Restaurants in Londen: 5 hotspots!
It is the heart of winter and outside it is cold, damp and gray. Googling "The best places to visit in January" presents us with a bunch of warm destinations. What's not on the list? London. And yet Didier and I decide to cross the Channel to London and visit our daughter Gaïa. The exotic beaches are quickly forgotten when Gaïa takes us on a culinary trip through the city. Still looking for some restaurants in London for your next city trip? Then put these 5 hotspots on your bucket list!
Hotspot 1: Poppies Fish and Chips in Spitalfields
The first must-do restaurant in London serves an English all-time favorite: fish and chips! A visit to the UK is not complete without tasting this dish. Good fish and chips have a crunchy crust around a nice and juicy piece of fresh fish, and are served with crispy fries. Try sprinkling a little malt vinegar on the fish and dip your fries in ketchup
Half a century of fish and chips at Poppies
Poppies meets all the criteria for good fish and chips. The driving force behind this hot spot is Pat "Pop" Newlander. Fish and chips are his life. Pop was only 11 years old when he started wrapping fish and chips in newspaper. In 1952, he opened his first outlet. His three restaurants remain a tribute to that time. They retain the atmosphere of a diner, with jukeboxes and icons from Pop's childhood. We visit the restaurant in Spitalfields but you can also find a Poppies Fish and Chips in Soho and Camden Town.
And Poppies' fish and chips do not disappoint. Quality lies at the base of Poppies' success. Every day, the fish arrives early in the morning, delivered directly from the wholesale market. You can choose from several types of fish: cod, halibut, haddock, ray and lemon sole. The chefs still prepare the dough according to the secret recipe developed by Pop himself. You can just buy the fish & chips for takeout, but it it’s worth to reserve a table. That way you enjoy the whole Poppies experience!
Poppies Fish and Chips can be found in Soho, Camden Town and next to Old Spitalfields Market.
I couldn't get my hands on the recipe for the Poppies dough, but I'm happy to give you mine.
Hotspot 2 brings Portugal to London with Bar Douro
Bar Douro is a small Portuguese restaurant and wine bar. It is pleasant to be seated at the high bar with blue and white tiles. During the summer you can enjoy the large terrace with tall barrels and cozy benches.
Brandon and Sol treat us to a warm welcome and we are eager to explore the menu. Bar Douro offers small plates for sharing, though it's not a requirement. I love the formula: I get to taste more of the menu without having to pick from my husband's plate.
London's Best Iberian Wine List
This is definitely a fitting title for Bar Douro's wine list. On it, you'll find fresh vinho verde, elegant wines from the Douro and powerful reds from Alentejo. My knowledge of Portuguese wines is limited, so I follow my intuition.
We choose a vinha da casa branca, from the house Herdade do Cebolal. Sol approves of my choice. It is one of her favorite wines from the region of Lisboa. The region used to be notorious for cheap mass wine, but its quality is now steadily rising. The region has very few rules for the winemakers, which allows them to experiment during the production process and - to quote Sol - "to be wild. For example, some wineries let the wine mature underwater in the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the constant cool temperature, minimum amount of light and higher pressure, the wine matures faster.
The vinha da casa branca is indeed a good choice. The wine is mineral with fresh notes of citrus. Then I taste a rounder touch of white peach, and at the end some grapefruit.
Delicious Portuguese dishes
Sol first serves us a plate of Iberian ham, followed by a feijoada with sea bass and mussels. It is a heavenly dish consisting of small, al dente white beans simmered with carrot, celery and onion. The feijoada is finished with cilantro leaves and parsley; the sea bass with skin is fried to a perfect crisp.
Then we taste rice with duck and chorizo. The dish reminds me of risotto. The juicy pieces of duck are tender and perfectly match the fried chorizo and the crispy topping of bread crumbs and crispy duck skin.
Pastel de nata
Brandon has a grin on his face when I first refuse dessert and then change my mind. The pastel de nata with cinnamon ice cream convinces me. Brandon returns with a warm pastry, with a thin and crispy crust. Inside is a delicious custard that is just not too firm. Served with it is a cookie crumble topped with a scoop of fresh cinnamon ice cream. The combination of spicy and cool makes for a heavenly dessert. And yes, I do lick my plate.
Bar Douro has two locations: in the City and near London Bridge, at Flat Iron Square
Once home, I try to make my own gluten-free version of pastel de nata. Want to try it yourself?
Hotspot 3: Brat x Climpson's Arch, Gaïa's favorite restaurant
Day 1 of a delicious and delightful stay is drawing to a close. After 13 km of walking the streets of East London in the biting cold, we are ready for our next discovery: Brat x Climpson's Arch.
This is Gaïa's favorite easy-to-go-to restaurant, located in London Fields. We follow her under the steel arches of a railroad and past abandoned buildings with some skepticism. Are we on the right track? Oh yes, because suddenly we see some people standing at outside tables. Brat x Climpson's Arch is half tent, half building. There is a nice buzz in the restaurant and I immediately spot the huge grill with flames flaring up. The dishes at Brat x Climpson's Arch are southern, with a definite nod to the Basque country. It is a restaurant without pretense, where every dish is an explosion of flavors and textures.
Outstanding smoked ox tongue and numerous other top dishes
At Brat x Climpson's Arch the whole table shares small plates. We start with smoked ox tongue in bagnetto rosso, a spicy gravy, followed by braised squid with Jerusalem artichoke in a spicy tomato sauce. As a side dish, we take croquettes of mojama - dried tuna - with puntarelle and citrus. Each dish is an explosion of taste, but the ox tongue is everyone’s favorite
Bread from the clay oven
Usually, you only pay attention to a bread basket when you are hungrily waiting for your food. But, at Brat's, the bread is something to look forward to all by itself. Large, tall loaves are baked in the clay oven. Then a thick slice is toasted over charcoal and served with whipped butter and sprinkled with ashes. A feast!
Closing with burnt Basque cheesecake
We continue our gastronomic journey through the Basque Country. A perfectly roasted beef sirloin steak is followed by rice with roast chicken. We also order wood-roasted pumpkin, grilled savoy cabbage and smoked potatoes. All the dishes at Brat x Climpson's Arch are knockouts in taste and quality.
The signature dessert is the Basque burnt cheesecake with pear. We are too full for dessert and decide to take a piece home for breakfast. The cheesecake is another hit. It is creamy and velvety, with no crust. This Basque cheesecake is not too compact and has lovely fresh citrus notes. The slice of stewed pear and the dollop of whipped cream are the perfect finishing touch.
Brat x Climpson's Arch is located at 374 Helmsley Place, Hackney.
Want to bring a slice of Brat x Climpson's Arch into your home? Let my recipe for Basque burnt cheesecake inspire you!
Hotspot 4: public house De Beauvoir Arms
It’s our last night in London and our legs are tired of all the walking. So we head to the local pub for a bite to eat. Our daughter takes us to her regular pub, De Beauvoir Arms. It is one of the few remaining independent pubs and a real magnet.
Mediterranean-inspired gastropub
De Beauvoir Arms is not just a pub, it is also a gastropub, operating on a first come, first serve basis. So if you want to be sure to get a table, it's best to arrive a little early. We arrive a little late and we can walk on heads. The only and best thing to do is wait around with a good lager. Fortunately, our patience is quickly rewarded.
The menu includes many Mediterranean dishes and is written on the large chalkboard. We each choose our own dish, but share the tapas. They are simple but delicious.
Did you know that ...
The term pub has only existed since the 17th century? From then on, liquor licenses were issued to certain pubs. Only places with such a license were allowed to bear the name Public House. Meanwhile, that designation is outdated, but everyone knows that with the term pub comes a specific feeling and image. Nowadays, most pubs are owned by large breweries, as is the case with our cafés
You can find De Beauvoir Arms at 113 Southgate Road.
Hotspot 5: Neal’s Yard Dairy on Essex Road
Okay, Neal's Yard Dairy is actually not a restaurant but a cheese store. So why does it deserve a spot in the list? Because "don't buy without tasting" is the mindset of Neal's Yard Dairy. And we won't be told twice....
Neal's is not just another cheese store. Here you'll find the best artisan cheeses from some 40 cheese makers in the British Isles. The base is often unpasteurized milk from local cows. Neal's then further ripens the British and Irish cheeses, making them even more unique.
Exceptional cheeses to discover
Some cheeses are even produced just for Neal's, like the colston bassett blue stilton. We taste a piece of this beautiful blue cheese. It is soft and creamy with a slightly sharper aftertaste. Unlike roquefort and gorgonzola, this is a blue cheese that everyone can appreciate.
We also taste Scottish Isle of Mull cheddar. You can almost literally smell the pasture and cows in this firm yet creamy cheese. The cheese is so exceptional that we take a piece home with us.
In addition, Neal's also sells gorwydd caerphilly and ogleshield, the English answer to raclette. The gorwydd caerphilly comes from Somerset, is slightly crumbly and has aromas of mushroom and lemon.
Neal's Yard Dairy has stores in Borough Market, Covent Garden, Angel and Bermoondsey.
