I’m a firm believer that if you live in London there is hardly any excuse to eat shit food. Yes, we all fall for a Pret for lunch when we need something quick, but that’s about convenience (and give me their pulled pork and quinoa hot pots any day over a sad, sad ham sandwich). When you have time to plan, there is no point going to Pizza Express when you have Franco Manca; no point going to Burger King when you have, well, ONE MILLION other burger places to try.
Here’s what I’ve been eating recently:
The World Peace Burger by Lucky Chip and Bleecker St
I believe it was foodie fate that I was already going to The Old Queen’s Head for a gig when two burger legends announced they were coming together to create one SUPER BURGER. Lucky Chip‘s current residency at the Islington pub meant they were serving up this hybrid in conjunction with Bleecker St. It was all the meat, all the cheese and so much grease I could feel it pretty much seeping out of my skin. DELICIOUS.
The Old Queen’s Head, 44 Essex Road, Islington, N1 8LN
Lunch at Bang Bang Canteen
There is absolutely nowhere good to eat near where I work. It is only offices so the expected chains have muscled in and you can’t even get a quick ‘build your own’ sarnie so it gets pretty dull. I tried Bang Bang on Warren St for lunch and had a few appetisers as I couldn’t decide on what to get. Service was slow but the food was pretty good: sweet potato and prawn fritters, salt and pepper squid and a pork belly bao. It was lacking some punch in the way of ginger or maybe coriander, but it was nice to change it up a bit.
53Warren St, London, W1T 5NL
Jerk chicken at Loaf
Tottenham Court Road isn’t just a place to get a cheap second hand iPhone, although it still holds the crown in that particularly niche shopping department. There’s some pretty good places to grab lunch around there now, including the recent additions of Big Fernand and DF/Mexico, but for something less heavy there’s Loaf. I love their jerk chicken served up with red cabbage, brown rice and a bit of sweet potato mash. It’s warming and filling and can be taken away too – perfect to cheer up a miserable afternoon at your desk.
93 Tottenham Court Rd, London, W1T 4HL
Christmas menu tasting at Restaurant de Paul
Did you know awesome sandwich and pastry makers Paul have a restaurant? Somewhere you can perch for the evening, have a glass of vino and eat proper food from proper plates. Tucked at the bottom of Tower 42 on Old Broad St we tried the upcoming Christmas menu*, full of fresh breads, incredible cheese scones, charcuterie and cheese. As if that wasn’t enough it was then followed up by an array of puddings, including a praline chocolate log in the shape of cute little house. Festive or what?
Tower 42, Ground Floor, 25 Old Broad St, London, EC2N 1HQ
New menu at Columbia, Hilton Docklands Riverside
I went to try the new menu at the Hilton Dockland‘s revamped restaurant, Columbia*. It has awesome views over over the river to Canary Wharf and has its own private boat to take you there if you can’t be bothered schlepping it on the bus. My favourite from the new dishes was the black pudding scotch eggs; crispy on the outside, soft runny yolks inside. Exactly my type of comfort food.
Any places marked with an asterisk (*) mean I was invited to try the food for free. All reviews are honest and unbiased and if it’s on this blog, that means it was delicious!