[This post is sponsored by hotels.com but all views and tips are my own]
It’s no secret that I love to travel. I usually have a flight booked and a travel bucket list as long as my arm. But I see travel as flirting with life, trying different cities and countries on for size but one place truly has my heart – London. My home is one of the best cities in the world, especially during the summer months. Bounding around the city in the sunshine is the best. Recently, one of my favourite areas of London to explore is London Bridge. It’s fast becoming a favourite secret spot for Londoners. I wanted to share my favourite hidden gems so you can explore London Bridge like a Londoner.
Gunpowder Tower Bridge, Duchess Walk
If you leave London Bridge station and head East towards Tower Bridge, you’ll head past The Scoop and City Hall and arrive at Duchess Walk. It’s a fairly new development and has a ton of restaurant choices, everything from The Ivy to Vapiano and By Chloe. As it’s about 12 minutes walk from the station, it’s way less touristy and a little more under the radar than the station’s surrounding area.
One of my favourite restaurants is Gunpowder. London is known for being home to some incredible Indian restaurants, most notably Dishoom. While I adore the food at Dishoom, I actually prefer Gunpowder as you’re able to book and therefore don’t need to spent upwards of 45 minutes waiting for a table!
Despite being one of the most vegetarian-friendly cuisines, Gunpowder doesn’t offer as many vegetarian options as most other Indian restaurants. However, there are a ton of small plates to choose from. I’m obsessed with the okra fries and I also loved the aloo chaat, which is one of my favourite dishes. I took my parents and my dad absolutely loved the oysters while my mum’s favourite was the tandoori chicken.
Maltby Street Market
Street food is in London’s DNA, with the likes of Broadway Market dating back to Victorian times. The Street Feast team definitely had a big part to play in the popularity of street food in recent years, their original spot at Dalston Yard in East London reinvigorated the concept with a real party vibe. I had a few memorable dates there before it closed down.
Despite Street Feast expanding to four sites across London, it’s not my favourite place to indulge in street food. Pretty much every foodie I know in London is enamoured with Maltby Street Market, which is a short walk from London Bridge. It opened back in 2010 and is still relatively undiscovered. Located in a pretty viaduct and surrounded by vintage furniture stores, the market itself is pretty limited in size, I like to describe it as small but mighty.
Each Sunday, the unassuming stretch of road is home to a mixture of long-standing favourites like Waffle On and Bad Brownie mixed with some shorter term residents. A few years ago, I had a sushi burger by Sticky Bundits which blew my mind, but they were only in the market for a six-week stint. My current favourites are rainbow arepas at La Pepia, mushroom and spinach gyoza at Gyoza Guys and pretty much anything from vegan-friendly spot Devi’s.
Oblix at The Shard
Ok, so most Londoners usually skip over The Shard but hear me out. Oblix does a *mean* Negroni and Old Fashioned and sometimes London is best enjoyed from above. Oblix has never been super busy when I’ve visited, I always managed to snag seats by the window. There’s something very wonderful about being sat amongst the clouds watching the boats bob up and down the River Thames serenely. Oh, and the staff are all very lovely.
So there you have it, a real Londoner’s guide to London Bridge.
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