London Cuisine: Exceeding Expectations

Before starting this journey, we must admit that we joked around with friends that our time in London could be when we dieted to prepare for our month and a half in Italy.  We dream about pasta and gelato and don’t really think much about bangers and mash.  London surprised us and blew-up our dieting plans.  We are very fortunate to have well-traveled friends and family to help shape our experiences and find the best places to eat.

One of the highlights for us was Borough’s Market.  A plethora of food stalls with everything from fresh fruits and vegetables, exotic meats, cheeses, and homemade breads and pastries.  We arrived hungry for brunch after a night out with my friend Julie, who actually recommended that we come here.  We started with the traditional Cheese Toastie at Kappacasein.  This may just look like an adult grilled cheese, but the high-quality ingredients take it to the next level: shredded Montgomery’s cheddar—a nutty, earthy cheese handmade in Somerset—with chopped leeks, onions, and garlic, all melted together between slices of sourdough bread baked by Poilâne, a world-renowned Parisian bakery.  It was a crunchy, gooey, flavorful masterpiece.

We then spotted Pieminister claiming award-winning pies and mash.  With many delicious options like Moo and Blue steak and stilton pie, we decided on the Moo Dog – a beefsteak, smoked bacon, and craft ale pie – topped off with mash and red wine gravy.

For our brunch dessert, coconut pancakes caught our eyes as they are something we have never tried before.  These slightly sweet, cute little disks with a custard-like texture were at a Thai street food vendor called Khanom Krok.

A trip to London would not be complete without a stroll through this open-air market.  We loved it so much that we went back on our last day in search of other traditional British foods. We decided to split two sausage rolls as a little taste test between two food vendors. The first one was from Mrs. King’s pies. This one had a flakey, buttery pastry wrapped around a mildly seasoned ground pork.

The second came from the stand right next door called Ginger Pig. This one looked more like a pork version of a Beef Wellington. The crust was thicker but also a bit greasier. I think because of the much larger ball of sausage in the middle that also had a much stronger seasoning than the first. Both were quite tasty, but the winner was Mrs. King’s.

For dessert, we tried a traditional Eccles cake from Flour bakery. Reminded me of a fancy Fig Newton.

The one type of cuisine that we did come to London with high expectations for was the Indian.  We got a recommendation for a fancy Indian restaurant called Chutney Mary from one of Jimmy’s co-workers, and it did not disappoint.  One of the highlights was the venison samosa that was not only a beautifully plated dish but also a perfect balance of crispy outside and well-seasoned meat inside.

The main dishes of butter chicken and lamb curry were top notch, and we couldn’t help but order an extra serving of Naan to help soak up all the delectable sauce.

The traditional Indian dessert adapted in a contemporary way called Jaipur Honeycomb Cheesecake (or monsoon celebratory cheesecake) was also brilliantly presented.

My Aunt Sharon and my cousins make wonderful creations at a tea shop in their hometown in Kansas, so when they recommended that an afternoon tea at Harrod’s Georgian restaurant was a must-do, we made sure to fit this in.  After watching the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace and viewing the crown jewels and hearing the beautiful London accents, how can you not have a proper afternoon tea? We have actually never had this sort of experience, so this was a unique treat.  The Georgian was opened in 1911 to commemorate the coronation of King George V and is considered one of London’s finest destinations to experience an afternoon tea with classic English flair.

We enjoyed dainty sandwiches, quiches, traditionally baked scones with clotted cream, strawberry jam, lemon curd, and rosehip jam.  The rosehip jam was my favorite, but of course, Jimmy always loves anything lemon.  The finale was a colorful array of tea pastries and a strawberry trifle.  Last, but definitely the most important aspect of afternoon tea, we had their specialty Georgian black tea blend.

I highly recommend a trip to the Georgian for afternoon tea if you are looking for a fun splurge that makes you feel quite British.

We also had a couple recommendations to go to Shoreditch to check out the antique shops and unique atmosphere. We aren’t big shoppers, but this area gave us more opportunities to eat and drink. We relaxed at a little cafe called Albion to people and car watch. The highlight was the sticky toffee pudding. The flavor actually reminded me of the homemade caramels that my dad makes for every Christmas holiday.  We also went with a very British drink – Pimm’s lemonade. It actually tasted a lot like a mojito to me and was quite refreshing on an unusually hot and sunny day in London.

Other notable mentions:

The cottage pie at Boyd’s Grill and Winebar was a perfect blend of slightly sweet, well-seasoned beef layered with fluffy mashed potatoes and topped with a broiled crispy cheese.  And the steamed syrup sponge pudding was gooey and just delicious.  I don’t have words to do it justice.  The sponge pudding was plated directly from the pot by the waitress with cream to pour on top AND ice cream on the side.

A recent favorite of mine that I discovered while living in Boston this past year is the Scotch egg.  We found a contemporary twist on this traditional pubfare at The Laughing Gravy.  Traditionally, a Scotch egg consists of sausage meat wrapped around a poached egg coated in bread crumbs and deep-fried.  This one was actually a seafood variety, which had us nervous as we both prefer pork, but it hit the mark and made our list of top foods to eat in London.  We highly recommend the Smoked Scallop and West Country Crayfish Scotch egg at The Laughing Gravy.

And probably the most traditional English dish….fish and chips with a cider to wash it down…at the Grazing Goat