Words Helen Brown
London is famed for many things, but definitely not a bland culinary palette. We could eat a different, meal, cuisine or snack every day for the rest of our lives without coming up short. So if you’re looking to venture further afield than your usual take-away, we’ve got the round-up for you. These are London’s weirdest and most wonderful dishes. They traverse the globe and mix the mysterious with the mouthwatering. Go on, we dare you…
Crispy Fried Ice Cream at Gyoza Bar
When you love dumplings as much as the guys at Gyoza Bar, why stop at savoury? The Covent Garden branch have gone and made one with ice cream. Vanilla ice cream is coated in batter, deep fried until crispy and drizzled with maple syrup. Crazy but yum.
Blue Cheese Macarons at The Fine Cheese Co.
Add some pizazz to your cheese board with The Fine Cheese Co. latest offering: the savoury macaron. They say, their Bath macaron with Bath Blue, chives and walnuts is a mouthful of paradise. There’s also a goat cheese and beetroot version available is that tickles your fancy.
Nigerian Tapas at Chuku’s
Tapas and sharing food is the perpetuating trend sweeping the city. We love it for its big flavours in small portions and relaxed dining style. London’s wealth of un-Spanish eateries are jumping on the small plates serving wagon. Chuku’s are contributing with a mix of traditional and experimental Nigerian inspired tapas. Dishes such as Jollof Quinoa feature, in an African chilled out, sociable environment.
Meat Fruit at Dinner
This clever creation from the Willy Wonka of british food; Heston Blumenthal. For this, he has taken inspiration from the menus of medieval England, c1500. His meat fruits combine mandarin, chicken liver and foie gras in a pâté that resembles a mandarin.
Caramelised Garlic Truffles
Choc-aficionado Paul A Young has kicked his cocoa game up a notch with a savoury truffle. Raw garlic is slowly roasted until it becomes sweet, nutty and perfect for truffles. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it – salted caramel used to be unusual.
Beef Dripping Candle at Restaurant Story
At Story, the premise is simple; they seek to tell a story through the food they serve. Menu’s take inspiration from the history and heritage of British food. The beef dripping candle is just one of the weird and wonderful creations here. As it melts, dripping is collected in the candle holder’s base; ready to be dunked into with chunks of bread.
English Breakfast Udon at Koya Bar
Udon and eggs; not that unusual. Until it’s served up with the full trimmings of an English fry-up. Crispy bacon and shiitake mushrooms – the works. It’s difficult to eat but actually very tasty.
