Pick Your Park - Grab n' Go Lunches on the Green

Now that we Londoners have experienced the hottest day of the year, our hopes are way up. But that's okay. It is vital to start thinking positively about the weather to come and it is crucial to start preparing yourself for it as well. Because otherwise, you just fall into a dark hole that some people call depression. And by preparing yourself I mean, seeking out the outdoors - in everything that you do. I am a particular fan of the outdoor lunch concept. Yes I do like lazying around a "terrasse de cafe" for hours, drinking rose and nibbling on summer fruit and biscuits. But that's not what I am referring to. I am talking about the grab n' go park lunches. Just sit your bumm down on the lawn of a beautiful London square, enjoy the scenery, the greenery and everything that ends in -ery. It's magical. That is the London that I have come to adore and relish. I have a few spots in mind that I think make that lunch break quite enjoyable.

 The first one that pops to mind is Lincoln's Inn Fields off of Holborn. You can lounge around there for hours at a time on those lazy summer fridays, watching the people come and go, with clothes that tend to slowly disappear as the weather gets warmer (it's still a mystery to me how some people manage to get any work done in a place where girls wear practically nothing). 

Kastner & Ovens, Floral Street, Covent Garden

Just 5 minutes away, you'll be able to pick up a yummy spring salad at Kastner & Ovens or a quiche and greens at the Fleet River bakery.

The second one I can think of has got to be Cavendish Square, the only green spot near Oxford Circus that isn't Hyde Park. There, you'll be able to find bounds of interesting people watching and a lovely 360 degree view of the old Victorian buildings of Cavendish Square. You can very well picture 19th century wealthy Londoners sitting on those park benches and discussing high society matters with one another. 

Pho Thai Chicken Salad at Pho, Market Place, Soho

In terms of grub-to-go, my faves have got to be Pho, for the freshest and yummiest Thai chicken salad and Tortilla, for the perfect naked burrito (burrito sans wrap) ever!

The third, but not the least, is a park I visit less often due to it's northern-ish location, and that's Islington Green. A lovely place to enjoy the sight-seeing of Upper Street and Camden Passage passers-by. A little less green and a little more rugged, it offers more park benches and trees than the abovementioned squares.

Wild Rice Salad at Ottolenghi, Upper Street, Islington

It is, by my standards, a lovely place to stop and eat a wild rice salad from Ottolenghi.