London’s Must Eats
In July this year, two of our founders, Tyron and Bianca, set off on their annual European holiday. Any trip to Europe involves time with Bianca’s family in Italy, but this time London called - and the cyclone that is Tyron’s best mate! He and his wife are incredibly connected in London's hospitality scene and were perfectly placed to be Bianca and Tyron’s tour guides as they embarked on a quest to find the city’s most delicious, of-the-moment dishes.
London’s food scene reflects so vibrantly the city’s rich cultural diversity, and the team found the volume of quality offerings nearly overwhelming. From institutions like The River Cafe to the chic Chiltern Firehouse, to exciting young operators like David Carter (whose group includes Oma, Agora, Manteca and Smokestak) and Thomas Straker (Straker's), London is showing very little hangover from the pandemic just a few years on. Tyron and Bianca found the new wave of restaurateurs in London to be passionate, professional and innovative, taking great pride in their craft. They concluded that you could spend months there and barely scratch the surface of its dynamic food scene. It was hard to show restraint, but they’ve highlighted the best of the best below.
Mountain (SoHo)
Cheese and prawn toast. Sweet red prawns with fresh cheese on bread whipped up in Mountain’s in-house bakery.
The River Café (Hammersmith and Fulham)
Pasta with basil pesto and green beans.
Almond Tart with Strawberries.
Berenjak (Soho)
Noon O Mazeh. Mezze-style sharing plates.
26 Grains (Covent Garden)
Peach Yoghurt Bowl. Greek yoghurt, sanguine peach puree, flat peach, almond granola and mint.
Arôme Bakery (Marylebone and Covent Garden)
Honey Butter Toast
Gymkhana (Mayfair)
Kid Goat Methi Keema, Salli, Pao
Minced goat meat and fenugreek spiced kebab with straw potatoes.
Chiltern Firehouse (Marylebone)
Tomato Gazpacho. Chilled tomato soup with basil, fennel and olive oil.
Straker's (Notting Hill)
Doughnuts with pear and crème fraîche.
Mussel flatbread with chilli butter.
Akub (Notting Hill)
Mishmish baklava. Flaky filo pastry, sweet apricots, yoghurt and crunchy pistachios.
Lisboa Patisserie (Golborne Road)
Portuguese tart. Crisp pastry and creamy custard.
Klear Labs (Golborne Road)
Eggs with avocado, dill, basil, parsley, tarragon, oregano, garlic and chives.
Oma (Borough Market)
Charred octopus with green fava, lemon and oregano.