CHEERIO FAM! Lemme tell you, London is my type of city! As a born-and-raised New Yorker, this place just feels right to me. Me siento en casa! It’s vibrant and fast; busy and filled to the brim with things to do. But just like with NY, the thing that hits me most in the happy-feels with regards to London is THE FOOD. The food, which is a representation of the people, who come from all over. London as a city es INTERNACIONAL, and the food reflects that. Just in the section of town we stayed in, Westminster, the streets are lined as far as the eye can see with restaurants! It’s crazy! Persian, Iranian, French, Indian, Italian, Ethiopian. It’s a beautiful sight to behold in terms of cultures represented. Bravo London! Not to mention, in order for an eatery to thrive in such a big city, it has to be legit good. Amiright? YES! So, lemme tell you about all the yummies that I ate whilst in Londontown!
OK, so I’ll preface this food-themed blog post with a disclaimer (well 2 of them actually). First: I’m a bougie bitch. I love street food, just like everybody, but a restaurant with delicious food, a great ambiance, at a decent price…that shit is my kryptonite. Décor, food quality, excellent cocktails with catchy names…ALL matter to me. Haters gunna hate, but all of that adds to the dining experience for me. I research long and hard before I travel, so that I can get the biggest bang for my buck. My methods are tried and true; they haven’t failed me yet. The second disclaimer is that while I love London’s international food scene, for this trip I wanted to taste traditional British eats more than anything else, O sea, comida authentica. So that’s what I did.
Here are my top 6 London Food spots:
We ate a hipster style breakfast in Notting Hill. Got all the movie feels as we walked to the beautiful Farm Girl location, and the food was too pretty to eat! No, I’m being serious, if you could see the colors on this food, you’d think it was fake. I was gobsmacked by how pretty everything looked as it was served. Avocado toast so vibrant and finely garnished that you didn’t wanna touch it or mess it up. Porridge so enticing that you had to stare at it a little before you stirred it up. Oh, and did I mention it was delectable too? Para chuparse los dedos. The whole feel of the restaurant was right up my alley too. Recently harvested farm-to-table food, with minimal but well thought out decor. Fresh flowers on every table, white brick walls, and allada natural light for perfect Insta posts. Loved it!
One evening, we committed ourselves to walk from Hyde Park to our Airbnb in Westboune. Aye, mi madre, that was a mistake. We had spent the whole day on our feet and just wanted a nice place to eat with the ninos (who were extra whiny at this point). It was a little early for a European dinner, like 5 pm, so we just wandered until we found a place that was open and decently priced. We literally stumbled upon Maggie Jones. Best thing we ever did. What a lovely surprise this place was. It’s in an alley, completely unassuming from the outside. Nothing special, or so we thought. Inside is a enchanting rustic fairyland. Dead Ass! Like you stepped into a time warp and came out in an eclectic farmhouse on the French countryside. It was dim, illuminated solely by the light from candles and windows. It felt exclusive in a way, like only locals knew of this special spot. It was a dream…look at my pictures si no me crees. The food didn’t fall behind the decor either. We had delicious crudites (my first time), Pimm’s Cup cocktails (also my first time), and quiches. And as upscale as this place was, they even catered to our kids, who were the only people younger than 20 in sight. It was one of the dopest restaurants I’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting in. I honestly didn’t want to leave. Like ever.
Afternoon tea is my favorite damn meal of the day in England… scones and clotted cream are Britain’s gift to the world. Fight me on this! Afternoon tea is grand, but afternoon tea on a doubledecker bus tour is straight up MAGIC! Fam! Omg! It was perfect! If you are ever in London with kids, do THIS! It’s delicious, it’s authentic, it comes with a lovely bus tour around the city where they take you to all the best touristy sites. Los mas importante para me, though, was that it was the perfect mix of traditional and casual. Brigit’s is not a hoity-toity tea, people weren’t too dressed up and it’s accessible to everyone. It’s just beautiful and fun. It’s a total vibe. 💕🇬🇧
Franco Manca was a Pinterest find. I found out about this chain on a blog post entitled, “Cheap London Eats”. The comments and reviews were unanimous…this place was the shizz. And affordable. AND it just so happened to be located 3 blocks from where we were staying, WEPA! Now, lemme tell you, I’m a pizza snob. I admit it. I spent 2 summers in Italy, and have tasted pizza in the birthplace of the pizza: Napoli. So, I KNOW a good pizza from a bad one. This, Franco Manca, was a damn good pizza. It’s made of sourdough and fire-roasted to perfection. The place itself reminded me of those trendy fast casual places in the US; this felt like a fancier, Italian-themed Panera Bread. Perfect for almuerzo con la familia. El Marido still raves about the Margherita he had, the ninos chugged their fresh-squeezed lemonade and licked their pizza plates so….thumbs all the way up!
If I had to choose our favorite dining experience of our time in London, I think It’d be the time we spent at Cote Brasserie. It was a French place that looked like it was pulled right out of a Parisian Blvd. So homey, yet so upscale. We were afraid that the ninos would be frowned upon, but after a bit of observation, we noticed plenty of families around the joint. 2 things brought us to Cote Brasserie: 1. It was open for dinner at 5:30 and our kids had not yet adjusted to European dinner times. 2. It had a prefixed early dinner menu for 13.5 Pounds that included 3 courses! Bendita Sea! Now, dinner took about 3 hours, but that was part of the charm of the whole place. Like food was meant to be slowly enjoyed in the presence of loved ones, not rushed through. Not to mention, our waiter was a funny Latino man and it made me so happy to converse with an hermano on the other side of the pond. The food though. THAT’S where the friggin magic happened. I ordered a pomegranate martini to start because I’m addicted to fruity martinis and it was so scrumptious, that I ordered 2 more. The kids got a “simple” chicken and potatoes meal, that turned out to be elevated to crazy levels. The Marido and I kept trying to steal food off their plates. And last but not least, I got to try my very first plate of Sardines. Mamma Mia! Lemony and flavorful and flaky. I am hooked, yall! We found out later that Cote Brasserie is a chain, which made me smile. More of that place to go around. 🙂 SO worth a trip to this amazing locale.
We just casually stumbled upon the Covent Garden Market on our way to the British Museum. Totally casual. Turned out being the FUNNEST place in London for our family. It’s like the largest food hall I’ve ever seen, but with live performers everywhere. The opera guy who serenaded us as we strolled was so damn talented. Yummy food was everywhere; there was almost too much of it. I was hella overwhelmed tbh. I sat for a rest after the main course (burgers at Shake Shack…so sue me) before deciding where to get dessert for the familia and I. Papa Dios and Mother Earth came through for me. I got up in somewhat of a trance and walked straight to a small little shop that had beautiful yellow flowers outside of it. It was fate that lead me to Santa Nata. The universe knew that inside I would find my favorite dessert in the world: Pasteis de Nata. OYEME! I have eaten some tasty treats in my life, but none compare to this Portuguese delight. It’s a tiny, flaky, buttery pie shell of sorts (if pie shells were soft and warm and pillow-y). Filled to the brim with some sort of creamy, egg custard-y goodness and then dusted off with cinnamon. I reached nirvana the minute I bit into it. DAYUM! Then, I spent the next 15 mins ogling the bakers creating it from the window. Yea, they have a window where you can watch the whole process taking place. Cool huh? I will scour the US to find another bakery like this soon…mark my words!!
I think I’ll end this post with the sage words of my favorite British Princess: The Duchess Of Sussex, Meghan Markle. She said:
“Food makes travel so exceptional, because you get to taste what it’s actually supposed to taste like. To eat the real Pad Thai or finally have a proper curry is something pretty amazing.”- Meghan Markle
Shes 100% right! Jolly ole England was a to-tal SMASH, and that’s in large part because of the food! Cant wait to return! Until next time!
Con Carino,
Joana
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I am loving Traveling in Spanglish! I want to go everywhere Joana goes and experience it all right along with her! Absolutely beautiful and inspiring!