We thought we’d seen the worst of it last year but between hurricanes, the #MeToo movement and everything in between, 2017 was definitely not an easy ride either. It wasn’t a totally terrible twelve months though; we LOLed when this child interrupted his dad’s live interview on the BBC, we learned that scissors can be played as a musical instrument and we finally got Blue Planet II. Here’s what made LOTI’s 2017 most popular list, the 10 biggest hitting stories that grabbed your attention over the past year…
#1. Din Tai Fung is coming to London
Everyone got very excited when we broke the news that popular Taiwanese restaurant Din Tai Fung was coming to town, even though details were very thin on the ground. We still don’t know much about it, but we can’t bloody wait to get our hands on that xiolongbao.
#2. Dating, how did we ever manage?
Online dating is showing no signs of slowing down, especially when you’ve got apps like Badoo, with plenty of ways to weed out the creeps (like video calling, which sounds mad at first but actually isn’t such a terrible idea) out there.
#3. Igloos at Coppa Club
This one of our most popular stories from 2016 so it’s no surprise that when the (new and improved) giant igloos returned to the Coppa Club terrace this winter, you lot loved it all over again.
#4. Night Market | London Food Month
A massive food market featuring 50 of the best chefs and traders in the biz came to London in June showcasing the insane amount of good food we have here…no wonder it was a big story.
#5. Alcotraz | London’s First Prison Cocktail Bar
There’s always one pop-up that causes a controversy and this year it was Alcotraz. You had to don an orange jumpsuit and smuggle booze in past the guards at this prison-themed cocktail bar. Whether it was bad taste or good fun, it was one popular spot.
#6. Rooftop Ice Skating at Skylight
Ice rinks spring up all over town come winter time but the one at Skylight was your fave, probably because it was on a rooftop. And it came with an urban apres ski bar, fondue and bangin’ views.
#7. Adidas City Runs | Shoreditch 10k
When Adidas hold a closed-road running event it’s always going to be good and the Shoreditch 10k certainly lived up to expectations with a route from Shoreditch Park to Hoxton Square and discounts on local restaurants like Pizza East and Dirty Burger.
#8. World’s Largest Inflatable Obstacle Course
The world’s largest inflatable obstacle course aka The Beast touched down at Ally Pally this summer. It was a whopping 272 metres long and had 32 different obstacles, so basically it was like the biggest bouncy castle you could imagine, on steroids.
#9. Victoria Park Market
London isn’t short of food markets but you all found room for another one in your life when Victoria Park Market opened in June. The farmers market packed with seasonal produce and street food has been going strong ever since, and long may it continue.
#10. Avocado Bar
A year can’t pass without at least one avocado-related story and this year it was news that an avocado bar was opening. Yep Italian street-food traders Belli Freschi went there but they weren’t just serving up smashed avo on toast, oh no, they did everything from avocado tempura and an avocado burger to an avocado hot dog with caramelised carrot.