Bright lights, big city

It’s served by dozens of direct flights, and spilling over with great shops, restaurants, museums and shows. It’s London, baby, and it’s time you paid another visit, says Pól Ó Conghaile.

IT’S 9.30pm on a Friday evening and Soho is thumping. After-work crowds surround pubs like moths at light bulbs, waiters are starting to sweat, and a street performer is teasing passers-by outside Covent Garden Market. Potential is in the air, like the smell of fresh pretzels.

We’ve been walking all day, and we’re hungry, so we step into Duck Soup. Leaving Dublin that morning, I tweeted about travelling to London, looking for restaurant recommendations. Niamh Shields, the Waterford ex-pat and blogger behind EatLikeAGirl.com, said Duck Soup had just opened on Dean Street. “Arrive early, or be prepared to queue.”