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A Great Stay at Town Hall Hotel London

February 20, 2012 by cheriecity

Imagine a hotel where you can spend a few hours freshening up after a long journey, preparing for a business meeting or engaging in a romantic tryst without have to spend the whole nightly rate. Day Use Hotels makes the ‘mini stay’ possible at a negotiated rate in some of London’s most exclusive hotels.

Already popular in Paris and cities around Europe, Day Use offers a new hotel experience, made easier by its quick, discreet and easy-to-use website. Founded by five friends who met and worked at Andre Saraiva’s Hotel Amour in Paris, Day Use was inspired by guests wishing to book rooms by the hour.

As the creator of Love Graffiti and a generally amorous kind of guy, André must have been happy to support the combination of love and hotels proposed by his colleagues. Co-founder Thibaud d’Agrèves told me: “We all worked for and with André for many years. André has these skills to support all new project and as we worked together, he made us a little clip art which represents his vision of our concept and offered us that as a gift to begin our new adventure.”

‘Love hotels’ have been a part of life in countries such as Brazil and Spain, where people often live with their parents longer and want some privacy for their love lives.

Thibaud explained: “This practice has existed for years, today we are modernising it with the internet. It becomes even trendy, glamorous and modern to offer a dayuse. Attitudes are changing.”

Town Hall Hotel

I visited the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green to see just what this cheeky little 11am-5pm visit would inspire. Don’t expect all the details of what goes on behind my closed hotel door, but I can tell you I left feeling rejuvenated and relaxed, without the need to even stay the night.

Town Hall Hotel is a luxury boutique hotel and residence with 98 rooms in the East End. The Grade II listed Edwardian former council building is full of character, with Art Deco interiors at play with cutting edge design and vintage furniture.

The Lobby

Town Hall Hotel has invested in some intriguing art works by six East London artists, which you can discover around the hotel. Some of my favourites were the vault at the entrance, a giant Victorian dolls house and a mounted moose’s head covered in a Persian rug.

The Studio Room

Our Studio Room was very spacious and a stunning mix of polished wood, wool and felt furnishings in neutral and green shades. The room was filled with a mix of designer furniture and vintage pieces, with original artwork on the walls.

The Kitchen

Unlike most hotel rooms, ours had a fully-appointed, partitioned kitchen with a Musetti espresso machine and selection of teas, cooking utencils and crockery and a fridge stocked with fresh milk and bottle of complimentary mineral water.

The Bedroom

It also had a separate dining table and a living space with a stack of magazines and a large flat screen TV. The bedroom had a partition to change the energy of the room and an incredibly comfy double bed with sumptuous linen and plenty of pillows. I loved the double sheepskin rugs by the sides of the bed.

The Bathroom

The open glass bathroom was a cool design feature and had tiny mosaic walls and a powerful shower. Bathroom amenities were by Rituals and there were embroidered bath robes and slippers, plenty of fluffy towels and a cute rubber duck in the shower.

Floor to ceiling windows provided plenty of natural daylight and the decorative aluminium grate cleverly shields the room from the view of nearby residents.

A Welcome Treat

We were welcomed with a delicious exotic fruit plate, which we grazed on throughout the day. During our six hours at the Town Hall Hotel, we made use of the complimentary wifi, took a dip in the stunning pool and managed to squeeze in a long afternoon nap.

Viajante Bar

After checking out, we made use of our welcome drink voucher at the ever so stylish bar of the Michelin starred restaurant, Viajante. We sipped on the House Punch and did a spot of people-watching, as Viajante chef Nuno Mendes spoke to journalists at the next table.

The Corner Room

There really is no need to leave the Town Hall Hotel, as Viajante offers experimental cooking to impress, while The Corner Room is great for more informal food with a daily changing menu. The Town Hall Tea Lady comes by the rooms with her martini trolley in the evening, should you want a cocktail in the privacy of your own room and there’s even a room service menu by The Corner Room.

If you’re staying for longer, you can book the spectacular De Montfort suite, which spans three floors, or arrange a private dinner with a chef in your room.

Location

With Day Use, you’d be tempted stay all day in your room, but should you wish to pop out for some air, there are some great local restaurants and cafes such as Bistrotheque, Ombra, E5 Bakehouse and Mare Street Market. Also worth a visit are the art galleries on Vyner Street and the weekend food markets on Broadway Market and leafy London Fields.

With the fleeting, romantic nature of Day Use, surely the co-founders have come across plenty of secrets and juicy gossip. Thibaud said: “Secrets should stay secret, but I can tell you that we helped a lot of people, couples in their construction of relationships and themselves. Of course we have a lot of spicy feedback and romantic story to tell you but that something we keep for ourselves.”

Day Use has a great selection of London hotels, including Ten Manchester Street, St John Hotel and The Beaufort, and will gradually expand to other cities in the UK and soon New York.

Chérie City was a guest of Day Use and Town Hall Hotel.

London, Market, Restaurants

The Long Table Night Market, Dalston

December 11, 2011 by cheriecity

East London has its fair share of great food markets, but The Long Table brings a new concept to Dalston – a night market with live performance, DJs and a bar with heated seating.

The Long Table is a collaboration between creative enterprise Bootstrap Company (Dalston Rooftop Gardens) and The Loft Project founded by Viajante chef Nuno Mendes and his partner Clarise Faria.

Every Friday, up until Christmas (and hopefully beyond, if they can be pesuaded), The Long Table will occupy a disused space behind Cafe Oto and Arcola Theatre and serves dishes from the best street food vendors and guest restaurants, up until midnight.

Last night, after Steven’s private view at Specs Gallery we paid a late-night trip to the market for some celebratory food. We hadn’t anticipated standing in a queue in the cold for almost 30 minutes, although this probably isn’t an uncommon sight in Dalston (it is the land of the secret bars/clubs and warehouse parties, after all).

The scene started to get tense as blaggers claimed to know the DJ/chefs/organisers to bypass the queue and two guys were unceremoniously kicked out for attempting to stride past security. This is just how much everyone wanted to get a place at The Long Table, but don’t even try to charm or strop your way past security, they won’t entertain any diva behaviour!

When the time came, those of us who patiently waited were rewarded with a foodie wonderland that was part carnival, part après-ski party. You can wander around the food stalls and choose from well-priced dishes to eat under the heated canopy, if you can find a spot.

When we visited, the street food vendors included The Loft Project, St John Bread & Wine, Moro, Big Apple Hotdogs, Lucky Chip, The Bowler, Le Petit Paris, L.A Sueño, House of Umami, Yum Bun, Lily Vanilli and many more…

We were most tempted by Big Apple Hotdogs, a local legend that food bloggers have even taken the day off work to visit (now that’s commitment, A Rather Unusual Chinaman)!

Run by Abiye from a cart based at Old Street, Big Apple Hotdogs are handmade in London, using natural casing and only the good cuts of free range pork and beef.

We chose The Big Frank (£5), a huge frankfurter made from pork, topped with fried onions and grilled to perfection. The thick, crispy skin bursts on the first bite, letting all the delicious meat juices flow. Unliked manufactured hot dogs, our Big Apple hot dogs were rich, well-seasoned and filled with large individual pieces of meat.

The plan was to follow with some cake or macarons but we were tempted by the Croque Monsieurs (£3) at Le Petit Paris. Made with lots of bechamel, gooey Gruyère, nutmeg, black pepper and butter-fried thin bread, these croques were the most authentic I’ve ever had in London and possibly in Paris! They come in four squares with cocktail sticks, making them easy to munch on standing up.

Le Petit Paris appears at food markets across London, although I’m hoping they might consider opening a permanent cafe, so that London Frenchies can get their Croque fix easily.

It may be cold and you might have to queue, but The Long Table is so worth a visit! Just down a few glasses of mulled wine or Lily Vanilli’s absinthe hot chocolate, make some new friends at the table and get dancing to keep out the chill. It’s the most fun you could ever have at a food market!

The Long Table is open every Friday until Christmas, from 6pm-12 on Abbot Street, Dalston.

London, Restaurants

Venetian Dishes at Ombra in Hackney

July 16, 2011 by cheriecity

Going past Vyner Street on the bus every day, I noticed a few signs of activity in a disused building on the corner. One day there were a few tables and chairs, then people sitting inside, then a paper sign decreeing the name Ombra, then a crowd of people eating and drinking in the mysterious new opening.

At first, I thought it was another Hackney pop up, but it turns out Ombra is a petite new restaurant serving up authentic Venetian dishes and cicchetti and is very much here for good.

Perched on the side of Regent’s Canal in the former Alma Enterprises contemporary art gallery (and before that, possibly a factory), Ombra looks more like an extension of the Vyner Street art spaces than a restaurant.

Inside, it’s filled with simple wooden second-hand furniture and glossy hot pink, blue and yellow tables by artist Russell Bamber and features an authentic Italian bar. It feels like a graphic design studio, but with Negronis and pasta!

The chalkboard features four daily specials and we were immediately tempted by Homemade Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce (£5). Other traditional Venetian dishes included Burrata Pugliese, Ham and Melon and Broccoli and Potato Salad.

The set-up is informal and typically Italian – a sugar paper place mat with a fork and spoon were casually slung down before the food came out. A nice touch was the decorative glass decanters of water and large continental beer glasses filled with napkins.

Head Chef and co-founder Andrea Michelon prepared our spaghetti and brought it out himself, greeting us with quick ‘buongiorno‘. The spaghetti was cooked al dente and the sauce was made with slow-roasted tomatoes and garnished with fresh basil.

It was subtle and hearty with no acidity and the portion size was generous for a late-lunch. I couldn’t help smothering it in freshly-grated parmesan cheese and every mouthful was a delight.

If you come to Ombra in the evening or just fancy a boozy afternoon, try a traditional Venetian spritz, a fine Italian wine or a digestif at the bar – their selection includes Aperol, Campari and Sailor Jerry’s.

Vegetables are sourced locally while artisan bread comes from the nearby E5 Bakehouse and meat is bought in from The Ginger Pig in Victoria Park.

Our bill came to just £15 for two, including a service charge, which is exceptionally good for the quality and amount of spaghetti. The menu changes daily, so I’m dying to go back and work my way through the dishes, as research into Venetian cuisine, of course!

Ombra, 1 Vyner Street, London, E2 9DG.

All photos by Cherie City.