Temple Bar

Londoners see hundreds of these ‘restaurants’ shoved into every nook and cranny of central London. Though never homogenous chains, they somehow manage to all look the same and serve exactly the same thing – big deli fridge, fry ups in the morning, pre-made ‘gourmet’ sandwiches, jacket potatoes, microwaved lasagne…etc. Short of time to go elsewhere one day, a friend and I popped in and ordered some Arrabbiata Pasta (£5) and Carbonara Pasta (£5.50). By chance, it was a tastecard restaurant and we got it at £2.75 a bowl.

While admiring the vintage italian-brand produce shelf décor, I realised our pasta was coming from the kitchen, not the microwave! Pasta win! Food arrived – parmesan offered. Pasta rarely impresses, even more so in a bog standard café, but we were sitting in front of unexpectedly tasty pasta. A quick chat with the waitress and we discovered their Italian chef uses only De Cecco pasta – the only dry pasta Italians will swear by. Premium pasta, well made. I hope they never cut costs. Or fire the chef. Who knows what their microwaved Shepherd’s Pie is like. But the pasta is weirdly good.

£20 (2 people)

Temple Underground station, London WC2R 2PH

02072407487

Raw Lasan

Out in the suburbs of London hides this unique Indian restaurant in a converted pub. The restaurant is often busy on week nights and full of native locals – a spicy start.

Each main dish was rich and fresh in flavour. Fish curry topped with fresh curry leaves and mustard seeds, daal served with whole fried dried chillies and tender lamb in the biriyani served with homemade raita. Although the Sheikh Kebab was disappointing, the other dishes more than made up for it.

What is unique about this restaurant however is that the native locals don’t come to eat the Indian food but come for the Indo-Chinese offering on the menu. From my understanding, Chinese food in India caters to local tastes, the same way it does here in England, and their version of Chinese food is therefore different. So this appears to be an authentic Indian Chinese restaurant which is an amazing niche to hit when you think about it.

I’ll be back next time to try the Fish Chilli Black Bean Sauce, Paneer in Schezwan Sauce, and Okra in Chilli and Spring Onion sauce. Don’t knock it till you try it right?

£28 (2 people)

Stanmore Hill, Stanmore, HA7 3DZ

020 8954 3335

Monday – Sunday
12.00pm to 11.00pm

Raw Lasan: Website/Facebook

Sen Nin

Sen Nin is a Teppanyaki flare restaurant, mimicking the style of service found in Benihana restaurants around the world. The main obvious difference is the price – Sen Nin is significantly cheaper. (roughly £20-£25 per head for the set menu as opposed to £50-£60 at Benihana in Piccadilly).

The idea is to sit around the hot griddle while the knife-wielding, joke-telling chef fills you with awe and excitement. There was fire, there were eggs in hats, there was food thrown into our mouths, there was utensil juggling, there were funny jokes and the teriyaki tilapia was cooked perfectly. I wanted another 3 pieces.

It makes for an incredibly entertaining meal out with friends. It’s not quite Benihana, it’s lacking the finesse and atmosphere that makes a good restaurant superb, but it’s worth going out of your way to see for yourself if Teppanyaki flare is not something you’ve come across before. Bonus tip: go on a Tuesday, all food is 50% off, quite the sizzling deal.

£48 (2 people) 

Islington -206 Upper Street, Islington N1 1RQ 020 7704 1890

Camden – 35 Pratt Street, Camden NW1 0BG 020 7096 1276

Monday – Thursday 12:00 – 15:00 and 17:00 – 23:00

Friday – Sunday  12:00 – 23:30

Sen Nin: Website

M1LK

M1LK is so hipster that if it had a nose, it would turn it up at Shoreditch. Bare brick walls, confusing coffee choices, a restaurant front that they couldn’t be bothered to redecorate so they just graffitied their name over the previous restaurant’s sign, faded typewriter font on the menu, neon sign inside and conical flasks as decoration. Oh, and it’s a brunch restaurant.

Regardless of this mesh of confusing distractions, this brunch restaurant has a charming atmosphere. I had the Sweet Maria – sweetcorn fritters, drycure bacon, grilled halloumi, avocado, kasundi, lime (£9.90 and I still don’t know exactly what kasundi is but it’s fun to say). The halloumi and bacon’s saltiness carried through to the crisp sweetcorn fritters, and in mixing with the mysterious spicy tomato-y and mustard seed-y flavoured kasundi, it was and all round delightful plate of food. Even if you’re not quite sure what you’ve ordered at M1LK, I have faith that the friendly staff will drop some good food in front of you.

Next time I might try ‘Billy the Kid’ – Red clover honeycomb, goats cheese, sourdough and flowers. Yes, flowers.

£18 (2 people)

20 Bedford Hill, London, SW12 9RG

020 8772 9085

Monday – Saturday: 8am-5pm
Sunday – 9am-5pm

M1LK: Website/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram 

Kurdistan

We are all familiar with the Lebanese restaurants peppered across Edgware Road, but exploring the streets off the main road reveals how this hyper-diverse part of London has created mini communities. Naturally, this in turn creates a demand for their home food. Kurdistan has no menu, no food pictures on the walls or counters, but you’ll find it packed with locals. English is rarely heard inside and every person who walks in is greeted like an old friend.

It’s a wonderful and intimidating place to walk into. I walk up to a waiter to ask what a Kurdish breakfast is (as it was 10am) and he told me lentil soup, or ‘Nisk’, which I saw two ladies eating. So I asked for some and it came with a quarter of a raw onion, a slice of lemon and a huge naan-like bread (£3). The salty lentil soup was warming, the onion an obscure addition, and the bread freshly made.

Perhaps next time I’ll try a flatbread with za’atar and cheese, or some liver and onions which was being prepared for lunch, who knows. But don’t you love London for having places like these?

£14 (2 people)

59 Church Street, Marylebone, London NW8 8EP

Open Monday to Friday: 10AM-9PM

Open Sunday: 10AM-6PM

020 37192496

Koshari Street

Koshari Street sells Koshari. Funny that. And for the gastronomically challenged, Koshari is an Egyptian dish found on the streets as well as in restaurants and homes in Egypt. In essence, it is a carb overload base of rice, macaroni, lentils, vermicelli, and chickpeas, topped with a smooth spicy tomato sauce, nuts and seeds, and crispy onions.

It’s a little hard to get into with it being served in a layered pot (see photo). But if you can mix it all together without spilling half on the floor/yourself, it creates a surprisingly aromatic flavour. Certainly don’t eat this at the start of a day out, you WILL need to nap after this. Or at least plan to do nothing for a while and enjoy the food coma and lingering after taste caused by the 5-man-carb-show base.

£20 (2 people)

56 St. Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4EA

Open Monday to Saturday: 11.30 am – 11.00 pm

Open Sunday: 11:30 am – 4:00 PM

020 7836 1056

Koshari Street: Website/Facebook/Twitter

Five Guys

This famous American burger chain opened its first branch in the UK in July 2013, 1 day before competitor ‘Shake Shack’ opened its first UK outlet just down the road. Serving sloppy American burgers, the two went head to head. Naturally, I had to try them both back to back.

I have no doubt in saying the burger and fries are better at five guys. This is not to say it’s the best burger you’ll ever eat. It’s still fast food, with an impressive production line (pictured), and patties are cooked from fresh not frozen. Toppings are free and numerous. If you get them all (as I did) your burger will fall apart and stuffing your hand onto your face will be the only way to polish it off.

The fries are loaded into a cup and intentionally served overflowing in the paper bag, you feel like you’re getting bonus fries. Go for Cajun fries if you like a little heat and flavour.

It’s messy, it’s fast, and if you aren’t full (which is unlikely) you can gorge on the free buckets of monkey nuts. Long live America.

£28 (2 people)

1-3 Long Acre, Covent Garden London WC2E 9LH

Five Guys: Website/Facebook/Twitter

Bright Courtyard Club

This restaurant is not bright, there is no courtyard and it’s not a club. But as far as I’m aware, it is unique in that it has an all-you-can-eat à la carte dim sum offering – something of a rarity in London and certainly a bright idea (only available Mon-Fri 12-4.30pm). Dim Sum aficionados? You may have just found heaven.

The décor is elegant and classy – ceiling high vintage wine cabinets on display. The standard à la carte menus are presented on iPads, with items including Braised Shark’s Fin (£48), Braised Abalone on Rice (£36) and Iberico Pork Pot Stickers (£12)…it’s just that sort of place. But the all-you-can-eat dim sum menu at £18pp presents much better value and less pretentiousness, although it’s a meagre paper menu. Pfft.

The selection available to choose from is slightly smaller than the average dim-sum restaurant menu, but more than enough to not feel limited at all. The dishes are all-round on par with the best in Chinatown. Special mention must go to the mooli croissants, dough stick cheung fun and Shanghai dumplings. Steer clear of the stodgy chestnut patties.

£56 (2 people)

43-45 Baker Street, Marylebone, London, W1U 8EW

020 7486 6998

Bright Courtyard Club: Website / Facebook / Twitter

Aida

Fancy a cake and coffee whilst shopping? Aida has some beautiful clothes, expensive, but lovely to look at while you pretend you can afford it. After the pain has sunken in that you can’t actually afford the clothes, they have some tasty cakes to console you. I ordered a vanilla Chai Latte which was deliciously sweet and creamy, accompanied with a dark chocolate, pecan and caramel tart. The chocolate on the tart was much to hard, I could barely put my fork through, but once I did the taste was lovely. The dark, unsweetened chocolate compliments the very sweet caramel pecan base, which is crunchy but much softer than the chocolate. I wouldn’t recommend getting both the Chai Latte and the Tart however because they are both so heavy, felt as though I’d eaten a full meal!

£10 (2 people)

133 Shoreditch High Street E1 6JE

020 7739 2811

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

Cinnamon Deli

Independent coffee shop, named after a spice with aphrodisiac powers, is a real hidden gem in West London. Situated on Englands Lane close to Belsize park, this place is highly loved by locals thanks to a high quality food and friendly service. Cinnamon offers its visitors a great variety of healthy and delicious options for breakfast, weekend brunch or a quick coffee fix.

Family owned café serves Monmouth coffee and desserts prepared with organic ingredients (treat yourself for a gluten-free brownie or toasted banana loaf!). Besides traditional poached eggs on a sourdough toast and porridge, you can find very unique Persian-inspired dishes such as Persian frittata Kuku Sabzi or Grilled Aubergine with lamb and yogurt sauce. Freshly squeezed juices are made by demand, and with a little imagination you can also create an original juice mix by yourself.

Whether you are going for a business meeting, romantic breakfast, or a casual cup of flat white with a friend, Cinnamon with its minimalist design, wooden floors and tables, as well as cute ceramic dinnerware and vintage bottle-glasses, will satisfy your needs (Needless to say that this place is instagram-friendly).

£15 (2 people) 

2a England’s Lane, Belsize Park NW3 4TG

020 7483 2622

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram