T(r)ips around the world - London's best ethnic restaurants

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For a culinary crusader London's ethnic restaurants are a treasure trove. Here are my favourites!

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London is one of my old stomping grounds and a place that will forever have a special place in my heart. 

Though, while a city of endless possibilities (especially on a Saudi gazillionaire's budget), England is not exactly a place where people travel for foodie feasts. Unless, of course, you're a culinary crusader like me and travel everywhere in search of food.

Its long colonial imperial history and substantial immigrant population make it, however, a brilliant destination for foodie travels around the world. 

While some of them do offer Michelin-standard fine dining, London's ethnic restaurants tend to be both authentic and surprisingly affordable. 

London's Brick Lane - curry lover's paradise

Many immigrant communities have settled in certain parts of London, which often translates to a hub of restaurants of particular ethnic origin.

One of the most famous ones is Brick Lane in East London, populated by South Asians (closest tube stations Aldgate East or Liverpool Street). 

The portion sizes are often so generous that one dish feeds two. Do note though that all the pappadums and other extras they so eagerly bring over tend to cost extra.

While every single one of them proudly advertizes themselves as the purveyors of the best curry in the city, the quality is rather, well, varied. One steady (though slightly pricier) favourite is  Dishoom (with 4 different branches).

Beigel Bake - piece of New York in London

Brick Lane is also home to Beigel Bake, a delightful piece of Jewish New York. A popular place, so be prepared queue (and be elbowed by your fellow diners and yes, occasionally shouted at by the staff). Luckily this local institution is open 24/7.

Perfectly chewy bagels yet surprisingly cheap (salmon and cream cheese for instance is your for mere £1.60!). Do go for the salted beef. Do.

Oy,vey - London's Jewish soul food classics

If you fancy an in-depth expedition into the heart of Jewish cuisine, head over to North London's Golder's Green, popular among the Jews.

In Central London you'll get some of that feeling at Monty's Deli.

Best Turkish food in London

If you crave Turkish food, your best bet is North London and Harringay Green Lanes region (stations: Manor House or Turnpike Lane).

In case you're not up for the travel,  don't you worry: Islington's Antepliler (tube: Angel) is the home of best pides and lahmacuns this side of Bosphorus. 

What ever you order, make sure you'll leave some room for their baclavas.

Middle Eastern food in the middle of London

If, like me, you love Middle Eastern food, you're in for some serious treats. Lebanese Yalla Yalla is good and affordable place for meze overload. 

Try lahmacun's Lebanese cousin arayes and chicken liver with pomegranate sauce.

My old home, Edgware Road is full of Lebanese restaurants too and another easy destination because of its central location. Al Arez for instance is a familiar, good no-frills place.

A brilliant place for sampling the flavours of Eastern Mediterranean is Bib Gourmand-awarded Palomar, located near Leicester Square (reservation recommended, though bar also accommodates walk-ins). 

It's hardly surprising I love them as much as I do - their sister restaurant MachneYuda in Jerusalem is one of my favourite restaurants in the whole of Israel. 

Ah, how about some Afghan food?

If you're in the mood for something a little bit more exotic, you should try Afghan cooking, such as Ariana in Kilburn (bus no 16).

Namesake to its Manhattan-based sister restaurant this establishment does not serve any alcohol, but operates a BYOB policy (no, that's not "Bring Your Own Bomb squad"). 

And what to have here? Aushaks, meat or vegetable-filled dumplings.

London's Chinatown - dim sum and then some

London't Chinatown settled in its current location in Soho back in 1970's and has become a popular tourist sight - during Chinese New Year celebrations you can't even breathe here.

My recommendation is to skip the main street Gerrard Street and head over to adjacent Lisle Street's dim sum heaven. Dim sums are usually served daily until 5pm. My favourite is Young Cheng (popular among actual Chinese people, too) where you might have to queue, especially around lunch time. 

Extensive selection (anyone for some marinated duck tongue?). All the dishes €4 or under, so even a lunch for 2 (with beers) will set you back less than €40.

In London's Japanese restaurants ramen reigns supreme

Japanese restaurants aren't gathered in any particular area, but owing to massive popularity of ramen they keep popping up everywhere.

Some places cook their stock for 3 days, some compete with the elaborate process of making their own noodles, so there's something for everyone. One tiny and extremely popular place worth recommending is Kanada-Ya.

Nobu is a world famous gourmet restaurant where, after the hype of initial years, its possible to get a reservation rather easily.

Another place for those in the market for a bit more contemporary take on things is Roka. 

The Aldwych-based restaurant is located smack in the middle of London's Theatreland, which means that early in the evening they serve affordably priced pre theatre-menus.

African food in London

The african restaurants in London tend to specialize in the delights of Northern and Eastern Africa. If you like Ethiopian food, give Eritrean a go, too. 

A good place for this is Mosob in Westbourne Park (close to Notting Hill).

Street food festivals bring the whole world together

London is also home to several street food festivals which offer the chance to sample different cuisines. South America and Asia tend to be particularly well represented. Vegans don't have to go hungry either. 

Urban Food Fest, held in Shoreditch each Saturday, is one of the best ones and one of the reasons why this eclectic neighbourhood (with its run-down bohemian vibe) has become one of my favourites. 

Best of the British - from pie & mash to Michelin stars

Ok, so what ever they might say about the British food, there's time and place for that, too. 

Located in the heart of Covent Garden, Battersea Pie Station is a must for anyone like me; always ready to worship the Holy Trinity of pie, mash and gravy.  

Oh, and make mine a Winstone.

And no trip to London would be complete without a leisurely pub lunch. Fulham's Harwood Arms even has a Michelin star! (Want to feast on a budget? Check out their lunch). 

Reservation practically mandatory.

Duck & Waffle is another great place which combines robust English traditions with continental influences (Foie Gras Crème Brûlée, anyone?). Worth the trip for its spectacular views alone (courtesy of the restaurant's location on 40th floor).

And the best part? Open 24/7!

How about it? Anyone else hungry? What are your London favourites?

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Trip around the world in London

England is a country, where people seldom travel because of the food. But if you're fan of ethnic food, London is a veritable treasure trove. Long history in colonialism imperialism and the sizable ethnic minority make it possible to travel around the world without even leaving London. Though some offer Michelin star-worthy fine dining experiences, ethnic restaurant are usually great places for authentic and budget.friendly feasts.

Many ethnic communities are located in certain parts of the city, which often means so are their restaurants. One of the most famous concentrations is Brick Lane in East London (closest Tube stations Aldgate East of Liverpool Street), traditionally home to South Asian community. Portions are often so big that one curry feeds 2 (do note, however, that pappadums and all the other accessories they so obligingly bring to the table cost extra!)

If it's Turkish food you're after, head off to North London and Harringay Green Lanes (Tube: Manor House or Turnpike Lane) If that's too far for your liking, head over to Antepliler in Isington instead (Tube: Angel), home to best pides and lahmacuns this side of Bosphorus. Everything else is good, too, but what ever you're having, make sure you leave room for their heavenly baklavas!

If Middle East has stolen your heart, too, Lebanese Yalla Yalla in Soho serves good and inexpensive meze (what to have? Lahmacun's Lebanese cousin arayes and their chicken liver in pomegranate molasses!). If you fancy something a little more exotic, get on the bus 16 to Kilburn, where you'll find Ariana. They don't serve alcohol, but like many simiar establishments, they operate BYOB policy. Try aushaks, their meat-filled dumplings.

London Chinatown moved to its current location in Soho in 1970s and is massively popular tourist trap. During Chinese New Year celebrations you can't even breathe in there! I suggest you skip the main street Gerrard Street and head over to dim sum heaven that is the adjacent Lisle Street. Dim Sums are served daily until about 5pm. My favourite is Young Cheng, popular among the Chinese, too. Extensive selection boasts variety of treats such as marinated duck tongues (!)

You won't find similar clusters of Japanese restaurants in the city, but owing to the ramen boom there are good Japanese restaurants all over London. Nobu is a world-famous gourmet francise, but since the biggest hype has died out, these days  it's fairly easy to get a table there. For a more modern take on Japanese cuisine there's Roka. PS. Their Aldwych branch, located at the heart of London's Theatre Land, offers a reasonably priced pre-theatre menu!

Most of the African restaurants in London are specialized in the cuisines of North and East Africa. For Eritrean food you should check out Mosob in Westbourne Park close to Notting Hill. 

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Hottest foodie trends in London right now

We just spent 4 glorious days eating our way through London and exploring the foodie trends of the very hip and happening capital of the glorious capital. 

While there will always be room for fine dining in London, too (the city does boast huge number of Michelin- starred restaurants!), the trend there too veers towards a more laid back approach. Most of the new restaurants want to keep the threshold low and welcome walk-ins - many of them primarily won't even take reservations!

Somewhat surprisingly though the biggest trend is still street food. New restaurants specialized in this pop up everywhere  and hungry crowds are spoilt for choice. Jamaican, South African and Vietnamese, one of the hottest tickets in Finland, too. And burgers joints galore!

London also has a variety of street food festivals to keep you going. During weekend the streets and court yards of Shoreditch, the trendiest neighbourhood in London with a charmingly lived-in, vibrant vibe, are awash with street food stalls. Trip to East is highly in order for those alone!

Urban Food Fest takes over Euro Car Park located in Shoreditch High Street every weekend and offers tasty treats from all over the world for affordable prices. In case you find yourself south of the river, do check out Vauxhall Street Food Garden. Now in its second year, it opens at noon with a selection that changes daily.

Vietnamese and Korean kitchens aren't the only ones making fans left and right - Asian cuisine at large continues its success. Bars devoted to Taiwanese bubble tea can be found at just arbout every street corner in Soho.

The hottest thing right now, however, is ramen. Different styles have a fanatic following and there's no end to the debate as to who makes the best kind. One spent six months honing the recipe for that perfect noodle, in another place the broth is the result of 20 hours of loving labour. Shoruy Ramen has a couple of centrally located branches, Islington (another favourite of mine!) is home to United Ramen. 

Oh, and if you thought those one-ingredient-restaurants were so over and done with, think again. After the porridge and breakfast cereal bars there's a new sheriff in town: polenta. Located in Soho, La Polenteria specializes in  polenta which, in a true hipster manner (that doesn't take itself too seriously at all...!) according to them is so much more than just food: it's a (wait for it) concept.

Pubs have gone through a massive change. A mere decade ago gastropubs were something to gently make fun of but these days drinking pubs are really hard to find. 

-They're simply not enough to keep the business going, we were told at Lord Wargrave, my old local. These days you need to make an effort with the wines and craft beers and food and entertainment. 

Wargrave went through a total makeover a year ago and is its owner's 5th pub. It's pride and joy is the whiskey library which stocks a whopping 200 varieties. 

At their nest, the quality of food in London pubs is stunning, Traditional pub grub such as bangers and mash has made room for oysters and artisanal burgers though. Harwood Arms in Fulham even has a Michelin star!

Micro breweries, craft this and that, small producers... they are going strong and now the trend has moved on to Champagnes. Micro breweries and distilleries keep popping up in and out of London, specializing in whiskeys and specialty vodkas and gins. 

The most outlandish ones I've heard of? Breakfast Marmelade vodka and an ant essence gin from Cambridge. Ciders are expected to follow suit  and craft ciders will be the next big thing. Already now the only cider in tap at Wargrave comes from Brittany.

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Taste of London 2015 - an overpriced letdown of a festival

The Boy Next Door can be... well, a bit special. An acquired taste, if you will, much like Guinness. Or crystal meth. Sometimes he's so lost in his own world he forgets to eat, even. But when he forgot my birthday in April, I wasn't terribly understanding. 

His birthday came round in June and I was prepared to get back at him (hell hath no fury as a woman without a birthday present!) and my vengeance knew no bounds: for his birthday I took him to London. 

Now, London is a fine city. But as far as cost of (good) living goes, it's in a league of its own. It was bad already when I lived there 10 years a go, but it's only gotten worse since. So, in case you're planning on a London getaway, come up with a budget, then double it, take all your family heirlooms to a pawn shop, sell a few organs in the black market, take out a bank loan and then you just might be able to get something out of the holiday.

We scheduled our trip around Taste of London. With the memory of Taste of Helsinki still fresh on my mind, we hit Regent's Park as soon as we arrived. 

Our press passes saved us £16 each (the entrance). The festival currency here is crown and they were sold in 10-crown-booklets.

Each dish costs between 4-56 crowns, though restaurants also had a so called icon dishes which set you back 10-12 crowns (!)

The line-up consisted of about 50 restaurants, so it was clear there was no way we could eat our way through the whole selection. Some of the restaurants were only there on a specific day, too. So, our original plan was to hit a couple really good restaurants. The choice wasn't easy, but we decided to settle for Michelin-starred L'autre Pied, Theo Randall at The Intercontinental and Michel Roux's Roux at Parliament Square.

We started our feast at L'Autre Pied, where we had Cornish crab, bisque vinaigrette, tomato and parsley oil followed by Roe deer compote with celeriac, juniper and cocoa and finished with their icon dish: Scallop ceviche, cucumber, balsamic, crème fraîche and dill.

The best thing of them all? That shell used for serving the scallop dish. I brought mine with me. I almost foraged the bins for a couple of more. For £10 that would have been reasonable. 

The gloriously sunny summer day along with a couple of cold ones spurred us on to the next stall, Theo Randall. Which featured the man himself. No, no selfies, though.

After all the pigging out of recent times The Boy Next Door had only one wish: no more sturdy dishes like slow cooked pork belly. So, I went for Spedino di Salsiccia (char-grilled Italian sausage with peppers served with cucumber, orzo, dateling tomato and basil salad).

Sausage was good and the salad was nice and summery, too. Up until now we'd been dining in polite silence but now even The Boy Next Door woke up from his thoughts. 

"Compared to that Taste of Helsinki... I mean, this has nothing on that" he pointed slowly. Not a question, just a statement. And right he was. 

The only dish to come even close to impressing with its appearance so far had been the scallop dish but the taste was so bland. The crab dish was... you know, ok, but nothing special. The deer dish had nice pulled pork- doneness (which is always nice) but didn't have much depth of flavour. 

Feeling quite a bit deflated we moved on to Michel Roux, whom, had he been there himself, I would have chained to my phone for the sake of a selfie. But no, no Monsieur Michel. 

Instead there was whiskey. The restaurant had clearly teamed up with Scotland's finest: every single dish featured the stuff one way of another. We had Balvenie and maple glazed pork belly on a brioche bun with hispi salad finished off with a spritz of whiskey and Crab soup with spiced lollipop.

Crab soup showed some effort and its presentation actually had a bit of a wow-factor to it. The taste didn't live up to it though as whiskey was too dominant. Burger was good. Brioche as very good.

Seeing I'm not familiar with London festival I don't know what the deal is. Are all the dishes watered-down versions on the restaurant's expertise? Or does the sheer volume lead to inevitable compromise?

The selection at Taste of Helsinki is excellent, year in year out. Not everything is a hit, but there are definitely more hits than there are misses. And even the misses show some real effort - they really give you an idea of what they do and whether it's worth booking a table there. Here? I wouldn't be tempted to eat at any of the restaurants we tried. 

At this point we just wanted to get rid of the remaining crowns and that we did at Roka and Aqua Kyoto.

At Roka we had Black cod, crab and crayfish dumplings.  And finally we started to see some taste and complexity.

At Aqua Kyoto we had Karage of stuffed chicken wings with spicy ginger lime mitsuba miso. Very good, especially that lovely zingy sauce.

Did not expect to be writing this but... Damn, we have a fine festival back home. The appearance and quality of the dishes that Taste of Helsinki does, that's a celebration of gourmet food. This on the other hand...I don't know what this was supposed to be. 

Like in London in general, there's a lot more ethnic colour at the festival, too. Some of them seemed really, really good, too. 

There were loads of exhibitors and events. In addition to cooking school sessions there were for instance Bloody Mary workshops (£7).

We both found the festival an overpriced letdown. But, having said that, we returned home with a newly found sense of pride. We have a fantastic thing going on here in Helsinki and our restaurants really have it going on.  

Go, Finland! Go, Taste of Helsinki!

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