Welcome to Part 2 of my London food feast series 😀 If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, then what are you waiting for- here you go!
I’m quite excited about the second part as it has some of my favourites! It will be perfect reading time for your journey home after work 😀
Let’s start it off with something fresh and ‘light’.
OBICÀ MOZZARELLA BAR, South Kensington/Charlotte Street/Canary Wharf etc:
I don’t eat a lot of cheese but when I do…. 😉 I wanted to eat something that wasn’t a mains portion but still get that ‘filling’ feeling, you know what I mean? I know cheese and bread is not exactly light but the texture of the Stracciatella di burrata is creamy, fresh and the coldness of that paired with the bread is perfect.
I’ve heard their pizzas are good but can’t say as I haven’t tried them…yet! But a Mozzarella Bar is one I like. If you’re craving some good quality mozzarella and nothing else, then make you way to these guys. More information on their website here.
THE RUM KITCHEN, CARNABY STREET AND NOTTING HILL GATE:
I’d heard a lot about The Rum Kitchen and I LOVE Caribbean food. Their social media guys are really good at their job too so that definitely helped generate the interest! 😀
And so, my friend and I made our way to their Carnaby Street branch located inside Kingly Court. Excited with anticipation and the delicious food we were going to try, we headed inside the busy venue. This is one place that is always full of hustle and bustle. You can either have drinks here or enjoy a good meal.
We ordered some of our favourite starters, the salt fish fritters and the jerk chicken wings followed by a curried mutton to share. The meal was decent– it didn’t blow our mind. The coating around the salt fish was a little hard and I would’ve preferred the Curried Mutton to be more spicy in true Caribbean style.
SO go here for the ambience, the drinks and the food. But I still prefer the Cafe Caribbean stand at Spitalfields Market 🙂 For more information on The Rum Kitchen, go here.
Cocochan, St Christopher’s Place, Bond Street:
Located right behind Bond street within the restaurant hub of St Christopher’s Place is this newish Pan Asian restaurant. I follow them on instagram (@Cocochanlondon) and thought I’d take my friend there for lunch.
We decided to go for the Lunch Bento Box offer they have going. It’s perfect for lunch time especially if you have limited time and need to go some where after. Prices start at £15.50 so not the cheapest lunch option if you’re coming from work but hey! it’s worth it.
I ordered the meat bento box because I’m a hardcore carnivore. Everything in the bento box was seasoned to perfection and I especially loved the lamb chop. So juicy and tender. Usually with bento boxes, I find some of the dishes pale in comparison to the others. But not in this one. However, it did mean that I felt a little overwhelmed by the influx of all this meat 😛
I did get a little food envy when I saw my friend’s seafood bento box. I could’ve easily demolished that!
I will definitely go back here again and try something different- may be the Soft Shell Crab Tempura :D. For more information and menu, click here.
RITA’S, Mare Street (close to the London Fields overground station):
I’m so excited to be writing about this restaurant. This unassuming place was initially a pop-up which then turned into a permanent fixture in the ever evolving East London food scene. How did I find out about them? That’s the best part. Through Instagram (follow them on @ritasdining) 😀 pretty cool right??
I saw one photo crop up on my newsfeed, and by the 3rd photo I was literally drooling. I thought to myself I HAVE to go here. So luckily, a regular meet-up with a group of friends was coming up and I knew exactly where I wanted to go.
Everything on their menu is worth eating. Just look at their Instagram account and you’ll know what I’m talking about. They cook food that not only looks great but makes you salivate! What you SHOULD order is:
– The soy and ginger wings
– Green Chilli mac and cheese
– Patty Melt Deluxe, and anything else you fancy on top.
For any vegetarian and non-veg, the pumpkin starter is delicious. I love my meat but I had this and I didn’t really crave for much else. Of course I ordered the soy and ginger wings on the side. How could I not?
These gooey fish fritters were AMAZING!! Perfect with the chutney.
Who can go wrong with an Oreo Pie?! #deathbyOreo
I was left a bit divided by Salt Chocolate Pretzel Mousse. I know it was going to be a little salty but it was TOO salty for my taste. I found myself trying to eat the sweet bits of the dessert as the salty pretzel made it too salty to finish it all.
I’ve been here twice with two different group of friends but the verdict is still the same- AMAZING. Go there ASAP! 🙂 More information and website can be found here.
Rotisserie Bute Street, South Kensington:
I discovered this restaurant when I was browsing on the hungryhouse app. I was craving a roast chicken and was too lazy to cook. Lo and behold, my prayers got answered and I found Rotisserie Bute Street in South Kensington.
Since roast chicken was the ‘healthier’ option, I felt the need to pig out on other things in the menu. I love goat’s cheese and the salad sounded really tempting so ordered that. No roast chicken is complete without a side of potatoes and I have a special love for Gratin Dauphinois. To be honest, I love anything that is carbs and starchy!
I loved the fact how well packaged the meal was. No leaking/half open boxes in sight.
The only criticism would be for the dauphinois- they weren’t warmed through properly and that made almost quarter of the box inedible. Other than that, I will definitely be ordering from these guys. They’ve updated their menu to include some delicious lamb and cous cous dishes so I know what my next order will include. For more information and menu, click here. Thank you hungryhouse for helping me discover this takeaway! 😀
LEVANT, Wigmore Street (nearest station: Bond Street):
The last time couple of times I went to Levant was in 2012. Yes! ages ago. My girlfriends and I were looking for something near Bond Street and belly dancing so I suggested we head to Levant. I wasn’t sure whether the food was going to be of the same quality as the last review I did was around that time.
But you know what, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the food ridiculously delicious (I cleaned my plate), everyone on the table was full of praises. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a shock because Tony Kitous (owner of Levant) also owns Kenza and Comptoir Libanais. Both popular and successful restaurants in their own right. I booked through Twitter so great to see these guys are actively checking their Twitter account and taking booking through that as well.
And for all the belly dancing enthusiasts, there’s plenty of that too! For more information, menu and bookings, click here.
THE QUEENSBURY KITCHEN, Willesden Green:
The last and certainly NOT the least in this Part 2 series is a place I was really keen to visit. The Queensbury Kitchen is the sister restaurant of the popular Queensbury Gastropub. They also do brunch on the weekends from 9am-11pm!
This restaurant is located a short 2 minute walk from the Willesden Green. On an extremely cold winter evening, this was the perfect place to come in and seek refuge. From the tastefully done interior through to the little details like the seating and the bar- it was all so welcoming. The long table in the middle is a perfect for a big group with lots of food in the middle- sharing, laughing and eating!
Having never tried Blackened Salmon before, I decided to go for it. Salmon is one of my favourite fish to eat so was really interested in trying this variation. My friend went for their burger and I got massive food envy– I just love a good burger.
The blackened cod on its own was delicious and cooked well. I would’ve liked some kind of potato gratin on the side. The cherry tomatoes definitely helped otherwise the dish would’ve been too dry. The salmon was cooked to perfect and wasn’t dry at all. The almost crisp black coating gave the salmon its real flavour. I wasn’t so sure about the ‘salad’ on the side.
For the sides we ordered sweet potato fries (but of course), the hand cut fries and I wanted to try the smokey beans so ordered those as well.
My bad, I thought smokey beans would be more dry but they turned out to be a smokey version of baked beans. On their own, they were moorish and we kept on dipping our spoons and having a bite every now and then.
My friend loves her burgers and she gave the beef burger a thumbs up. She loved it! The beef was cooked to perfection and it was full of flavour. I did wish I had gone for a slightly greasier option too 😀
Looking at the dessert menu, how could we NOT order the Ice cream sundae– fruit version! 😀 and the Chocolate Brownie and Ice cream dessert. There used to be a flavour of ice cream called the Tutti Fruiti in Pakistan and it was one of my favourites. The Ice cream sundae was the upgraded and better version of that. The slight tang from the berries offset the sweetness of the ice cream and we kept on eating. The generous helping of fresh cream on top was heavenly! (7th cheat day of the week…)
Any menu that has the chocolate brownie and ice cream combo or related to chocolate is on my list of automatically order. My brain just doesn’t register anything other than that. I’m more of savoury person and I don’t like overly sweet desserts and this one was definitely not. And I’m glad it wasn’t. The brownie, ice cream and the chocolate sauce on top- all complimented each other and made for one epic food coma after. The grill options and sandwiches look amazing especially the sticky chicken and sweet chilli sandwich on their menu so definitely going to try that next time. Also The Queensbury Kitchen has given me a reason to go to Willesden Green. I had never been there before! 😀 The Queensbury Kitchen is definitely one of the reasons you should go there. SO here’s me going out on a high!
Hope you enjoyed the 2 part series of blog posts. I know it’s a lot to take in but I think it gives you some good options of where to eat in one go rather than going through different blog posts! Stay tuned for some new blog posts coming your way featuring burgers, pizzas and some lovely brunch options 😉 xxx
Check out some other blog posts, featuring:
Kopapa (and other brunch options)
Breakfast at Jackson & Rye, Soho
