The time has come for the final London food roundup. I should probably do some roundup posts so it's easier to find for your future travels, but we'll see if I pull that off. I will no longer have assignment due dates to meet, so it will be up to my own deadlines.🤪 For now, we must give honorable mention to some of the nicest meals we ate in London!
Dishoom
Dishoom is one of London’s most popular restaurants. It came highly recommended by multiple people. We finally made it for one of the last dinners on our trip and I am so glad we went! The food is intensely flavorful, and the service was exceptional! With every dish I was continually impressed and in awe at the beautiful use of spice. Indian food is full of robust flavor, I am inspired to learn more about spices and how to use them to create meals with layers upon layers of flavor. The menu highlights were the lamb samosas, Dishoom house chaat, chicken ruby (with naan, roti, or rice) , and Dishoom chocolate pudding. These were the highlights, but everything we ordered was fresh and delicious. I don’t think you can go wrong! I will be dreaming about our meals here for months to come!
Bubala
We had a meal catered by Bubala a few weeks ago. At first, I was disappointed in the vegetarian menu, but I quickly fell in love with the labneh with confit garlic; it was creamy and flavorful with a bit of magic. We really enjoyed the flavors when it was catered, so when my mom flew in last night and none of our other suggestions were sounding good, we decided we would go to the restaurant and try it out, it did not disappoint! The menu is completely vegetarian and vegan, and TBH that would never be my first choice, but everything is well-executed and tasty. Menu highlights include all the dips- hummus with burnt butter (wow wow wow. I wanted to drink the butter and the hummus is soooo smooth), labneh with confit garlic and za’atar (creamy dreamy with a hint of tang, eat the garlic cloves if you’re brave and want an immune boost!), baba ghanoush (somehow so tasty and creamy even though it’s made of eggplant). You must get the pita to dip, it was so fluffy and tender. The challah and laffa were both tasty and great for dipping.
If you want more than just dips (even though I would go back for just dips and pita) our favorites were the lemon pepper fried cauliflower and the halloumi with chamomile and fennel honey. A unique menu, with special flavors, inspires me to try new places and get out of my comfort zone sometimes!
Straker’s
Going to Straker’s was a dream come true! Straker’s is owned by chef Thomas Straker, who is a young chef that gained a lot of popularity in the past year and a half with his “all things butter” episodes on Instagram. I have been watching his reels for about a year and they seriously make me drool every time! He opened his own restaurant in November and when I found out we were coming to London I looked up the restaurant and I was so excited to see it was only 30 minutes from where we were staying. We made our reservation weeks in advance (books out about a month in advance, but they do take some walk-ins) and when the day finally came, I was so excited. This meal lived up to the hype! Every dish was innovatively created with the freshest ingredients. The menu changes daily, so I don’t know what you will get when you have the chance, but I feel confident it will be spectacular! If somehow the burrata and melon are on the menu or the set cream with grilled strawberries, please be sure to get them, I’m still drooling about them.
*A note on fine dining*
Sometimes I have a hard time paying for food knowing that it was a one-and-done. I was recently listening to a podcast with Thomas Keller, the most decorated Michelin star chef in America, he talked about how we will pay hundreds of dollars for a concert ticket, or a sporting event yet people tend to hesitate or even insult paying for a delicious meal, a chef’s performance. This was a sort of aha for me to make this comparison. I can’t afford to fine dine often, but like I spend money on concerts and sports, I can spend money for a meal memory that is just as much or more memorable than any other performance. This meal at Straker’s was very expensive, but just like I paid for Harry Styles’ performance, I paid for Thomas Straker’s, and I do not regret one bite of it. Is this something you have ever thought of before? What are your thoughts on fine dining? Is dining something ‘worth’ spending money on?
Bustronome
The Bustronome is a unique dining experience! It combines the idea of a sightseeing bus tour, with a gourmet meal experience. Essentially the Bustronome is a restaurant on wheels. This was booked with our program and was an interesting experience! It was so fun boarding the bus and seeing all the unique innovations to keep things from falling over while the bus is moving. The food was a set menu including salmon tartare, miso sea bass, seared duck breast with potatoes, and panna cotta with strawberry reduction.
So how was the experience… mixed! My main complaint is the temperature… temperature of the food and of the bus! The food was quality and the meals had good flavor, but they were all served a little cold (the tartare that should have been cold was a little warm). This is not a make or break but the temperature of the food, for sure affects the overall experience and flavor of the food. The real problem was the temperature of the bus. The bus was 1000 degrees. It was seriously so warm and so sweaty. It has been much hotter than normal for London and that is partly to blame, but seriously the bus was so hot we were so ready to get off by the time the meal was over. The experience is unique, but I would not do it again. I would rather do a nice meal and then bus around London separately.
Wow! We have eaten so much good food here in London. Walking around last night we saw so many more restaurants and felt sad about how much we haven’t tried! We barely made a dent in the London food scene, so we will certainly be back to eat more. I’m fully convinced that the best way to see a city and experience the culture is to eat your way through it! I hope you have enjoyed our London food posts, maybe I will combine them into one easy- to-digest post for you to use as a guide next time you’re in London!
Let me know your favorite London restaurant or one you want to visit now in the comments below!
Cheers!
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