In my previous article, I talked about London shopping. But one of my favorite things about London is the food. It’s not just the abundance of international food in the city; it’s also the excellent traditional English food.
CONTENT
Pub Grub
Full English Breakfast
Pasties
High Tea
Biscuits
Cheese
Indian Food
Chinatown
Italian Food
Fine Dining
One More Thing
Pub Grub in London
While it may be challenging to extol the benefits of Yorkshire pudding, the “pub grub” is something to behold and consume, along with a pint. There’s nothing like “a pie and a pint.” A pub may offer Shepherd’s Pie (see photo above), Steak and Ale pie, Chicken in a Basket, Ploughman’s lunch, Fish and Chips, or Bangers and Mash (sausage and mashed potatoes). It’s a great mid-day meal or light dinner fare. It will stick to your ribs.
A “pub” is a Public House. There are two kinds in the UK: a Tied House must buy at least some beer from a particular brewery or pub company. A Free House is not so restricted and may buy its beer freely.
In addition to beer, you’ll find ale. I was treated to this local brew:
Cider is an increasingly popular beverage among Americans. Usually made from fermented apple juice, the UK has the world’s highest per capita consumption.
Full English Breakfast
Let us reflect on the nobility of the Full English Breakfast. It is a glory to behold and available in many pubs and most Bed & Breakfast establishments.
One wonders how Hobbits would want a Second Breakfast after this fabulous fare. In addition to fried or poached eggs, there are sausages, baked tomatoes, baked beans, mushrooms, toast, and “rashers,” sometimes called bacon but not to be confused with the “streaky bacon,” with which Americans are more familiar. It also comes with “black pudding,” sometimes called blood pudding. You might skip that.
Sometimes, may want to get an English Breakfast that is not so full, nor will it make you so. You pick.
Cornish Pasties
A unique British treat is a pastie. It is what we’d call a “turnover,” and it comes in sweet (fruit filling) or savory (meats, vegetables, spices) varieties. They’re often called Cornish pasties, from the southwest of England, where they say they’ll “feed your soul.”
High Tea
“Meat tea” was an early evening light meal between 5–7 pm. In the UK, they’ll call their midday meal dinner and evening meal tea (6 pm). A “high tea” is something a bit more interesting. It is often served on a multi-tiered tray of savory food (hot or cold cuts, or even egg or meat salads), followed by cakes, bread, butter, and especially clotted cream and jam. And, of course, tea.
You’ll get three tiers at a fancy establishment: savories on the bottom, scones in the middle, and sweet petit four on top. It’s widely available all over London. If you want to go high-end, there are Harrods and The Shard (the tallest building in London).
If you want to go fancy on a day trip out of London, you’ll find high tea in the Grand Pump Room Restaurant at Bath (with live music) or the Orangery Restaurant at Blenheim Palace. You’ll want to book ahead.
Biscuits
Biscuit is the British word for our American cookie. But there’s a special biscuit, often taken with tea, as in “tea and biscuits.” It’s a digestive. This may sound off-putting, but only until you taste one. It is not as sweet as our American cookies; it’s a “sweet meal” or a “semi-sweet” biscuit.
Originally from Scotland, it was initially developed in 1839 by two doctors to aid digestion. Historically, sodium bicarbonate was an ingredient. They’re made from wheat flour, sugar, malt extract, butter, wholemeal, salt, and leavening agents like sodium bicarbonate, tartaric acid, or malic acid.
The first ones produced were made by Robert McVitie in 1892, and they were the best-selling in the UK and former British Commonwealth locations worldwide. I found them in Singapore. They’re excellent for “dunking” in your tea. The UK’s favorite snack is the chocolate-covered variety. Mine, too, particularly the milk chocolate ones.
Cheese in England
There’s nothing like English cheese. There are so many varieties and such a spectrum from mild to sharp. The sharpness is even numbered in grocery stores. Cheese is delicious and so easy to make jokes with.
If you want to see cheese being made, you might visit the Yorkshire Dales — about a five-hour drive from London — where you’ll find various notable dairies and creameries. Stop into Wensleydale, the namesake of Wensleydale cheese. “Dale” means valley, the dale is usually named after the river that runs through it or a village there.
The town market is Wensley, but close by, in the village of Hawes, is the Wensleydale Creamery. Farmers have been making cheese in the area since 1150. Back then, cheese was made from sheep’s and goat’s milk. From that, local French Cistercian monks, originally from Roquefort, France, made cheese. This current creamery was built in 1897. Makers of fine cheese — you can see a 30-minute demonstration — and ice cream, they have a cheese shop open to the public.
And yes, it became more popular after being featured in the Wallace and Gromit series. There is even a particular brand of Wensleydale cheese called “Wallace and Gromit Wensleydale.”
I believe it is part of the inspiration for Monty Python‘s “Cheese Shop” skit, where John Cleese asks cheese shop owner Michael Palin what cheeses he has. Cleese gets a “Yes” when he guesses Wensleydale, but Palin is quick to point say:
“Oh! I thought you were talking to me, sir. Mister Wensleydale, that’s my name.”
Speaking of Monty Python, there is a line in their movie The Life of Brian, where the characters are listening to Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount. Unable to hear him well, one of Brian’s followers asks what Jesus said. He’s told:
“I think it was ‘Blessed are the cheesemakers’.”
Elsewhere in the Yorkshire Dales, the Courtyard Dairy uses that quote as their motto. The owner loves Monty Python.
This 2013 World Cheese Awards “Cheesemonger of the Year” sells some of the best cheese I’ve had. It’s not pasteurized, so they don’t ship to the US. But if you stop into their shop, tell them how much of the cheese wheel you’d like, and they’ll cut the cheese for you with a wire cheese slicer.
Indian Food in London
Two words: Chicken tikka. Start with that. If you’re new to Indian food, ask for “mild” spicy. Traditionally, it’s small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers on a brazier or over charcoal after marinating in Indian spices and yogurt. It is essentially a boneless version of tandoori chicken.
It’s been said the finest Indian food in the world can be found in London because of the availability of a myriad of fresh ingredients. I’ve been to many Indian restaurants between Heathrow Airport and South Kensington. In London’s East End, due to an influx of Bangladeshi immigrants, Brick Lane is known for the high concentration of Indian restaurants and excellent curry.
Chinatown in London
In Westminster, between Soho and Theaterland, is London’s Chinatown. It has various Asian restaurants, bakeries, markets, and souvenir shops. You can’t go wrong; every door seems to open to a haven of Asian aromas. You’ll find Beijing, Cantonese, Sichuan, Cantonese, Xi’an, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese food in abundance.
Don’t forget the dim sum and dumplings. Ask for the xiao long bao (soup-filled) dumplings. Many restaurants are open late, so if you go to a show in the West End, it’s right next door for a post-show meal. If you find yourself there at 3 am, there’s the Lanzhou Lamian Noodle Bar.
Italian Food in London
Many years ago, when I took my family to London, I intended to take them to a different kind of restaurant each night so they could sample international food from around the world: French, Indian, and Italian. I made the tactical error of taking them first to an Italian restaurant in South Kensington called Pierino. We ate there four nights in a row and never got to the Indian restaurant next door. My children ate through the pizza menu; my wife and I worked our way through the pasta dishes.
I highly recommend the establishment. Delicious food, reasonably priced, and family-owned. I eat there whenever I’m in London.
Fine Dining in London
If you want to splurge, if you want a dining experience you’ll never forget, try the Belvedere in Holland Park. The restaurant is inside an old Orangery in Holland Park that featured visitors like Byron and Dickens.
It’s an excellent place for a celebration or to dazzle your partner. The food is fabulous — they closed due to COVID-19 but reopened with a renowned Italian-trained chef. The atmosphere is sumptuous, the decor is Art Deco, and the live piano music will take you back to the 1930s. Its balcony offers alfresco dining.
Ambiance: elegant. First-class dinner demands first-class prices. Expect to pay $100 and up. Book ahead.
One More Thing
One cannot leave the UK without having tried the British Cadbury chocolate. Founded in Birmingham in 1824 by John Cadbury, a Quaker who also sold tea, coffee, and drinking chocolate, the business had been in the family for years. Their Dairy Milk chocolate, my favorite, was unique because it used a higher proportion of milk than competitors. They merged with J. S. Fry & Sons in 1919 and Schweppes in 1969. In 2021, it was acquired by Kraft Foods. Today, in the UK, Cadbury is the official snack partner of the Premier League (football).
“Wait,” say you, gentle reader, “what about Cadbury that you can buy in any American grocery store?“
Not the same. Tastes different. Made from different ingredients. You have to taste it to recognize it.
Cadbury USA has its headquarters in New Jersey, and it purchased Peter Paul (think: Mounds, Almond Joy). In 1988, the Hershey Company in Pennsylvania manufactured and distributed Cadbury chocolate in the US. Many consumers have complained that the Hershey-made chocolate is inferior to the original British version. That’s why you need to get it in England. I do:
You can find Cadbury chocolate almost anywhere in London. They even have vending machines in the London Underground that sell the chocolate bars. The Brits are so civilized.
Next article: London Literature, Theatre, Music, and Films
Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com