Behind the scenes part 5. Its May already (how did that happen?!). Read on for your latest insight into what Team LOTI have been up to and what we’re recommending this month.
Ben Smith
Co-Founder
Faro in Portugal and Margate on the South East coast are two places I got to outside of the big smoke. One was to experience an elite sports resort, the other a pub crawl, I’ll let you work out which. April has been busy. There’s constant changes and improvements happening on the site at LOTI which keep up evolving but the biggest activation was launching a brand new website. Brighton On The Inside is born, alive and kicking which is MEGA exciting. I am looking forward to working on this over the coming months. I also got to experience the Novotel in Canary Wharf which was an amazing stay, great views of the city and the look and feel of the hotel is on point. Bala Baya‘s Sunday roast was a decent spot, Pomona‘s brunch a beaut sat in the sun in West London along with The Blues Kitchen‘s Southern American tinged brunch in Shoreditch. I also managed to complete a challenge from Blok which has me feeling very smug. More on Blok soon.
[easy-image-collage id=107612]Christina Dean
Content & Social Media Writer
Christina DeanI got to travel a bit this month, heading to both Lake Como to check out the new Hilton hotel that’s just opened up – it’s pretty spectacular, both the area and the property – and to Glendalough in Ireland to go foraging for wild botanicals to make Glendalough gin. And yes, that did require taste testing. Back in London I still managed to eat around Europe, having fine dining Italian at The Franklin Restaurant, classic French at Clapton spot Les Nenettes and high end Greek at Milos. And I discovered that kebabs make an excellent brunch – Le Bab is doing one of the best bottomless options out there. And I finally got to experience a Secret Cinema; they’ve taken on Blade Runner and it’s pretty bloody epic.
[easy-image-collage id=107640]Jules Pearson
Co-Founder
Jules PearsonI packed A LOT into April given it was my last month in London for 6 months as I moved to NYC May 1st. There was my leaving party in The Hoxton, Holborn (I’d like to thank my sponsors – Crystal Head for the Cosmos, Ocho Tequila for the Margaritas, Quiquiriqui for the mezcal shots and Brooklyn Beer for the beer), my honeymoon in Copenhagen which included a dinner experience at Noma as well as some EPIC eats (updated guide coming soon), a cheeky trip to Rome and last jaunt in Paris….Not to mention all my London eats and drinks. I loved Leroy in Shoreditch, enjoyed cocktails at The Savoy for one of Eric Lorincz last shifts and finally got round to trying dinner in Little Duck & The Picklery which is a super cute spot on Dalston Lane.
I had a very long decadent dinner at The Ritz (what a way to go out with a bang!) enjoyed dinner at Andi’s in Stokey – a great neighbourhood joint, was less impressed with Aun Tapas next door (where I left feeling RIP’d off!), I ate Yard Sale in the park on a sunny Friday (Holy Pepperoni I will miss you), order 2 x Dom’s Place (LOTI team have collectively ordered Dom’s about 400 times in the last 12 months!), completely over indulged on the Hawksmoor new bar menu and had an absolute cracking lunch at Roganic (I enjoyed it more than Noma). Then there was the Gin Mare Med Transfers tour hosted by Leon of the Gin Journey (no kebabs this time, which is what happened after I went on his first ever gin journey 5 years ago). My final lunch was enjoyed at Oldyrod in Islington for the launch of Meat Free Mondays and as expected it was a goodie.
London you’ve been EPIC. I will be back soon but for now follow @nyontheinside for my NYC adventures and keep an eye on the website for a killer NYC travel guide too….
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