As long time Viking fans, we were very excited when we heard that Vikings was going to play a game in London this year. For anyone that’s remotely familiar with London, you would know a long weekend would not be enough time, especially when we planned on spending one WHOLE day at the game, but we made the best of the time we had and ended up having a blast.
September 30, 2022
We have a late flight today – our plane departs at 10:20pm (which ended up being more like 11:30pm due to delays). I booked the last flight of the day because the time difference between us and London so leaving late would get us there around midday tomorrow, which is more hopeful to check into a hotel instead of super early in the morning. While standing in the security line of International Terminal, I noticed a small statured young girl in line in front of me, and immediately suspected it was Jenna Ortega. At the security belt, while waiting for our bags, I asked her if she was indeed Jenna Ortega, which she admitted! She even told us she was heading to Paris for a work trip. I couldn’t take a picture at the time because all of our cellphones were on the security belt at the time, but we later ran into her again at one of the shops in the International Terminal and she graciously agreed to a photo with me!
We usually fly Delta, but we actually flew British Airways this time because it was so much cheaper than Delta. Besides the hour long delay, we don’t really have any complaints. The food was average, which is about as expected for economy seats.
October 1, 2022
Everything was smooth getting of the plane. We booked a Uber ride from the airport to our hotel, Hilton on Park Lane. We booked this hotel because we saw it was very close to the pregame activities we booked for the football game and the location of the hotel was great for easy transportation and many attractions nearby. Our Uber ride cost £60.77, which was pretty high I thought, but at least the car was a luxurious Mercedes. We drove by many famous landmarks, like the Natural History Museum:
After settling down in our hotel, it was time for the Afternoon Tea, which I had booked through TheFork. I know our time in London is short and Afternoon Tea is something on my must-do list, so we had to hit the ground running immediately. There are many many options for Afternoon Tea in London, but for convenience, I booked it at our hotel, inside the Podium Restaurant, which was located in the lobby. (Note: The Podium Restaurant is no longer open for business.)
The afternoon tea cost £39 per person and it was presented beautifully, but the service was very slow.
After the meal, we walked around the area surrounding the hotel, which included Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace is only open for tours during summer months, usually ending towards the end of September each year, so we couldn’t go inside.
Wellington Arch was the original entrance to Buckingham Palace, later becoming a victory arch for the Napoleonic Wars. Crowned by the largest bronze sculpture in Europe, it depicts the Angel of Peace descending on the four-horsed Chariot of War.
Buckingham Palace is probably the most famous landmark of London. It’s where King Charles and Queen Camilla reside. During the right time of the day, you can also come here to watch the Changing the Guards. Buckingham Palace is open for tours in the summer months, around July to September. If you are REALLY lucky, you could also catch Trooping the Colour here, which is annually held on the King’s Birthday, June 14th.
Tonight’s dinner was at the one star Michelin restaurant, Pollen Street Social, by chef Jason Atherton. (Note: Pollen Street Social closed its doors permanently on July 31, 2024.) We chose the 4 course £130 per person, then two cocktails, and still water for two. There was a 12.5% service charge that was added automatically but on the receipt it said “opt. svc. ch.”, which I assume means “optional service charge”. We didn’t ask for it to be adjusted but I wondered if this was something they only did to Americans. The 20% VAT tax was included in all the price listed, which is typical for Europe. Overall, our bill was £344.25, which wasn’t terrible for a Michelin meal.
Pollen Street Social
We were ushered into the restaurant by friendly hostess and sat in the pre-dinner cocktail area. A lovely lady came over and asked what we’d like to drink. Honestly, we weren’t sure at this point if the drinks were included because there were no prices on the menu, so we ordered one Dill or No Dill, and one Fresh As Daisy. They were both delicious and perfect potency.
After we sipped on our drinks a bit, the same lovely lady came back and asked if we were ready to be seated in the main dining. They ushered us with our drinks to a white tablecloth seat and presented us with real silver utensils. We chose our courses (some of the 4 courses gave options to choose from) and waited for our first course. The restaurant gave a feel of upscale but not overly stuffy.
First Course
For this course, we were given two choices to choose from. Teddy chose Chilled Cornish Lobster with Sicilian Cucumber, Lobster Jelly Consommé, White Grapes and Almond Gazpacho. I chose Six Grapes Port Cured Dordogne foie gras, Red Flesh Plum with Toasted Brioche.
Both options were amazing and you can tell the chef put a lot into it. I feel like the lobster dish was slightly the better choice.
Second Course
For this course, we were also given two choices. Teddy chose Newlyn Line Caught Sea Bass with Courgette & Basil, Iberico Ham and Sauce Americaine. I chose Roasted Padstow John Dory, Aioli, Orkney Scallop, and Head Bouillabaisse.
Once again, neither option could go wrong here, but I was a little jealous of Teddy’s again.
Third Course
For this course, we once again were given two choices. I chose Devon New Season Lamb with Nocellara Olive, Runner Beans, Smoked Anchovies and Lamb Fat Linzer Potatoes. Teddy chose 65-Day Aged Beef Fillet with Cevenne Onion Puree, Roasted foie gras, Pommes Aligot, Beef Fat Carrot, Onion Juices.
While the aged beef sounds great in theory, I definitely had the better choice this time around (for me) because I can’t have cheesy anything and I love lamb! (Aligot is a cheesy mashed potatoes dish.)
Intermezzo
For intermezzo, we were each given some homemade ice cream.
I accidentally ate a bite before I took a picture. Delicious.
Fourth Course
This is our dessert course, and we were given two options again. Teddy chose Japanese Citrus Parfait with Yoghurt Sorbet in Citrus Sauce. I chose Red Flesh Plum, Brown Butter Sponge, with Yuzu & White Chocolate, Plum Sorbet.
Last but not least, we were given some Petit Fours. Everything tasted great. We were in the restaurant for a total of 3 hours, which was long, but not terrible, if you consider the fact we took our time with the cocktails. I was overall happy given the price point.
Octobr 2, 2022
Today is dedicated to our favorite NFL team, the Minnesota Vikings! We bought the On Location package which included the tickets to the game, transfer from our hotel, pre-game party with food and drinks, etc. Our package cost a total of $1368.80. It’s a lot of money but it did include some good seats and it solved any transportation issues, and put us close to lots of other fans. Our seats were in Section 122, Row 21.
It was so nice to be surrounded by purple! The bus they provided us was luxurious and it dropped us off at Sway Bar, a swanky cocktail bar. At the bar, we were given food and drinks, included in our package. There were also two men providing us with entertainment. It was really a lot of fun.
There was a photo booth here as well. Everyone was dancing. After all the imbibing, we were taken back on the bus and driven to the stadium. As our bus got closer, we saw more and more Viking fans, which was so exciting! The stadium is called Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The halftime show featured English musician, Yungblud. The game was a nailbiter – Vikings won against the Saints, 28-25.
After coming back to our hotel from the game, we were exhausted, so we decided to have a small dinner at the famous tiki bar in our hotel, the Trader Vic’s. This isn’t just any Trader Vic’s. This is the oldest continually operated Trader Vic’s in the world, and the first one to be opened in UK. At the time, our Hilton hotel was the only Hilton in UK, and Trader Vic’s had a partnership with Hilton, so this Trader Vic’s was born. (We didn’t know this at the time, as it wasn’t mentioned anywhere on Hilton website, but this Trader Vic’s location closed merely 2 months after our visit.)
October 3, 2023
Today is our last day in London. Can you believe how fast this was? We are literally flying home TODAY. Our flight is pretty late, so we decided to hop on a double decker bus and get to some famous areas of London before going to the airport. We took bus number 148 because according to Google, it would do the job and it was located next to our hotel. We snatched some seats on the top of the bus!
We got off the bus near the Big Ben, which was also close to the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Parliament Square Garden, Jewel Tower, and Queen Elizabeth II Centre.
I just thought I would point out that, going from our hotel to Big Ben, we really didn’t have to take a bus at all – it’s all within walkable distance, but I wanted to experience the double decker bus because it’s such a big part of London. (I’ve taken double decker bus before in Hong Kong and on the Megabus in the US, but never in London before.)
Surrounding Big Ben is no shortage of London landmarks. It was a feast of the eyes.
St. Margaret’s Church is a church that’s located inside Westminster Abbey. Tombs of previous kings are buried in Westminster Abbey. This concludes our entire trip of London. We had to head to the airport now and catch our flight home, which was uneventful. I’m so glad we took a short jaunt to London to catch our favorite team play and took in some sights and bites in this beautiful city. The weather was surprisingly nice when we were there and we were able to pack quite a lot in our brief stay!