soho / Georgina Does

A Happy, Healthy, Solo Day in Soho

Sunday, 3 February 2019

Before I left to go traveling, Soho was where I spent all of my time. I worked there, I went out after work there and I went back at the weekends too, so when an email came through asking me how I'd choose to spend a day in the area, it was the perfect opportunity for me to reconnect with my favourite part of town.

Getting There

Soho covers the area between Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road and Picadilly Circus stations meaning it's is easily accessed from the Central, Northern and Picadilly lines.

If you're not a local, I'd recommend staying in one of the many hotels in Soho; you'll be able to walk out of your front door, right in on the action.

Gym

I started my day with a trip to the gym as it's something I've really been enjoying lately. I never know what part of London I'm going to be in so instead of signing up, I just pick up a day pass as and when. Fitness First have well equipped gyms all over London and it was super easy to just purchase a day pass. Their Kingly Street one was in a great location just behind Kingly court and very close to Oxford Street station.

Healthy Lunch: Detox Kitchen

The Carnaby Street and Kingly Court area is a must visit if you're in Soho and that's where I spent most of my day. Just outside of the gym was a very well placed, healthy restaurant: The Detox Kitchen.

I grabbed a baked salmon and lentil and kale salad for lunch.

Shopping

I don't think there's been a day when I have gone into town and not looked in a few shops before I came home. With Oxford Street being one of London's most famous shopping areas, I hit up the shoe shops in search of a new pair of Converse.

Mission Accomplished.

If you are heading home on a train, don't forget about rush hour! I decided to head home at about 3pm to ensure a nice calm journey because I know from prior experience just how crazy it gets after 5.30pm. Beware, they often close Oxford Street station due to overcrowding. If you don't fancy heading home that early, then stay out until a bit later on; it's the perfect excuse for a couple of happy hour cocktails!

The spending money was gifted by Hotels.com, but all views are my own.

Friday, 29 May 2015

I had never heard of Vapiano before they invited me along for a review last week, although it seems like I was the only one becuase everyone I told said that they loved it there - of course that added to the excitement of reviewing it.

Vapiano is pretty different to any resturant that I've been to, when you arrive, you are given a card which you scan in each time you order anything, then you can pay at the end. Fair enough, that didnt bother me one way or another. I guess it works well for their layout as it is set out a bit like a canteen. You line up at each station - Pizza or pasta - when you get to the front you order what you want, scan your card and they make it right there in front of you.

There were some very tempting specials on the board so in the end the two of us ate 3 dishes between us, it was just too hard to decide! We got a simple pesto pasta which was actually my favourite. Charlotte wanted to try spelt pasta so we went for that with sundried tomatos and feta. And then we went for a special which was something like prawns and white wine sauce. They are asking you questions throughout, whether you want this or that added which was great.

We had the same issue with dessert in that we just couldn't decide so we went for three. Strawberry’s with mascarpone which tasted the same way it sounds. Strawberries and cream is always a winner for me. Charlotte came back with a panna cotta which i have never been a fan of but she loved that one best and also a white choc and lemon thing which was really good too.

I almost forgot to mention the drinks, the was one thing we could decide on and we decided well. Vapiano have their own range of iced teas and as soon as we spotted the elderflower and mint one we both wanted it and it really was delicious

All in all, it was a great place for us to have a catch up over a very reasonably priced meal.

Have You Been To Vapiano?

Monday, 16 February 2015

Before instagramming your weekend brunch became a thing, I really wasn't interested in breakfast. I guess I just thought it was either cereal, toast and neither of those things are really very enticing. Nowadays I wake up at Andrews every weekend and get super jealous when I scroll through instagram and see everyone's amazing looking breakfasts, poached eggs with avocados and smoked salmon, orange juice, croissants. It's become just as much of a thing to go out for breakfast as it is for dinner.

I was invited to come and have brunch at Foxcroct & Ginger in Soho which I definitely couldn't turn down. Since everyone I know works, I picked a day that I was in town for press days and went along on my own to fuel up for running around London all day.

The little cafe has a very chilled vibe. Lots of students and people working on laptops and others sitting alone with a hot drink, getting lost in a book. Luckily for me, it was somewhere that was very comfortable to be sitting and eating breakfast on my own.

I started off with a drink, there was a big selection of teas so I went for something unusual, a strawberry and hibiscus tea although it wasn't to my taste, it was a bit bitter for me so next time I'll be sticking with mint.

As I said, I have only recently discovered the joys of poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. I have seen the normal smoked salmon or spinach options so when I spotted with a few different ones on this menu I was pretty excited. They had a choice of either mushrooms or pulled pork. It was just after 11 I went for the mushrooms for a more breakfasty feel. I must also have a new thing for mushrooms too because I spotted a mushroom, egg and truffle oil pizza which also got my mouth watering.

When breakfast arrived, the eggs were cooked perfectly, it was a very generous portion and the mushrooms were delicious! The bread was just a bit too crunchy for me but I guess that's what you get when you order a dish with sourdough toast.

Along with my main dish I couldn't resist a side of avomash. It was a little pricey at £2.50 for a tiny plate but it was definitely enough to accompany my breakfast and it was so good.

I enjoyed my breakfast and would happily go back if I was in the area!

Whats Your Favourite Breakfast?

*Foxcroft & Ginger kindly covered the meal in return for my review. All opinions are 100% honest.
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Wednesday, 8 October 2014

When Georgia's back there's always somewhere new to explore! This time we were invited along to a Bubble Tea Store in Soho called Chatime! Very exciting since it is such a huge craze at the moment and I seem to be the only person who has never tried it before but now I have. I've tired it all haha.

The good thing with bubble tea here is that you can completely personalise it from whether you want it hot or cold to the different bubbles or jelly cubs in the bottom, the sugar level in the tea and the toppings.. soo much choice! That's why we just had to try as many as possible and after all the different variations, my favourite one just so happened to be the first one we tried and the stores most popular - The plain cold milk tea with pearl (tapioca bubbles) and Georgia's fave wasn't far off either - she loved the same but with the hazelnut syrup!

My next favourite was a thick chocolate drink which was really lovely and creamy with a white moose (they called it Pudding) on top - this was probably the sweetest drink we tried! Another was the Lychee tea with the square jelly things and we tried a mango one too, both of these were refreshing. We also tried a strawberry smoothie and a few others as well! When it was time to leave, the lovely girls in the store insisted we take them all with us and they re-topped them so they were secure to travel! With far to many, we kept our favorites and gave some to a homeless man!

Later this year, they are hoping to open other stores in Shoreditch and Oxford street which are both great locations. I will definitely be popping back in!