An afternoon alone in London - Solo dining

[HungryLondon]

I have a work event in London tomorrow but I arrive not long after noon today. I am travelling alone and was looking for ideas of things to do. I was thinking a bit of shopping in Liberty and Selfridges but would love to hear of any current exhibitions that are cheap/free or anything I might not have considered. I’ve been to central london 7/8 times and I’ve done the main sights centrally. My partner has family in the area so I have seen more of North London.

I get £25 for dinner and will be staying in the Southwark area. I am more than happy to eat elsewhere in london as long as it isn’t too late. I have previously enjoyed padella with friends so may try it alone but can anyone else recommend somewhere good for solo dining? I particularly enjoy Italian.

My colleagues all declined the trip as they were too anxious about navigating london and the level of crime… I hadn’t expected to be completely alone.

Completely appreciate there are thousands of options but recommendations really help my neurodivergent brain to make a decision

Only thing is the exhibition is not free but it’s a lovely little museum

Sargent exhibition is BRILLIANT (saw it last week). And the Tate midweek is nice and quiet for an amble around.

As for the being scared of going to London - I had a second job years ago where one of the women was moaning about her job, her salary, her generally boring life....and I suggested she look for a job in central London. She reacted as if I'd suggested incest. Ooooh, she couldn't do that!

We were in a SW London suburb 20 minutes from Waterloo by fast train. It saddened me then and it saddens me now how people like her and OP's colleague limit their horizons.

The Biba exhibition doesn't start until 22 March and the museum is closed until then.

WTF is wrong with people?!
Where on earth do you live op?
Your colleagues sound nuts.

Chanel & Diva are at V&A

On the train on the way home I saw an ad for an exhibition about cuteness that looked interesting. Looking at the link I saw theres also a Frank Auerbach exhibition that I would have loved to go to, too.

courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/exh-frank-auerbach-the-charcoal-heads/

How about the White Cube followed by the fantastic value 2 course lunch at Cafe Murano? https://www.cafemurano.co.uk/genuine-italian-food-menus/?menu-location=5&menu-id=561 Both on Bermondsey Street, can get back to Kennington easily from London Bridge nearby.

Chanel closes today, sadly.