With so much cultural diversity in London, you can count on finding any of the world’s cuisines there, and you can bet it’ll be delicious, too. Here are our restaurant recommendations based on our family trip to London!
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Great Britain has a vast history of colonization and oppression across the globe. By 1922 it was the world’s largest empire, controlling “a quarter of Earth’s land surface” and 20 percent of the world’s population at the time.
It goes without saying that the effects of Britain’s empire-building have reverberated (in both positive and negative ways) across the entire world.
We enjoyed a lovely English breakfast in the gorgeous art-deco inspired The Ivy located near Abbey Road Studios. Get The Ivy Full English or Vegetarian Breakfast (~£14 each) for the works: you’ll get a sampling of a typical English breakfast, including (for the meat-eaters in your group) black pudding (hint: not actually pudding). Be sure to add the hot buttermilk pancakes (a toddler-fave, £9) with fruit and toasted crumpets (£4) to add a bit of sweet to your savory.
GAIL'S Bakery, St. John's Wood
~£5-£10/person
The folks at GAIL’S Bakery were so sweet–just like their delicious baked goods! They were very patient with us as we took our pick of this spread. We ultimately opted for a lavender tea cake and mini smoked salmon toastie.
The English Rose Cafe and Tea Shop, Westminster
~£20/person
It was high on our list to enjoy tea time in London (it feels like a very “British” experience), but we had our wallets to think about so we settled on a less-posh and more casual cafe to have our afternoon tea. Enter family-run The English Rose Cafe and Tea Shop, which offered yummy teas and snacks in a very chill setting, all for less than £20 per person! They served up a yummy array of savory sandwiches, sweet biscuits, and cakes, all on sweetly mismatched floral tea sets. Our toddler was asleep in the stroller during our visit but she would’ve enjoyed it immensely.
Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream Chinatown
~£5-£10/person
A perfect (and very Insta-worthy) place to enjoy Pilipinx-inspired sweets and drinks. “Dirty ice cream” refers to Pilipinx ice cream (sorbetes) made from milk other than typical Western ice cream’s cow’s milk: carabao, coconut, etc.
We enjoyed an ube hot cocoa and halo-halo, and would love to come back for ice cream and pan de sal!
This is a fun and casual 1980s-themed breakfast spot that was within walking distance of our Airbnb. They serve English breakfast (dubbed The Full Monty, ~£15), as well as veggie and vegan-friendly options. I got Reggie the Veggie (~£16) to get a taste of their yummy veggie haggis!
Choose from Cahoots’ three speakeasy locations, each with its own take on 1940s London. We visited the original location themed “The Underground” and had fun walking down the stairs and sipping cocktails which we ordered from a fun “newspaper” menu.
Jinjuu Soho
~£15-£20/person
This was a swanky Korean restaurant we happened upon after learning that the Dishoom kitchen was closed for the evening. We enjoyed the small bites (prawn lollipops (£9) and fried chicken (£8)) before we walked back to our Airbnb.
Places You Can Skip
Poppies Fish and Chips
~£15-£20/person
Call us blasphemous, but we didn’t find anything too special about the fish and chips at Poppies. They do have cute decor and vintage-style booths, as well as steak-cut fries, if that’s your thing.
Wishlist for Next Time
Dishoom
~£20-£25/person
This is a very popular Indian restaurant that we missed dinner by just a few minutes 🙁 Hope to catch them the next time!
London is among one of our favorite destinations to eat out with our family (O‘ahu and the Bay Area are up there, as well).
With a selection of cuisine as varied as its diverse population, London is bound to stay one of the top global food destinations for a long while. We can’t wait for our next visit!
Angelica (she/her) is of Cebuano(Pilipinx)-descent and was born and raised in Huchiun Ohlone territory (the East Bay Area--pay your Shuumi Land Tax!), where she also now resides with her partner and their toddler. She loves to spend her time sipping on boba and dirty chai lattes (sometimes together), and eating pescetarian goodies at BIPOC-owned cafes and restaurants.
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The Beautiful Brown Adventures Guide to Visiting London with Kids
BBA’s Ultimate Guide to Traveling with Your Family to Paris, France
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A Perfect Day in Downtown Oakland Edition (no car needed!)
