New year, new blog feature, in which our members share their favourite haunts in the City. First up is our favourite bombshell Lilly Watson, who’s known for her impeccable taste and commitment to glamour. Besides, you know what they say about blondes (and independent escorts) having more fun.
I like to take tea at Claridge’s or go for a cocktail in the Claridge’s Fumoir or The Dorchester’s China Tang bar… they are both glamorous, dimly lit, and without windows, so you really feel tucked safely away from the world in there. They both feel like glamourous 1930s dens designed for smoking cigarettes in long cigarette holders while wearing opera gloves. I am interested in history and Twentieth Century décor so I really enjoying hanging out in old London hotels like Claridge’s. New hotels are fine but they don’t have the atmosphere.
Scarfe’s Bar at The Rosewood is also great place to go for cocktails and a light, informal dinner. I love the seared tuna and the David Bowie cocktail. Their cocktails are all named for celebrities are accompanied in the menu by Gerald Scarfe’s portraits. He did the artwork for The Wall by Pink Floyd.
I also like brunch at Ladureé at Harrods if I can’t make it to Paris for the real thing- it’s a delightfully over the top venue split in half into naughty and nice themes, just like my website galleries. So I guess I can choose which half to enjoy my coffee and eggs in depending on whether I’m feeling like a “good girl” or “bad girl” that day. I would say that morning, but I routinely don’t get to breakfast or brunch before midday.
I love dining at The Wolseley, The Ritz or Park Chinois. If you don’t have time to eat, it is worth going to Park Chinois just for the cocktails! They are sumptuous and the lighting and atmosphere there is so sensual. It’s probably the sexiest restaurant in London. The mixologists at The Savoy do the perfect dirty martini and have amazing pieces of history on display, such as Marlene Dietrich’s checking-in form written in her own handwriting and signed. She had asked that her room have a bottle of champagne and two dozen pink roses waiting for her inside. I wonder who she was meeting! For a secure hotel with discreet staff, you can’t do much better than The Savoy or The Ritz. They have so much practice.
Sexy Fish is a noisier and more happening place for great seafood with a nightclub ambience. The lobster is very good, the music is very loud and the toilets are full of influencers photographing each other. Their private dining room has huge floor to ceiling fish tanks.
During the day, I like to shop Coco De Mer for sensual lingerie and the naughtiest boudoir accessories. Fetishists, I recommend you drop in on Atsuko Kudo for fabulous lace-printed latex lingerie (she does all Lady Gaga’s latex) and Vivienne Westwood‘s shop for rubbery high heels. Made-to-measure Atsuko Kudo latex is some of the finest latex in the world. You could also see if Torture Garden is running any club events while you are in town. A fetish event like Torture Garden inspires me to visit a private dungeon with select company the following day. The Peacock Parlour Dungeon in North London comes highly recommended.
I’ve been a London resident and an independent escort for several years, and have a fuller list of recommended bars and restaurants on my website along with more information and photos. So, if you’re visiting and would like more tips, let’s meet for coffee at Ladureé, or a cocktail in one of those hidden bars.