5 Things You Need to Eat in London This WeekBy Alicia Grimshaw
Hungry? Thought so. From vegan burritos to beef brisket buns – we’ve discovered 5 delicious things you need to eat in the capital this week. Tuck in:
1. For a New Permanent Site: SMOKESTAK
What: The beef brisket kings (aka SMOKESTACK), have left the street food life behind and have upped sticks to Sclater St, Shoreditch to open their new bricks and mortar site. Delivering simple, no-nonsense grub, SMOKESTAK has earned a cult following for its prime USDA brisket, pork and beef ribs.
Why: The menu is a grown-up version of what essentially put SMOKESTAK on the London street food map. Believe us, the menu features more than your typical BBQ fayre. New dishes include smoked girolles and beef dripping toast; crispy beef shin and anchovy mayo, and coal-roasted sweet potato, with smoked ricotta and bacon. The SMOKESTAK classics remain with USDA brisket bun and pickled red chilli, and thick-cut pork ribs and pickled cucumber. There’s also comforting winter warmers on the menu, such as the smoked cauliflower cheese, burnt end beans, brisket ends, and grilled baby gems and parmesan. For dessert, demolish the pickled blackberry crumble served in cast iron dishes straight from the fire, or the equally tasty toasted oak ice cream, butterscotch and smoked sea salt.
Where: 11 Sclater St, Shoreditch, London E1 6HZ
2. For a New Residency: The Laksa Kitchen
What: David Tong has been on a mission; a mission to find the perfect laska. In May, he travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Borneo via Penang to hunt down the best laska he could find, and bring back the recipe (which he served at his first residency in London this year). David’s pop-up was a roaring success, and he has now opened his winter residency at Tolli Cafe in Kentish Town – serving his well-loved soup-y numbers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Why: Kick off your Malaysian feast with a variety of small plates including belly pork and taro wrapped tofu skin spring rolls, served with homemade chilli dipping sauce, and steamed rice noodles topped with a sweet dark sauce, chilli paste, sesame seeds and dried shallots. A must try is the seafood curry laksa – a traditional noodle soup from the Malaysian peninsular and Singapore, featuring mixed egg and rice vermicelli noodles, beansprouts, soft boiled egg, seafood in a rich and spicy coconut broth. There’s a veggie curry laska with rice vermicelli noodles, tofu, beansprouts, soft boiled egg, in a rich and spicy coconut broth, and the chicken curry laska with tofu, beansprouts, soft boiled egg, and chicken in a rich and spicy coconut broth made with chicken stock. Order the pandan flavoured crepes filled with sweet coconut and palm sugar filling for dessert.
Where: Tolli café, 327 Kentish Town Road, London, NW5 2TJ
Photo Credit: Jennifer Cauli
3. For a New Opening: Flavour Garden
What: Flavour Garden is an all-day organic eatery dishing up a wealth of natural food choices at great value throughout the day, from early morning to late evening. Just opened on Fenchurch Street, Flavour Garden use superior ingredients that are organic, sustainable and ethically sourced.
Why: Highlights from the breakfast menu include, yogurt bowls with granola, mango and cinnamon; acai bowls topped with banana, strawberry, blueberry and granola, and goat’s cheese tartlets alongside smoothies and cold-pressed juices. Lunch goers can enjoy tuna and rocket potato wraps, ratatouille tartlets, and the vegan friendly chilli bean, guacamole and brown rice burrito. Need some hot food? Grab the herby salmon cake with spicy salsa, or the stuffed chicken with date and citrus sauce. There’s a salad bar with tons of choice – perfect for lunch aldesko. The evening menu is notched up a gear with sharing-style tapas dishes, meat and veggies platters, and oodles of cocktails.
Where: 4-6 New London Street, London, EC3R 7NA
What: John Lewis has transformed its Oxford Street rooftop, The Gardening Society, into a festive and immersive forest for the festive season. Game experts, Mac & Wild have made the short trip down from their Fitzrovia digs, to knock up wintery specials at their very own pop-up restaurant set in a magical forest.
Why: Bringing highly seasonal British fare to proceedings, Mac & Wild has created a menu of hearty, highland-style dishes exclusive to the rooftop, peppered with a few favourites from its permanent site. Dishes include a new and exclusive John Lewis Christmas burger featuring a demi brioche bun, fried confit turkey leg, venison stuffing, brie, cranberry, and truffled bread sauce. And, no Mac & Wild restaurant would be complete without its award-winning burger the ‘Veni-Moo’, which comprises both a beef patty and a venison patty with cheese, béarnaise and caramelised onions in a sweet brioche bun.
Where: The Rooftop, 300 Oxford Street, London W1C 1DX
5. For New Dishes: Franco Manca
What: The nights are getting darker, and the weather is getting colder. There’s only one thing to tackle the bitter embrace of winter, and that’s with Franco Manca’s new pizza specials. The new seasonal menu features comforting produce, local sourced ingredients, and their famed sourdough bases.
Why: Veggies, sink your teeth into the warming tomato-free butternut squash pizza with roasted pine kernels and Colston Bassett Stilton. For meat lovers, there’s the Gloucester Old Spot sausage pizza made with radicchio Trevisano and finished with a drizzle of white truffle oil, and cured British bresaola pizza with organic tomato, watercress and mozzarella from Somerset-based producer Frank & Lloyd. All pizzas are made from slow-rising sourdough and baked in a wood-burning oven at 500-degrees imported from Naples.
Where: Locations here
