Mayfair isn’t usually my stomping ground of choice, but I found myself in Babble Bar for the Qype Christmas party on Friday night. As such, I don’t have a clue what the cost of everything was (thanks Uncle Qype!) or how long you have to wait at the door, because we had an area reserved.
It’s not the sort of place I’d go out of my way for, but if you like standard club music then you won’t feel out of place here.
So why the four stars if I don’t plan on coming back? I lost my coat here and the staff were very helpful – not at all what I expected really, considering how busy the place was.

Get Cutie’s retro dresses don’t always do it for me, but I can appreciate why this small shop is always packed full of fashionable ladies. The dresses, though a bit on the pricey side for me, are very lovely to look at.
If you can’t make it to Brighton then order away from their website instead.

The Bargehouse is a venue that I think is mostly used for gallery showings and the like. I visited recently for The Other Art Fair and it seemed perfect for it.
It’s much more spacious than it looks, with at least four huge floors. Unfortunately there isn’t a lift, so don’t visit if you have trouble getting up stairs, and the narrow corridors make for a tight squeeze when trying to exit the building.
There’s a makeshift bar on the fourth floor selling cocktails, if you wanted to stay for longer too.

The Collection is as swanky as you’d expect a bar in South Kensington to be, and I totally mean that in a good way. Don’t let the slightly hidden entrance fool you – the inside is glamorous (without being tacky), but not so fancy that you’d feel out of place dressed casually.

Not quite sure what everything cost (thanks Uncle Qype!) but the white wine was decent and the food very good. The sliders may have been a little on the rare side for some but I loved them. The quesadillas were a little oily but still delicious, and the cheesy garlicky breaded things were worth burning my fingers for.

I had a great time at The Collection (the charming and laidback staff certainly helped) but it’s far too out of my way to make it a regular haunt.

Discovered this market after a friend of mine insisted that it was home to the best falafel he tried in London. After spending 40 minutes of my lunch break traipsing around the very lovely Pimlico, I finally found the small market and the falafel stall I’d been looking for.

There was a small queue but the three men working the stall were cheery and had a very speedy production line going. They also handed out falafel balls fresh from the fryer to those in the queue, which was a nice touch. The best bit? My falafel which came packed with aubergine, lettuce, chillies, cucumber, pickle and several falafel balls was a mere £3. Three pounds! I think you’d struggle to get a mediocre sandwich from any cafe chain for that price, especially in this neck of the woods.

Besides falafel, I noticed a burrito stall (£5), fishmongers and greengrocers. It isn’t big or fussy, but considering the incredibly low number of lunch options in the area, Tachbrook Street Market is one to keep on the radar.

Maybe it’s because I went to Shoreditch House for a private party and we were confined to the fourth floor, but I was a little underwhelmed by the venue. The inside is pretty stark, and not at all what I’d expect of a private bar. But the mini bowling alleys were a nice touch. No clue what the drinks cost but I would imagine it’s the Shoreditch Premium and then some.

I’m sure my opinion of this place would change if I got the chance to see the rooftop (hint) but there’s nothing about it that would make me fork out £900 for membership.

I was lucky enough to visit The London Dungeon as part of an exclusive after-hours tour (#qypeoween, if you want to check the tweets) organised by us at Qype and the Merlin Group. I last visited the dungeons as a slightly morbid teen, so I had some idea of what to expect – giggles, shrieks and lots of fake blood. But The London Dungeon has really upped its game since then…

We were taken on an abridged Art of Scare tour that did an excellent job of bringing London’s darker history to life. So we dropped by Sweeney Todd’s barber shop, a torture chamber, a court room, the bedroom of Jack the Ripper’s most unlucky victim (definitely the scariest for me) and a plague-era surgery. The 3D ghost ride Vengeance was fantastic, and the hangman’s drop was the perfect way to round off the tour.

A themed experience like this can so easily be tacky or cheesy, but the tour was interesting, funny and had plenty of genuinely terrifying moments. The actors were an incredibly talented bunch and had no qualms with picking on certain individuals in the group (I was put on trial for being a witch and dancing naked on Hampstead Heath, if you must know). I don’t want to spoil it for anyone thinking of going, but rest assured that you’ll get your money’s worth.

The tour was followed by a behind the scenes talk with the Head of Performance, and it’s clear that a huge amount of planning goes into varying the experience every few months. And I have it on good authority that they’re ramping up the scares for Halloween.

The Art of Scare tour is definitely not for the faint-hearted. I’m still hoarse from screaming and a little shaky for around an hour after it ended. But the tour manages to balance terror with humour, and I ended up laughing more than I shrieked. If you like being scared from time to time then it’s an excellent way to spend an afternoon.

Other than the bright and cheerful exterior that attracted us, everything about this vegetarian / vegan restaurant is pretty average.

The food was good value but really, really dull. No dressing on the salad or in my veggie sausage wrap, and my friend’s veggie chilli was bland – literally beans and tomato. The vegan cakes (which I didn’t try) did look very impressive though.

Oh, and the service was distracted at best. I’m sure that this part of Brighton has much more to offer vegans and veggies, even if they don’t have as nice a location and bright yellow walls.

I feel a bit strange giving Westfield Stratford City such a high rating when I don’t plan on going back. Ever. So if like me you hate crowds and find shopping a chore (unless it’s for food or nail polish) then save yourself the trip to Stratford – you will not have much fun here.

But as far as shopping malls go, Westfield Stratford is undeniably impressive. It boasts four floors plus a high street and amazing views of the unfinished Olympic stadium. Not to mention all the other additions – cinema, bowling alley and no shortage of places to eat in the food court.

The design is no different to any other Westfield malls I’ve visited (marble effect floors, lots of glass). It doesn’t have any character and why should it? It’s a shopping mall. And reports about the size of the place are no exaggeration – it took us about 25 minutes to find our exit. I visited on the opening day so I’m sure it won’t always be quite so busy, but the whole experience was just exhausting from start to finish.

Like the reviewer below I’ll stick to Central London for shopping. Not because Westfield Stratford isn’t an amazing shopping centre – it just isn’t for me.

Dropped by Inside Out for a drink on a sunny day. Unlike most of the places I visited in Brighton, it didn’t have any particularly discerning features. Nice enough though, and the small terrace is very pleasant. I just wouldn’t make a special trip.