A place that really grows on you, with each visit the Barbican reveals more of itself to you and your bond is tightened. The Barbican Kitchen is great for coffee or lunch, summer hangouts by the ponds, cinema in winter, the amazing Barbican Hall for live music, and don't miss the conservatory.
A short walk from Oxford Circus tube station, Kaffeine is easily one of the best coffee houses in London. Whenever I'm working in the area I pop in beforehand to kick start my day with a well-made cappuccino.
The Barbican has so much to offer! From beautiful architecture, to a conservatory, amazing art, films, music and performances. It is such an exciting and relaxing place to hang out. Even if you don't have a purpose for visiting the Barbican, it's good for just having a tea with a friend.
Paul Rothe n Son has been there 120 years, bang in the middle of town. Hard to find a proper old-school deli in central London nowadays, n none more proper than this place. Great jacket potatoes, soup, sandwiches. It looks the part too. And the service is always great. Try and avoid the lunch queue.
I found out an amazing fact recently about this place which weirdly enough relates back to my interest of analogue TV distortions in my work. The building where the restaurant stands is where John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of Television. If that doesn’t want to make you go there, the band Pulp also wrote a song of the same name on their Different Class album. Apart from these two great facts their food is pretty darn good too!