I ♥ Food in London

LYA just got back from a typical grils’ getaway in London town and all I can think of is the day when I go back there 😀 Indeed, when you live in Switzerland, calm-peaceful-quiet country, and you arrive in CRAZY FUNKY London, you might feel a little bit overwhelmed (but in a good way). We arrived on Friday evening and the 1st thing we thought of was f.o.o.d. As I am a bit of a control freak, I had already prepared a list of restaurants we had to try. So let me share those with you 🙂

Food section at the Portobello Market

 

 Quick Lunch

• The Pie Shop:
  When visiting London during the day, you might not want to spend 2h  having lunch. Let’s keep it simple, affordable but still good please. Quick doesn’t have to mean “average good”. This is why LYA suggests you to go to Covent Garden and enjoy the best pies. You can either decide to sit and enjoy the buzzing atmosphere on the terrace or take your pies to go. It will cost you approx.  £10/ph for a good quality meal 1pie + 1drink. LYA recommends the savoury “goat cheese” pie and the sweet “apple pie” 🙂

Apple Pie at the Pie Shop

 

Asian Style

• Benihana
  Located on Kings Road, in the posh part of London, this asian restaurant chain is quite popular. I had the wonderful occasion to enjoy the diversity of the asian cuisine during N.Y.E and had a blast!  The concept is that the chef cooks in front of you and entertains you with a great cooking show. This way, you are sure you won’t end up with a coakroach in your plate 😉 At the entrance of the outlet you can see a nice exhibition of famous people pictures. The food was awesome: the NYE menu included a varied selection of dishes like sushis, japanese noodle salad, soup, salmon and beef, vegetables and cake. Definitely a good quality/price ratio 😉  If you are looking for the most entertaining asian restaurant in London, I guess this is the one! Sharing a table with other guests definitely creates a friendly atmosphere. Little tip: order yourself the unique “litchi pina colada” or “litchi mojito”… Divine!

M. Chef !

 

Italians Do it Better

• Ciro’s Pomodoro:
  Another restaurant with a unique crazy London atmosphere 🙂 Each evening at Ciro’s restaurant a special theme is set, such as “elvis”, “arabic” etc. The place is full of pictures of the owner posing with the biggest and most famous celebs. It is the original place and it is located in Knightbridge. They serve the best garlic/cheese pizza but also amazing other classics such as margharita pizza. Concerning the desserts, all of them are worth tasting. I advise you to take some shots after your dinner: they have funny names AND are so GOOD.

@Ciro’s – Shooters

Burger-Licious

• Byron Burger:
  The 1st meal we had in London? a classic medium-rare cheeseburger! This restaurant chain has settled all over London but since we were staying in South Kensington we went straight to the nearest venue on King’s Road. As we entered, we were welcomed by some very nice friendly waiters who gave us the menu and prepared our table. The positive aspect of the menu is that they offer skinny burger and my favourite item, the zucchini fries! Little tip: order yourself a large glass of the “best” red wine, extra Byron sauce, and on your way out, grab yourself a well known Byron specialty, the oreo milkshake 😉 The prices are fair, service is efficient, place is clean and cool. On week ends, its better to go a little early as many Londoners like to enjoy a good burger and you may have long lines in front of the venue. Another special aspect of Byron is their “special” monthly burgers such as on Movember, they launched the Mo Burger (picture below) and for Christmas, they launched the “Cheesemas”… Big hits!

Oreo Sundae @Byron

Byron Burger @Byron

Mo’ Burger (special Movember)

 

Traditional Sunday Brunch

• Muriel’s Kitchen:
  As the week end was slowly coming to its end, we decided to gather one last time around an English Sunday brunch. When we first arrived in the hotel’s neighborhood, we passed in front of a cute restaurant with amazing pastries and cakes in the front window. So on our way out, we decided to test it and it turned out it was one of the best brunch in the area. Definitely get some “scones”, served warm with fresh clotted cream and cherry jam (imagine the cream melting on your warm scone yummiiiiii), a cappuccino and a fresh yoghurt with granola and honey. There you go, enjoying a quality meal with quality friends in a quality restaurant 🙂 The price for a meal at Muriel’s kitchen will be around £10-£12/ph. 

Cappuccino @Muriel’s Kitchen

 

Cookies & Cupcakes

• Ben’s Cookies:
  After a day of walking and going around the city, we ended up in the queue waiting for the best cookie ever. Again, thanks to my friend Clemence, I discovered what a cookie should really taste like 😉 Approx. 1.20-1.50£ for a cookie and your ticket to cookie-heaven hihiih. LYA’s favourite one was the “cookie monster”…. Delicious…!!!

Taste the “Triple Chocolate” one…

• Hummingbird Bakery:
  One thing you must know about me? I am THE BIGGEST cupcake fan. I don’t especially like to eat cupcakes but I love the way cupcakes are designed and colored and so cutteeeee !!!! Although you will see cupcakes in a lot of front windows, they are not all good. I advise you to stick to the best pastry shop in London and taste their best seller, the red velvet cupcake.

Red Velvet Cupcake @Portobello Road

 

Cozyness – Home Away From Home

• Jak’s:
  Enter a place of cozyness, warm atmosphere and pleasure. Everything from the interior design to the choice of meals and wines make of this restaurant a place where you could eat each day during lunch AND dinner. The concept is simple: you enter, choose what you would like from the window, you sit and the waiters bring it to you. The dishes are simple, diverse and traditional. For example you will have pesto pasta, fresh fish, italian dishes… Ps: Try the cheesecake, the tiramisu and the cookie 🙂

  

  Cheesecake @Jak’s