Although I´ve spent very limited time in London, I would have thought the above statement was an impossibility. London is, after all, one of the most expensive cities in the world, and I´ve always been shocked in the past how 200 pounds can easily dissolve in a week, even when you´re not paying for accommodation. Trips in the past have always been short, sweet, and as much as possible, have involved staying with friends and staying in.
Some friends and I ventured out on Tuesday night and discovered by accident a properly affordable night out. Our original plan was to go to Spanish bar close to the Tottenham Court Road underground, but finding it packed, and needing a cup of tea as much as anything else, we drifted around the corner and found the Black Horse on Rathbone Place.
It started out a bit bizarre. There were a number of old men looking like they were in their own private club, with the tips of their heads just protruding from leather armchairs. My friend and I selected a table near the back, but were driven forwards by the deafening jazzy Christmas carols coming from a speaker above our heads.
It was a relaxing sort of place but not particularly noteworthy, and we were considering moving on somewhere for dinner, but discovered there was a special upstairs, where you could get a free cup of mulled wine, free food, and free jazz. Hmmmm. The girl at the bar seemed a bit down on the mulled wine, but as we were well into a bottle of wine anyway it all seemed a good idea.
Upstairs, we had moutains of food forced upon us. An enormous plate of potato wedges was followed by a man handing out burgers, a plate of calamari, and finally even a pizza, which nobody could touch by this point. Too bad. All of this with an actually pretty nice cup of mulled wine, to the pleasant strains of an Italian saxophonist.
We ended up three bottles of wine (reasonably priced at 8 pounds) the worse for wear, happily stuffed, and with a new musical friend.
What more could you ask on a Tuesday night in December?