#5LondonLoves | Five Guys in Covent Garden Review

God I love a good burger! Any excuse to stuff a beef patty in my mouth, I ill take it. So in true Pixi Picks spirit and the never ending quest for the perfect burger I headed down to Five Guys in Covent Garden, London. 

Now I don't like to go to places just because of the hype. I often waked past, seeing a long queue to get in and scoffed at those silly enough to wait. Yesterday luck was on our side and there wasn't much of a line, so we took our place at the front and waited to be let in by the miserable looking girl on the door. 

The principle is very similar to a fast food joint. Cashiers take your orders and you can watch the manic chefs whipping burgers in the background. The atmosphere was pretty electric and the sounds of the kitchens were almost deafening but it got me quite hyped up. I went for a Little Cheese Burger, Fries and a fountain drink. The drink fountain has so many flavour options that it took me a while to choose; Peach Sprite if you were wondering. 

Don't let the look of the meal fool you! It was pretty god damn yummy! I have to say the chips were the best part. Fried in peanut oil and left in their skins they are a sumptuous, salty mouthful that I couldn't stop munching on. My burger was a little cold, but I loved that I could choose as many extras as I liked, I may have gone a bit OTT. Also, the actual burger part was meaty and very tasty. 

My big question was, is it better then Shake Shack? And I am honestly not sure. Can I have the Five Guys fries with a Shake Shack burger? Hmmm! If you want to read what I thought of Shake Shack it's (here)

Have you been to either or both? Which was your favourite? Let me know in the comments.

Stay beautiful

xoxo

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#5London Loves | Shake Shack, Covent Garden Review

New York is one of my favourite cities and it was whilst I was there that I fell in love with a burger joint. I love burgers, especially ones with cheese on them. So when I got home I was pretty upset that I wouldn't be tasting that bap for a while. The the gods smiled on me and open up a Shake Shack in Covent Garden, someone up there loves my taste buds and I was quick to jump on the tube to refresh my love affair.

Shake Shack was originally a hot dog cart in New York and you know something is good when it is good enough to get its own stores. You order in the same way you would at a fast food place and then go to your table with a buzzer. The burgers are 100% natural beef slapped in between the best bap I have ever tasted, I recommend getting a side of crinkly chips and one of their famous frozen custard milkshakes. The burger isn't the biggest I have ever had, but the beef patty is a pretty decent size Once your tray of deliciousness is ready the buzzer goes off and you skip with excitement to collect it. The longest I have ever waited was 15 minutes! 

Have you been here? Let me know your favourite burger joints?

Stay Beautiful

xoxo

#4London Loves | Zucca Bermondsey Street

Zucca sits right in the heart of the up and coming Bermondsey Street, a place that is buzzing with activity and quirky bars. I am pretty lucky to work on this street and one lunch time myself and some colleagues thought we would give Zucca a go. The food here is based on traditional Italian, with delicious fish, pasta and vegetable dishes!

I am not joking, it was the best food I have had in a while. The restaurant is airy and really trendy and the kitchen is open plan, so you can see the chefs cooking up a storm. I am not going to lie, the food isn't cheap at around £17.00 a dish and the portions are an average size, but the flavours are incredible! I had the fried sweet potato to start, smoked hake for my main and some crazy yummy chocolate with hot sauce thing for desert. I am sorry about not being able to tell you what they are actually called but I can't find any information on their website. 

Have you been to Zucca? What did you think?

Stay beautiful

xoxo

#3London Loves | First Date Idea: The Boy Who Climbed Out of his Face

So you're going on a date and have no idea where to take him/her? You want somewhere a little off the cards, something will make you look like you are a cool, quirky but fun person? Then I may have the best date location for you!

I literally stumbled on this place on a date of my own and having heard about the performing group Shunt 5 years previously I knew we had to go. Shunt are a group that perform immersive theatre, meaning you become a part of the act. The performance name The Boy Who Climbed Out of his Face has absolutely no relevance to what you will see, but that is the whole part of the fun!

We walked towards the Jetty in North Greenwich where we could see a group of shipping containers sticking out onto the Thames and covered in fairy lights. There is loud music playing and lots of trendy looking people milling about. There is a place to get a drink and some food before your number is called and you enter the maze of crates. The atmosphere of the place makes you feel like the coolest, non cool person ever. GREAT!

The performance takes part inside the shipping containers and I must warn you that if you like theatre with a plot and story line this is not for you. Expect hilarious awkwardness and leaving 45mins later wondering what the hell just happened and why. I don't want to ruin any of the actual performance because the expectation is a part of the sensory overload. But you also have to take your shoes off! 

Why I think this is a great place for a date? Well, you will look like you know about these wacky, cool and trendy places. If, like me, you aren't on the cool side of the fence this place will help you fake it. You will both be made to feel awkward making it all equal on the nerves front, but you will have a hilarious experience to talk about afterwards and there is also a bar to get drunk in at the end! What is not to love? 

It is on until 27th September and tickets are a bargain at £10! It will be the best £10 you spend!!

Have you been? Or if you go on your first date here, how did it go?

Stay beautiful

xoxo

#2London Loves | Lest We Forget: Poppy Memorial Tower of London

Want to see something super amazing in London?! Head down to the Tower of London to see a really beautiful installation. The Bloodswept Lands and Seas of Red, by Paul Cummis, marks the 100 years since the day Britain entered the First World War. 

The 888,246 hand made ceramic poppies represent a British fallen soldier and a poppy will continue to be added until 11 November 2014, the day the war ended. It is a painful, visual reminder of just how many we lost during that war. You can purchase one of these poppies for £25.00, which will be donated to Help the Heros charity. 

Have you been to see the exhibition? What did you think?

Stay beautiful

xoxo

#5London Loves | Meat Mission Hoxton Review

During my early years of childhood red meat was off limits. I would throw princess tantrum if my dad tried to make me eat it or if it was served at a kids party. It was never the thought of the poor cow that made the burger that put me off, I would happily scoff chicken for breakfast lunch and dinner if I could, but the smell and texture was not appealing to an eleven year old. It looked like someone had grabbed an old leather shoe, popped in between some bread and named it a burger. The dislike was so extreme that I turned down BBQ’s with friends in the fear I would have to eat it. Then two years ago I went to France and the only food on offer after a long day skiing was raw beef that you dipped in boiling oil I was not a fan, but in hoping to impress my then boyfriend I gave it a go. This was my epiphany. Gradually I have developed a taste for a good rare steak, the odd meaty sausage and, if I'm drunk, even a Mac Donald’s cheeseburger.

So when I was lured into Meat Mission in Hotxon Market I assumed I would be eating some sort of red meat and it being a treat day I decided to go all out, as you will see. When I walked into the restaurant I instantly felt I wasn't  'cool' enough to be there, the place was buzzing with business men and hipsters bellowing at each other as they ate. The waitresses and bar staff were all in casual afternoon clothes that I was often mistaking them for restaurant goers. The interior is very dark, their own Meat Transmission Radio is blasted throughout the bar and there was some woman yelling through a megaphone while someone poor man tried to eat his weight in meat.

There is an ironic religious theme that runs throughout, with a huge fake stain glass window lighting feature on the ceiling. 

The cocktails are divine and cost around £7.50 which is a normal London price and you can also get 3 pints of cider for £11.00. 

Gin, Grape & Elderflower Cocktail

3 Pints of Cider

Rather than napkins you are given a roll of kitchen paper and you eat off a tray rather than a plate. I would not recommend going on a date here, unless you want to see the other persons face covered in burger grease and ketchup. There is no lady like way to eat a mahoosive burger.

Cheeseburger

Peanut Butter Sundae

If you are planning on going I would make a reservation, we had to wait 40 minutes to be seated on a long table with lots of other people, the only downside. I loved this place and it is somewhere I would definitely come again, the food is delicious and reasonably priced.

Have you been to Meat Misson? What do you recommend?

Stay beautiful
xoxo