UK Recap: Food is GREAT
Last week I travelled across the UK with Great British Food where I tried more scotch, gin, wine and beer that I could’ve ever imagined along with loads of traditional British dishes ranging from scotch eggs to crumpets and everything in between.
Here’s a little run down of the trip by city:
London:
Cheerio! I loved London. Though quite similar to NYC (big buildings, people in a rush, etc.) it definitely has a Euro-feel, is much cleaner and it’s pretty hard to beat the accents. As for food, I was able to make it to a bunch of the spots on my list (many of which were recommended by you).
Here’s a short list of my must-eats:
– Borough Market (preferred over Camden Market). Must eats: Bread Ahead doughnuts, Basta Pasta and the raclette.
– Sketch: go for high tea and do the pre-fixe for the full experience.
– Dishoom for approachable Indian food. The waits are crazy and they only take reservations for 6+ so plan accordingly. Must orders are the fried okra, black Dahl, lamb biryani and all the breads.
– Mille’s Lounge at The Ned: super trendy, perfect way to start a Saturday night. Very good burger.
– Duck & Waffle: Go here for brunch. Self explanatory.
– Padella: incredible pasta next to Borough Market. The lines start around an hour before opening so go early and be ready to wait!
Kent:
During our one day stop in Kent, I learned more about wine (and probably drank more wine)in any 24 hour period. Here, we visited Gusbourne, Hush Heath and Chapel Down wineries. My favorite was probably Chapel Down, probably because our visit here included an incredible Michelin star lunch at Swam Chapel Down, which sources most of their ingredients on property.
Malton:
Malton is a small town in York which has experienced a large “foodie” boom over the past five years and is now considered the food capital of Yorkshire. It’s home to a new gin distillery, coffee roastery and also an amazing candy shop that’s been around for over 100 years; making it the perfect combo of old and new. Malton also happens to be the most dog-friendly city in the UK, so yes, there were dogs everywhere, dinner tables and bars included. Our hotel, The Talbot, is a 17th Century riverside inn and was my favorite hotel of the trip – so incredibly charming!
Edinburgh:
Unexpectedly my favorite part of the trip, I knew little about the Edinburgh, (or Scotland in general for that matter) and truly fell in love with everything it has to offer. The whole city is quaint and picturesque, with old brick buildings, cobblestone paved streets and mountains overlooking majestic castles. It came as no surprise that J.K. Rowling found her inspiration for Harry Potter here!
During our stay, we visited the Scot Beer factory and bar where we sampled exotic beers ranging from Marshmallow flavor to “Cool Beans.” The food in Edinburgh was also incredible, especially The Little Chartoom, a new restaurant specializing in modern Scottish cuisine, where we had my favorite meal of the trip. I’ll be dreaming about the lamb dish I ordered – prepared with sweet breads, labneh and anchovies, for the next few weeks.
As you can tell, me week long journey around the UK was jam-packed and left me feeling FULL to say the least. Safe to say that the UK is home to one of the most diverse food cultures in the world!
Please feel free to email me with any specific questions – alexa@eating.nyc.
Till next time,
Alexa
This post was written in partnership with Great British Food.