Best place to go for simple pasta dishes.

The Design Museum is a museum in Kensington, next to Holland Park, which covers product, industrial, graphic, fashion and architectural design. There is also a nice cafe on the 1st floor with beautiful views of the park.

I grew up in Brighton which is full of cheesy bars like this. If you can handle being surrounded by multiple screens playing Kylie at full volume, its pretty much the cheapest bar in central london. The cliental is so varied its great for people watching and completely un pretentious.

I can't pass without dropping in, Orcs Nest is a small independent boardgame, D&D etc store that's been around forever(1987)... and has the best logo. Good selection of games for younger kids too.

It's a members-only library but you might be granted access with a research request. The writer's room is great but there's a few special, hidden corners among the bookshelves to tuck yourself away in.