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Trying to plan my 25th birthday. Any recommendations?
I absolutely love good views of the city skyline, especially at night. I've visited The Shard, London Eye, and Royal Observatory. I'd happily go back to any of them given the chance, but I'm wondering where else would be a nice place to see some city lights other than Sky Garden? Bonus points if it's free.
I'm a fiend for Italian and Chinese food, I'd be happy to hear any recommendations on that front as well!
Last but definitely not least; Pokémon is one of my all-time favorite things. I'm an avid collector of cute plushies! We've visited Build-A-Bear (I have my eyes and heart set on Riolu) and TokyoToys over in Sidcup (found the cutest Plusle and Minun). Are there any other shops around that offer a good selection of Pokémon merchandise?
General recommendations of anything outside of what's listed is more than welcome. Thank you in advance!
tbh for views you could try the bar at the top of the Hilton on Park Lane - Galaxy Bar. it's not free but a single drink is like 15 quid and you get a proper sweep of the city skyline looking south over Hyde Park. way less crowded than the Shard and the windows go floor to ceiling
Italian-wise I'd say try Manteca in Shoreditch if you like things a bit more modern. they do this cacio e pepe fritto that's basically fried pasta balls of heaven and their wine list is all natural stuff which is fun. for Chinese, there's a spot called Xi'an Biang Biang Noodles under the Arches near London Bridge - their hand-pulled noodles with chilli oil are 8 quid and slap harder than anything I've had in Chinatown
Pokemon plushies - have you tried the Japanese supermarket in Ealing called Japan Centre? they've got a small but good selection of the sitting cuties line and sometimes the pokemon fit plush. also worth hitting up the gift shop at the British Museum ngl, they randomly stock some pokemon stuff from the special collaborations they've done, saw a Rowlet there last month
If you're after city skyline views that feel a bit more personal, try the top floor of the Tate Modern. The viewing platform looks east along the Thames, so you get the lights of the City and Canary Wharf without paying a thing. It's open late on Fridays and Saturdays, which is perfect for a birthday evening.
For Italian, I'd recommend Bocca di Lupo in Soho. It's small and you'll want to book ahead, but they do regional dishes that change regularly and the squid ink pasta is a standout. Chinese-wise, head to Gold Mine in Bayswater for their roast duck and char siu; it's a no-frills spot but the food is as good as anything in Chinatown.
On the Pokemon front, check out the Japan Centre in Shaftesbury Avenue. Their shop has a rotating selection of imported plushies and figures, and I've seen some of the rarer Eeveelutions there. Also worth a look is the GAME store on Oxford Street near Tottenham Court Road; they sometimes stock the bigger Pokemon plush lines that other shops don't carry.
for views that aren't the usual tourist traps, try the garden at the top of One New Change - it's a rooftop terrace right by St Paul's, free to go up and you get a killer view of the city lights reflecting off the cathedral. also, the bar at the Mondrian Hotel on the South Bank has a decent skyline view without the Shard price tag, just grab a drink and soak it in
for italian, I'm obsessed with Bancone on Strand - their silk handkerchief pasta is unreal and it's not too pricey for a birthday dinner. chinese-wise, head to Chinatown but skip the big chains, go to My Old Place on Newport Place, it's proper legit szechuan and they do a mean mapo tofu
pokemon plushies - check out Forbidden Planet near Tottenham Court Road, they usually have a solid selection of the newer plush lines plus some random imports. also Japan House in Kensington sometimes stocks cute pokemon stuff in their shop, not always but worth a look if you're in the area
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What are some innovative ways to anonymously compare rental prices in a city?
SpareRoom's "rooms wanted" ads are underrated for this. people post what they're currently paying alongside what they want next, so you can scrape a rough sense of going rates by postcode without anyone knowing you looked. it skews young and flatshare heavy tho, so not much use if you're after 2-beds in zone 2.
Another one is just the depozit or tenancy deposit scheme data. not public-facing, but your council's housing officer can tell you median rents from deposit registrations if you email them under FOI. takes weeks, but its proper anon and nobody clocks u.
Rightmove and Zoopla only show asking rents, which are often 10 to 15 percent above what a place actually goes for, so they're a poor benchmark. The trick I've used is the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, which breaks things down to borough level and is genuinely anonymous since it's aggregate data, no listing or account needed. For something more granular, the London Renters Union runs a rent reporting tool where you submit what you're paying with your postcode and it maps it against others nearby, though the coverage is patchy outside the inner boroughs.
the openrent "rent check" thing is decent for zones 3-4 where the unions tool barely reaches. also worth checking the london.gov.uk planning portal for new build applications, they list "affordable" and market rent figures per unit in the viability assessments, which is basically the developer telling the council what they expect to charge. bit of a faff to dig through but its public, anonymous & nobody knows ur looking