Gergei Erdei in Bloomsbury
(Picture: Adrian Lourie)Bloomsbury feels like the idealistic London that you would imagine if you just know it from books and movies.
I rented in Hackney and Bethnal Green before and both areas are known as the epicentre of partying. I guess by the time I got older I wanted to live somewhere calmer.
The other reason was that I really wanted to find a flat with character and the one and only on the market that fitted in my budget happened to be in this neighbourhood. I looked for two months so I literally knew every advert.
I live in a flat in a Georgian townhouse with the weirdest details. The living room has Pompeiian terracotta walls, which are really made for me. Although I am renting I feel like I found the perfect home until I can save enough to buy one.
Best eating and drinking
The Hoxton hotel on High Holborn is great for work meetings or a quick cocktail. It can get very crowded at the weekends though. I love to have a drink on a terrace.
Ciao Bella on Lamb’s Conduit Street is a very old fashioned family-owned Italian with a big terrace.
They serve giant Aperols and they are very generous with the ingredients so usually I have that with a pizza.
La Fromagerie, also on my street, is nice for brunch and I love the sushi in Eat Tokyo on Red Lion Street.
Sadly the juiciest carrot cake is sold by Knockbox Coffee, which is right on my corner so I try not to buy a slice whenever I pass by.
Where I work out
I usually swim in the Oasis Sports Centre, which has an indoor and outdoor pool. I love it in the summer because you can swim and enjoy the sun at the same time. The building has a mid-century Brutalist mood so it’s also a visual delight.
For a culture fix
It’s central London so it’s not hard to find culture. The British Museum is very close and there is a cute flea market in Covent Garden’s Jubilee Market every Monday. If you go late when they pack up you can always get good deals. My friend David Kovats has a gallery on Long Acre and he always exhibits amazing contemporary artists from Hungary.
To commune with nature
There are so many really well-kept parks around. I am a regular in Lincoln’s Inn Fields or at Bloomsbury Square Garden whenever it’s warm and sunny. I love an al fresco takeaway on the grass.
Grocery shopping
If you are not on a budget La Fromagerie has the best cheese selection. I’ve never been a big cheese fan but they turned me into one. There’s also a Waitrose in the Brunswick Centre, which is good for celebrity spotting.
Getting around
Most of my friends are still in east London so I felt I would be very isolated in central but it’s actually just a 30-minute ride on the 38 or 55 bus. I also walk a lot because you can always discover something inspiring.
Dream street
Lamb’s Conduit Street is one of the cutest streets in London. It reminds me of summer in Budapest or Paris because most places have terraces.
Something you only see in Bloomsbury
I’d been to the Sir John Soane’s Museum a few times when I first moved to London and I recently visited again. I discovered new amazingly surreal details. The labyrinth-like corridors, tinted glass ceilings and the gloomy hidden rooms in the basement are my favourites. It’s a one-of-a-kind, must-visit spot but you need to keep going back because you can’t take everything in at one go. I felt my brain would explode when I left.
What’s the catch
There is a temptation for spending on every corner, whether it’s some deliciously wrapped pastries or the citrusy smell that makes you go into the local Aesop shop. It’s not an area where you can save.
In three words
Quaint, peaceful, neat.
What it costs
Buying
- Average house price: £2,353,174
- Average flat price: £786,743
Renting
- Average house price pcm: £7,718
- Average flat price pcm: £2,848
Source: Rightmove
Schools
St George the Martyr Church of England Primary School gets an outstanding rating from Ofsted, or there’s the private, French-English bilingual Ecole Jeannine Manuel. All Souls CofE Primary, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary and St Alban’s CofE Primary are all good-rated schools bordering Bloomsbury.
