Where to eat in London!!

All the places we ate (in chronological order)

Jordan and I are not foodies by any means, but Jordan comes from a line of foodies and I really enjoy food. Jordan lives by the mantra “food is fuel” and certainly eats like that. He is usually done eating before I am halfway through. I love food, I love tasting food and I love eating food. I think one of my dream jobs would be a food blogger because then I would have an excuse for trying all different types of food!

All that being said, we are not highly qualified to be doing a guide of places to eat in London, also because we do not know the city that well. But we will be doing it anyways.

While in Godstone, we tried to cook the vast majority of our meals to save costs, but now that we are in London we are trying (as best as we can) to throw that out the window and taste as much of the city as we can.

Nando’s!!

A very important stop that we made was at Nando’s, a South African restaurant famous for it’s half chicken. This restaurant is also famous for being Niall Horan’s favorite restaurant. Almost every time my family goes back to Zimbabwe we go and get a half chicken from Nando’s, so I had to take Jordan to experience the food. When we got there, I found a sit-down restaurant, very different from the fast food counter that I am used to. It was also the hand-held menu which caught me off guard. I persevered. We got upstairs to our table and ordered. Although the half chicken is iconic, neither of us got it because there was so much other stuff on the menu which looked delicious.

Jordan got the Fully Loaded Wrap with the Wild Herb spice level and a side of Peri-Peri Mac & Cheese (left), and I got the Sunset Burger also with Wild Herb spice. I thought we were going to need takeaway boxes for this lunch as it looked like so much food sitting before us, but we absolutely plowed through this meal. It was so delish, even Jordan appreciated it. He said if it was a few pounds cheaper he wouldn’t mind coming here for every meal.

While we were in Nando’s we found out that it is actually the largest collector of contemporary South African art in the world, which we thought was pretty cool. When I went down into the basement for the bathroom, it looked more like an art gallery than a basement!

---

Bun House

Later that evening we went out to eat a show, and still quite full from Nando’s, we decided to get a quick bite near the theatre in Chinatown. We were also in a bit of a rush as our show started soon, so the fact that we weren’t hungry enough for a sit-down was quite convenient.

While on the tube, we frantically searched for fast food near the theatre and I think we got the best of both worlds with the Bun House. There was a bit of a line when we first got there, so I asked Jordan to wait in line so I could go check if there was a shorter line anywhere. By the time I got back two minutes later, Jordan was near the front of the line. We ordered four buns, two chicken, one lamb, and one pork. As we ordered they placed the buns in our to-go box from steamer baskets right on the counter, so we were in and out within two minutes!

Before eating, we walked to near the theatre and found a nice ledge to eat by. The print on the top of all the buns is actually the Chinese character for the type of meat found inside (we only figured this out after Jordan took a huge bite of my lamb bun).

These were so good, I think about them often. The sweet bun outside mixed with the curried meat interior was to die for. I probably could have eaten all four myself and left Jordan to go hungry.

---

Umut 2000

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I love mediterranean food. This place was no exception. It was a delicious Turkish restaurant in Dalston that we went to after visiting the Dalton Curve Garden and Dalston Market. The restaurant that specialized in Kebabs, but had lots of other options. We got the lamb and chicken kebab and had no regrets! It also came with a side of rice, side salad, onion salad and pita breads.

I think the sides were half of the reason I liked this place so much. We had no idea all of these sides were coming with the meal, so we were very happy to receive them at our table. I love onions and the onion salad was to die for, it was red onions and parsley coated in some type of seasoning. The rice was also really good, I know thats a weird thing to comment on, but it may have been the best rice I have ever had. The pita was also delicious with a similar seasoning blend as the onion salad.

---

Portobello Market

As this was a market, there were so many food options to pick from. A whole section of the market was dedicated to different food stalls. It got quite hot in there with all of the grills (not to mention the second we walked in the sun decided to come out).

Jordan and I didn’t make it 20 meters into the food area before something caught our eyes. Jordan ended up stopping at the second stall to get a pulled chicken and cheese beijummy, which is like a South American flatbread.

I stopped at about the fifth stall to get some (again) Turkish Food. I got a lamb, feta and spinach gözelme.

You really can’t go wrong eating at Portobello market. Even if you are the pickiest eater ever, I guarantee they have something for you, there are just so many options!

Churchill Arms

The Churchill Arms is a pretty famous bar due to its very floral exterior and well decorated interior.

If you walk into the bar (grab a pint) and keep heading into the back of the bar though, you will stumble upon a Thai restaurant! We grabbed a London Pride, coming fresh off a Fuller’s brewery tour and snagged a seat at the restaurant. Now, I knew going into this that I would have trouble with my cursed bell pepper allergy. But there was one thing on the menu, one thing that I love, that did not have any bell peppers. Pad Thai!! I ordered the Pad Thai and Jordan got the Pad Si-ew. It was great food in an even better atmosphere, and the food was very reasonably priced.

---

Borough Market

Jordan and I were very excited to go to the borough market, famous for its foods and the crowds that it draws. Sadly, we went on the one day of the week that it was closed. On the bright side, the permanent stalls and restaurants that operate out of the market were still open!

I ordered fish and chips from a place called the fish kitchen. The crazy part is that this restaurant won the National Fish and Chip awards, a title I had no clue existed. Jordan got a delicious wrap from the place Nextdoor called Hobbs.

Now I may get some heat for this, as fish and chips is the national and beloved food of the UK, but there’s only so good fish and chips can be. Especially when you’re not given any sauces or vinegar. It was delicious, but in my opinion, the wrap that Jordan got was much more flavorful.

If and when I get a fish and chips that blows me away, I will take that sentiment back, but for now it stands.

---

Sky Gardens

Sky Gardens was impeccable atmosphere for a dinner. Jordan and I were almost certainly underdressed for the occasion, but we still felt very fancy. We actually had to make a reservation for this restaurant, because you have to go through security to get to the building. Oh, did I mention the restaurant is at the top of a high-rise building! Well yeah, up in the London Skyline is where we ate dinner! The walls and ceiling were all made of glass, so we had an amazing view of everything.

Jordan and I ordered some cocktails and walked around to check out the views and the gardens. The drinks were great, and I think they tastes even better while looking at the sunset over the skyline.

The food was also pretty good. I think the real focus of this place was the drinks, because the food menu was very small and didn’t have too much to choose from. Jordan and I did each get a small plate of tacos. And because this was a fancy restaurant I do mean small.

Despite their size, they were quite delicious, and we both enjoyed our meals. I will say though, after we were done we went to Sam’s chicken (a fast food place near where we were staying) for some loaded fries and a chicken wrap.

---

Taj Mahal

After a long and hard working/study session in the library, Jordan and I found ourselves famished and far from home. Luckily, we found a really nice Indian place nearby, and if you made a reservation you got 20% off your meal. Jordan and I quickly made a reservation for 15 minutes in the future and made our way over.

Jordan got the Taj Mahal Biryani. Funnily enough, he thought he discovered a new type of meat called prawns. He was very disappointed when I told him he discovered shrimp. I got a Murug Masala. Both dishes were delicious, and we both cleaned our plates off!

---

Moral of the story is London has some really good food. We definitely could have eaten out for every meal, but we need some money to feed ourselves for the rest of the year!

If there are any recommendations for places for us to eat if we decide to go back I would love to hear them!

If you want to hear more about the things we did while staying in London, click here to see the “travel with me” section of my blog!

---

Thanks for reading

xx Abby