I love eating out and I love to get recommendations from others about what to sink my knife and fork into in a new city. So here you go: I present to you some of my (mostly cheap) favourite London restaurants, cafés, take-aways and pubs. Enjoy this work-in-progress and stay tuned!
SOHO/CENTRAL LONDON
Prix Fixe Brasserie, 39 Dean Street – French bistro/brasserie
Pierre Victoire, 5 Dean Street – French bistro/brasserie
Sometimes you just feel the need to infuse your life with some yummy Frenchness. When that happens we head straight for either Pierre Victoire or its sister restaurant Prix Fixe in Dean Street in Soho. Read More…
Wahaca, 80 Wardour Street – Mexican
Wahaca specialises in modern Mexican market/street food. The food is lo-key and you can either go for one big plate or several smaller ones. Friendly staff, upbeat atmosphere and very reasonable prices. Read more…
Cox Cookies and Cake, 13 Brewer Street – patisserie
Designer Patrick Cox and master patissier Eric Lanlard has opened what looks like a psychedelic stripper cave, filled with blingy and very yummy cupcakes. Read more…
Pho, 63-165 Wardour Street – Vietnamese
Luckily Pho, a small chain of smart-looking restaurants serving cheap Vietnamese street food, decided to open another shop smack in the middle of Wardour Street.
Prices are low: soups cost between 6.95 – 8.45 pounds.
Read More…
Misato, 11 Wardour street – Japanese
One of our favourite and very cheap Japanese restaurants. They serve delicious and very filling bentoboxes, sushi and plenty of rice dishes with everything from fried mackerel to chicken w. curry sauce…Read More
Made in Italy, 14A Old Compton Street – Italian
Sometimes all you want is half a metre of mozzarella-loaded woodfired Neapolitan pizza. This restaurant is part of the Made in Italy group that specialise in authentic and very delicious “pizzametro”…. Read More
Thai Cottage, 34 D’Arblay Street – Thai
Owner Sue has spent many, many years in the UK but still manages to produce some of the most authentic and best tasting dishes I’ve had outside Thailand. My absolute favourite is the red duck curry… Read More
Byron Burgers, 97-99 Wardour Street (plus many more locations) – American
Byron of course specialises in burgers and the menu is simple: a few different burgers that you can order with or without side-orders. The meat is fresh and comes from “free range” cows, running around in the Scottish highland… Read More
Randall & Aubin, 16 Brewer Street – Oyster bar/seafood
The oyster bar Randall & Aubin in Brewer Street is busy, noisy and hip (but not in the annoying way) and sends you straight into a light party mood… Read More
Masala Zone, 9 Marshall Street (plus many other locations) – Contemporary Indian
They specialise in contemporary and not too greasy and oily Indian dishes. Our favourite is the “thali” – a sort of Indian tapas plate. It costs around 10 pounds… Read More
Flat White – Milk Bar – Monmouth Coffee – Coffee bars
The flat white is a smaller, stronger and creamier kind of latte that originates from New Zealand and Australia. If you want to get a real flat white or just a proper coffee, head for one of these three spots… Read More
The Ship – Wardour Street – Rock pub
The interior is kind of tacky-ugly with red ceiling and beer towels and the world’s dirtiest carpet. But hey, the music is amazing, the bartenders tattooed, pierced and laid-back and it’s clientele and vibe as non-pretentious as can be…. Read More
John Snow, 39 Broadwick Street – Cheap pub
The pub keeps the prices down by serving draught beer from the Samuel Smith Brewery in Tadcaster – Yorkshire’s oldest of its kind. A pint costs around 2.27... Read More
COVENT GARDEN
Kopapa, Monmouth Street – NZ brunch & dinner
This new all-day diner/cafe/restaurant is co-owned by New Zealander Peter Gordon who is also the man behind the excellent The Providores and Tapa Room in Marylebone. During the weekend Kopapa has an extensive brunch menu, similar to the one at Providores.
WEST LONDON
Vicki’s, 38 Clifton Road – café/restaurant
Vicki’s is a tiny “eaterie” in Maida Vale and they serve a selection of some of the yummiest salads and club sandwiches I’ve ever had…. Read More
The Bridge House,13 Westbourne Terrace Road – pub
Cosy cavernous pub near Little Venice. It’s dark and cosy with red walls n’all and the day I was there it was very easy to get a table. The food is good ( especially the pork belly) and well-priced…. Read More
The Coffee Tree, 215 Shirland Road – coffee/bakery
New coffee and pastry shop. The coffee leaves room for improvement, but the pastries were to die for, especially the brownies.
NORTH-WEST LONDON
Mori, 84 St. John’s High Street – Japanese
Their food is fresh, yummy and pretty cheap (around 7-9 pounds for a sushi box) and apart from sushi they also sell curries, soups and salads and frozen yoghurt…. Read More
Spicy Basil, 165 Kilburn High Road – Thai
A brilliant Thai restaurant/take-away that serves up some of London’s cheapest Thai-food…. Read More
The Spaniards Inn, Spaniards Road – Country Pub
The menu is small but their food is lovely and quite cheap and you can sit outside the historic building in the cosy courtyard. They even have a “doggy wash” and 17 different lagers… Read More
EAST LONDON
Lennies Snack Bar, 6 Calvert Avenue – Thai
Lennies in East London (just next to Shoreditch Church) is like no other Thai restaurant I’ve ever been too. Its life and soul is owner Irene who is the most welcoming host anyone can imagine. Eating at her restaurant is like coming home or visiting your favourite eccentric aunt. Read More…
Song Que Café, 134 Kingsland Road – Vietnamese
One of our favourite Vietnamese restaurants is Song Que Café. There’s always a queue of hungry customers waiting to be let into the big cafeteria-style room… Read More
Gourmet San, 261 Bethnal Green Road – Chinese/Szechuan
Food from the Szechuan province is famous for being packed with interesting flavours. That means a liberal use of garlic, chilis and the famous Szechuan peppercorns that make your mouth tingle…. Read More
DENMARK – COPENHAGEN
Café Dyrehaven- Classic Danish
This used to be an old værtshus/pub, but luckily the make-over has left behind some of the old features and it now oozes “hipster retro”. And the food is great. They mainly do classic Danish food with a contemporary twist.
Kalaset – Brunch & cafe food
Kalaset lies on the corner of Vendersgade and Nansensgade. The interior is cosy and very laid-back with red walls and loads of old mis-matching furniture. Kalaset makes a helluva brunch. So good is it that it has been awarded the title “Copenhagen’s Best Brunch” by Danish newspaper Politiken.
Bang & Jensen – Café
This café is situated in an old pharmacy in the nice end of Istedgade on Vesterbro. Haphazard decor with red café tables in the front room and a sofa and armchair lounge in the back. In the summer you can sit outside. Cheap and good café fare. Read more…
Shawarma Grill House – fast food
My favourite shawarma place in Copenhagen. Choose between lamb or chicken (lamb is best) which has been marinated in a secret spice mix and is served up with salad and yoghurt dressing in home-made pita bread.
RECIPES
I’m not a very talented, nor very patient chef. But I do have a few foolproof recipes that I want to share:
Spinatlasagne med hytteost – spinach lasagne with cottage cheese
One of our favourite home-made recipes around here. It’s so easy to make, healthy and cheap and a nice lighter alternative to meat lasagne.
Read More…
Wholegrain spelt bread with flaxseed
I’m not much of a breadmaker, but this very simple recipe has won me completely over. So much that I almost never buy bread from the stores anymore. I’ve added milled flaxseed for more healthiness and have found that they make the bread a lot crispier. Read more…
Butternut soup
Winter calls for hot steaming soups. I love the sweet butternut squash and have experimented with different recipes. I think it tastes the best when you don’t mess too much around with the lovely flavour of the squash. This is my favourite recipe.
Read More…
Creamy leek, broccoli and potato soup
I made this soup without any recipe and surprised myself by how yummy it turned out (my cooking intuition is non-existent). The magic ingredient must have been the yoghurt as it added just the right amount of tartness/acidity to the vegetables.
Read more…
Bangers, savoy cabbage & purple mash
These potatoes, originally from the high reaches of the Andes, are even more healthy than ordinary potatoes (10 x more antioxidants) and they make some really yummy mash.
Read More…
Sigumchi – Korean spinach salad
I love spinach and when eating out at Korean restaurants I often end up ordering their spinach salad, “Sigumchi Namul”. However, I never seem to get as much as I want to, so why not make it yourself. Read More…
Mette Bassett 