London
Places to Eat
Does the food look fancy? No. Do I have to stand in line to eat in what looks like a weird basement behind euston station? Yes. Is it worth it? H*ll yes. The Malaysian food here is amazing and might be my favorite place to eat in all of London. Cheap, large portions with no fuzz but oh so good. Must tries are the handmade rotis, the special curry and the Char Kway Teow
Barrifina
26-27 Dean St, Soho, London W1D 3LL
It might be an obvious recommendation, but Barrafina holds up. It is top notch Spanish tapas, and especially the seafood has amazing quality. Staff is happy to recommend dishes to you and you get to see the food being cooked so you can always point at something that makes your mouth water. It is no reservations counter style dining, so be prepared to queue, or show up at 5 for early dinner to avoid it. And don’t forget to order from the specials board!
Obsessed with fluffy steamed buns like it was still 2016? Yes - me too. I don’t know if I will ever get tired of these glorious things. And my favorite place in London for them is Mr. Bao (Second location in tooting has the amazing name Daddy Bao) The buns here have the perfect consistency and several tasty fillings to choose from as well as other small plates
This is THE place to eat fried chicken. If you think fried chicken isn’t that good or you can’t make fried chicken only one way, this place will prove you wrong. Small fairly unknown Korean restaurant in camberwell that I never see mentioned except on some obscure Korean food blogs and yet it is soo good. Other dishes are nice too, but the Korean fried chicken is the highlight, my recommendation is the Honey Butter chicken.
The Locals
8 Gatliff Rd, London SW1W 8DT
My go to brunch place. I cannot think why this place isn’t more popular, except that it is slightly awkwardly located. But the brunch is really good and includes tasty versions of all the usual things you would get. And it is very pretty looking food - for that perfect instagram pic.
I am unable to count the times I have eaten here, it is cheap, homestyle Thai food. And BYOB policy… I have never had anything on the menu that I didn’t like, but I keep reordering the Kao pad kra-pow, spicy stir fried meat topped with an egg. Spice level is definitely high in general, but worth the burn
Apollo Banana Leaf
190 Tooting High St, Tooting, London SW17 0SF
As the one above, this is another BYOB restaurant. My first experience with Sri Lankan food, and made me fall in love with it. Food isn’t pretty, the restaurant decor is probably from the 80s, and located down the road in Tooting. I honestly don’t know what I have eaten here, we usually just point at random things on the menu and it comes out great every time. The curries makes it worth the trek.
If you like seafood and oysters with a view, this is the place for you. They have a dedicated ‘ice bar’ just for fresh seafood and the manchego cheesecake should not be missed. Of course the rooftop outside seating might be the main attraction, but the food and cocktails hold their own.
Places to Drink
This place has such a relaxed vibe and are perfect for after dinner cocktails, and the main reason to come here is to drink Wilson (cocktail to the upper left in the picture). It’s not even on the menu any more but I always ask for it anyway. Tasting of coconut and Rum they go down so easily, and makes you forget you are even in London
Four Quarters
If you like craft beer and retro games this is the place for you. With loads of arcade games and a decent selection of craft beer (and a cocktail bar in the basement) its the perfect mix. It now has two other branches as well, one in hackney wick and one in elephant & castle
This place is a summer staple in London. Sitting on top of an old parking garage drinking pimms from pitchers is the ultimate London summer vibes. It is not easy to find though, go down an alley up a stair, past security then up through all of the bright pink staircase. It is open during summer season only and pro tip is to try and avoid using the bathroom here
Londons status as a food town is undebatable, and there are too many good restaurants opening every month for me to be covering even a fraction of them. So I’m gonna share my favourites and the ones I keep returning to all the time. The maybe slightly more unknown that I will recommend to anyone visiting.