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They say British cuisine does not compete with other cuisines in Europe because … it is awful. But jokes aside, London is an incredible city with lots of good food choices.
Whether you dine in a pub or a trendy restaurant, London has plenty of options. London is a multicultural city, and the food follows this trend. You can find any cuisine in the world, but if you prefer British style, you will find famous dishes here.
1. Fish and chips
The quintessential English dish represents so much the typical food of London that you will surely come across it hundreds of times during your stay in the English capital. It is a simple dish made with coated fish, usually hake, accompanied by french fries and a tasty mash of peas.
2. Black pudding
A sausage made with a mixture of onions, pork fat, oats, and blood. It is a superfood, a very strong food due to its high content of protein, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. And almost without carbohydrates.
3. Steak and kidney pie
A very traditional sort of cake made with veal stew, thickened with flour or corn starch and often with beer or black beer added. Typical London food that represents one of the most British dishes of English cuisine, especially if savored in one of the many pubs with a good pint of accompanying beer. And even better if the beer is black.
4. English breakfast
Another delicious dish full of fried things that is a festival. The dish has fried egg, bacon, sausages, baked beans, potato in the form of a hamburger (hash brown), black pudding, tomato sauce, and mushrooms. They usually put bread to accompany and you have the option of taking it with tea, coffee or another drink that you decide.
5. Bangers and mash
If you fancy English breakfast, surely you like these sausages with mashed potatoes and seasoned with onion sauce. They are very tasty and it is an appetizing hot dish after a long day of walks in the London capital.
6. Shepherd’s pie
It is a meat pie that can be made of beef or lamb whose layer is made of mashed potatoes with a thin crispy surface layer thanks to the work of the oven. Also known as “cottage pie” is a very traditional English dish since its origin goes back to 1877.
7. Toad in the hole
It is a sausage-based dish of Yorkshire pudding dough, often prepared with vegetables and onion sauce. Why the name? Apparently because the appearance of the plate resembles a toad that takes its head out of a hole. A name that perhaps does not invite much to try the dish but we assure you that the flavor has nothing to do with the toads!
8. Sunday roast
As in all countries in England, Sunday food is also a special occasion. The typical food of London on Sundays is precisely the Sunday roast. It is prepared with pork, veal, lamb or chicken, depending on the tastes, accompanied by several vegetables, usually potatoes, which are never missing from the tables of England, carrots, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. In addition, this is usually served with the typical Yorkshire pudding.
9. Bubble and squeak
With the vegetables left over from the traditional Sunday Roast meal (potatoes, cabbage, carrots, beans, and Brussels sprouts) this dish is prepared consisting of fried vegetables in a hot pan. And the English take advantage of everything!
10. Yorkshire pudding
Yorkshire pudding is a specialty of the cuisine of the United Kingdom. It is made with dough of flour, eggs, and milk that usually accompany most of the typical British dishes.
11. Jacket potatoes
A very typical dish to be enjoyed in London pubs: it is a boiled potato, open and filled with different types of fillings. According to your tastes you can choose between tuna and mayonnaise, cheese and bacon, brie cheese, and red onion, etc … Feel great with a good beer.
12. Pie and mash with parsley liquor
A very traditional meal from the East End of London. Formerly it was prepared with eels because at that time the eels were a cheaper product than beef. About fifty years ago, mince pies replaced eels and now they have become the traditional cake known as Pie and Mash.
If you want to find out about the unusual things to do in London, check out our article on this topic: 20 unusual things to do in London.
[Photo from Unsplash]