Sending Out as SOS

If you say 'SOS' to a hungry Londoner, they'll know what you mean. While they may not rescue you at sea or send you a message in a bottle, they will more than likely be up for nursing a hair-of-the-dog Bloody Mary with you over ethically-sourced ham, egg and chips at John Torode's Smiths of Smithfields ground floor brunch emporium. Smiths of Smithfields, or SOS, opens its doors to late-rising trendites when the rest of the neighbourhood is taking the day off. Indeed, Sunday is far from the day of rest for this hub for plain and simple fare cooked to perfection. Sitting across from the famous Smithfield meat market (unlike those around Vauxhall, this one actually sells meat), SOS is housed in a grade II listed four floor restaurant and bedecked in low-fi industrial chic, from exposed iron beams to raw concrete walls. The music is dutifully hip, but the food is modest and affordable, boasting breakfast goodies like pancakes with bacon and maple syrup or a more traditional fry-up with bubble and squeak, alongside lunchtime surprises like smoked haddock macaroni and cheese. A Mecca for chilling out, the only thing distressed in this place is its furniture.

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Restaurants • Blackfriars / Farringdon

Fields of Gray

Gray's Inn Gardens has a multiple personality disorder. The sign on the gate describes it thus. Look on the NFT map and it's described as Gray's Inn Field but traditionally its known as Gray's Inn Walks. Whatever it is, its nice. Francis Bacon is responsible, having laid it out in 1606. One obvious thing to point out--you're surrounded by lawyers on 3 sides. The Masters of the Bench allow 'adult members of the public' in for a stroll between 12 noon and 2.30 pm, which presumably means you can get any screaming kids ejected if they disturb your lunchtime peace and you're feeling a bit unkind. Admittedly, I went for the virgin snow that had fallen that day, which I tramped through happily enjoying the slight crunch and give of it under my boots. It looks even more lovely in the summer though--check out their website. All was still and peaceful and serene. Twenty minutes there was enough to clear the fog in my head that the central heating and several hours of brainstorming had produced. London bustles all around it, but inside all is calm.

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Landmarks • All London

Quick Fix

Things were bad. My beloved was not coping well with the idea of grabbing something quick to eat in Soho on a cold evening before we headed to a comedy night. I sometimes get PMT mixed up with Michael Jackson's PYT but I knew which one I was dealing with that night. Taro, admittedly not much to look at, at least looked clean, cheap, filling and like it might be quick. A big bowl of Chicken Ramen arrived for me, Chicken Curry Udon for her. Mine was good; punchy flavours, thoroughly warming and very filling. After eating about half of hers and pushing the rest of it around the plate for a bit, an embryonic scowl started to appear on her face. I looked at the gelatinous sauce before tasting it: pretty basic and unmemorable. While I slurped away she rapidly downed her wine and I got the idea that a few more glasses might well produce an upturn in the mood so we got the bill and headed for the pub. Taro is good for a quick fix if you choose right; it's cheap and the staff are nice. And for the record, more red wine did help.

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Restaurants • Piccadilly / Soho (West)

View From Afar

Looking at Tower Bridge from Bermondsey is like looking at a postcard the wrong way round. I mean this in a good way. If you stand by the river at Bermondsey at night, maybe Cherry Garden Pier, and look west you see proper London, the bright lights, big city. But look east and you'll see low sodium lighting, all orange and squat against the dark river. Tower Bridge is the old faultline between acceptable London--the west--and another place. Of course it's all changing now, and this low dark strangeness will soon be submerged by new developments. Come and see it while you can. If you go during the day, it's worth checking out the places where you can get down on to the foreshore. A set of steps by Anchor Brewhouse will take you to the foundations of the bridge itself. You can look up at it from below. Or follow the river east, past the locals fishing at Fountain Square, and there are more steps down to the shore where you can beachcomb for knobbly london pebbles, or perhaps a knee cap picked clean by the tide.

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Landmarks • Shad Thames

No sleep 'til Ottolenghi!

A solitary golden hair spirals downward amidst the dry ice. Thrashing manes collide beneath it. The stench of manly sweat, leather, and old beer is everywhere. Believe it or not we're in the heart of Islington, in its premier extreme metal and goth club Slimelight. Unlike the chi chi neighbourhood it lives in, the interior of Slimelight is authentically industrial. Steel, dirt and smoke frame every piercing and tattoo. And unlike The Underworld in Camden, there's no real crossover appeal here. Anyone not leathered up is nudged out of the bar, bumped out the way, looked at critically. While my duffel coat may have feared for its life down the front, it's hard not to revel in the feeling at being an outsider amongst outsiders. No sleep 'til Ottolenghi!

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Nightlife • All London