Comfort Cool

Starbucks and Mcdonalds are often a depressing feature of London's homogenous high streets, which makes the continued existence of The Troubadour somewhat heart-warming. Having only had 3 owners since opening in 1954, it seems resistant to change and long may that continue. Unlike the chains, it has its own distinctive style (a lot of dark wood, retro signs and posters, quirky hanging ephemera) and a cool atmosphere. Even the friendly waiter looked like he might have been an actor or a musician but with neither the ego nor the attitude to match. It feels a lot like the coffee shop it originally started out as but is now much more than that. Notable musicians such as Dylan, Paul Simon, and Jimmy Page have visited over the years and there's still a club downstairs with live music and poetry performed weekly. A wine shop next door and an upstairs apartment that you can stay in completes the portfolio. “Give the people what they want" was evidently the mantra when compiling the menu with Fish n Chips, Pie n Mash, and Apple Crumble all present. Comfort food in a unique environment: what more could you want?

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Coffee • West Brompton / Fulham Broadway / Earls Court

2010 Book & iPhone Launch: November 13

Maybe your girlfriend's just dumped you for some sexual predator with a gym membership card and a bank balance in the black. Maybe your fiancé has left you at the altar while he's dangling from the ceiling in some medieval bondage device with a ping pong ball in his mouth. Or maybe you're just skint and thirsty. Whatever your malaise, us samaratins at NFT are here to pick you up, dust you off and snog you senseless. Yes, to celebrate our 2010 NFT LONDON GUIDE we'll be ensconced at BAR KICK on the 13th of November from 5-8 and we'll be giving away FREE BEER, FREE BOOKS and FREE CHAT. Like the office party of your wildest dreams we'll be on hand to bitch, laugh and listen but mostly to give out FREE STUFF. Just bring an invite!  BE THERE or be somewhere else. Sign up and get more details here.

Download the PDF invite here.

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Nightlife • Shoreditch / Brick Lane / Spitalfields

Milky Memories

One of the legacies of my University education was a pretty appalling memory, more down to my extra-curricular activities than cramming lots of facts into my brain. A trip to this museum was therefore refreshing, given the amount of 'Oh yeah, I remember those!' moments it triggered. Weirder recollections from somewhere back in my psyche included remembering that 'Imperial Leather' was my Dad's brand of talcum powder and incidentally, who uses that anymore? The man behind the collection is Robert Opie who must have been a nightmare to live with; in 1963, aged 16, he starting collecting and is now reckoned to have more than half a million items, 12,000 of which are here. You can just imagine the trips to Ikea for more storage can't you? Walking through the time tunnel, you can find everything from cans of Mock Turtle Soup (made from calves brains, head and feet to duplicate the texture of turtle meat apparently) to pre-kid Milky Bars. Sections are split into decades and the displays are densely packed to the point of being overwhelming but if there are some black holes in your history then a visit here might help fill in the blanks.

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Museums • Notting Hill Gate

Work For It

Now pay attention you're going to have to work hard to find this one. Out East it's not unusual to find a gallery in a deprived part of London; in fact, some galleries wear their slummy surroundings as a badge of honour. Maybe it's something to do with being 'real': more likely just because the buildings are cheaper to rent in poorer areas. West London galleries, on the other hand, can usually be found sandwiched between skinny latte mongers, cocktail bars, and swanky clothes shops. The Louise Blouin Foundation gallery, like the neighbouring Yellow Building which houses a couple of fashion companies, looks like it has fallen here from Outer Space. Especially at night when it changes colours like a flying saucer. Formerly a Rolls Royce coachworks and situated just off St Ann's Road (which, all snobbery aside, is not one of the more salubrious parts of Notting Hill) it's worth a look. Not least because the location means that, unlike more central galleries, less people means more room to actually view the work on show.

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Art Galleries • Shepherd's Bush

Lunching in the Park

What to do with that lunch hour? Hammer down a treadmill in the gym? A quick squiz at the newspaper and a sandwich at your desk with one eye on Facebook? Forget it; you're better off taking a break and relaxing by getting yourself down to Mint St Park. If the sun’s out you can park your bum on the terrace and watch the world go by; if its not so warm you can have a stroll around, let your nose enjoy the scented garden and set your eyes on the crazy acid house mural you'll find on one wall. You can even shoot some hoops if you’re feeling energetic. This part of London is building heavy so any bit of green can be a bit of a godsend. Once the site of a children's hospital for over a 100 years, the space is still a boon to the local community with local residents and volunteers from the nearby St Mungo's homeless hostel helping keep the park pleasant for the public. Do yourself a favour; get away from your PC or Mac and go and find it. It's a little gem.

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Landmarks • Bankside (East) / Borough / Newington