Generally when eating out in London I like to experiment. There’s far too many cuisines, let alone restaurants, gastro-pubs, pop-ups and “dining experiences” for me to be satisfied with the same old local all the time. However when I have visitors, I like to mainly take them to my tried and true spots – those that I know have great food, lively atmospheres and friendly waitstaff, with a little something extra to make them special. Most of these are central, as that tends to be where visitors want to be, but I’m looking forward to finding similar spots all over the city as I continue to explore! Most of them also take bookings, as I find visitors are generally less adapted to a two-hour wait in the freezing cold than your average Londoner. While my sister Zoe was visiting in July we went to a few of my favourites, from casual Japanese to brunch high in the sky.
Breakfast at Aqua Shard
The View From the Shard allows you to admire London from the very top of the city, but did you know you can still enjoy fantastic panoramas over the city and a delicious brunch at AquaShard restaurant? It’s a few floors down, but you can still spot many of the city’s iconic buildings, from the London Eye to St Paul’s to the Gherkin. The breakfast menu had a great range – Zoe went for the full English breakfast and I had the vegetarian version, but there were also pastries, kedgeree, fancy “greasy spoon” sandwiches and loads more! Unfortunately I was heading to work afterwards so couldn’t sample the breakfast cocktails, but Zoe was happy to taste-test and reported that they were delicious. The things she does to help me out!
AquaShard’s website – bookings taken (and you’ll need to book well in advance)
Flesh & Buns
Flesh & Buns was one of the first restaurants to make it onto my Tried and True list, due to pure deliciousness. The concept is that you choose a flesh, from options such as mouth-meltingly good duck, delicious pork belly, or tasty teriyaki salmon, and then assemble it in steamed buns with sauces and salad. It might sound quite simple but it is so so good! I’m not even going to apologise for the poor quality of the above photo because it’s such a miracle I remembered to take one at all before devouring my bun completely. And it’s difficult, but you’re going to want to try not to load up on the delicious sushi starters OR the buns, because their dessert menu is also excellent, featuring such star turns as the below Smores that you cook yourself, or the incredible Kinako custard donuts. Mmmmmm!
Flesh & Bun’s website – bookings taken
Wahaca
Wahaca is fast becoming a London institution, with 14 locations spread across the city and more opening (and UK locations too) seemingly every week. It describes itself as “born from our love of fresh honest Mexican market food”, and the fresh quality is certainly a big part of what I love about it. Flavours that zing off the plate, perfect sharing portions, and healthy tastes add up to a winner of a Mexican restaurant. Their mojito list is also excellent, although sometimes I’m happy just with their simple Citrus Fizz – after I’ve consumed roughly my own body-weight in their mouth-wateringly good guacamole, of course.
While I’m pleased to say that (solely in the interests of research), I’ve so far made it to six different Wahacas, my favourite is Wahaca Southbank, where I took Zoe. Its location right on the riverside is tough to beat, and makes for some outstanding people-watching, Plus, this is where they trial new recipes before sending them out into the Wahaca universe, meaning the specials are always worth a go. In fact, as I type this I already think it might be time to pay it another visit!
Wahaca’s website – no bookings taken
Taro
Of all these spots on my Tried and True list Taro is probably the least well-known, and a part of me definitely wants to keep it that way. There are currently two Taros located a stone’s throw away from each other in the West End, and they are perfect to grab a quick pre- or post-theatre meal. Incredibly fresh sushi, takoyaki that melt in the mouth, and a spicy chicken katsu that you definitely have to try are all top of my recommendations here.
Taro’s website – bookings taken but also worth a walk-up
Burger & Lobster
I’ve blogged about my love for Burger & Lobster before, but this time with Zoe I made sure to go all out and order the grilled lobster. It was delicious, but I think my heart belongs to the lobster roll – this may or may not be because of an unfortunate incident with a slippery metal cracker and a flying lobster claw (I’ll never tell).
Burger & Lobster’s website – some locations can be booked depending on time and group size
Hawksmoor
Lobsters may be fancy and Mexican may be super trendy, but sometimes you just can’t beat a perfectly-cooked steak. Vegetarians, this one probably isn’t for you (although they do have a number of options!) as it’s home to juicy, delicious steaks in every cut you could dream of. Again, if you can manage to save room the desserts are also fabulous – although I went for the rather exciting liquid option of a flaming Rolling Dunder instead!
Hawksmoor’s website – bookings taken
Where are your favourite eating spots when you’re hosting visitors to your town? Do you go for old favourites or throw caution to the wind?!
Having spent a few too many hours recently dreaming over my pictures of Lisbon from my trip last year, I couldn’t resist Natalye of Deutsch Bitte’s gorgeous shots from her Lagos Trip – Relaxing in the Algarve. Those tiles… just beautiful!
Next week it’s our monthly prompt, and the theme this time round is City vs Country. Do you prefer a city break when you travel, or to get out amongst nature? Or combine the two? We would love to hear stories of your best (or worst!) city trips or outdoor adventures. I’m looking forward to reading all the posts!
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- Hawksmoor
Restaurant in City of London United Kingdom
157 Commercial Street
City of London United Kingdom
020 7247 7392
