Monmouth Street, London

Last July I stayed at the fabulous Covent Garden Hotel for two nights on my way home after two glorious weeks in Mykonos, (more on that another time!).

The Covent Garden Hotel is part of the luxury Firmdale Hotel collection and is a favourite stay of those in the film, television and entertainment world. It is situated in the heart of the theatre district , a short walk to Soho and is surrounded by some of London’s best restaurants and bars  (of course the shopping is amazing too!).

One of my favourite finds was Murdock London, a barber and male grooming specialist on Monmouth Street. Not only do they offer full service barber shop and shave treatments in a distinctly stylish masculine space, they stock  fragrances,grooming products and artisan accessories.

It is here at Murdock I found the coveted wash bag I had searched years for, it’s the right colour (black and tan…. I bought two!), the right size and the right leather. It really is the perfect toiletries bag and fits all of my travel essentials nicely. The green leather is nice too.

They also do a fabulous kit bag that would be perfect for the gym or weekend away. Murdock London is situated next to Miller Harris, the London Perfumer who coincidently collaborates with Firmdale to create their bespoke fragrances used  in all of the bathroom products and signature candles for each of the hotels in London and New York.

Just across from the Covent Garden Hotel is Monmouth Coffee Company, they started roasting here in 1978 and specialise in single cone filter coffee and espresso based drinks. The organic Jersey whole milk is from Jeff Bowles in Somerset and the organic whole cane sugar is from Assukkar, Costa Rica. They have pastries from the bakeries Little Bread Pedlar, Paul and Violet and in the colder months, fresh cream truffles from Sally Clarke and single-origin chocolate from François Pralus and Original Bean. It really was the best coffee I had whilst in London (they do the perfect flat white) and the cafe interior is really beautiful. Why not drop by after lunch @ Brasserie Max located in the Covent Garden Hotel, it’s right across the road!