Instagram Diary: 10 May Foodie Favourites in LondonBy Alicia Grimshaw
We like to call this feature ‘let’s look back at our camera roll, and reminisce on all the nice grub we’ve consumed.’ If you need some foodie inspiration – here’s our favourite dishes we’ve eaten in London this month. Let’s get munching, folks:
May Foodie Favourites: Breakfast/Brunch
Order: Hot Stuff – chorizo, hot beans, red peppers, chilli mushrooms, spinach, topped with a free-range egg and sprinkled with cheese. Served in a bread bowl.
The Lowdown: A trip to The Barge House for their iconic breakfast in bread is a must for any Londoner. It’s like the need to visit The Crown Jewels or Tower Bridge – only this is tastier and more carby. What you’re presented with is a fry up in a hollowed out bread roll. It feels like a treasure hunt, sometimes you find a sausage, sometimes you find a piece of bacon. It’s heaven in bread. If you enjoy the spicier things in life, go for the hot stuff – a medley of chorizo sausage, peppers, other spice infused produce and cheese. It’s all about the secret heat. When we visited people were eating the contents of their bread bowl and not eating the bread – which is our books is absolute sacrilege. Don’t be that guy. Eat the damn bread.
Where: 46a De Beauvoir Cres, London N1 5RY
Order: Almond Croissant
The Lowdown: Panetteria by Fucina is a classy coffee establishment, and little sister to Fucina located next door. This place does things the Italian way; proper coffee, freshly baked pastries and they stock organic artisan Italian produce (the kind of products that cost and arm and a leg, but go down a treat at dinner parties). For the early risers, there’s breakfast pizzas and a range of other flaky pastry eats. One of life’s greatest pleasures is a homemade warm almond croissant, and these guys make a downright naughty one. Forget your piped supermarkets scents, Panetteria by Fucina is warm and fragrant.
Where: 22 Paddington St, Marylebone, London W1U 5QR
Order: Avocado on toast with poached free range eggs, fresh lime, seeds, chilli flakes and a side of smoked streaky bacon.
The Lowdown: Good ol’ Bill’s. Lovely, we-can-always-depend-on-you Bill’s. This restaurant chain is by no means reinventing the wheel when it comes to breakfast options – but what they do do well is simple, honest breakfast dishes that are consistently good. You simply can’t go wrong with their avocado on toast number – chunky avocado seasoned with lemon and chilli, yolky eggs, and a side of bacon. And their porridge ain’t too bad either. Don’t fear the high-street, people. Bill’s is fantastic.
Where: Locations here
Order: Spiced butterbean stew with braised Black Forest ham, chilli wurst slices, poached egg and pickled salsa
The Lowdown: It was only a matter of time before Herman ze German decided to add to their sausage focused menu. Don’t get us wrong, there’s a time and a place for a wurst with extra onions, sauerkraut and chips – but ain’t nobody got time for a wurst pre 11:30am. And so, with this in mind, the Herman ze German team recently launched a new brunch menu full of classic brunch bites with a European spin. Go for the spiced butterbean stew – a tangy rich tomato sauce with plenty of beans, ham and a poached egg to finish it all off. Our pick of the menu by a country mile.
Where: 43 Charlotte St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 1RS
Order: Full English breakfast – eggs, sourdough, bacon, mushroom, spinach and avocado
The Lowdown: If you’re a serial London bruncher, you’ll have heard about Sunday, or visited their Barnsbury joint. And if you haven’t, then shame on you. People travel far and wide to get their hands on Sunday’s famed brunches. Bring a book and settle in line – the queues at the weekend are long. Everything on the menu tastes good – their pancakes are light and fluffy, but their full English breakfast is our fave. We love a good menu hack, and we highly recommend swapping the black pudding for avocado. And their large coffees are the size of a paddling pool.
Where: 169 Hemingford Rd, London N1 1DA
May Eats: Lunch
Order: Steamed pork dumplings with with xian-style sauce and sesame seeds
The Lowdown: Yum Bun are street food stalwarts – and you can now find them across three Street Feast sites (Dinerama, Giant Robot and Hawker House). Their irresistibly soft, squishy steamed buns send us into a right tis – it’s the beef short rib with sticky chili bean aubergine that has us coming back time and time again. Recently they launched a new venture – Yumplings – specialising in the Chinese street food staple, dumplings. There’s two choices: mushroom or pork. Go for the pork dumplings – it’s like a big meat filled hug.
Where: Locations here
Order: Hey pesto chicken salad
The Lowdown: When it comes to salads, the leafy ones by Leon are certainly not the cheapest around. However, their new range of salads are full of flavour, joy and provide endless lunchtime happiness. New on their menu is the protein-plenty hey pesto chicken salad of shredded chicken, Greek- style cheese and their own-made pesto of fresh basil, tomato and parmesan. And it’ll make you feel power-full. The new range also features the smoked salmon and egg salad on a bed of broccoli, avocado, cucumber, peas and quinoa, and that’s a cracker too. We’re currently campaigning for them to put their power chocolate shake back on the menu – our afternoons are so empty without it.
Where: Locations here
Order: Seasonal salads
The Lowdown: Black Truffle in Belsize Park is our new home from home. Ever since our wifi in the office went to the dogs, we’ve made this quaint coffee shop our new hangout. Their lunchtime options are sensational – there’s everything from chilli with rice to whopping Reuben sandwiches and lasagne. We totally dig their seasonal salads which change daily. Last time we visited we dug into a bowl of green beans with truffled mushrooms, quinoa with nubs of feta and spears of asparagus, and a falafel salad. It would also be rude not to try their blondie/millionaires shortbread hybrid. Too good.
Where: 41 England’s Ln, London NW3 4YD
May Eats: Dinner
Order: Pork bun
The Lowdown: When Smokestak left Dinerama for pastures new, they left a beef brisket hole in our hearts. But that meaty emptiness was soon filled by Dinerama newbies, Lagom. These guys churn out a right meat fest all cooked on their live-fire Swedish BBQ. If you’ve got a penchant for meat on the bone – go for their pork riblets with a sweet, sticky glaze. But there’s something so infinitely satisfying about warm, tender coal-roasted pork shoulder squished between a BBQ bun. No matter how grey the day, this place brings the sun out.
Where: Dinerama, 19 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3EJ
Order: Hellim (grilled halloumi)
The Lowdown: Green Lanes has yet to be touched by the murky hands of the gentrification gang. This street has character – there’s dodgy phone shops that double up as hardware stores, there’s family-run bakeries and some of the best Turkish restaurants in London. But when there’s a plethora of choice, and enough hummus to feed Scarborough twice over – finding one that you know is decent can be a tough ask. Enter Gokyuzu, by far the best Turkish in all of the land. There’s sharing platters of meat, amazing mezze and plenty of dips, bread and baba ghanoush to enjoy. Book in advance, this place fills up quickly.
Where: 26–28 Grand Parade, Green Lanes, London N4 1LG
