5 Things You Need to Eat in London This WeekBy Alicia Grimshaw
This week, we’ll be tucking into our advent calendars for the first time. If you’re after something more than a square of chocolate, we’ve found the best dishes you should be trying this week. Happy eating, London:
1. For a New Opening: Gunpowder
What: Gunpowder, a home-style Indian kitchen, has recently opened its door on White’s Row, Spitalfields. The short menu takes influence from family recipes collected by Founder Harneet Baweja and Head Chef, Nirmal Save. The restaurant is named after the spice mix ‘gunpowder’, a heady mix of pulses and spices, including chilli, curry leaves and ‘hing’, Hindi for Asafoetida.
Why: Head Chef, Nirmal Save, earned his stripes in the kitchens of The Oberoi in his hometown of Mumbai and at Zaika and the Tamarind Collection in London. The menu has been designed for sharing, and includes dishes such as Chettinad pulled duck with homemade oothappam, spicy venison and vermicelli doughnut and Maa’s Kashmiri Lamb Chops. Larger dishes of whole baby chicken, chargrilled in tandoori spices and Kolapuri lamb shanks. Spiced desserts of Old Monk rum pudding and molten spice chocolate cake with masala chai custard are also on the menu.
Where: 11 White’s Row, Spitalfields E1 7NF
2. For a New Collaboration: Crosstown Doughnuts
What: You may have heard about the collaboration between Caravan coffee and Crosstown with their coffee doughnut, well it’s time for a new limited edition doughnut and you’re in a boozy treat. Crosstown have partnered with whiskey brand, Jura with the new doughnut inspired by the single malt’s unique sweet and smoky flavour profiles.
Why: The collaboration is the second in Crosstown’s Single Series range, which uses select ingredients from like-minded partners to create a range of unique premium doughnut flavours. The new doughnut combines Crosstown’s signature sweet sourdough with the smoky flavours of Jura’s in three ways – with a whisky cream filling, whisky glaze and a light crumble of infused Scottish shortbread. Heaven.
Where: Locations here
3. For a New Menu: 155 Bar & Kitchen
What: Since launching in September, new design hub Clerkenwell London has already built up quite a following for its collection of curated fashion, homeware, vinyl and art. And, along with some pretty jazzy accessories Clerkenwell London is also home to British bistro 155 Bar & Kitchen. From the first bircher muesli of the day to the last post-prandial cocktail of the night – 155 Bar & Kitchen is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a new winter menu that is downright delicious.
Why: Trained at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, Executive Chef Gavin Gordon has crafted a menu that shows off the very best of ingredients from independent British producers. For breakfast tuck into warmed fruit loaf with berry compote and vanilla yoghurt, and the signature 155 savoury house-made waffle with maple-glazed streaky bacon, scrambled eggs and freshly shaved truffle. Highlight from the lunchtime menu includes the 155 dirty burger topped with smoked Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, honey-glazed bacon, iceberg lettuce and burger sauce and the Lake District Farmers’ rib eye with beef dripping chips, roasted tomato, watercress and a fried duck egg.
Where: 155 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3AD
What: For proper, warming winter fare there’s nothing like the flavours of game, and the new Abel & Cole boxes make it easier than ever to enjoy. Rich in flavour, but lean and nutritious, there are three types of game in these boxes. So meaty, so tasty.
Why: All the meat comes from a single farm in the Hampshire woodland, where deer, pheasant, partridge, pigeon and rabbit are all raised to the highest welfare standards and roam the land freely. The game boxes are seasonally arranged to safeguard conservation, and to provide a selection of three of the freshest and most delicious meats – perfect for simple pan roasts, warming pies and casseroles.
Where: Order here
5. For Tea and Crumpets: Good & Proper Tea
What: Good & Proper Tea are on a mission: to change the way people think about and drink the nation’s favourite hot beverage, the humble cup of tea. Their first bricks and mortar tea bar has just opened in Shoreditch. Prepare yourself for proper brews and sourdough crumpets.
Why: Good & Proper Tea have spent the last few years tasting teas from farms all over the world, always looking for a distinctive character that stands up on its own, without the need for blending or flavouring. They have an extensive collection of tea on offer including, black, oolong, green and white teas, as well as, for the first time, herbs. In addition to these loose-leaf teas, the tea bar also serve matcha lattes and their own range of refreshing cold brew teas. For the peckish, they have a sweet and savoury crumpet menu with toppings such as lime curd, Marmite and cheese, and smoked salmon and cream cheese.
Where: Good & Proper Tea, The Bower, EC1V 9NR
