Shoreditch was the one neighborhood that I visited during my last trip to London (this past September) that I wish I had had more time to explore. (So worth the long tube ride!) Previously I met a girlfriend for drinks at a cool speakeasy-esque spot and then dinner at Dishoom for bomb Indian food, and fell for this grungier side of the city. Sorta feels like the Williamsburg / Brooklyn of London. So when I was booking my last free couple of days I knew I wanted to stay in Shoreditch. I honestly didn’t do that wide of a hotel search and just went with the Ace Hotel because I know it’s always a good / cool option. We lucked out because when we arrived some celebrity was staying in the room I had actually book and they weren’t leaving (still very curious about who it was / what was happening?!) so since our room was occupied and the Ace obviously didn’t want to kick out this VIP… they gave us the penthouse. Score! Stephanie and I had this massive room all to ourselves complete with a little couch sitting area and balcony with a view overlooking the streets below. I only wish we had had more time to really enjoy our room–instead of course we wanted to be out and about exploring.
Simplicity at it’s best.
I liked the location of the Ace, just a couple of blocks from Dishoom, so I made sure to take Stephanie as I had been craving the food since my last trip in September. Told you how much I love Indian food! She was just as obsessed and ending up eating there twice during her time in the city. We also popped in for chai lattes during the day (order at the bar) which is probably something not everyone knows you can do.
We wandered around stopping into every appealing store, coffee shop, and bar that we came across. We’re both such suckers for home goods that I think the small spot that sold kitchen gadgets and linens was both of our faves. But Shoreditch has a cool mix of antique shopping to browse as well as boutiques and shops you would recognize like APC. A girlfriend and Shoreditch local gave me her favorites list so I thought I would share!
Eat:
Dishoom — Indian
Andina — Peruvian
Cook Daily in Box Park — Vegan (so good even if you’re not vegan)
Albion — Easy grab and go option or quick option. tea/coffee/dessert
Pizza East — Pizza (super casual)
Nobu Shoreditch — Sushi
Potty & Bun — Burgers
Hoi Polloi — Breakfast or Brunch (in the Ace)
Strut and Cluck — Brunch (dinner is good too)
Soft Serve Society — Ice Cream
Brooklyn Coffee — Coffee
Shop:
Modern Society — Shopping and coffee (walk through this alley for more browsing)
Killer Cereal… where they only serve cereal. Childhood throwbacks, pretty much everything my mom never allowed and a whole bunch of others that I hadn’t even heard of. We admittedly just went in to snap a pic for my husband who is sugar cereal obsessed.
The Look | & Other Stories Sweater. Isabel Marant Etoile Jeans. (also love the boyfriend style–note though it runs big)
Photography | Stephanie Russo
