Found just behind The Old Vic theatre, Hello Darling is a quirky spot for a pre-show bite and cocktail. Ignoring the trend for stripped-back dining rooms, Hello Darling is designed to look like the home of an eccentric Londoner, split into bookable spaces which encourage guests to sit on the kitchen worktops or drink bubbles in the bathtub.
Some quirky interior details include a giant lion’s head and the hundreds of butterflies that line the walls and hang from the ceiling in the cosy Library.
To eat, a selection of tapas-style dishes display plenty of colour and vibrancy in the likes of smoked haddock Scotch egg with tartar sauce and seaweed, or slow-braised lamb with butterbeans and nettle pesto. On the sweeter side of things, there’s lemon verbena pannacotta or a rhubarb and frangipane tart with spiced syrup, almonds and vanilla.
Hello Darling’s botanically-themed drinks menu consists of floral sips such as a Honeysuckle Gin Fizz or an Apricot Caipirinha, while mixers served in sharing jugs are also crammed with botanicals and fruit.