Eating London

Posted on Apr 21st, 2025

by Elaine

Categories:

Food Diary

This spring, I had the opportunity to travel to London! London is a multicultural city with people and food from around the world. I was excited to try foods I don’t have access to in rural Montana. Before I got to London, I wrote down a list of things I wanted to try, ranging from classic British dishes to Turkish and Thai. As a culture, the English typically like a quick grab-and-go lunch — and you can’t really get Turkish food for breakfast — so that left me with 7 dinners to experiment with. I wasn’t able to eat everything on my list, but I still got to experience a lot. I didn’t snap pictures of everything I ate, but this is a pretty good overview.

As I said above, a typical lunch is something quick, often a sandwich. My first meal when we arrived in London was a coronation chicken sandwich, a dish that was first eaten during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth I, and has evolved into a popular sandwich filling.

There was an amazing French bakery chain all over London called PAUL. One of their bakeries was a 2-minute walk from my hotel, so I was treated to a delicious breakfast every morning. They had everything from sweet treats like eclairs and almond croissants to delicious quiches and sandwiches.

Brick Lane is where the Bangladeshi communities first moved when they came to London, so it has great Indian restaurants! I tried a new curry I hadn’t seen before: “bhuna” with lamb, because lamb is delicious and we don’t eat it enough in the US 🙂

I heard about Nando’s (a South African chicken chain) from my pastor (who is originally from Zimbabwe), so I had to try it. Chicken and chips 🙂

I went to Iceland last summer and ate Skyr (Icelandic yogurt) most mornings. While I didn’t think it was exceptionally better than yogurt at home, I was bummed they didn’t have this brand in the US (arguably the best). When I saw it in the grocery store by the tube station, I grabbed one!

I visited a Belgian pub that has imported Belgian beers made by Trappist monks. Belgium is also the origin country of French fries, which were excellent. In the middle is a Flemish stew ordered by a friend; she let me try a bite, and it was the best stew I have ever tasted (still jealous I didn’t order it). On the right is my brat with crispy onions, sourkraut, and tomato relish (it tastes similar to ketchup if it were chunky and didn’t have all the processed junk in it).

I was in London over “National French Bread Day,” and PAUL gave everyone free baguettes. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try some European cheese while I had a chance, so in the box is French brie, blue stilton, red Leicester, and mature cheddar.

No trip to England is complete without experiencing an afternoon tea! I enjoyed mine outside of London in Bath (beautiful Roman sites). The servers give everyone their own little pot of tea and are very adamant that you should not help them move anything around the table, or it might get too chaotic. They serve tea sandwiches and tiered platters of goodies: savory on the bottom, scones in the middle, and sweets on top. You start with the sandwiches, then eat the others from bottom to top. Always jam before clotted cream on the scones!

I went to a popular Asian chain restaurant called Wagamama’s and enjoyed their pork belly ramen, good to the last drop!

Another popular chain is Pret-a-Manger (usually people shorten it to “Pret”). They do a £5 meal deal so you can buy a sandwich, “crisps,” and a drink. All of their sandwiches were great, and some outlets have a hot case with soups and sausage rolls.

There was a great market right outside King’s Cross station with all kinds of goodies: cheese, sweets, samosas, you name it. I got some yummy cannoli.

There was an adorable little Lebanese restaurant right next the the PAUL by my hotel, and the food was *amazing.* I had samboussek (fried parcels with feta cheese inside) and a lamb kofta & butter bean tagine (lamb meatball stew) with couscous. It was deliciously aromatic — so good in fact that I broke my rule of eating as much different food as I can on a vacation, and went back later in the week to eat it again.

I have been a fan of croque monsieur (French ham & cheese sandwiches) since we made them in my high school cooking class, but I was really surprised to see that they are extremely popular in London. PAUL had a great one that my boyfriend had for breakfast most mornings, and pictured on the right is a caprese version.

Our whole group ate at a Turkish restaurant before we enjoyed a Symphony performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. We got mezze that included tzatziki (cucumber/garlic yogurt), isplanakli (spinach/garlic), zeytinyagli patlican (eggplant), hummus, parsley/mint/pomegranate tabbouleh, kisir (bulgur/hazlenut/walnut), borek (filo with feta cheese and spinach), falafel (fried, spiced, chickpea patties), and fried prawns and calamai — it was quite the feast, but very delicious.

The best dining experience of the whole trip was probably this hole-in-the-wall pasta restaurant we stumbled into. I guess you were supposed to have a reservation (even though it was lunchtime and not busy), but they seated us at the bar — which turned out to be even better because we got to watch them cook everything! One employee was making ravioli right in front of us, and I got to ask him questions. They make all their pasta and sauces fresh every morning; everything was spectacular! Even the straws were made of dried pasta!

I also enjoyed a Sunday roast at The George pub, one of the few buildings from 1600 still standing after WWII. I had the beef, and it comes with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, grilled cabbage, and veggies with bechamel — then you drench everything in delicious red wine gravy.

Coming over the next few weeks are a series of 6 recipes inspired by dishes I ate in London:

Coronation Chicken Salad (English)
Croque Monsiuer (French)
Chicken Bhuna Curry (Indian)
Lamb Kofta & White Bean Tagine with Couscous (Lebanese/Moroccan Fusion)
Flemish Stew & Roast Potatoes (Belgian)
Pasta Alla Carbonara (Italian)

Elaine

Hi, I'm Elaine! Welcome to my food blog; I am a Montanan, an Eagle Scout, and lover of all things food. I love to cook and bake, as well as share my creations with others.