The other day I found myself, once again, scrolling aimlessly through social media in a sort of comatose trance when I was suddenly startled by three words: halloumi fries London: deep-fried cheese. mmmm cheese.
Quick somebody pinch me, and why am I only hearing about this now?
An hour later I was on a Tube hurtling towards Camden Markets, specifically Oli Barba‘s.
They are the facilitators of these guilty pleasures: scrumptious deep-fried fingers of halloumi cheese. These crunchy sticks of golden cheesy goodness are warm and gooey on the inside and deliciously crispy on the outside. The fries are drizzled with zaa’tar yoghurt, a tasty sweet glaze, then affectionately sprinkled with mint leaves, pomegranate seeds and chilli flakes.
Curious to see what all the excitement is about halloumi fries?
Whitecross Street food market in London is a longstanding secret with locals and gets very busy at lunchtime.
This little gem has something for even the fussiest palate – including falafel, burgers, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Moroccan and my personal favourite, hog roast.
The area is also brimming with history, so take a walk around to view old buildings and plauques.
We live in east London and one of our favourite things to do when the weather is being reasonable is to walk along Regent’s Canal.
The famous body of water winds its way through various boroughs of London, and we recently discovered some fab waterside dining, accessible from both Angel or Highbury tube/train stations.
If you’re a foodie eating in London, you’d be mistaken to think there’s only over-cooked food and fish and chips. Far from your typical pub fare, London offers so much for the discerning foodie, especially when you know where to look.
Best spots for eating in London
Fine dining
Located in London’s Victoria and serving some of the city’s finest Italian fare, diners at TOZI will find something so much more than the expected. TOZI specialises in Venetian cicchetti, or smaller sized plates designed to share as well as a selection of wood fired pizzas. Dishes at TOZI are inspired by the casual dining of the Veneto regions with a strong emphasis on seasonal and quality ingredients, sourced where possible from the best Italian producers.
Italian born, head chef Maurillo has years of experience running Italian restaurants in some of the city’s most exclusive private member clubs including Shoreditch House, and the menu reflects exactly the fine dining calibre you’d expect.
Paired with an Italian wine list and a sophisticated classic Italian (of course) cocktail menu, don’t be surprised if you find yourself already planning your return. And if you’re the type to get a bit of ‘menu paralysis’ whereby you’re unable to order when there’s just too amazing choices, you can leave the ordering in the very capable hands of the wait staff at TOZI and you won’t be disappointed.
Meals are generously portioned, deliciously fresh and cooked to perfection. And while the meals are certainly a win, it’s the friendly service that adds so much more to the experience.
The bar menu includes a signature Spritz, home-made barrel-aged Negroni and Amaro TOZI, served straight from the barrel.
Casual dining/street food
Truly one of the most fun places for eating in London – street food at the Brick Lane Food markets!
Located a short walk from East Aldgate and Shoreditch stations, you’ll find absolutely every cuisine you could possibly imagine (and many you didn’t even know existed!) here.
Just walking into the food market area, your senses will certainly be overcome with the buzzing atmosphere of authentic cuisines served up with pride. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon. Just make sure to arrive hungry!
And if street food isn’t your thing, while you’re in the Brick Lane market area, you can visit boutique food shops, bars, restaurants, cafes as well as a cereal bar called Cereal Killer (yes they serve boxed cereal only and yes people queue to eat it). There’s truly something for everyone here.
While you walk off those calories, enjoy the art, craft and second-hand markets that spill out over several streets and include hundreds stalls selling clothing, artwork, handmade items, vintage items and antiques, collectibles, you name it. It’s essentially more shopping than you’d likely be able to do in a day.
Afternoon tea
It’s the quintessential London experience to enjoy an afternoon or high tea and Scoff & Banter, located just below The Radisson Blu Edwardian, Bloomsbury Street Hotel in Covent Garden is just the place to do it.
Located a short stroll from many of the city’s theatres such as the popular Cambridge Theatre, it’s a great spot to enjoy a matinee and high-tea experience. Scoff & Banter offers afternoon tea experiences that are often themed to accompany the performance taking place at the theatre.
The afternoon experience offers a menu both adults and children will adore with the traditional tea sandwiches, scones, jam and cream and decadent sweets.
After tea, enjoy a bit of retail therapy in the popular Seven Dials shopping district loaded with a heavy mixture of international brands as well as smaller boutiques.
No matter your preference in dining styles, spending just a few days in London will still allow you to experience a whole world of delicious dining experiences.
About the author
Gwen O’Toole is an accomplished writer focussing on travel, events management and food and wine. She also published a fiction novel while spending the past eight years as a magazine editor and travelling the globe before launching The Ideas Library, a creative services and event management company. She is regularly featured in a variety of travel and leisure publications and blogs.
We were a little worn out on Saturday night so decided to take a wander around our own Dalston neighbourhood to discover a fab deal under £40 for both of us (one of our dining and entertainment challenges of late).
I was being indecisive with regards to what I felt like eating, but knew I wanted to try something different, and maybe even sample dishes, tapas style. I’d been to Evin in Dalston previously for a daytime meeting, but never noticed the extensive menu.
The sharing plates menu outside on Kingsland High Street caught our attention, and when we saw some food being served we were sold…. it looked good!
We decided to give this nice little spot a try, and we were impressed that the staff brought over a delicious plate of bread and dips with an apology that our drinks had been delayed. Happily munching away on this delicious starter, we browsed the large Turkish-inspired menu and settled on a plate of vegetable moussaka and the hot meze selection (cheese roll, falafel, fried courgette, calamari, fried muscles, halloumi cheese, grilled sausage and small meatball, just £11.95).
Long story short, our feast was nothing short of delicious; beautifully presented, and accompanied by a good old fashioned Long Island Iced Tea each, our bill skimmed in at around £35, and we left feeling totally happy with our lot. Highly recommended.
Evin Café, Bar & Restaurant
115 Kingsland High Street
closest tube, Dalston Kingsland or Dalston Junction
Long ago, in an Aussie country town called Moree, an Irish girl working in our local pub told us to look up a cool dance remix of Eminem’s Without Me, by “Drunken Monkey.” This ended up being one of our very fave party tracks from 2001/02 onwards. We played the !!!! out of it.
It’s no wonder that when we first showed up in London and were told about a cool spot in Shoreditch called just this, we added it to the top of our must-visit list, for sentimental reasons.
Cooper got all sentimental again this weekend, and on his turn to organise “Date Night, Saturday in London for under £40”, he chose this fab little spot, Drunken Monkey(Shoreditch High Street), just down the road from where we’re based in Dalston.
Also, he discovered via their website that they have a wicked cocktail deal on from midday to 8pm, plus you can buy a bucket of 4 beers (a delic Japanese brew, Kirin, no less!) for a £10er.
We arrived at around 5pm and were lucky enough to only-just score a table – I’d advise booking here no matter what time you plan to go, it’s popular. To a beat of cool old-skool dance pop, and funky tunes from the likes of Fat Boy Slim and Scissor Sisters, we merrily perused the menu of Asian-inspired cuisine which you can either eat as a main meal (one larger dish each), or order as a set of smaller dishes – tapas or izakaya style. This time around we decided to share, and for under £20 enjoyed chicken & vegetable gyoza, “Drunken ribs”, spring rolls and Singapore noodles. This is just one of many combinations we could have ordered for under £20. As always, the food was lovely.
With £10 left in our budget and a little time to indulge in Happy Hour deals, we decided to try something from the cocktail menu – at just £4.50 each it would be rude not to. Cooper was very pleased with his choice of Shanghai Sling featuring a base of gin and sherry liqueur (bit sweet for me though); and our waitress suggested I’d like the Drunken Pear with vodka and prosecco among other ingredients. She was right, by the way – totally could have had another three, but Cooper reminded me of times gone by where several more cocktails seemed like an awesome idea at the time… not so much the next morning.
If you enjoy a vibrant atmosphere, scrumptious Asian fare and a cheeky (monkey) deal on drinks, reserve a space here.
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