London Eats, Restaurants & Recommendations
Mr. Sweet and I got engaged in London so the other side of the pond is forever associated with one of the most surreal & heartfelt moments of my life. Our life together up until that point consisted of enjoying a handful of sophisticated restaurants & impressive local eateries. Now, there’s no end to the time we can spend discovering a whole lot more of them!
From “take away,” dining in or strolling around, here are a few eateries, restaurants & recommendations from our adventures in London one early & chilly November.
Dishoom
Above: Vada Pau (warm handmade bread with spicy tomato chutney), Okra Fries, India Gimlet & other Dishoom cocktails
Below: Vada Pau, Chole Puri, Mutton Pepper Fry & House Black Daal
You can’t do London without eating at a Dishoom. Dishoom sets the stage for what trendy London restaurants are like: charismatic, culinary & captivating. Inspired by the iconic and century-old Irani cafes of Mumbai, formerly Bombay, Dishoom’s dishes are without a doubt made, “From Bombay with love.”
Mr. Sweet, his sister and I dined at Dishoom Covent Garden on our first night in London. The chai poured and served to us while waiting in line for the restaurant was a warm welcome to the London chill. Once inside, we felt like we were in a metropolitan part of the world. The restaurant buzzed with groups gleeful for a time to laugh and share a meal, date nights, and tourists like ourselves giddy & enthralled by the glitz and glamour of a London restaurant.
When you make it to Dishoom, try what we had: Okra Fries, Vada Pau, Chole Puri, Mutton Pepper Fry & House Black Daal (a Dishoom signature dish). Dishoom has a cookbook, which encapsulates the restaurant’s provenance, origin story & its admired dishes for all to recreate at home.
Around England
Scotchtails in Borough Market & Coffee at Bath
Scotch Eggs are deep fried, filled with pork and has a signature soft boiled egg in the nucleus. The final verdict? It’s good! Worth trying? Sure! When in London, go ahead and try this gastropub or food stall staple. Head to Scotchtails in London’s Borough Market. Also pictured here are pastries & lattes from our short stint in Bath.
BAO
Various locations throughout London | website | @bao_london
Various Baos, including Classic, Confit Pork & Fried Chicken
BAO is another staple when it comes to London eats. Don’t miss this place! The buns at BAO are playful, high-quality & satisfying. The meats or veggies between the steamed milk buns make BAO exceptional. With marinated meats, peanuts, panko crumbs & pickled veggies, BAO doesn’t mess around when it comes to presenting a sophisticated version of a bao, a celebrated and beloved Taiwanese bite. When at BAO, order the Classic & Fried Chicken.
Hoppers
Various locations throughout London | website | @hopperslondon
Hopper bowl with chutneys (condiments that accompany South Asian dishes) and sambols (like a Sri Lankan relish)
Inspired by the toddy shops of Sri Lanka, Hoppers portrays a modern approach to Sri Lankan and South Asian cuisine. Food comes family-style so come hungry because there will be plenty to dig into. What makes Hoppers memorable is in its name. A Hopper is a crispy bowl-shaped pancake made from fermented rice and coconut milk, which you tear apart to dip into chutneys and sambols.
We also enjoyed the Lamb Shoulder Kari, whose meat falls off the bone slowly & tenderly. Likewise, the Koth Roti is filled with chopped roti, stir-fried veggies, a light curry sauce, as well as protein or jackfruit. The dish comes in a shareable size, which is a good thing because you’ll be loading serving after serving on your plate.
This was our first time having Sri Lankan food and enjoying it in London was as the British say, brilliant!
Darjeeling Express
Darjeeling Express. 2A Garrick Street, WC2E, Covent Garden | website | @darjeelingldn
Lamb Tamatar Gosht, Prawn Malai Curry & assorted rice & curries
Featured in Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Darjeeling Express is led by founder, storyteller & Chef Asma Kahn. You can feel her poetry & passion in the restaurant’s dishes, which sing their way back to her family’s home in Calcutta, India. Each plate of curry, daal or sacred biryani is made by the talented hands of an all-women culinary team.
My favorite dish was the Prawn Malai Curry because I love shrimp and I love a good curry—a match made in Indian food heaven. Darjeeling Express is revered for its biryani. We missed out on that experience so we will definitely be there next time for it.
Yet we were fortunate enough to bump into Chef Kahn as we were leaving the restaurant. Here we are after a quick and pleasant introduction. I got to tell her how inspiring her story is. Watch her Chef’s Table episode to see what I’m talking about.
We ate at Darjeeling Express shortly after Mr. Sweet proposed, so here’s a selfie of us after we agreed to spend a lifetime creating new adventures (and eating at the world’s best restaurants and eateries) together, for a lifetime!
Thank you for reading!
With glamour,
Rizzy