ldner #212 | sonya barber

This week’s LDNER is all about London, shaking down all the best places and things to do in the city…hey, that’s a little like us…so it’s fair to say that she is just a little bit coooool. Being the News and Events Editor at Time Out London, she is in the know on what’s hot and what’s not. AND having just collaborated on her first book with Hoxton Mini Press, all about East London, we’re slightly in awe so give it up for our home girl, Sonya Barber.

Where do you live in London and why do you like it?

I live between Dalston and Hackney Central, right near London Fields. I love it because it feels like there’s plenty of fun stuff happening, but it’s still leafy and quiet enough for me to be able to relax. Plus I can stumble bleary-eyed to London Fields Lido before work.

Congratulations on your first book ‘East London’, which has just been published! Without giving too much away, what are some of your favourite East London spots?

Awww thanks! I give plenty of my fave haunts away in the book (I hope they don’t get tooooo busy now!). A few other fave spots which I couldn’t fit into the book are Monty’s Deli in Hoxton (that Reuben is dangerously delicious), The Castle Cinema on Chatsworth Road and my local, the brilliant Prince George pub.

East London is clearly your fave but as News and Events Editor at Time Out you must know pretty much everything going on around London. What are you most looking forward to seeing or doing in 2017?

That’s a tough one as there’s always loads of great stuff happening. At the moment I’m looking forward to the Perfume Exhibition at Somerset House (open June 21), to going to the London-focussed events at the Museum of London’s City Now City Future series and to being nosey at Open House weekend in September.

If you could live in any city other than London where would it be and why?

Probably New York City. My mum is from Queens and it feels like my spiritual home. It’s the only city that feels as exciting as London, plus you can get all the old school Jewish food I love (although Monty’s Deli does satisfy this craving!)

What would be your perfect day in London?

After breakfast in the sun outside the Pavilion Cafe, I’d cruise around Broadway Market, spend a lot of money on plants at Conservatory Archives, see some art at the galleries nearby and hide from the Brick Lane hoards in Libreria reading their beautiful books. In the evening, I’d stuff my face with all the tapas I could afford at Morito, drink wine in Sager & Wilde (with a toastie, obvs) and then go dancing at Moth Club.

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