Market Halls Loos

We’ve been watching MasterChef: The Professionals and luckily were up to date ahead of our trip to London last week, which at least meant we would only have a few episodes to catch up with on our return. But what we didn’t realise was that the episode where the finalists cooked in a pop up kitchen would shape our trip. When the camera showed outside the venue - Market Halls - MOH and I looked at each other and said Oxford Street.

And we weren’t wrong, and while the MasterChef finalists weren’t cooking we guessed there’d be some pretty good food on offer. We weren’t wrong again!

We popped in for lunch last Friday ahead of our train home. The venue is a mix of industrial and glamour, as you’ll see from the pictures below. It had a buzz, which came from the hubbub of small kitchens grouped together, and their customers milling around to choose their food - and from the pager which buzzes when you’re food is ready to collect.

We chose Hotbox, but then struggled to choose from their menu so instead opted for a selection of their smoked meat with some fries. This worked out well for us as we got to try more than we would have done otherwise, and we didn’t have to make that choice!

The dark grey/green bar at Market Halls with large patterned and faded tiles in front of it, and white globe lights hanging above the bar
Looking across the escalators at the entrance to the bar behind, this time with Christmas lights but the same while globe lights filling the space

But you’re right, this is the first loo series post in a while - and so far, there’s no loos.

Thankfully for a large-ish venue, the loos were a decent size. There’s nothing worse than being in a large venue, then discovering there’s four (or less) loos in the Ladies is there?

A row of sinks with mirrors above with a tiled background and small hexi tiled flooring
Opposite the sinks were the loos - at first glance nothing remarkable - but then each cubicle has a slightly different pastel shade painted wall

A row of sinks, mirrors above, tiled walls and flooring - nothing too extravagant, or ground breaking, but looking again and noticing the graduating wall paint colour within each cubicle, now that was smart, subtle but yet impactful.

And that wasn’t all, the vinyls on the mirror were also true to the venue - and definitely made me smile, as did the food we ate - we’ll definitely be going back at some point!

Floor to ceiling mirrors with the left hand panel with a vinyl with 'Hey good looking, have you checked out our cooking?' - oh and you can see me there too in my bright orange jacket

HEY GOOD LOOKING, HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT OUR COOKING?

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Visiting the Whitechapel Gallery

At the end of last week, after a particularly wet and grey week we decided to break from the norm and make the most of the lighter evening following the clock change. The week hadn’t brought the bright Spring days we were hoping for, and getting out and staying dry was a challenge. However we were not to be fazed, with MOH on the early shift our plan was to head for a museum or gallery - increasing our odds of staying dry - before heading out for dinner.

Some quick online research showed that the Whitechapel Gallery was our best bet. It was open later than most, was relatively easy to get to and neither of us had been there before. It’s set in a beautiful historic building right on Whitechapel High Street with all the hustle and bustle of daily life right on its doorstep, and no doubt an integral part of its community.

We started at the top at one of the free exhibitions - the House of Le Bas (which is on until 31 May) which shares the life and experiences of Delaine Le Bas and her late husband Damian Le Bas and their perspective as English Romani Gypsy Travellers. The room is full of colour with artwork, journals, photographs and embroidery with stories that resist stereotypes and question what it means to be an ‘outsider’.

There was just so much to see, it’s one of those exhibitions that while only in a relatively small space you could visit more than once, and each time see something new or different. I was taken with the amount of work that had clearly gone into each piece, and as you can see from my photos, they’re all incredibly detailed. I appear to be drawn to things with this amount of detail at the moment, and to items that have layers and depth - the whole creation process is fascinating to me, and these pieces were no different.

Thought provoked we made our way back down to the ground floor peeking into the other galleries and spaces, admiring the building as much as the artwork before heading into Zadie Xa’s exhibition titled: House Gods, Animal Guides and Five Ways 2 Forgiveness which closes on 30 April. It’s the largest solo exhibition in London to date for Korean-Canadian artist Zadie Xa and shows a new body of work commissioned by the gallery.

The installation with its sculptures, textiles and paintings along with the immersive lighting and audio are certainly impactful, and once again full of colour and texture. The exhibition’s design, in conjunction with collaborator artist Benito Mayor Vellejo, draws you in and around the space leading you to the large fabric structure inspired by a tranditional Korean home, known as a hanok.

The colours were rich and evocative, transporting you to a different world to the one that was most likely rushing past just a few metres away. And while these were amazing, my favourite piece from our visit was yet to come.

A richly adorned red coat with a bright green lining with cerise pink appliqued text hanging against a brick wall with atmospheric lighting
Zoomed into look at the lining and fabric flowers along the opening of the coat
The shaped hem of the coat, and one sleeve - a rich fabric of reds and brocade fabrics adorned with pale pink and white fabric flowers
Looking at the coat side on with its patchwork of fabrics, fabric flowers and dried flowers with are also incorporated into the decorations

Now isn’t that just amazing?

I believe this piece as Grandmothers (2022) which alongside was the details: hand-sewn and machine-stitched mixed fabrics, bleached and dyed denim, shell buttons and dried flowers. So once again I’ve been drawn to a piece which mixes and matches to great effect and layers textures and materials. I wasn’t surprised that this was the wow piece for me, even though everything I’ve shown in this post was pretty special.

So a late afternoon-early evening well spent, visiting a gallery we’d not been to before and experiencing artists we’d not known about before our visit either. We were also lucky enough not to get rained on and treated ourselves to a steak at the Flat Iron in relatively nearby Spitalfields, which also didn’t disappoint.

All in all a hugely successful impromptu visit, and I’m hoping we’ll have many more of these as the year progresses, wherever we may be!

Sculpture and texture at the Soap Yard

There’s nothing better than a sunny, lazy Sunday and our trip to Parrillan in the newly opened Borough Yards will take quite a bit to beat. Not only was there great food and a relaxing space, but there was also a visit to the nearby Neal’s Yard Dairy, a great unexpected sculpture and of course, time to check out the loos.

Painted sign on brickwork - black text on a white background saying Soap Yard this way and an arrow pointing right

It wasn’t until we were through the bricked arch that I turned round and spotted the painted sign to the Soap Yard - the brickwork, and the neon signs pulled me towards them, but I soon backtracked to admire this too. Both are from different times, but both are equally design classics aren’t they?

A brick archway looking through to a new building with decorative brickwork and neon words in a grid (some of which are lit) on the corner

Once through the arch and after taking a photo of almost every brick, I noticed the globe sculpture titled The World Reimagined - Stolen Legacy: The Rebirth of a Nation, which is by Alison Turner. It’s one of 103 unique globes across the UK which explore the history, legacy and future of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans.

Alison Turner is a mosaic artist who uses recycled vintage bone china, broken and discarded pottery, glass, ceramic tile and porcelain ornaments to create unique artwork. Her globe at Borough Yards was fantastic, and it’s the sort of piece that not only has deep meaning, but one that every time you look at it you’ll spot something different, and be enchanted again.

A large sculptural globe made from mosiacs at Borough Yards

The World Reimagined - Stolen Legacy: The Rebirth of a Nation – Artist: Alison Turner

We were early for our lunch reservation so took some time to wander around the space admiring yet more brickwork, and the structures they formed. I couldn’t help but notice and admire the curved reception desk at Parrillan which I’m sure was chosen to echo its surroundings.

The entrance to Parrillian which is under the arches, with a curved reception desk complementing the smooth lines of the arches curves
The courtyard is softened by olive trees and other plants all of which have a backdrop of brick buildings which surround the area

It soon became clear though, that texture had been given a lot of thought. Even the lemon meringue pie - which was as tasty as it looks - adopted the brief.

A portion of lemon meringue pie with a scorched meringue top, alongside is a sorbet resting on a biscuit crumb

And in the loos it was once again evident, with the panelled metal sheet on the ceiling, the smooth sink surrounds and the curves and symmetry of the mirrors and wall lights, demonstrating again that you can be adventurous with texture in a relatively small space.

In the loo, the sloping almost corrugated ceiling covering painted an olive green
A snip of the symmetry of wall lights between two curved wall mirrors
Black taps inset in the wall above the sink, the sink inlaid into the same cream stone top
A toilet selfie also showing the curve of the thinly edged black mirror

Back outside we moved from our table to a less formal space to end our meal. There were a few discoveries there, not least the heated seat pads (not pictured). Who knew, what an invention though sadly we had no need for them on our visit, but definitely something to try on a future, slightly chillier visit!

The modern wooden bench also caught my eye for its simple elegance, and the texture it too brought to the space. Alongside it the planting introduced more, the needles of the pine and the underplanting of soft mossy mounds. That’s how you do texture.

A birch 3 seater bench with decorative detail - slits - adding texture to an inviting spot to sit
Alongside the bench is a large pot containing a large evergreen, the photo focuses on the surface of the plant which is also potted with mounds of soft, bouncy pale green moss
Looking down on a pot of succulents potted up with a softer almost clover-like leafed plant

But also, succulents and small frothy ferns. What a combination.