One thing about London: it has the food. Indian. Chinese. Italian. Japanese. British. Brilliant fusions between them- even down to the desserts. The pastries, doughnuts, cupcakes, croissants, and meringues. It is safe to say that most of the things I did in London were food oriented. I visited London in February for personal celebrations, and the whole itinerary was strategically planned around food venues I had been eager to visit.
- Fatt Pundit – 6.5/10
Our first stop was the Fatt Pundit, an Indo-Chinese restaurant located in Soho. We ordered the Mix Vegetable Momos (£6), Bombay Chilli Mock Chicken (£11), and Hakka Chilli Paneer Lettuce Cups (£10.50). The Momos were steamed, gooey goodness, filled with spicy spinach, mushroom, courgette, and tofu. Admittedly, I had never tried this before, but the distinctive soft texture and the burst of flavour from the fillings stood out to me. Fake meat is not usually my go-to; however, the powerful, smoky flavour of the ‘chicken’ was unforgettable.
Paneer is one of my top five favourite foods, so I can be overly critical when it comes to it but this paneer did not fail to exceed expectations. It was buttery. Fiery. Soft. Basically, everything that a chilli paneer should be. I have never had lettuce cups before, yet I found them to fit in perfect harmony with the heaviness of the paneer.
The only criticism of this restaurant was the price in relation to the size of the dishes. On the other hand, it is central London so any price seems to be justifiable.
- Sunday in Brooklyn – 10/10
The following day we visited Sunday in Brooklyn for brunch. I am a savoury kind of person, however, the pancakes are unmissable here. We ordered a double stack of their hazelnut maple praline, brown butter sunday pancakes, along with the egg sandwich. Indeed, this was a lot of food to consume at 10 am. The pancakes were oozing with the flavour-infused syrup and were the perfect balance of fluffy and filling. The brown butter on top helped balance out the sweetness. Every last inch of it was devoured. The burger is what took me by surprise. Consisting of scrambled eggs, cheddar, Gochujang mayo, potato crisps and a sesame brioche bun. I have since thought about this burger 2-3 times a week since the trip. The soft bun kept the fluffy, light eggs encompassed by the spicy, crunchy potato crisps. The mayo levelled up this simple burger which was packed with flavour and perfect along such a sweet main course.
- Sky Garden – 9/10
Although this doesn’t certify as a food-based location, upon my visit, Sky Garden’s £8 entry included a free hot drink and pastry of sorts. I went with an oat milk latte and pain au chocolat to snack on as we walked around. Having been up The Shard in the past, this undoubtedly beat it by a mile. We visited around 9 am, which meant a peaceful start to the day as it had clear views and a quiet ambience. Sky Garden also has three contemporary British restaurants to offer and two bars, which would be a perfect location to watch the sunset over the skyline.
- Camden Market 8/10
Located next to Regent’s Canal, we took a calming canal ride from Little Venice to Camden Market, which took you through the London Zoo. Remarkably, we saw several African wild dogs as we cruised along, something you don’t usually run into on a British canal tour. Initially, the selection of food options is overwhelming, so I recommend a stroll to evaluate all your options. Or plan ahead as I did to see the recommendations you may miss when there. We ordered mushroom and truffle oil mac and cheese from The Mac Factory and a vegan beetroot burger from Neat Burger. The burger was juicy and packed with flavour but with the correct balance of vegetables on it, as sometimes I feel as though I am ordering a salad with a burger bun. The mac and cheese was creamy, and the truffle flavour wasn’t overpowering at all. It arrived garnished with breadcrumbs and mushrooms. The overall experience of Camden Market was interesting, with the sheer volume of food stalls and other markets to explore. I highly recommend a canal tour to see other parts of London and have a break from the tube.
- Italian Bear Chocolate 9/10
After visiting Camden market, we made our way to Italian Bear Chocolate which is famous for its artisan luxurious, velvet hot chocolates. We ordered the regular milk (£5.80), regular dark (£5.80) hot chocolate and added the ‘triple chocolate’ onto the milk hot chocolate for an extra £1.90. Although on the pricier side of hot drinks, you can’t go here and not get the added chocolate. There was also the option to give it a twist with a selection of flavourings from cinnamon, ginger, chilli, cardamom and black pepper. When it arrived, I was firstly shocked by the size of the drink, as the smaller option would have been more than enough. Secondly, it was like a mug of thick melted chocolate with the aromas of roasted cocoa. The taste was sweet and melted in my mouth. About a third of the way through, I was full. This was a problem as I had just had the mac and cheese, so was already on dairy overload. The vegan option, the dark hot chocolate, was the perfect balance of bitter and creamy. I am not a dark chocolate type of person, however, I found this to be better than the milk one. So, although on the pricey side of drinks, I feel it’s justifiable as it was basically a dessert. I recommend getting the smaller servings as the medium was hard to finish.
We visited a couple more locations, such as Box Park in Wembley, Humble Crumble (which was my favourite of the trip), and Omotesando Koffee, where I got the best-iced latte. Humble Crumble is a small dessert venue where you can customise your very own small pot of crumble. You can select different crumble bases and toppings such as apple and cinnamon or berry and they have a selection of custards as well as extras such as glazed marshmallow topping.
Overall, the trip was a huge foodie’s success. I love London, but only for the food!
Written by: Elliana Hopwood
Edited by: Izzy Bailey