London for Foodies

Philipp Bauknecht
9 min readNov 17, 2018

I love great food and was really surprised to rediscover London as a spectacular culinary destination after several years of not traveling there. This article reflects my personal highlights from the last 5 or so visits to London in the recent 12 months including places for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. All experiences are first hands and all locations are easy accessible by tube and pretty much in Central London.

Restaurants

Roast

Cuisine: Modern British
Pro Tip: Beef Wellington Special every Saturday for Dinner
Location: Borough Market

Website | OpenTable

Been there a total of 4 times now and still love it. It’s located inside the Borough Market with lots of nice little pubs in walking distance for after dinner drinks. My favorites are the Chateaubriand to share, Beef Wellington (only on Saturdays) and the Yorkshire Pudding.

Impressions from Roast, September 2017, April and October 2018

Roka

Cuisine: Japanese Fusion
Pro Tip: Brunch Tasting Menu every Sunday (Lunch and Dinner)
Location: Multiple, we visited the Aldwych location 2 times

Website | OpenTable

They serve a fantastic tasting menu they call a brunch (even tough it’s also available at dinner) every sunday. You get to taste lots of different appetizers and then choose a main. A highlight is also the dessert plate at the end. A bit of everything nicely arranged. A must go for everyone who loves Japanese Fusion and worth the prize of aprox. 60 pounds/person.

Impressions from Roka Aldwych, April 8th and October 28th 2018

Dishoom

Cuisine: Indian
Pro Tip: Great for a lunch break when shopping Carnaby Street
Location: Multiple, we visited the Carnaby location

Website | Reservation

Since I haven’t had the chance to visit India by myself and can say that this was the best Indian food I had to date. Fresh & Spicy! Make sure you have a reservation or arrive prior to lunch time to avoid long waits for a table.

Impressions from Dishoom Carnaby, October 27th 2018

Hakkasan

Cuisine: Chinese Fusion
Pro Tip: This is the original location of the franchise, far better than the US locations we’ve visited so far and rated with one Michelin star.
Location: Hanway Place in walking distance from Carnaby Street and the theaters.

Website | OpenTable

Legendary Place! Been to the Las Vegas and Miami Beach branch before but this original restaurants really stands out. The food was amazing! It’s a bit dark and has an underground vibe. Also try the cocktails!

Impressions from Hakkasan Hanway Place, October 26th 2018

Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack

Cusine: British Seafood
Pro Tip: Come early for lunch since it’s tiny and always packed.
Location: Soho

Website

Found this place when searching for the ultimate Fish&Chips in town for a business meeting and boy, this tiny place delivered! We had various seafood appetizers and truly the best Fish&Chips of my life. Everything tasted so fresh and we had an excellent service that turned a short business lunch into a hours long culinary experience.

Impressions from Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack Soho, January 11th 2018

Smith & Wollensky

Cuisine: American Steakhouse
Pro Tip: Truffle Mac&Cheese!
Location: 10min walk from Covent Garden

Website | OpenTable

For me Smith & Wollensky represents the quintessential New York Steakhouse. I might be a bit biased with this one, since it was the first US Steakhouse I’ve ever visited when I first traveled to New York a long time ago but it’s dark heavy classic decor, the waiters with their butcher jackets and stars and of course the steaks that are seasoned to perfection still are the benchmark for the ultimate steak house to me. They are my number one with their flagship restaurant in Midtown Manhattan and their spectacular restaurant at the south end of Miami Beach.

So I was very excited to learn they just opened their first bridgehead in Europe in London this year. I feared if they would be able to translate the full experience but they did.

From ambiance to food: If you’re looking to have a great steak in London, check out this place. I felt like dining the New York just 1,5 hours flight from home. Fully supporting my personal steak dramaturgy they serve classic Ceasar’s salad, creamed spinach, truffled Mac&Cheese and of course the Chateaubriand to die for.

Impressions from Smith & Wollensky London, October 29th 2018

Camden Market Street Food

Cuisine: Everything from around the world!
Pro Tip: Beef Bourguignon Burger with Raclette cheese
Location: 5min walk from Camden Town tube station

Website

This market located inside and around historic stables is a very nice shopping and foodie location offering a vast collection of street food stalls as well as creative shops. You can easily spend half a day here just walking around and sampling… Very very very crowded on weekends.

Impressions from Camden Market Streetfood, October 29th 2018

Tramshed

Cuisine: British/Steak
Pro Tip: Check out the Cock ’n’ Bull installation by Damien Hirst
Location: Shoreditch

Website | OpenTable

It’s a decent beef spot in trendy Shoreditch scoring a solid 3rd place after Smith & Wollensky and Roast.

Breakfast

Lantana

Cuisine: Australian
Pro Tip: They offered an extended weekend brunch menu including delicious french toast with spiced poached pears, orange mascarpone & pistachio crumble.
Location: Shoreditch

Website

French Toast — Spiced poached pears, orange mascarpone & pistachio crumble, October 27th 2018

The Breakfast Club

Cuisine: British/American
Location: Multiple, we’ve been to the Shoreditch location

Website

Impressions from The Breakfast Club Shoreditch, October 28th 2018

Granger & Co.

Cuisine: Modern British
Location: Multiple, we’ve been to the Kings Cross location

Website

Impressions from Granger & Co. Kings Cross, October 29th 2018

Hotels & Bars

The Boundary Project

Location: Shoreditch

Website | OpenTable

Stunning rooftop bar in the center of trendy Shoreditch offering stunning views of the city. We had some drinks there but didn’t try the kitchen.

Photos from OpenTable

The Curtain

Location: Shoreditch

Website

We spent 3 nights in this really nice music themed hotel in the center of Shoreditch. The hotel also has a nice rooftop bar and pool and our room featured even a steam bath.

Photos from the Hotel Website

The Montcalm Royal London House

Location: Shoreditch

Website

Stayed there during our most recent visit. Nice rooms, stunning rooftop bar and a underground SPA with pool and jacuzzi.

American Bar in the Savoy Hotel

Location: Covent Garden

Website

Voted the world’s best bar in 2017 this bar offers fabulous cocktails dedicated to famous persons and each with it’s own story to it. Classy place to go to before dinner in walking distance to Roka.

Impressions from American Bar London, October 28th 2018

St. Christopher’s Pub

Location: Borough Market

Website

Classic pub near London Bridge perfect for some drinks after visiting Roast. We’ve been spent a night there with live music on a thursday. Lots of locals/after work visitors.

Photo from Booking.com

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Philipp Bauknecht
Philipp Bauknecht

Written by Philipp Bauknecht

CEO @ Medialesson. Microsoft Regional Director & MVP Windows Development. Father of identical twins. Passionate about great User Interfaces, NYC & Steaks

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