie’s Deli Cafe sounds especially good, there is a piece on her in the Observer and her Brixton Market tips here. She seems so lovely. This Saturday she is launching her cook book, more on her blog. This is a Saturday must do.

Moving on, still reading Vonnegut’s stories, Welcome to the Monkeyhouse and The Foster Portfolio are the best ones so far but I am only half way through and have still few stories and Palm Sunday to read. This is my bedside book. The tube book is Celebrity: How Entertainers Took Over the World and Why We Need an Exit Strategy by the witty Marina Hyde whose hilarious column you may know from The Guardian. Highly amusing, brutal truth about world’s obsession with celebrity, their charities, religions, adoptions and political activities.

This week’s sartorial issues:

1.  I made it to the almost newly open Marc by Marc Jacobs shop. As I walked in I felt like in a pound shop, beautiful, expensive clothing packed tight on hangers and the whole space flooded by cheap cheap plastic trinkets, bags and t-shirts. The shop sells a fair amount of books and the Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton DVD - all of it is displayed in a really horrible fashion. Wanted to run away from this chaos however I did grab a pair of wellies and a jolly brolly on my way out. The brolly is useful but the wellies are pretty uncomfortable and might end up on ebay. These look like they could cheer people up on a rainy day with their colorful soles. Another major problem I have with the shop is the banister – horrible brown lacquer. Come on Marc, give it some style!

2. Got a really good pair of peg trousers from H&M, something like Chloe or YSL. But in black.

3. None of the above were from my summer shopping list!

4. Mary Portas is back next week, this time sorting out charity shops.

Picture of Rosie by Antonio Olmos