Roberts London

Roberts is a Londoner who shoots his own selfies in video format: usually the camera is focused (or out-of-focused) on him.  But he gives us an opportunity to listen to Cockney English and to learn a little bit about London.

Portobello Road Market
Saturday morning are the busiest times to go to this market that stretches a couple miles along Portobello Road.  Robert advises going early to beat the tourists.  He also makes side stops at The Tabernacle, St. Luke Mews (featured in Love Actually and visited by all the tourists), and the Electric Cinema.


As you can see from the photos, Portobello has all kinds of stuff: bread, vintage cameras, clothing, fruits and vegetables but it does get a bit busy on the weekends.

Full English Breakfast + London Borough Market = Best Traditional Recipe
Saturday is also the busiest time at the Borough Market on the south side of the Thames (it is closed on Sunday). Roberts takes us there during the Christmas season to buy ingredients for a full English breakfast.  Previously he took us to the greasy spoon Regency Café as the best place for a full English breakfast but this time he is cooking it himself.  His coverage of the Borough Market convinces me that we should make that our destination on Saturday.

Lovely Mushrooms

The Full English

On another Saturday, Roberts goes to the Broadway Market in London Fields where he visits F. Cooke's Pie and Mash Shop, which he calls the original surf and turf meal (eels and beef).  If you don't want to eat them yourself, you can always watch Roberts eat them.  Or you can watch F. Cooke make them in The Life of Pie.

Roberts does visit Chelsea but the Chelsea Market isn't very interesting, except for the flowers -- he goes there for a duck sandwich.  In his stroll down King's Road he mentions what was there in the 1960s when Chelsea was a happening place.  He ends up at the Stockpot for another Full English Breakfast (wiff coffee), although the place specialized in Anglo-Italian dishes, past tense since it has closed.  He also mentions the classic Peter Jones department store which appears to go by the name of John Lewis now...  It looks like nothing is the same as it was in the 60s.  Unfortunately he doesn't make a trip down Fulham (Fullum) which is where we'll be staying.

Roberts has several videos on Chinatown, one is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival on September 15, 2016, but this year it looks like it is on the 24th so we'll miss it.  Some of Roberts' videos are long but others are short and he often visits a specific pub or café, like the Café in the Crypt of St. Martin in the Fields, "tranquility beneath Trafalgar Square" with "beautiful 18th century architecture brick-vaulted ceilings, historic tombstones beneath your feet and delicious home-cooked food."  

Simpson's Friday Specials

Fortunately for us, the restaurants that he visits are cheap: no high-falutin' dishes for him; he even visits Five Guys, Chipotle and McDonalds.  He does, however, visit London's oldest chophouse: Simpson's Tavern, which he calls a "hidden gem" but which I have already visited with Rick Steves and one of the Two Fat Ladies so how hidden can it be?  First he passes Mary le Bow Church and mentions its bells and also that you have to be born within earshot of the bells to be considered Cockney.  At Simpson's he orders the Friday special of Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding with sides of roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese (I wonder do they use Velveeta).  Most of the customers are guys and Roberts says "the guys come in here, they're let out of the office, you give them a sniff of alcohol and they turn into little boys."  It's raucous in the "grill room" with shared tables and Roberts likes the atmosphere but there are quieter rooms in the restaurant upstairs and there's a wine bar downstairs but who wants wine when you can have ale?

There are many more videos from Roberts in case you are looking for some specific location or want to watch the Royal Wedding.