London: Dining in Soho and mooching around Richmond

Over the August bank holiday weekend we headed to London, as we had tickets to see Evita at the London Palladium.

We’d decided to make a weekend of it, booking a hotel in Richmond and spending our days ambling around the leafy southwest London borough and eating very well.

Ambling around Richmond

After checking into our hotel, we had a little time before we were due in central London, so we set off on a short stroll around Richmond.

We started our walk at the top end of the borough, near the junction of Lower Mortlake Road and Twickenham Road, where we stopped to admire the attractive Church of St John the Divine (above) and the Orange Tree Theatre opposite.

We then made our way past the train station towards the centre, stopping to window shop along the way.

As we reached the junction with Duke Street, we turned to the right and meandered towards Richmond Green (above).

The attractive 12-acre patch of greenery hosted jousting tournaments in the Middle Ages and is now a lovely place to hang out on a dry, sunny day.

We strolled along the edge of the Green and down the Paved Court, which was made famous by the television show, Ted Lasso, passing pubs, cafés and restaurants heaving with people.

Turning up King Street, we stopped for a drink in the Old Ship, a charming, friendly, traditional pub and then made our way back towards our hotel.

Imad’s Syrian Kitchen

When we were looking for somewhere to have dinner, I suggested Kingly Court, a lively food court in Soho between Carnaby Street and Regent Street that’s filled with excellent restaurants and bars.

We decided on Imad’s Syrian Kitchen on the top floor. Opened in 2020, the restaurant is the brainchild of Imad Alarnab, a Syrian chef, restaurateur and refugee who came to the UK in 2015.

We were welcomed inside by the friendly staff and shown to our table not far from the kitchen.

It was early evening and the restaurant already had a buzz, and all the tables around us were occupied.

We ordered a series of small plates – hummus, garlic pita, falafel, tomatoes with whipped feta, and spiced fried potatoes (above).

I washed it down with the cocktail of the day, a melon martini (above), which was surprisingly drinkable (I’m not the biggest melon fan).

We started our meal with hummus and garlic pita, which went down a treat (above) – the hummus was comforting and the pita, rich, unctuous and oozing with garlicky goodness.

I was less enamoured by the falafel, which I found a little dry, but I absolutely adored the tomatoes with the whipped feta (below).

Tomatoes are my favourite food, so there was a high chance I was going to enjoy the dish.

But these were sensational (I loved the mix of colours) and I could have happily wolfed down another plateful.

We had a fantastic meal at Imad’s Syrian Kitchen and while we didn’t over order, we struggled to eat it all and had to decline the offer of more pita. It’s somewhere I’d happily go back to.

Evita at the London Palladium

The reason for our trip to London was to see Evita at the London Palladium, and while I go to the theatre fairly often, it’s not something I’ve ever written about on the blog. But I’m going to make an exception for Evita.

Based on the 1970s musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, I grew up on the 1996 film starring Madonna, Antonio Banderas and 1980s British telly legend Jimmy Nail.

So I thought I knew what to expect from this new version – boy was I wrong!!

Last summer’s production was directed by Jamie Lloyd and starred Rachel Zegler, and couldn’t have been more different to the film.

Stripped down with a stark, modern production design, it was part musical, part pop-concert-spectacular.

For two and a bit hours, the cast sang and danced their hearts out and I was blown away by how insanely talented the performers were. How they kept the energy and tempo up throughout was beyond me.

The show had made headlines for the start of the second act, where Zegler sings ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ to passersby from the Palladium’s balcony.

I wasn’t sure how that would work for us inside the theatre, but as we watched her perform on a big screen, the camera panned to the hundreds (if not thousands) who’d gathered in the street to watch. As the song reached its crescendo, I got goosebumps as the crowd outside cheered loudly.

At the end of the performance, the cast and crew received a seven-minute standing ovation and honestly, it was thoroughly well deserved.

It’s easily one of the best productions I’ve ever seen and the cast (Zegler especially) was extraordinary. If they ever revive this version, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.

Peggy Jean at Riverside Green

The following morning we were feeling a little lazy after our eventful Saturday. So we set off on a leisurely stroll through Richmond and soon found ourselves by the River Thames.

It was approaching midday, and we were hungry and on the look out for somewhere to have brunch.

We’d come across Peggy Jean at Riverside Green online, but couldn’t book a table, so we decided to chance a walk in and luckily they were able to fit us in.

Housed on a barge on the Thames, Peggy Jean is one of a chain of Australian café-cum-restaurants around the capital.

We were shown to a seat on the top deck, which meant we had great views over the river.

We opted for the smoked salmon royale on rye bread (above) – smoked salmon with poached egg, avocado, spinach, cucumber, hollandaise and sundried tomato pesto – and some freshly squeezed orange juice.

The food was very good and really hit the spot. The portion size wasn’t too big and with all the veg, it was a healthy-ish start to the day. The service was great, too, and we were made to feel very welcome.

All in all, we had a great experience and would happily go back.

A walk around Richmond Park

Well sated after our lovely brunch, we set off on a leisurely walk along the River Thames to Richmond Park.

We left the riverside path at Terrace Fields and climbed the steep hill, where at the top, we enjoyed fantastic views over the river.

From here, it was a short walk along Richmond Hill to the entrance of the 2,500-acre royal park.

Richmond Park dates back to 1625 when Charles I escaped to Richmond Palace during a bought of the plague.

The king decided to create a huge hunting park not far from the palace. It’s been home to red and fallow deer since 1637 and today the deer number more than 600.

The huge park is a national nature reserve and site of special scientific interest, and along with the deer, is also home to a host of bats, birds, butterflies, moths and fungi.

We entered the park at Richmond Gate and crossed the park in the direction of Sidmouth Wood (above).

As we walked through the park, I was struck by how incredibly dry the grass was, the result of a scorching summer and it was clear the ground was in desperate need of water (below).

It was another baking hot sunny day and the plethora of trees in Sidmouth Wood and the Queen Elizabeth Plantation brought welcome respite from the sun.

We made our way towards Pen Ponds in the middle of the park (above).

As it was a bank holiday weekend, there were lots of people around, but the park’s enormous size meant it was easy to escape the crowds and we enjoyed a pleasant stroll.

From the ponds, we continued towards the Isabella Plantation (below), one of my favourite parts of the park.

The 40-acre plantation was founded in the 1830s, but was only opened to the public in 1953.

The lovely enclosed garden boasts plants such as rhododendrons, camellias, evergreen azaleas and magnolias.

There are also more then 130 types of butterfly and moth, 70-plus bird species and some 40 different fungi.

We left the pretty plantation near Broomfield Hill Gate and set off towards Spankers Hill Wood. But here our plan went awry and we got lost trying to work out which path to follow.

Cue us going wildly off course and having to course-correct through some overgrown paths. We eventually made it to our intended destination.

From there, we headed back towards the ponds, then across the fields towards East Sheen Gate.

Throughout our walk we kept our eyes peeled for the park’s famous deer, but sadly, they proved elusive. We did spy a bird of prey in the air though not far from the Jubilee Pond, which was awesome.

We left the park via the East Sheen Gate and wandered back towards our hotel, where we picked up our bags and headed home.

We had an amazing weekend in London. It was a nice mix of cultural and foodie experiences, and leisurely walks around one of the capital’s most charming boroughs.

Info

Old Ship Inn
3 King Street, Richmond, London TW9 1ND
theoldshiprichmond.com

Imad’s Syrian Kitchen
Top Floor, Kingly Court, London W1B 5PW
imadssyriankitchen.co.uk

Peggy Jean at Riverside Green
The Boat, Bridge Boathouses, Riverside, Richmond, London TW9 1TH
daisygreenfood.com