Once food was considered to be the least tempting part of a trip to the capital of England, London… The culinary highlight at its best would be a breakfast consisting of sausages and beans, or authentic fish and chips, and in the worst case we would be satisfied by eating local junk food. 11 years ago, when I flew to London for the first time with my girlfriends, our go to meal was a Subway sandwich, but in recent years the culinary scene in London has gone through a serious makeover, and you can no longer say there is nothing to eat in London. On the contrary, the impressive culinary scene caused me to develop serious FOMO before our last flight to the city!
The selection is huge, so I decided to create a list of my most favorite places we went to on our trip to save you the headache of searching, if you’re planning a trip to London yourself. I won’t go as far as to say that these are the best dining places in London, but they are by far the best of the ones I've checked and tried myself 🙂
Warning: The following post should not be read on an empty stomach ?
THE DESSERTS….
SOFT SERVE SOCIETY
A sweet little dessert shop located in Shoreditch, in BOXPARK. As you can assume from the shop’s name, it’s flagship product is soft serve ice-cream, which comes in 4 flavors : vanilla, matcha, coconut and a special changing flavor. And indeed, this soft serve ice-cream is especially good! And if that’s not enough, you can choose from an impressive selection of toppings such as huge marshmallow, caramel nibbles, Japanese Pocky sticks and more… A variety of milkshakes, and cold and hot beverages can also be found at the store, including matcha drinks for those who are fans of the genre.
DOMINIQUE ANSEL LONDON
I first fell in love with Dominique Ansel on Instagram and then for the second {and third and fourth time ?} during my trip to Japan last year. As soon as we decided that we are going to London it was clear to both of us that we are not about to give up on having breakfast one morning at the gourmet dessert chef’s London branch. This time, not only did we devour the monthly cronut {filled with plum jam and creamy lychee ganache}, but we tasted for the first time another some of his other classics – a shot of milk served in a perfect chocolate chip cookie shot glass and the legendary DKA. The avocado toast at the London branch was a little bit disappointing {especially in light of its high price}, so I think it is best to stick to the sweets on the menu. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, we didn’t have the chance to try their afternoon tea menu, but it’s totally on my bucket list for the next time I go to London!
PEGGY PORSCHEN CAKES
The most beautiful cake shop I have ever seen is none other than Peggy Porschen’s cake shop. It is difficult to explain in words how amazing this place actually is, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words and so I have a feeling the photos will do the job ? {By the way, it is true that normally such good looking sugar coated cakes do not taste as good as they look, but in this case that is completely untrue… best to come with an empty stomach and a shot of insulin in your purse 🙂 }
DOUGHNUT TIME
The Australian doughnut chain has made its mark on London with no less than 6 shops – and for good reason! In Soho, we had a delicious doughnut called “I Make Honey Moves” consisting of caramel glaze, toffee custard-filled topped with a chocolate drizzle and crushed Crunchie, and it was finger lickin’ good! The over-the-top doughnuts are fresh and extremely tasty – not to be missed, but definitely recommended to share to avoid a sugar poisoning {especially in light of the crazy amount of tasty foods in this city!}
BISCUITEERS
A place worth visiting when you are in Notting Hill is this very sweet coffee shop that offers glazed cookies designed in a variety of shapes. Whether you want to take a stylish coffee break in what was crowned by Vogues as one of the Most Instagrammable Places in London, or whether you’d like to buy a sweet souvenir from a hypnotising selection of cookie boxes, do not give up on visiting the sweetest neighbourhood in town.
THE RESTAURANTS…
FARM GIRL CAFE
The Farm Girl Cafe in Notting Hill is one of the coffee shops I was not willing to give up on visiting during our time in London. I’ve seen it on Instagram endless times and had a very strong feeling about it that it is not one of those places that only looks good but that the food is actually great – and, I was totally right!
This little cafe is on Portobello road, but despite its central location, it is very easy to miss. The entrance to the cafe is through a little gate leading to an inner garden, where you almost always have to wait in line for a table, but it is totally worth it, I promise! So what does this special coffee shop have to offer? A variety of hot and cold drinks, among them special unique versions of Rose Latte {a combination of coffee and rose water} and super-coffee drinks {a new food trend that combines coffee and with super foods}, special salads, avocado toast, acai and granola bowls, blueberry pancake {perfect! ?}, sandwiches and more! The atmosphere is amazing and the service is great, Don’t miss!
BALUCHI
Our last evening at The LaLit London Hotel, which was particularly nice out, we chose to spend at the nice hotel Indian restaurant on the balcony, facing the main street. We started with excellent cocktails seasoned with interesting Indian touches, and continued to have an amazing Indian dinner by the Chef Santosh Shah.
The restaurant menu is contemporary Indian cuisine and is inspired by different regions in India while all the ingredients are organic. We ordered Samosa, Butter Chicken, Naan bread with garlic, excellent lentil dal, and some more greats dishes. I must also mention the amazing desserts we were served at the end of our meal. Indian cuisine is one of my favorites, but I must admit I never encountered good dessert at an Indian restaurant until this one. Obviously the desserts we were served weren’t classic Indian desserts, but the chef managed to create amazing desserts which included Indian spices which could not be ignored. A real treat for the taste buds! If you’re looking for high-end Indian food, don’t skip lunch or dinner at this great restaurant, even if you’re not an official hotel guest.
PHO SOHO
If you are a fan of Vietnamese food don't miss out on having a meal at one of the many Pho restaurants scattered around town. The atmosphere is authentic, the dishes served are large, fresh and rich, and the prices are great. We ordered Gỏi cuốns spring rolls for our first course, with Gỏi gà vietnamese chicken salad, and for the main course Phở chín meat soup and Bum Noodles that come with a fried spring roll. All of the dishes were simply perfect! So far, it seemed that Monsieur Vuong in Berlin was my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, but I think Pho Soho has beat it!
ANDINA
The hipster neighbourhood Shoreditch is the place to find authentic ethnic restaurants, and the Peruvian restaurant Andina is one of the most famous ones. The restaurant serves Peruvian soul food, like fresh ceviche dishes, excellent chicharron sandwiches, homemade style dishes, snacks that are fun to pair with a Peruvian beer, a Pisco cocktail, or a selection of natural juices.
BUSABA EATHAI
If you are the kind of girl that’s into Thai food you better get to know Busaba Eathai. This restaurant chain is the place to get a good Thai meal for great prices. We had lunch in the chain’s first branch in Soho, and enjoyed a wonderful business menu {served between 12-7pm} that comes with a first and main course for less than 13 Pounds!
FLAT IRON
A meat restaurant with a particularly cool atmosphere, delicious food and convenient prices. We ate at the Covent Garden branch, which was became lively early in the afternoon, and enjoyed a very well made steak with great side dishes, a tasty cocktail, and the big surprise – for dessert – amazing ice-cream gifted when you leave the restaurant. I imagine that at peak hours the restaurant is especially busy, and that a long line probably forms, so it's best to prepare accordingly {you can’t book in advance}.
ON THE ROAD…
PRET A MANGER
Pret , in my opinion, is probably the largest food chain in London, we encountered another one of its branches at almost every 100 meters. At first I thought it was just another chain of coffee shops and didn’t really get what the excitement was all about, but after a short tour inside one of the stores, I realized that it is a lot more than just a simple cafe. Inside PRET you can find a huge selection of sandwiches, salads, fruit, snacks, hot meals, pastries, and juices – all freshly made as if it was just prepared that moment {I wouldn’t be surprised if that is exactly the case because the turnover there is crazy}.
THE COMMISSION
I have been to {and eaten at} many air ports around the world, and never have I seen such a cool, trendy restaurant inside an airport! This surprise of a restaurant has it all; from delicious breakfasts, smoothies and hot drinks, through hamburgers, steaks and salads, to impressive cocktails. And of course like any other in place in London, here too can you enjoy afternoon tea in style. 🙂 The restaurant is set in terminal 4 at Heathrow, and is open as early as the first flight and until the very last.
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6 Responses
I love London! I haven’t been since 2006 but I’m planning to go back soon! I can’t wait to check out some of the places you recommended here.
My last trip to London was back in 2007, and London has changed so much since then!! You’re going to have a fantastic trip 🙂
Thank you for your outstanding effort on delivering this very good post
You’re very welcome 🙂
Such a fantastic place you visit and this post is really mouth watering food. I too got a blog https://needo.com/blog Thank you!
Thanks Ann! Glad you enjoyed this guide ?