London, Spring 2019 — DAVID YARBOROUGH

Sometimes the best trips can be those that come up at the spur of the moment. I recently mentioned to my wife Allie that I had seen unusually low fares on non-stops flights from our home airport to London — unusual because we live in a city with a fortress hub airport — Charlotte. We love the convenience of so many non-stops and have learned to live with the trade-off of higher fares. To my surprise and delight, she said the magic words, “Let’s go.”

My enthusiasm dampened a bit as I recalled my promise to myself to always fly business class on long over-night flights. Then a eureka moment: I remembered that we had successfully used a daylight flight to London a few years ago, and our whole family had agreed that it was a much better experience than suffering through a short night of poor sleep or no sleep at all. I was pleasantly surprised to find a great early morning connection via JFK that would have us at Heathrow at 10:00 that evening. That plus seats on the non-stop home all at a great fare made it a done deal.

We departed on the morning after our local time changed to daylight savings — is that an anachronism or what? I learned that the UK — also unable to change old ways — would not change its clocks until the end of March, so during our stay there would only be a four-hour time difference to the US east coast. As a result of our daytime flight and the small time zone difference, we suffered no jet lag effects at all.

When our son Eli heard what we were doing, he asked to join us, albeit for only the first few days that we would spend in London. With less than two weeks before departure, our plans took shape quickly. We agreed to focus on seeing parts of London, and then of England, that we did not know well. For starters, that meant not staying in our usual London locations in Knightsbridge or Mayfair. With a nod to our millennial son, we chose Shoreditch and a hyper-hip hotel, the British outpost of the American Ace Hotels group. It proved to be a fine choice on all counts. The neighborhood was lively, safe and convenient. I was amused by the throngs of young people filling every seat in the large lobby, all engrossed in whatever projects they were working on on their MacBooks.

We had a good time exploring Shoreditch and the surrounding neighborhoods of Hoxton, Angel and Islington. Eli grabbed a chance to take a bus ride six miles north to the see the spectacular new stadium of his favorite English Premier League team, the Tottenham Hotspurs. One day in particular stood out as one of those truly special ones travel sometimes rewards us with. The morning was blustery, so we escaped to the massive interior spaces of the Tate Modern. I am always stimulated by the art there and this visit was no exception. Then to lunch.

A few days prior to our departure we were watching the new season of Netflix’ Chef’s Table series. We had been eagerly awaiting their profile of Sean Brock, whose food we have enjoyed for years in Charleston and Nashville. The next episode started, and we continued watching as the setting shifted from South Carolina to London. The show was about Indian chef Asma Khan, whose Carnaby Street restaurant Darjeeling Express was gaining rave reviews. Dinner reservations were impossible on such short notice but a few lunch spots were still available.

The tiny room — fewer than 50 seats — was filled. Ms. Khan is a strong believer in empowering women and helping immigrants. The entire staff in both the dining room and the kitchen is female. The food was wonderful. Every one of the eight dishes we ordered offered a new delight. Eli is not just a young foodie, but an enthusiastic, self-taught cook as well. He has collected menus from some of the most outstanding places we have tried around the world. At the end of our meal, he asked the server if she thought the chef would be willing to sign one for him. A few minutes later, Asma Khan was at our table. She was even more charming than she had come across on TV. She seemed to enjoy our long conversation as much as we did. She spoke with us about the impact her newfound and unsought celebrity was having on her, and on her co-workers. It was certainly an unforgettable dining experience.

We considered ourselves lucky to also have been able to book good seats on short notice to see a new play at a new theater rather than one of the long-running musicals in the West End. We saw Alys, Always at the new Bridge Theater, so-named due to its position next to the Tower Bridge on the Southbank. It is a very well-designed, customer-friendly venue. The play was a sophisticated drama, presented on a thrust stage, starring Joanne Froggatt who captured a mass of fans as the endearing maid Anna on Downtown Abbey. Her character in this play was much less likable than Anna, but her performance was equally impressive—she did not leave the stage even once during either of the sixty-minute acts.

The rest of the cast was outstanding as well, as one expects in London. The second leading role was a twenty-something played by an actress named Leah Gayer. She held our son’s attention even when the play might not have. After the curtain we opted for a late supper at a nearby restaurant, The Ivy. Shortly after we were served, another group arrived and was seated across from us. Eli said he thought that was the actress we had just seen, googled her, and found convincing photographic evidence. He was reading to us that she has an identical twin sister when suddenly the double arrived to join the others. Before we left, we had met them and engaged in a discussion of Leah’s performance. She and her friends asked about us and our trip, and even gave us a few recommendations. What a coincidence! In one day, we ate a great meal and discussed it afterward with the chef, then we saw a terrific play and got to meet and speak with one of the principal actors!

I have written a separate piece about some of my impressions of London on this trip. I should mention here, however, that all the meals we had there was very good. I’ve included some very biased comments about the places we ate at the end of this piece. London has become quite a fine restaurant city. There is plenty of diversity, and the quality of the food and the service we experienced was very high. No wonder that London rates so high on global travelers’ favorites.

When Eli left to return to his job in the real world, Allie and I hopped on a train for Edinburgh, the one exception to our commitment to only visit new places, but one where family we see all too rarely awaited our visit. But we did add a twist to the usual Kings Cross to Waverley run. We broke our trip off with a stop at Doncaster where we rented a car and drove into Lincolnshire in search of the Yarborough family roots. You can read about that adventure here. A special nod to my ever-patient wife for indulging me. I owe her one. Okay, many more than one.

London restaurants worthy of note

Chatting with the adorable Asma Khan at Darjeeling Express

Hoi Polloi large, attractive space with good food and occasional live music

Jones Family Project very high-quality red meat in a basement setting

Darjeeling Express absolutely delicious southern Indian food delightfully presented

The Ivy old reliable, still reliable and now accessible in multiple locations

Flat Iron hip, quirky, wonderful places for steak frites; be sure it get their special dessert