We are huge fans of Japan and have been meaning to visit the relatively new London destination, Japan Centre London.
For anyone who loves Japanese food, culture and products direct from Japan, the Japan Centre London (Soho) is the destination for you.
Take a peek inside the Japan Centre London here…
Know another cool cultural experience in London that we should take a look at? Please leave us a comment below.
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We recently heard whispers about a place called The Piano Works that’s reported to offer some of the best fun in London.
Big talk. London is a cool place!
Curious, we investigated further, only to discover that a new Sunday brunch menu was being launched at The Piano Works just in time for autumn.
For only £20 guests can enjoy bottomless Prosecco for two hours on Saturday; £15 on Sundays; or bottomless Bloody Marys for £20 on Saturdays and Sundays. The food menu is reasonably priced and good quality.
An inexpensive weekend bottomless brunch in the middle of the city! How can it get any better?
It actually does get better than just great food and drink deals though because The Piano Works is indeed London’s only non-stop live music venue.
So, no matter what time of the day you venture inside this fabulous restaurant/bar in Farringdon, central London, you’ll have the pleasure of listening to superb singers and musicians.
When we were there, a male and female singer took the lead, both playing piano and dazzling us with an array of contemporary and classic hits. Surprisingly, they even played a sweet 90s track by Aussie pop group Savage Garden (my fave!).
The live music element totally changes the energy of the place and your mood. We absolutely loved it.
The Piano Works is bigger inside than you might imagine from looking in the front entrance, and it can get very very busy, especially later in the day.
It’s actually perfect for getting together with friends for a day or nighttime catch-up and celebration, but we’ve been advised you should book a table in advance.
There’s a number of cosy spaces on offer, including band-view tables near the bar, booths and private areas. For more, take a look at our clip at the bottom of this blog.
The bar here is lovely, as are the staff, and you can order a range of yummy cocktails and drinks.
The Piano Works has attracted its fair share of celebrity clientele too, and has even been featured in an episode of television’s Made in Chelsea (another of my guilty pleasures).
After having the chance to go once, we have already encouraged friends to book brunch and a day or night (or both) here too. When we shared some snaps on Facebook during our time there, other local friends commented saying The Piano Works is their favourite place to go out for food, a drink and a dance. Can’t believe we didn’t know about this spot before now!
The Piano Works really is fun, and for all ages (important for those of us who get a bit uncomfortable in the club scene these days, as much as we feel young at heart).
Throw in delicious food, upbeat live music and bottomless bubbles and I’m sold, obviously.
To top it off, you can even request songs on their napkins – and, the band play all requests that they can squeeze into their sets.
We feel really lucky to have found this place – it’s beyond your average bar or restaurant and definitely a cool London experience. One that won’t break the bank either. Cheers to that!
Take a look inside for yourself…
The Piano Works, 113-117 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3BX
Would you like to try brunch at The Piano Works? Quote ‘Sarah’s social‘ when you finalise a booking for Sunday brunch at 12pm or 2pm and your party (no limit on number of people) will enjoy FREE bottomless prosecco for two hours. Just pay for your food! Call 0207 278 1966 or book via the website and use the promo code. Enjoy!
Have you been and did you love it like we did? What are your favourite London dining and dancing experiences? Let us know in the comments.
UPDATE: since we did this fondue London review, Androuet has turned into Abondance, but is still run by the same awesome team. Read on…
Two cheesy posts in a row, as we discover Fondue London at its best, Androuet, now Abondance (2019).
(Cooper did owe me after taking himself off for halloumi fries while I was at work!)
He redeemed himself by connecting with the energetic and passionate owners of Androuet in London, French brothers Alex & Léo Guarneri (also the authors of A Year in Cheese).
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We have a confession to make – and it’s a little embarrassing. As cheese fans, we’ve never, ever had fondue.
Disgraceful, I know. Coming from a hot climate though (Australia), it’s not something we would have thought first to have. We missed out in Switzerland too, but I’m quite glad we started right here!
When Cooper was chatting to Alex this came up, and he very kindly offered to share the ultimate cheese experience with us, which is how we discovered London’s best fondue at Androuet (now Abondance).
On Friday afternoon, we hopped on a train into Liverpool street, and wandered across to Spitalfields.
Alex’s brother, Léo, had put a little time into his packed schedule (along with running the restaurant and being a chef, this cheese connoisseur also hosts external events, and researches all wine and produce being sold in their business) to show us the ropes.
Alex and I love what we do and we want people to have a great experience. Good chefs and good people make good ingredients.
What became immediately obvious was how passionate this man is about what he does.
When he said he loves his job, we could tell he means it.
We discovered that we have some things in common – we’re expats who love our wines and cheese, and we believe in doing a job you love, because then it doesn’t matter about the hours you put in. Quite the opposite – we’re all really lucky.
Léo shared with us that they have a good relationship with their suppliers, and they choose to promote produce that comes from people who respect the land. The wine he paired with our first extraordinary cheese, Heublumen (Swiss cheese) was Pipeño blanco from Chile.
While we explored the taste, as instructed (bit of cheese, sip of wine for a rich, delicious flavour experience), Léo explained that the wine is produced as part of the biodynamic movement. That is, biodynamic wines are made using the principles of biodynamic viticulture which takes organic farming to a more spiritual level, with authentic respect for the land and natural cycles of the earth. It also means no pesticides, and in fact the lovely white wine we tried was a little cloudy in colour due to its natural production.
On that note, two things we learnt during this dining experience as the main delights including Androuet’s classic fondue were served: always white wine with cheese dishes, and when enjoying fondue, be sure to keep stirring the pot vigorously as the colour should always be white, not go back to yellow.
We had been tentatively dipping straight into the dish so as to save the cheese, but no, get stuck in. It’s only manners.
The traditional fondue blend we tried at Androuet is made from Comté 12 months and Emmental ‘Grand Cru’ with dry white wines. Comté is from Jura (east of France, at the border of Switzerland) and Emmental is from Savoie in the Alps mountains, south of Jura. The ‘Grand Cru’ is known as the best type of Emmental, Léo has shared with us.
Alex and Léo research their wines and cheese (tough gig, but someone has to do it); to be fair, they obviously do an excellent job. They’ve also grown this business from a market stall at Spitalfields around eight years ago to a gorgeous restaurant dining experience, and cheese and wine store.
We’d encourage you to keep an eye on their social media (Instagram and Facebook) for special events like wine and cheese pairings, weekly restaurant deals and experiences around London like cheese discos.
We’ll definitely be back to Androuet for the food, service and genuine enthusiasm for life (in between serving guests, explaining fondue to us and running the business, Léo was also chatting to his mum on site last night). See you all there!
Abondance Spitalfields Arts Market, 10 Lamb street, London E1 6EA
The other day I found myself, once again, scrolling aimlessly through social media in a sort of comatose trance when I was suddenly startled by three words: halloumi fries London: deep-fried cheese. mmmm cheese.
Quick somebody pinch me, and why am I only hearing about this now?
An hour later I was on a Tube hurtling towards Camden Markets, specifically Oli Barba‘s.
They are the facilitators of these guilty pleasures: scrumptious deep-fried fingers of halloumi cheese. These crunchy sticks of golden cheesy goodness are warm and gooey on the inside and deliciously crispy on the outside. The fries are drizzled with zaa’tar yoghurt, a tasty sweet glaze, then affectionately sprinkled with mint leaves, pomegranate seeds and chilli flakes.
Curious to see what all the excitement is about halloumi fries?
Take a look at our video below.
Whitecross Street food market in London is a longstanding secret with locals and gets very busy at lunchtime.
This little gem has something for even the fussiest palate – including falafel, burgers, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Moroccan and my personal favourite, hog roast.
The area is also brimming with history, so take a walk around to view old buildings and plauques.
Open Monday to Friday.
Whitecross Street market website
Historical walking route: Whitecross and east London
Blog: history of Whitecross Street
Best markets in London via Conde Nast Traveller
We’ve always loved our coffee and cake outings. Australia has a booming coffee culture industry with boutique and specialised cafes in all cities, and nice brands on offer.
London of course offers plenty on that front, and we enjoy seeking new experiences.
Exploring our north/east neighbourhood – Angel Islington London – between Angel tube and Highbury and Islington station you can find all sorts of delightful restaurants, cafes and bakeries.
Most have free wifi if you want to hang out and do some work like we do.
Plus, it’s a nice area in London.
Find out what we discovered on the weekend. Play:
– Subscribe to our new YouTube channel
– 6 reasons why you should create a YouTube account
Hi, we’re Sarah & Cooper. Welcome to Travel Live Learn! We’re Aussie expats currently living in the UK (for the third time!) with our adorable Westie, London. Our mission? To inspire you to embrace a life of adventure—whether it’s travelling longer, relocating to the UK or Europe, or exploring the freedom of remote work and digital nomadism. Enjoy your time on our site! We'd love to stay in touch: subscribe for our weekly stories, updates and remote work job opportunities direct to your inbox.