The British get a bad wrap when it comes to cuisine. “It’s all potatoes”… “it’s bland”… “they don’t use enough spices”… “all they use is salt and pepper”, are many of the phrases you hear when listening to people talk about British food. But when you are there, the food is actually excellent. And yes, some of those things are true… there are a lot of potatoes and the main spices used are salt and pepper; maybe it’s because of the farming, but the English know how to make their food tasty. London is also a very diverse city, so there any many options of cuisines to try. But be careful, with all the carbs, some from food, some from beer, I probably gained about 10 pounds on my trip to the UK.
With that being said here are some excellent dishes/types of food to try (and where) in London:
Meat Pies and Sausage Rolls
I’ve had meat pies at home, and I’ve never been the biggest fan, but I knew they are a staple in British cuisine, so I had to try some at the first pub we visited. The meat pie platter we tried at the Horse & Guardsman consisted of steak, chicken and leek and potato. The pies were excellent, the crust was flaky and hand baked and the meat was tasty. And believe it or not, the leek and Potato was actually our favorite. Like most things in London, gravy was included; we drizzled it all over the pies which was delicious.
Sausage rolls are another common appetizer in London. We tried these a few times, but during our first night when we had a fancy dinner at the Butler’s Wharf Chophouse, the sausage rolls were the best.
Fish & Chips
How can I write this blog and not possibly include fish and chips? Fish & Chips are what they are, you can get them all over the world, but you can’t go to London without trying their fish and chips. The fish is fresh and the breading is crispy. Some of the best fish & chips we tried had thick and crispy batter without being too greasy. Usually, the fish is Cod or Haddock, but if you see Halibut… order it, it will be excellent.
They say not to get fish & chips in a pub, we did a few times, and it was okay, but consider going to a “Chippy.” One that we tried was Hobson’s Fish & Chips which was pretty good. And it wasn’t just us who enjoyed, our baby girl loved the fish & chips out there, it was her favorite dish.
Pastry and Scones
Craving a snack or some delicious pastry? London has excellent pastries and baking, with cafes and pastry shops all over the place. The options are endless; you can find savory or sweet too. The pastries you’ll find are usually large and flaky. We had some delicious pastries when walking around and stopping at random cafes.
Scones are also famous… but in my opinion they can be bland. Btu there are specialty shops, like The Cheeky Scone, in Notting Hill that specialize in gourmet scones which were pretty tasty.
Cheese
England has excellent farming, and the farmland and climate makes for excellent dairy products. This means the cheese (and ice cream too) is top notch. The cheese is rich, flavorful and aged. I am a cheesehead and England had some of the best cheese I’ve tried. You can buy it from a grocery store or even order a cheese plate at a traditional restaurant or pub. I ordered a cheese board at the historic pub, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese and it was excellent.
Middle Eastern and Indian Food
Anyone who has been to London can see the demographics. People from the Middle East make up a large proportion of the population. People from India have been an important part of London’s history for an even longer time, so their food has become a staple throughout London. I was never a huge fan of Indian food, but I wanted to try it in London, unfortunately we never got a chance to try any, but I’ve heard it is excellent.
One night out after stopping at a few pubs in Camden I was craving some shawarma, so I crossed the street to the King of Falafel. There are shawarma and falafel places everywhere so take your pick. I may have just been drunk, but King of Falafel was excellent. The atmosphere was lively, and my Chicken Shawarma was excellent, it was large, it was tasty and it was juicy.
Asian Food
I know that the Middle East and India is part of Asia, but I am talking about Chinese, Japanese and Thai food which is also very common in London. Back home, we have lots of Chinese food and Vietnamese, but not a lot of Thai. In London I saw tons of Thai restaurants. Because of the diversity, you’ll find a lot of different types of foods, and Asian restaurants are everywhere in London.
Chinatown is quite large and you’ll find a lot of Cantonese food there. You’ll find lots of Sweet and Sour Chicken, Dim sum, duck and dumplings. We ate in Chinatown, unfortunately we chose one of the first places we saw and it was a restaurant we saw on a YouTube video; the food wasn’t anything special. We found many interesting restaurants that looked better after. We also had some excellent Filipino dessert, Halo Halo, from Mamasons Dirty Icecream. There are also many Asian options in the vast array of markets in London.
Markets
And, if you have trouble choosing a restaurant to go to or you and your partner want different things, there are a slew of markets to choose from, The amount of markets in London is endless, all with lots of delicious options. There is Borough Market, Camden Market, Leadenhall, Greenwich and Seven Dials just to name a few.
We went to Borough Market, probably the most famous one, and it didn’t disappoint. The market was packed, and we had to wait in line at most places, but they flowed pretty fast, although we couldn’t get a spot and had to eat standing up. It was worth it though, the food was excellent. We had a Japanese Rice Bowl from Pochi, I had one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten from the famous Black Pig, we had Thai Sticky Rice, I tried a Jacket Potato (fully loaded potato covered in beans and cheese), Paella and our girl had Fish & Chips. The food was excellent and there were many more dishes we would have liked to try, unfortunately we didn’t have time to go back a second time.
Pub Food
I’ve already mentioned the pubs, but it is important to note that the pubs in London are different than they are in the USA or Canada. Pubs, or “Public Houses” are a staple to London culture. They are places where you grab a pint after work or just a bite to eat on a Saturday afternoon. Pubs are family friendly, have kids’ menus and have excellent regular menus too. Instead of just drunk food, the pubs serve full meals that can be quite delicious. There’s obviously Fish & Chips, the Meat Pies and your range of classic pub foods like Burgers which are usually good.
There is also the famous “Sunday Roast” a homecooked meal of your choice of chicken, beef or pork, potatoes and Yorkshire Pudding smothered in gravy with a side of vegetables. Like the name says, it’s served on Sundays, but some places serve it daily, usually only for lunch. We always seemed to miss out, so we didn’t have this in London, but ended up trying it in York, and the Sunday Roast was phenomenal.
And the nice thing is that you just order from the bar instead of having a server so you aren’t expected to tip which can be a bonus with the price of things in London. And even if you aren’t going for a full meal, if you’re in London you definitely need to grab a pint (or even half pints) from a couple of pubs and you might as well grab a snack to two too.
Final Thoughts
Don’t listen to everything you hear, English food is excellent and it’s even better in London because of the size and diversity of the city. Like most major cities there’s something for everybody. And when describing British food, I’d describe it as very hearty and home cooked style meals. Plus the Brits know how to do carbs. They also serve gravy with almost everything, it’s fattening but delicious. So, if you enjoy a good home cooked meal, you’ll love the food in London… just be prepared to unbuckle your pants.
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