London & Soho Farmhouse Visit
After 2 years of hardly any travel due to COVID I made a last minute decision to join my husband on a work trip in late June for a jaunt across the pond (um but also across the whole country because now that we live in California it is a serious JOURNEY to Europe) to spend a week in England.
I knew we would be spending M-F in London and that I would be largely on my own to explore, but I also knew I wanted to add a couple of days to the trip to check out a location I have been dying to visit for years - Soho Farmhouse. As a Soho House Member I have visited many houses, but England is basically the Mecca for Houses… which makes sense as its where they started in the mid 90s. But the farmhouse is like nowhere else… the only way I can describe it as a super luxurious resort with low key English countryside vibes. I also knew, as I got to planning, that the London portion of the trip would center around food and neighborhood exploring not so much around sightseeing as I have been to London multiple times and have seen many sights.
The Flight There: I’ll say this flight was great, loved my seat mate who became a total bestie, but she did manage to accidentally spill a mimosa all down my clean clothes before takeoff. So I was a bit wet and sticky but I pressed on. It was an overnight flight so did my best to “sleep” for the bulk of it. When I woke for breakfast my seat mate was shocked and impressed at the coffee situation I had brought aboard. Now if you know me you know that I am a die hard Starbucks gal - my order is 3 shots of espresso over ice and at home I add Nutpods unsweetened original dairy free creamed. SOOO knowing that I would need my coffee boost upon arrival I packed a 3oz travel container of creamer, and at the airport I filled a small reusable thermos with 3 shots of Sbux espresso which I ordered at the Sbux in the terminal. I then asked the flight attendant for ice and VOILA.
Arriving to Soho Farmhouse:
As is always the case, getting our rental car was a bit of a shit show. No matter how many times you confirm ahead of time when getting a car in Europe that it will be automatic not manual you just can’t be sure until you get there. So about 90 minutes later we got our car: tired, starving, ready to just BE THERE. We had about another 90 min drive ahead of us so I did my best to navigate my sleepy husband now driving on the wrong side of the road and to find us a fish n chips shop along the way. Of course that too was a shit show because just pulling off the highway in a town outside of London isn’t as easy as it sounds. Multiple missed exists, roundabouts, and strange ass parking left us a little tense but low and behold we found the spot and devoured a massive serving of fried fish & fries. Then back in the car to FINALLY GET THERE!
Upon arriving at the property you park your car and are transported by a converted vintage milk truck. The “bellhop” if you will gave us a quick tour and dropped as at the main barn where we could hang/explore while we waited for our cabin to be ready. Everywhere you look there are bikes you can just grab and ride around the resort and leave wherever you want. The entire place was also sooo kid friendly, not only were there kiddo bikes also strewn about but they have a kid’s camp/nursery/preschool type situation that you can sign you child up for. It includes an adorable school house and massive outdoor play area equipped with a play structure, mud kitchen, and so much more. We had some delicious meals, delightful spa services, took advantage of their myriad free amenities (free laundry service, a room stocked with everything you could ever need from hair straighteners to outlet converters), a classic Sunday Roast, workouts in the boathouse Gym, and even caught a movie in the theater on our second night which was delightful. I definitely want to get back there one day as it was truly a perfect experience.
London:
For my week in London I did a bit of research for food beforehand and got my reservations booked. A number of them ended up getting canceled or moved around based on changing plans here or there (sadly never had any Indian food but the good news is we have a great Indian spot at home!). Everything I ate in London though was delicious and my neighborhood explorations around those meals were equally delightful. I also managed to figure out the tube and took a ton of subway rides along with bus rides to get around. I am truly a girl who loves good public transportation and feels so capable and resourceful when I figure that out LOL. Also no idea if this is true in every major city as I no longer live in one, but in London you can just tap your phone to use apple pay for basically all public transit. So genius. I also got a chance to check out multiple Soho Houses downtown, below is a list of all of the places I loved while in London:
1.) Beijing Dumpling: Located in the heart of Chinatown, right near the original Soho House, come here for yummy casual Chinese food - make a reservation or get there early to hop in line. We ordered: Pork Xiao Long Bao dumplings, Pan Fried Pork Dumplings Sweet & Sour Chicken, Dry Fried Ho Fun with Beef, Four Season Beans with Minced Pork)
2.) Circolo Popolare: For a super awesome ambience and incredible food. I ate there for lunch but would be a terrific dinner spot as well. The food was perfection, and I devoured pasta for lunch which was exactly what vacation Victoria wanted. I loved it so much I considered going a second time! This restaurant is Italian but part of Big Mama restaurant group and I would really just bet their other spots are awesome too. I ordered: La Gran Carbonara & a side of roasted vegetables
3.) Campania & Jones: Ok the weirdest part about me discovering this TINY but amazingly adorable and worth it spot is that I found it after lots of strange instagram rabbit holes and after making my reservation my mom realized this was the exact Italian joint my parents stumbled upon years ago while staying in Shoreditch and LOVED. Anyways this is all to say, make the trek there (or not a trek if you’re staying in the area!). It is definitely off the beaten path but so dang cute and the food was superb. I also opted for pasta because vacay and also because my kiddo is possibly the only human on earth who doesn’t eat pasta and therefore we rarely go out for it. I ordered the fava bean appetizer, the homemade pappardelle with short rib ragu, and a side salad. Perfection.
We also had a delicious final night meal at the original Soho House where I got my fix of indian cuisine, ate at a friend/co-workers private members club, and enjoyed a super traditional pub dinner of fish/chops/and mushy peas that totally hit the spot. I got to enjoy tea & the delicious bites that accompany it and had my fair share of clotted cream. I hit up 3 of the London Soho Houses, and really loved the pool situation at the Shoreditch House. All in all it was an awesome trip! PS I packed a VERY full bag of outfits and don’t you know it I ended up just wearing all of my usual Gap favorites, my softest Vuori sweatshirt and my V old Zara Trench Coat.
