Yelp London | Review Writing

When lifestyle reviews website Yelp London launched in 2009 it employed a crack team of journalists and reviewers with an appetite to experience and write about all things London to populate the site with opinions and I was happy to contribute, penning over 300 reviews of  everything from plimsoll stores to sausage shops; insufferably trendy bars to tearooms for what is now a bona fide London institution.

Taste of Bitter Love, 276 Hackney Road, London

You’d be forgiven for thinking that this maudlinly monikered little cafe had been christened by Robert Smith himself. That said, Taste of Bitter Love’s interior, service and coffee is similarly idiosyncratic but anything but bitter.

In a place like Shoreditch where cafes think nothing of charging a good £2.50 for a cup of coffee akin to dishwater served with a side of misanthropy, Taste of Bitter Love is a refreshing find indeed.

Small but perfectly formed, the only downside of this new kid on the quality coffee block is its location. The joy of taking one’s coffee al fresco during the warmer months being somewhat dampened by the Hackney Road locale.

That aside, Taste of Bitter Love is a no-brainer for those that like their coffee beautifully made; their service charming and friendly and their decor clean and simple with a retro vibe. All in all a highly recommended and bijoux little cafe.

Tatty Devine, 236 Brick Lane, Shoreditch, London

I love Tatty Devine’s characterful little shop although I must confess I’ve never bought anything from it. Not a sausage. Not a name necklace. Not a plectrum pendant. Nothing.

Located on a part of Brick Lane I wouldn’t identify as Brick Lane proper, Tatty Devine’s colourful boutique is as quirky as its jewellery, with a fine selection of the duo’s signature pieces in pop cultural perspex, punctuated with zips and chains.

With Tatty Devine’s name necklaces and bow-tie rings reaching cult status, the duo’s designs are firmly established within the British contemporary jewellery lexicon and will quite possibly be collectible in years to come.

And with the Brick Lane boutique stocking not just jewellery but outstanding magazines such as Amelia’s – ok, I’m biased, I write for them – Tatty Devine’s shop is definitely worth a visit.

Keep an eye out for Tatty’s ‘Special Projects’. Jewellery stocked exclusively in the Brick Lane boutique comprising collaborations with artists Gilbert & George and Mark Pawson. Fluorescent pink snot necklaces have never looked so good.

The Pavilion Cafe, Victoria Park, London

I don’t mean to sound like an ageing supermodel but it takes more than a strong cup of coffee to get me out of bed most days. My eventual rousing seemingly only guaranteed by the promise of an excellent breakfast in a beautiful location. Enter – The Pavilion Cafe.

Having long resisted the charms of Victoria Park owing to its trendier than thou – read: Shoreditch – clientele and frankly kind of out of the way location, I have to say I’ve fallen for this cafe in quite an extraordinary way.

Good coffee? Tick. Overpriced eggs Benedict? Tick. Requisite current season double denim uniform accessorised with pedigree pooch/appendage? Tick. Tick. I’m sold! And for the price of a meagre breakfast to boot.

Blackman’s Shoes, 42-44 Cheshire Street, Shoreditch, London

Blackman’s Shoes on Cheshire Street just off Brick Lane is nothing less than a Shoreditch institution, and an unlikely one at that.

A tiny, chaotic wee shop established in the thirties and run today by a father and son dream team, this is where The Ditch’s artfully disheveled masses stock up on plimsolls at £5 a pair to team ever so incongruously with their demi-couture.

Even if plimsolls aren’t really your thing it’s worth popping into Blackman’s for a gander. In the words of Blackman’s owners: the Devil may wear Prada, but the people wear plimsolls.

Monmouth Coffee, 2 Park Street, The Borough, London

If exceptional, ethical coffee is your thing you needn’t look any further than Monmouth at the epicentre of S.E.1’s Borough Market, a rustically small but perfectly formed café whose winding queues on a Saturday are arguably testament to just how good its artisan coffee is.

Not for nothing do those seated at Monmouth’s central table look like the cats that got the proverbial cream. With limited seating most customers perch outside or have their coffee to go. However for the true Monmouth experience get to the café early and nab the star central table where you can tuck into unlimited homemade bread and jam for a mere £2.50.

My one gripe is the lack of soya milk despite the myriad varieties of fairtrade coffee and single origin chocolate on offer. Regardless, Monmouth remains the go-to place for consistently high quality coffee with an entertaining dollop of Guardianista chit chat for those who like their caffeine with a little eavesdropping on the side.

The friend I took to Monmouth likened her artfully-made latte to a pair of ‘velvet pyjamas’. Slightly strange simile aside, I don’t think it gets much better than that.

Caravan Style, 3 Redchurch Street, Shoreditch, London

Christmas is not even upon us yet and I’m feeling jaded. What better way to pull oneself out of the inevitably depressing effect of mid-winter’s 3.45pm sunsets than a trip to Caravan. A gorgeous little shop on Redchurch Street full of things you absolutely do not need but yearn to buy anyway. Because Caravan, my friends, is the apogee of needless consumption.

That aside – and really, I can’t pretend I’m not materialistic – Caravan is a pretty little shop selling some beautiful Christmas baubles, a good selection of avian themed ephemera (?!) and selected homewares. I particularly like this little shop’s quaint Christmas decorations and Art Deco inspired butterfly shaped coat hooks. Pointless, piquant and very, very pretty.

Marimekko, 17 St Christopher’s Place, London

The British Press is forever banging on about the relative happiness of the Scandinavian people. Maybe it’s the egalitarian nature of their societies? Their governments’ initiatives to get everyone cycling? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s their designers’ insanely spot on aesthetic sensibility and the simple pleasure that brands like Marimekko can bring.

If anything, Marimekko’s gloriously technicolour textiles are sure to bring joy to even the most dour of Brits. A visit to their St Christopher’s Place store cheering even me, the most seasonally affected of Londoners.

Adorning canvas totes, simple shift dresses and cushions, Marimekko’s brightly, brashly floral prints might just be my first choice for making curtains should I ever learn to sew. And the staff are simply lovely. A definite, decorative Danish tonic.

Wawa, 1 Ezra Street, Shoreditch, London

Wawa’s East London showroom, located on Ezra Street just a stone’s throw away from Columbia Road makes a welcome change from identikit Ikea furniture and the sometimes boring simplicity of much modern design.

Selling a variety of furniture, Wawa’s speciality is its selection of contemporary sofas, designed by Richard Ward, a trained sculptor who turned his hand to furniture design almost twenty years ago.

At once thoroughly contemporary and evocative of designs past, Wawa’s sofas come upholstered in a range of acid bright textiles and a plethora of shapes ranging from the classic chaise longue to altogether more modernist styles.

I’ve fallen head-over-totally-out-of-my-price-range-heels for a Schiaparelli pink ‘Yasmin Solo’ couch which retails at around £800, and the ‘Soho Solo’ armchair in shocking yellow which comes in at around £600. And they say love is illogical…

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