London Food Round Up

Okay, so I've been living in London for 6 months now and in my last post I stated that my life is food-filled and believe me, I'm not lying: so I thought I'd do a little post about some of the places we've eaten in London so far this year. Baring in mind that London is expensive and we are so very poor, we mainly stick to street food markets, back alley restaurants and general junk food places. Also, some of you may know that I am vegetarian and have been for just over 8 years - although Will is still a whole-hearted meat eater!

What: Pon Pachos

Where: Baba G's at Pop Brixton

Rating: 5/5

Me and Will literally just stumbled across Pop Brixton completely by chance. It's a cool little event area made up of shipping containers and makeshift units, filled with independent businesses selling drinks, food, clothes, accessories etc. Baba G's was an Indian food stall selling mainly burgers and pon pachos - nachos, but with poppadoms - amazing! It was topped with a potato veggie burger, red cabbage and various tasty sauces - we shared this one portion but there is no doubt that I could have eaten the whole thing to myself! 

What: Koshari

Where: Koshari Street at Borough Market

Rating: 4/5

There is so much choice for amazing food at Borough Market, but I finally settled on Koshari as I'd never tried Egyptian food before. As you can see on the photo it's a dish containing rice, lentils, pasta, vermicelli with tomato sauce, chickpeas and fried onions. This was really so good - although I asked for virtually no tomato sauce so it ended up being a bit dry but still tasty nonetheless! 

What: Dirty Cop Out

Where: Dirty Burger

Rating: 4/5

Dirty Burger is essentially opposite where I work so everyday I walk past with my tongue hanging out my mouth. The best thing about London food is that most places will have a decent vegetarian option. The burgers in Dirty Burger were a little smaller than expected but actually tasted really good. As a vegetarian, I can't stand places that just do the boring basic veggie patty burgers so this was a nice change with grilled portobello mushrooms and pickles instead. 

What: Oreo Doughnuts

Where: Crispy Candy Co. at Camden

Rating: 2/5

I was under the impression that this would be more of a deep fried oreo situation. Me and Will once had a deep fried creme egg in Cornwall and it was so good, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. These, while still very tasty and very unhealthy did not live up to my greasy expectations. More like a doughnut with an oreo in the middle, which it was. 

What: Wild mushrooms on toast with lemon and parsley

Where: Southbank Food Market

Rating: 4/5

As soon as I saw this I knew that I had to eat it. I love mushrooms and I love toast, what a wonderful combination. This was super tasty and the bread was divine, although the toast to mushroom ratio was a little off and I struggled on the most part to actually fit it into my mouth and things got a little messy, but it was all good in the end. 

What: Haloumi Galette

Where: Vauxhall Street Food Garden

Rating: 5/5

I waited in line on my own for around 15 minutes for this one and I'm happy to say it was worth it. I am a fan of any sweet things that can be eaten as savoury things and vice versa. I am assuming a galette is the savoury version of a crepe, as it was cooked like a pancake and they were also serving crepes. Very filling and didn't skimp on the haloumi like a lot of places do and I appreciate this a lot as I am super greedy. 

What: Mushroom Tagliatelle 

Where: Corleone's in Colliers Wood

Rating: 5/5

We weren't expecting much from this one, you wouldn't even think it was a restaurant from outside, but it is actually amazing. We've even been back a few times since. The food was super tasty and you got a lot of it. General rustic Italian food and good wine, definitely a favourite! 

What: Black-bean and feta arepa

Where: Brixton

Rating: 3/5

I can't actually remember the name of the stall where we got this one, although I know it is Venezuelan food and we got it at a mini outside area in Brixton and there was a band playing. Anyway this was like a freshly cooked flatbread stuffed with black-beans, feta cheese and sauces. It was so good but not massively filling and it was the messiest thing I have ever eaten, I literally spent the rest of the day walking round with black-beans in my eyebrows.

What: Mixed vegetable spaghetti

Where: Italo in Vauxhall

Rating: 4/5

Italo is a super cute Italian delicatessen cafe' in Vauxhall. They change the menu daily and you can buy amazing fresh bread, coffee and other yummy things there. We've been here a few times because the food is delish and it's SO cheap! All seating is outside so perfect to go to on a glorious summer day!

What: Spinach and feta Moroccan wraps

Where: Southbank Food Market

Rating: 5/5

Me and Will go back to the Southbank Food Market time and time again, there's just so much choice and all really good quality stuff. These were so good, I am not ashamed to say I ate two - one right after the other. Really cheap and really filling, probably one of my fave street food finds to date!

What: Haloumi and red pepper salad

Where: The Oval Lounge in Oval

Rating: 4/5

We actually only ended up going to this one because we were early for an appointment with our estate agent, had some time to kill and I was hungry, as usual. This was on a rare day when I was trying to be healthy so I opted for the haloumi salad and I remember saying at the time that it was the best salad I had ever had, but now I wonder if the lack of unhealthy food throughout the day and the several ciders possibly clouded my judgement?