What I Ate in London: January

In addition to my New Year’s resolutions, I’ve also made it a goal to check out more of London’s dining scene this year. Eating out in London can be expensive, but there are some good budget places out there. And really, eating at a good restaurant makes me happier than pretty much anything else. And you can’t put a price on happiness, can you?

I’ve decided to document some of my favorite London food finds in a monthly roundup. Because I only decided to do this about midway through the month, a lot of the photos in this post are rather low quality iPhone pictures. I apologize!

Manuka Kitchen

This is technically cheating because I ate at Manuka Kitchen on December 31, but it was such a great meal that I felt it had to be written about on this blog. My friends and I made a last minute New Year’s Eve booking at this restaurant after Googling places near Fulham. The reviews were phenomenal and the menu looked creative and interesting. It was something different than your average high street chain.

It was hard to decide what to order, so we decided to go with a variety of small plates to share. The bone marrow and saffron arancini were a little dry, but everything else was delicious. I particularly liked the dandelion and goats curd crostini and the crispy squid with black lime sauce.

The prices at Manuka Kitchen are very reasonable and the small restaurant has a cozy ambience. I will definitely be back to try more of the menu, especially as they are relatively close to home in Southwest London.

510 Fulham Road SW6 5NJ. For more information visit their website.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen

I woke up on New Year’s day craving something greasy. Because I’d just returned from Italy, my cupboards were bare and my refrigerator was empty. Enter GBK, the popular UK burger chain, which was luckily open. I usually shy away from chain restaurants, but GBK is an example of a way to do a chain right. They source all their beef from the West Country and make all of the sauces fresh daily in each restaurant’s kitchen.

I chose the fattiest burger on the menu, The Camemburger- camembert, a hash brown, truffle mayo, onion jam, and relish in a brioche bomb. This will probably help lead to my eventual heart attack, but damn if it wasn’t worth it. The burger was rich, but I ate every last bite. The shoestring fries were delicious, and though I didn’t have one, the milk shakes looked spot on.

Various locations. For more information visit their website.

Taqueria

A lot of what claims to be Mexican food in the UK is really just not good. It’s not even that it is bad Mexican, it is more like a failed attempt at the American Tex-Mex. This poses a problem when I’m craving tacos. Back in November when I met the lovely Ceri for dinner and drinks she recommended Taqueria in Notting Hill for legit Mexican. She lived in Mexico for two years, so I trusted her recommendation and finally went to check the place out one Sunday afternoon.

Taqueria makes their corn tortillas in-house daily and offers a wide variety of authentic tacos as well as dishes like huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, and tostadas. I had the huarache, a round corn tortille topped with steak, refried beans, guacamole, jalapeno, tomato, onions, and cilantro. I’d never tried this dish before but it hit that Mexican spot. I want to go back and try their tacos, hopefully during Taco Happy Hour (Monday-Thursday 4pm-7pm).

139-143 Westbourne Grove W11 2RS. Fore more information visit their website.

The London Particular

I spend no more time in New Cross than I need to. Not because it isn’t cool (I wouldn’t know, I don’t spend enough time there), but because by the time class is over I usually want to get home ASAP and on the days when I don’t have class I’m not too keen on making the over and hour journey there just for fun. Thus, I haven’t really checked out what New Cross has to offer in terms of food outside the Goldsmiths’ Costa.

Now that I have a 3 hour break in my Tuesday schedule this has changed. So the first week of term I went to check out The London Particular, a tiny restaurant serving what they call “classic English with a modern twist”. Everything is prepared in the restaurant with fresh, high quality, and seasonal ingredients. They aim to source all of their ingredients from small suppliers as locally as possible.

The menu changes often, with specials written on a big chalkboard on the wall. I had Jerusalem artichoke and celeriac fritters served with fried spinach, a poached egg, homemade horseradish, and a side salad. It was a simple dish done really well, one that let the freshness of the ingredients shine. I think The London Particular will become a New Cross staple for me.

399 New Cross Road SE14 6LA. For more information visit their website.

New Culture Revolution

My flatmate Claire has been raving about this place since I moved here. I don’t think a week has gone by when she hasn’t mentioned the amazing noodles and spectacular dumpings of New Culture Revolution in Chelsea. Last week we set up a lunch date so I could finally see if this place lived up to all the hype in our flat.

New Culture Revolution focuses on the cuisine of Northern China, where wheat is a more substantial part of the diet, rather than rice like the rest of China. Thus there is a focus on dumplings and noodles which are made fresh for the restaurant.

We shared a bowl of chao mian with prawns, beef, and chicken and also a selection of their dumplings. The xiao long bao were unfortunately not up to Din Tai Fung standards, but the shrimp wontons and grilled pork and Chinese leaves dumplings were phenomenal. The prices were reasonable, especially considering the location, and the noodle portion was more than generous.

New Culture Revolution definitely lived up to the hype.

305 Kings Road SW3 5EP. For more information visit their website.

If you’re looking to come to London, whether it be to eat at some of the wonderful restuarants or to see the historical sites, check out Accor hotels. They offer some great deals in an expensive city.

Disclaimer: Though this post was sponsored by a third party, it was written completely by me and all opinions are my own. I ate at all these places and paid for all meals myself.