Most Americans still believe that food in the United Kingdom is tasteless, bland and boring. That’s especially true for those who have never been there. But on my last trip here in 1985, nearly every meal my family and I had fit that description, except for the high tea nearly Windsor Castle. We were overjoyed when we headed to Paris, because we knew that we would finally have something edible.
Yet, if you have visited in England or Scotland in the last few decades, you know that this is one of the biggest misconceptions out there. Nowhere is this more evident than in London, where the culinary growth has benefited from waves of immigration from its former colonies, particularly from India and the Caribbean. In fact, travelers have said you can find better Indian cuisine here than in the subcontinent.
I’m not sure about that, but I do know that when I connected through Heathrow eight years ago, I ordered a chicken curry dish for lunch, and it was better than anything I’ve had in the states. If this humble airport food stand offered superior Indian dishes, I knew things have certainly changed for the better.
Camden Market
As I mentioned last week, we visited this North London area, and RAS and I shared a rice bowl with fried pork, shrimp, chicken and vegetables. There was plenty of other options here, but I wanted to try Humble Crumble, which has several locations around the city. They serve a favorite English dessert made of a crumble mixture, fruit and custard or cream. Unfortunately, I was too full to consider it.
The Swan Pub
This establishment was close to where we were staying, on the north edge of Hyde Park. Although the building itself is at least a century and half old, the interior is a mix of traditional and modern. We ordered fish and chips, meat pie and quiche, along with some ales and cocktails. British food, especially from a pub, gets a bad rap, but these dishes were flavorful and not heavy, even the fried items.
Emilia’s Crafted Pasta
We came across this quiet Italian restaurant in St. Katharine Docks after walking Tower Bridge and not wanting to have something touristy. We ordered pastas for lunch, which were pappardelle with bechamel bolognese, casarecce with walnut sauce and radiator with tomato sauce and burrata, along with some toasted bread. The dishes were simple, but probably because the pastas were made in-house, they were elevated to something special. It also helped that it was in a scenic marina (with Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee boat) and we had an unhurried lunch to relax.
Colonel Saab
If there was one restaurant I would recommend if you should go to London, it’s this one near Trafalgar Square. While it might be a bit pricy, it offers the kind of dishes that aren’t common in your local Indian restaurant. We did order butter chicken, which is standard for most diners, but we also tried a few complete new to me – paneer-e-pukhtan (cheese in a creamy pumpkin and tomato sauce and vegetables), Mensaab’s chicken curry (roulade in a spiced saffron cream sauce) and a skikari raan (slow cooked lamb with tomato and pickled onion) – all incredible.
Biscuiteers
Notting Hill has many shops and restaurants as well as the daily outdoor Portobello Road Market. This brightly lit establishment is one I had heard about on a television show, and I was enthralled with the way the cookies (biscuits in Brit-speak) were decorated – truly works of art. The bakery is known for its popular decorating parties and classes. While the cookies themselves are just standard – sugar with a near-fondant textured icing - that didn’t stop me from buying a tin with cat shapes and toys for JRS and NLS.
Borough Market
If you are a foodie, this place just south of London Bridge is a must-do. There are over 100 food, drink and produce stalls, and the variety of ethnic cuisines. Some of them were more out of the ordinary, like Persian, Taiwanese, Iraqi and Cypriot. In fact, I was overwhelmed with the choices of food to have for lunch or just a snack. It might have helped to have taken a tour and pinpoint where to go. I finally settled on Singaporean rice noodles with stir-fried vegetable, which turned out to be a good, healthy option. But I could have spent another day here, for sure.
West Cornwall Pasty Shop
I mention this last item mostly for fun, because this was one of the few decent things I ate during my last trip to London forty years ago. This was from a different place located in Waterloo Station, and it wasn’t as good as everything else I’ve listed here. It had the savory beef and potato mixture in gravy in a flaky crust, but the main problem was it was massive – nearly as big as my head. Just the size alone made it unmanageable, even though it was tasty.
