Blogging from Clerkenwell, Islington Borough, London, England

Call me crazy, but on my travels around the world, I sometimes like to visit a local bar. Sometimes, I manage to find a really good one, either by mad luck or by analytical city research. Sometimes, it is a combination of the two. Recently, on a stop over in London on my way to Brazil, I stayed at the Zetter hotel in Clerkenwell. I haven't been to the Zetter since the opening party in 2004, which I honestly don't remember. I was there with some heavy drinking friends.

After enjoying a wonderful meal at the Z ("a restaurant with rooms"), my Norwegian assistant and I decided to hit the bars. Actually, we just went across the street to a bar called Match. Match is a cool bar. I will tell you why:

1. It is in Clerkenwell, which is my favourite London hood. (I don't want to go to Chelsea).
2. It is just across the street from the Z, so you can literally crawl home (and we all know London traffic!)
3. They have a head chef called Johnny Ho. They have a bar chef called Mikael Nilsson, who I don't know, but the name sounds like an extremely fast race car driver (or a really cool tennis player).
4. They have a drink called STEVE MCQUEEN (his Porsche is on exhibit in the TAG Heuer department of Harrods).

Oh, and by the way: Clerkenwell actually have their own little, free pocket-sized music magazine (Swell Music)--you can visit the magazine online here.

Bonus trivia: Zaha Hadid's office is in Clerkenwell. Don't miss her show at the Rove Gallery. More here and here.

Cheers.

EXTRA, EXTRA:
There is a five-star review of Match Bar here.
Review from The World's Best Bars right here.