Last week, Havaiana's put on the party of the summer.
It was one of the hottest, and longest days of the year so the perfect evening to head to The nest at The Treehouse Hotel - am awesome rooftop bar - for some panoramic views of London and cocktails in the sun!
Cocktails are an important part of any proper holiday - they are for me at least.
I started writing this post laid up by the pool with two frozen cocktails next to me (not quite sure how that happened - my boyfriend has a habit of over ordering) and although pre-lunch drinking isn't a normal occurrence for me, late afternoon and evening holiday cocktails are.
Mykonos is extremely expensive and getting anything apart from beer or wine, sub €15 seems to be a rarity. Don't worry, I did find some - getting through as many cocktails as we did we were sure to find a couple - and whilst I have mentioned them, this list is more about getting the best experience for your money.
Best for: Sunset views
Having tried multiple times to book a table beforehand; we just turned up a couple of minutes before the sunset started and honestly, it was carnage but we got in in the end. It was just the two of us and I was determined to find a seat - so I did but if there's a big group of you, I would suggest getting something booked before you arrive because it was no easy feat!
There was a €20 entree fee but this included a free drink so when you factor in that we were spending €15 for cocktails everywhere else, the entree fee was hardly nothing.
Be warned, it was very busy and also a little bit pretentious but I wouldn't let that put you off, the sunset views are worth it.
Best for: Romantic evenings
The restaurants that line Platis Gialos beach vary quite a
bit but this one was the busiest so we took a chance and it paid off; plus I liked the candle
lit tables on the beach here, all very romantic.
We initially stopped for dessert (which was very good) and were shocked to see the cheapest cocktails we'd come across - €13 each!
A lot of places in Mykonos serve their own unique cocktails; ones they
had created had themselves which more often than not, were not very good
but this menu was full of classics so we went straight ahead and ordered a pina colada and a frozen
daiquiri.
Best for: Beach club vibes
I'm not usually one to sit at the beach all day but Mykonos is full of beach clubs so we wanted to experience it.
I decided on SantAnna on Paraga beach and I was more than happy with my choice. Some of the prices at the other places were completely outrageous but SantAnna gave us what we wanted for a slightly more reasonable price. We booked a little beach cabana for €80 each, half of which was redeemable against food and drinks and the vibe was super relaxed and laid back.
I spent the whole trip drinking caprioskas and the ones at SantAnna were some of my favourite - each enjoyed in a different part of the club. We spent the day by the beach, had lunch under the huge bamboo pergola and finished the late afternoon drinking by the pool.
Best for: Old town experience
Having made it out of the maze of streets in the old town center, we stumbled across a little cluster of bars hidden around the back. They were right on the water with the windmills in the distance, it was an awesome place to sit - as long as you didn't mind the occasional splash from a big wave.
There was a different vibe from the main part of the old town; more relaxed, kind of less bothered about what was going on around them - having spoken to a waitress later that day, we realised its because that's where to locals go.
I was impressed with the cocktail menu and the high quality of these drinks compared to some of the places we went to.
Best for: Beachside luxury
The Beef Bar is located in the Bill&Coo hotel and was a bit of a hidden gem in my opinion. Our hotel recommended it so we hopped on the quad bike and went for a late afternoon drive.
It looked over the hotel's small private beach and out to the sea meaning there were hardly any people around. The view was flawless plus it was just calm and very relaxing.
The whole place felt very exclusive but the price of the drinks obviously factored that in, because my cocktail was €24. That being said, it was also the best cocktail I had whilst in Mykonos and the location was pretty perfect.
I was one of Swingers very first customers when they opened back in 2014.
Apparently, that 'pop-up in a leaky warehouse in Shoreditch' was their first venture. I remember heading there for an event and leaky warehouse does it justice; it was kinda dark and a little cramped.
Fast forward to 2021 and Swingers crazy golf has come a long way.
Last week, I was invited down to their newest London venue, which is just behind Oxford Circus.
I love central London, there's always something fun going on and this is no different!
These sort of activity bars are a very welcome new addition to London's nightlife scene. They mean that you can do something substantial with your evening but still enjoy all the fun of meeting up for a drink at a bar.
The fun atmosphere and banging music made Swingers, almost a bar in its own right.
We dumped our stuff in the cloakroom and found a comfy spot with great people watching views. There were all sorts - we saw groups of friends, date nights and even a stag do.
Having cycled there, I was starving so we had a quick look at the menus from the four foodie pop ups and I went straight with a 'Smokey Robinson' from Patty&Bun and we got a couple of cocktails.
David ordered a 14" slice of pizza, which was inhaled and swiftly followed by also a 'Smokey Robinson.'
Clearly they were very good.
The hour beforehand disappeared; that in itself was a load of fun so I would recommend getting there with enough time before or after your booking to take advantage of it.
When 7.30 finally rolled around, we grabbed what was left of our cocktails and made our way over to the course.
There are two bespoke crazy golf courses at this Swingers; and two in the city. We did the Helter Skelter one and after the night we had, I'm excited to go back and try the other.
The course was super fun, each hole had its own quirk. My favourite was hole 3 because it moved and I very much enjoyed watching the less co-ordinated of people give it a go; and also number 4 which had a loop de loop.
Crazy golf wasn't my idea of a big night out but Swingers is definitely worthy of your Friday night. I'm sure we'll be back very soon.
*AD
This weekend I put my raincoat on and went out in the pouring rain. I had a booking for bottomless brunch at Heminway's in Wimbledon and I wasn't going to let a little torrential rain stop me.
I'm still pretty new to SW London and Wimbledon is always a joy, although this was my first visit to the village and that was even more special. Very cute.
I arrived early and ordered a peppermint tea to dry off and warm up as I waited for Juanita to join me - the inviting velvet booths helped with that too.
Once she arrived we had so much to catch up on that the waiter ended up coming back three times to ask if we were ready to order yet.
The shakshuka came out on top for me - not least because it was delicious but it came with so much bread, which was much appreciated with the drinks coming in thick and fast.
One of the awesome things about Hemingways bottomless brunch is, that because they are a cocktail bar first and foremost, they have the option of mix and match cocktails to go with their food.
So of course I had a glass of prosecco..
But we also managed to get through a range of cocktails as well. The pornstars were the perfect level of sweet, the rum punch was super fruity and the frosé.. well, it was frozen and that's good enough for me, I'm a sucker for a frozen cocktail.
They're running at 50% off during August so I'd head down there sooner rather than later to take advantage of £20 for as many drinks as you want.
I have decided that Taste of London is all about indulgence.
Everything looked and smelt so delicious that I wanted to try it all - and I did, but like I said, that's what it's all about - trying something new, expanding your culinary horizons and indulging in delicious food.
I am not someone who enjoys sharing food, especially with David but on this occasion, it was a great way for us to try as many dishes as possible without filling up too quickly.
So here's a run down of everything we ate and drank:
We started off in the VIP tent which is where we got the free glass of bubbles, but before heading into the main festival, David was drawn over to the boujie smoked salmon canapes.
Highly over priced in my opinion, but also very high quality. One had an avocado mousse which was obviously delicious but my favourite was drizzled with lime juice, which was a really good flavour combination. I'm a big fan of citrus.
Heading into the main festival, we were ready for some more bubbles so whilst I went off in search of those, David got in queue for our next dish.
Turns out chef Rohit Ghai has quite the reputation when it comes to London's higher end Indian food and with Michelin-stars to his name, these quite rightly stood out from anything I've had before.
I'd never tried a dish quite like this; I think I saw the word 'masala' and just assumed (stupidly) that it was some kind of curry but actually I was very pleased we tried them because they were delicious - and also a great thing to start with because they worked well as a starter.
Topped with soothing coconut shreds, the big juicy prawns had a good level of spice and a wonderful crunch. Manthan is yet to open but after these, I am very keen to visit when it does later this year.
David loves an espresso martini so we stopped off for one on the way to the next place. I was just as excited as a kid in a candy shop when the women also gave me a chocolate which they were pairing with the cocktails.
Next was Mexican food which usually I love, but this was just a chicken taco and I wasnt all that excited about it. I took a bite and was quickly ready to find something new. Although having done some more research when I wrote this post, I learnt that Casa Calaveras is part of the Hakkasan group which pipped my interest. But what can I say, it just didnt compare.
Sticking with the Mexican theme, we headed to the Cafe Pacifico stand for some fruity coctails and some free shots of Mezcal which probably wasn't a good idea.
There was lots of talk around agave on their menu, which as a syrup, is something I eat on a weekly basis so I was interested to try. As a spirit however, it's more like tequila and less like honey, go figure.
We went for two different passionfruit cocktails here - a spiced mojito and a caiprinha - my kind of cocktails, both sweet, fruity and strong. Very good.
This was the highlight of the evening by a mile.
We actually queued up for the bao buns but once I realised that the black cod was battered and not coated in sticky miso sauce; David went ahead and still ordered one and I went for the next best thing, a sticky BBQ rib - which turned out to be the best thing I ate all night.
The flavour of the sauce was just something else and it was literally dripping in it, with lots of sesame seeds as well. Plus as ribs go, it was big and very meaty, I would have eaten a whole plate of them given the opportunity. So delicious.
It was getting late by now and having forgone the bao, I just felt like I needed some carbs, something comforting. Having always ordered the full lobster in the past, this was my chance to finally try the lobster roll and boy have I been missing out. It was good.
And surprisinly, so was the burger lobster slider. Initially I just thought it was a burger slider so I was pleasantly surprised when I got a hit of lobster in the little bite I took. I never understood why anyone would go to Burger and Lobster and order the burger but the combination does work very well together so I was gladly proven wrong.
Even though there were still so many things left that I wanted to try, we had run out of vouchers and it was getting cold so we decided to call it a night and left very full, and very satisfied - even without dessert!
