Every spring I hop across the pond to check out what’s doing in my most favorite city anywhere, London. For though my ancestry is a mutt-ish mix of Greek, Norwegian, Italian and Irish, there must be some Brit wit back there somewhere amongst my antecedents, as I am a die-hard anglophile through and through. I collect striped Eton jackets, I garden like a madman, I adore Shropshire cheeses and beans on toast, E.M. Forster is an especially favorite novelist, I write in an affected English manner using words like “spiffy” and “whilst” (and the just-penned “especially”) that terrorize our managing editor and my row house in Brooklyn looks like it was picked up from the Cotswolds and plunked into the heart of New York City.
I will be heading over to London town in a few weeks to sniff the crocuses and hyacinths, peruse the latest and greatest restaurants, savor the newest hostelries, luxuriate over lengthy lunches at the various Soho House clubs dotting the city and stock up on gardening ephemera that will carry me through the summer. First and foremost, I will check in at the delicious Langham, a simply stunning hotel at the foot of Regent Street that dates back to 1865 and that recently underwent an £80-million renovation. Frankly, the results are delicious, magical and glorious (and, as my intrepid blogophiles will attest, I am loathe to gush about a hotel unless the skies have opened and the Red Sea has parted and someone starts walking upon water).
Even if you haven’t booked a room at The Langham, do pop in for a cocktail at the Artesian bar, where designer David Collins has crafted a 1920s-ish, Asian-inspired aerie. As you take in the pagoda-shaped perches, sip a cool Devil in Red libation—Clement VSOP with Crème de Mure, fresh blackberries, lime juice, and agave syrup—whilst nibbling small plates. Or perhaps you might stop by for afternoon tea in the Palm Court or dinner in the hotel’s sublime Landau restaurant, a jewel box of a space where glittering diners sup upon delicacies such as the breast of quail with walnuts and sweet mustard sauce or seared Orkney scallops with a caramelized cauliflower puree.
The Langham London, I am smitten.