5 Things You Need to Eat in London This WeekBy Alicia Grimshaw
A new month sees a slew of openings, menus and spring dishes hit the capital. There’s everything from a swanky cafe to a special peanut butter burger. Enough chit chat – let’s get munching:
What: Transporting Londoners back to Taiwan’s capital city Taipei with opulent 1930s-inspired décor and Taiwanese cuisine – XU has rolled out a new dumpling lunch menu and it’s party for your tastebuds.
Why: The new menu which has been created by co-founder Erchen Chang offers a selection of traditional Taiwanese dumplings, with highlights from the menu including; handcut rabbit and pork dumplings in jade sauce, sweet potato miso taro dumplings, and blood wonton in fermented beetroot broth. Lunch at XU also features a set menu for two people, priced at £18pp and includes mixed mushroom dumpling with Sichuan chilli oil, pork Xian Bing and Shou Pa chicken to share.
Where: 30 Rupert St, London W1D 6DL
2. For a New Opening: Mare Street Market
What: This is been the new we’ve been waiting for: Mare Street Market is now open in Hackney. Much more than just a restaurant, this modern marketplace houses some of the finest local talent, including Rebel Rebel florist, artisan coffee makers Flying Horse Coffee and Stranger Than Paradise records.
Why: The 10,000 sq. ft. site features not one, or two, but three dining spots dedicated to home grown, quality food and drink, curated by Hackney resident, Creative Food Director and Partner, Gizzi Erskine. The communal open kitchen, showcases some of the country’s best produce, serving light and flavoursome rye biga pizzas, with a unique dough developed by Breadstation. The Dining Room has a wood-fired produce-led menu, bringing modern British cooking to the market’s Dining Room, with dishes like steak tartare, bone marrow Marmite and cured yolk toasts, and lamb cutlets with flageolet dauphinoise.
Where: 117 Mare Street, London E8 4RT
3. For a New Collaboration: Burger & Beyond and Pic’s Peanut Butter
What: We may have missed National Peanut Butter Day (this highly regarded national day was on 2nd April), but you still have time to catch Burger and Beyond and Pic’s Peanut Butter limited edition burger.
Why: The PB&J Special feature double smashed patties, double American cheese, Pic’s peanut butter, burnt cherry jam, candy bacon shards and jalapeños. Don’t miss out: this burger is only available until Saturday (8th April) at the Camden’s Daughter.
Where: 289-291 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2JS
4. For Another New Opening: Black Hamburg
What: Goodbye kebabs, see ya later pizzas – Black Hamburg has set up shop in Finsbury Park, and it’s open until midnight for all your late-night hunger needs. Founded by two chefs, Ian Macintosh and Michael Spurgeon who separately own a local restaurant and bar nearby, the chaps decided to open a pit-stop to create decent sandwiches and food options for off-duty chefs, and anyone who wants to eat quality munch.
Why: The new eatery offers a simple menu of two hot sandwiches including their signature smokey beef shin with house-made kimchi, fermented chilli and Ogleshield cheese, alongside the vegetarian double-grilled Ogleshield cheese, Keen’s cheddar, kimchi and hot sauce, fermented in-house, with a rotating cast of specials, all starting at a fiver.
Where: 20 Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, London N4 3EA
5. For a New Cafe: Nobu Hotel Shoreditch
What: Set within the striking Nobu Hotel Shoreditch, the newly opened Nobu Café in the Lobby Lounge of the hotel serves an eclectic café menu with an exclusive matcha bar, London’s only Kinto hand-brew Japanese filter-coffee and a luxurious Nobu-style afternoon tea.
Why: From 7am, Nobu Café supplies a selection of innovative Asian-inspired pastries and sweets alongside a Nobu Bites menu of hot and cold plates adapted from some of the restaurant’s best-loved dishes, and featuring a number of Nobu-style twists on classic lunch items. Highlights include: wagyu sliders, rock shrimp nori buns, and korobuta pork belly tonkatsu sando. For those looking for a caffeine fix, enjoy London’s only Kinto Hand Brew Japanese filter coffee – an innovative pour-over method that features a sustainable stainless steel filter that allows more of the coffees natural oils to infuse in the cup for the perfect coffee – as well as a speciality Slow Drip Cold Brew and an extensive range of IKAATI Artisanal whole leaf teas.
Where: 10-50 Willow St, London EC2A 4BH
Photo Credit: Steven Joyce
