London like most top cities is a diverse blend of cuisines and cultures and the food choice available is really mind boggling but truly sensational. I am listing the places and restaurants I ate at in London and my experience to help you make a choice whether you would like to eat there or not.
Decadent Diaries Tips:
Many restaurants have gone cashless since covid so do not forget to carry your credit/ debit card.
Reservations are a must at many restaurants, there are many online reservation websites like seven rooms where you can just remove 2 minutes to find a preferable date and time online and reserve, with a confirmation sent to your email.
For popular restaurants, do take a reservation weeks in advance of your trip.
1.MERCATO, MAYFAIR
Mercato is a hip sustainable community market chain and the one in Mayfair is located inside an ancient stained glass sanctuary. This place is always bustling with people and has food options ranging from Neapolitan pizza, Thai, Malaysian, Gelato, A Wine Cellar and more. I loved the pizza and the gelato I ate there.
My Review: Must Try
2.GAIL'S BAKERY, SEYMOUR PLACE
This store was so beautiful, full of freshly made bread and goodies. I didn't understand what to choose from as everything looked so delicious. I ultimately tried the sea salt, caramel, banana and pecan cake and it was ohh my godd so gooood!
My Review: Must Try
3.WAHACA, COVENT GARDEN
I am a fan of Mexican food and this place truly did not disappoint. Everything was so fresh and so flavourful, it was like an explosion of tastes and flavours in my mouth. We had the guacamole and chips, the mushroom tacos, the bean tostadas, the cheese croquettes and the burrata salad. I personally felt the Wahaca at Covent Garden is better than the others I tried in London, so if you do go, go to this particular branch.
My Review: Must Try
4.CHIN CHIN DESSERT CLUB, GREEK STREET
The viral sensation of ooey gooey marshmallow topped hot chocolate led me there, but what I liked better than that was the griddled cookie dough topped with ice cream. The chocolate flavour was pronounced in both the dishes and for me that is the most important factor in deciding on a good dessert as I am a chocolate lover!
My Review: Must Try
5.THE GOOD EARTH, BROMPTON RD
The good earth is a long-established Chinese Restaurant and their food was wonderful. We had the dry fried aubergine, the vegetarian spring rolls, the Singapore rice noodles and the vegetarian fried rice. Service was excellent and prompt.
My Review: Must Try
6.B BAGEL, SOHO
I search for New York everywhere, so when it came down to it, I had to find a good bagel shop. B Bagel Soho was impressive, the service was fast and the choice was great. This was the first time that I tried the avocado and cream cheese combination in my sesame bagel and it was quite good.
My Review: Must Try
7.FALAFEL + , REGENT STREET
We visited this place 4 times during our trip! That is how much we absolutely loved the falafel in pita here. Freshly made crispy fluffy falafel, with your choice of veggies and sauces in a heated pita = heaven. Need I say more?
My Review: Must Try
8.BREAD AHEAD, BOROUGH MARKET
I had been wanting to visit bread ahead ever since I saw it on so many food videos related to the borough market. I was scared that the coating may be too sugary and the balance may be off. But no, it was so well balanced, so freshly baked and filled with decadent cream, I can still taste it in my mouth sometimes lolz.
My Review: Must Try
9.UDDERLICIOUS , COVENT GARDEN
There is always a line outside this shop and it is truly worth waiting in line for, it was one of the creamiest ice creams I have had. I did the "make my own sundae" and the portions are huge! The line moves fast as service is quick so do give it a try.
My Review: Must Try
10.COTE - COVENT GARDEN
We went to Cote for their French Cuisine, yes it is predominantly non-vegetarian but they had a decent variety of vegetarian options. The food was nothing to write home about, we tried the fougasse (leaf-shaped garlic bread), the caramelised onion and brie tart and the gratin potato.
My Review: Average
11.SCARPETTA, CANARY WHARF
We originally wanted to go to another Italian restaurant close by, but it was full, we landed up here and we are glad that we did. They have this homemade chill oil, which I observed in their storefront while coming in, I asked them for some with my focaccia and offered to pay, but they gave me a generous portion of the same complimentary! I paired that oil with all our dishes and it made everything better.
We also had the burrata and the aubergine and tomato pasta.
My Review: Must Try
12.BADIANI GELATO. CANARY WHARF
Creamy gelato, large variety, pistachio flavour was the best!
My Review: Must Try
13.DARK SUGARS, BETHNAL GREEN
Another viral hot chocolate sensation, the staff was very friendly, the store was full of chocolate goodies, I had the hot chocolate topped with white, dark and milk chocolate shards which melted into the hot chocolate intensifying the chocolatey flavour. It was indulgent and decadent.
My Review: Must Try
14.CIRCOLO POPOLARE, RATHBONE PL
Oh my god, this place was like right out of a fairy tale, the restaurant had a rustic Italian vibe with floor-to-ceiling walls with bottles, this place is always full so better to get a reservation much in advance. The wait staff also speak fluent Italian (most of them are from Italy) and sing happy birthday to you in Italian in case you have come there to celebrate your birthday. The best things we had over there were the truffle mafaldine pasta and the tiramisu. Really memorable experience.
My Review: Must Try
15.MAITRE CHOUX, SOHO
Really pretty decorated eclairs, almost too pretty to eat. Flavour was not as awesome as the look of the eclairs.
My Review: Average
16.DISHOOM , CARNABY
This was the biggest disappointment of my trip. Don't be fooled by the unending lines you see here every day, I don't know what everyone is rushing in for, the food is really below average. Maybe those lines consist of tourists who do not have an in-depth knowledge of Indian food like I do (as I am an Indian), or those who are trying Indian cuisine for the first time, but I swear the amount of effort that they put into their decor which is very authentic, if they put a little more thought towards the food it would really help them. The biggest disappointment was the house black daal which had no depth of flavour, it had definitely not been cooked for 24 hours, I have had daal from the likes of Peshawri so I know good black daal when I taste one.
My Review: Not Recommended
17.THE PARLOUR AT FORTNUM & MASON
The main tea room was booked months in advance at Fortnum and Mason, but the helpful staff guided us so that we could try the tea and scones at the parlour on the first floor. Fortnum and Mason is like Harrods for just Tea. The utter variety and glitz and glamour with which tea and tea related products are displayed in this multi-storey department store is really the stuff of dreams. Anyway, we sat down at this charming parlour and really we were able to enjoy the quintessential afternoon tea. The scones with clotted cream were absolutely amazing, so light, buttery and flaky. We also enjoyed the lavender and lemon cake slice. I overheard another gentleman who also sat eating a piece of lavender cake saying that he was looking forward to eating it and dreaming about it for an entire week! This establishment is truly a must visit when you are in London!
My Review: Must Try
18.DIN TAI FUNG, SELFRIDGES
Again a popular destination and was quite full even at 6:30 pm when we reached there, so get a reservation if you can. The most stand out factor was the cute robot waiter, who travelled to and fro carrying hot noodle dishes from the kitchen to a set location where the waiters emptied the trays to be distributed to different tables by them and pressed a button and sent it back. We tried the vegetarian fried rice and the vegetarian dan dan noodles, the flavour was good enough but it did not really intrigue me. The dan dan noodles especially weren't as chewy or as peanutty as I would have liked them to be.
My Review: Average
19.BEN'S COOKIES, OXFORD STREET
Always a small line outside this cookie store that's what led me there. Had a milk chocolate chunk cookie which was just removed fresh out of the oven and handed over to me. It was brilliant. I especially liked that they were freshly baking the cookies as the people entered and hence quality was guaranteed.
My Review: Must Try
20.THE GATE, MARYLEBONE
The Gate is a gorgeous vegetarian restaurant with a unique menu comprising vegetarian versions of popular dishes from all over the world. We tried the homemade gnocchi and The Gate beetroot burger. The highlight of this meal was their signature burger! I must confess I am not a fan of beetroot, but one bite of this burger and I was pleasantly surprised. There was so much flavour infused into the burger patty it was simply out of this world! All in all, I really enjoyed my meal.
My Review: Must Try
So this was my experience of eating in London. Overall I was quite happy with the food there and of course, these are just my personal experiences, feel free to decide as per your tastes and preferences.
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