Actor Romola Garai’s London: Farang, Chinatown and afternoon tea

The star of Just Act Normal, Romola Garai, shares her guide to London.

Where was your first London flat?

I lived in a flat in Shepherd’s Bush. I was 16 when I moved to London, so I was living just with my older sister and no parents. But I was a terrible do-gooder and I didn’t really go off the rails in any meaningful way.

What was your first job in London?

About two weeks after I moved to London, I got signed to a modelling agency and I did do a few modelling jobs but I don’t ever remember getting paid for that, so I don’t know if it really counts.

I didn’t really have any lines, but I had to look like I knew how to play the saxophone. I was like, “This is acting!”

Romola Garai

Probably my first professional job was acting, which I did when I was 16 or 17. It was a TV film in which Judi Dench played the leading character, and there were some flashbacks to her as a young woman being in an all-girl jazz band in the 1940s. It was called The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, and I played her character in these flashbacks. I didn’t really have any lines, but I had to look like I knew how to play the saxophone. I was like, “This is acting!”

Romola Garai starred alongside Dame Judi Dench in The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

Dave Benett

Maybe the big Foyles: I think it’s quite important to know what kind of books people read. And then Maison Bertaux for afternoon tea. And then go up to Hackney and go to the Rio Cinema to see a movie and then have dinner at Mangal II afterwards.

Best meal you’ve had in town?

I’m gonna go for a restaurant which is in Highbury called Farang. It’s just out of this world, delicious Thai food. It’s the kind of food where I can’t really talk while I’m eating it. It’s not a good place to go for a lot of conversation because I sort of have to eat in silence in an act of ritual celebration.

What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?

I think I’d probably just ban cars. I feel like one day a month or once a week, we could just feel what it’s like to live in a city where you’re not like breathing in toxic fumes all the time.

Romola Garai stars as Ms Jenkins in Just Act Normal

BBC/The Forge/Samuel Dore

Who is the most iconic Londoner?

It’s got to be Dickens. It’s a classic. He’s the great chronicler of London.

Where do you go and what do you do to have fun?

I do quite like a cocktail bar in Chinatown called the Experimental Cocktail Club. That’s a really nice place to go for a drink.

Have you ever had a run-in with a London police officer?

I’m the worst person in the world. I’m very terrified of authority and constantly trying to suck up to people in power

Romola Garai

I did once dob my husband in to a security guard because he was trying to get us into an exhibition. I’m the worst person in the world. I’m very terrified of authority and constantly trying to suck up to people in power. We went to an exhibition at the Natural History Museum and we got there just as it was closing and he was like, “Well, let’s go in through the gift shop and see if we can just see the last room.” As he was going in, with our kid in a sling, I saw that the security guard noticed and I went, “That man’s trying to get in.” And then I literally ran away, which I think tells you a lot of really unfortunate things about me.

I don’t collect anything, but one of my favourite things in the world is an afternoon tea. And myself and my husband have been doing a thing where we’re trying to have an afternoon tea in all of the best places in London and then compare them all. We’ve been to nearly 20 places. And we have been having quite involved conversations about the scones versus the jam and the cream, and the finger sandwiches and the quality of the tea.

What’s your biggest extravagance?

I’m addicted to buying clothes on Vinted, which has turned into quite a problem.

If the Spence Bakery ever shut down, I think I might have some sort of mental collapse

Romola Garai

Otherwise, I would say one of my favourite places to eat in London is a bakery called The Spence Bakery on Church Street in Stoke Newington. I spend a lot of money in there on buns. If this place ever shut down, I think I might have some sort of mental collapse.

Which podcast are you currently obsessed with?

I listen to a lot of The Rest is History and its sister show The Rest is Classified, which is all about the history of the CIA and MI5. I’m really into history. Also, I think in these hectic political times it’s really helpful for your mental health to see everything in the great span of history.

What’s your London secret?

The river walk between Richmond and Twickenham is just the most beautiful. A lot of people who come to London stay in the centre, but it is such an incredibly beautiful part of London and worth the journey.

Romola Garai stars in Just Act Normal, on BBC Three and iPlayer from April 16