Bleecker Burger’s Zan Kaufman’s On the London Food Spots She Returns to Time and Time Again

London lacks the salad bar scene of somewhere like New York but with The Salad Project, it’s slowly catching up. Each of the four Salad Project locations looks a little different but the concept is the same, and simple – you can either build your own salad from the array of ingredients at the counter or you can order one of the set creations on the menu. The Thai Me Up (with pearl barley, kale, greens, roasted corn, Asian slaw, cucumbers, chilli cashew crunch, honey-soy chicken and Thai peanut dressing) is a particular fave.

This postage stamp-sized restaurant in Finsbury Park is a firm neighbourhood favourite – as a result, it can be hard to get a table. Dotori is all about authentic Japanese and Korean food, both of which they do very well. The menu here is extensive and covers all the classics, from Korean BBQ to Japanese curries, as well as an impressive amount of sushi. It’s all very affordable too, with a full dinner here setting you back less than £30, and the option to BYOB which’ll cost you a £15 corkage fee. They’re walk-in and cash only, so come prepared – it’ll be worth it.

Founded in 2011 by Gaurav and Sandhya, Horn OK Please is all about bringing the vibrant veggie food found on the streets of India to the streets of London. At the Borough Market stall you can find classics like chana chaat (masala chickpeas topped with yoghurt, chutneys, sev, coriander and pomegranate), moong dal dosa filled with masala potatoes, samosa chaat (topped with masala chickpeas, chutneys, sev and yoghurt) and egg kati rolls, which you can wash down with a masala chai.

Running both a restaurant on Hanbury Street and a stall inside Old Spitalfields Market just down the road, the Merkamo Ethiopian team specialise in traditional Ethiopian dishes, and it’s all 100% vegan (most of it is also gluten-free). The lentils, spinach, okra, soya, rice, couscous, salad and injera combo is always a winner – healthy, filling and it doesn’t break the bank.

You won’t struggle to find Turkish food on Green Lanes but the dishes they’re turning out at Gökyüzü take some beating. Open since 1999, the family run joint (which has since expanded into Kentish Town, Finchley, Walthamstow and Chingford) is known for its fresh baked breads and its grills, including lamb and chicken shish, lamb chops, adana kebab, and saslik kebap. They also serve ten different types of pide, lahmacun and a load of hot and cold mezze – basically all the classics are covered and they come in Mediterranean portion sizes (aka massive), so make sure you come hungry, and don’t go to hard on the bread and dips!

Hana Sushi is a proper neighbourhood sushi spot in Holloway. The sushi selection is varied and affordable – be sure to try the Seven Sisters maki (deep-fried salmon, tuna and snapper with spicy mayo), crispy hamachi maki and salmon skin maki. With donburi, katsu curry, yaki udon, yaki soba and even bibimpab and bulgogi on the menu, there’s plenty of choice for the non-sushi lovers out there too.

Formerly operating as SushiHeads, this Tottenham spot run by Naomi Simpson now goes by the name Metcha Matcha, after she pivoted away from serving sushi and sashimi. Raw fish may be off the menu but food isn’t – you can now get a range of onigiri, sandwiches and baked goods, and there’s still a selection of Japanese groceries available too. Drinks-wise, there a bunch of Japanese lattes on offer, including matcha, hojicha (which has less caffeine) and kurogoma (made from black sesame paste).

It’s pretty obvious what this Camberwell spot specialises in. Whether you get falafel or chicken shawarma in your wrap, you can bet it’s going to be big, filled to bursting with hummus, salad, garlic sauce and homemade chilli sauce, and cheap. If you can bear to deviate away from the wraps, there’s the mezze plate, which comes with potatoes, vine leaves, rice, aubergine, hummus and falafel. And don’t forget the carrot juice!

As you may be able to guess from the name, Tofu Vegan is a plant-based restaurant that’s a celebration of all things tofu, which the team make in-house every day – the menu includes the likes of steamed tofu dumplings, tofu vegetable rolls with hot & sour dressing, deep-fried tofu & mushroom balls, silken tofu in a spicy Sichuan sauce, mapo tofu, and deep-fried tofu skin rolls. But there’s more than just bean curd coming out of the kitchen, with other mock meats like Cantonese sweet & sour ‘chicken’, Peking ‘duck’, sliced ‘fish’ in sizzling chilli oil and stir-fried cumin ‘lamb’ alongside veg-focused dishes like Dongbei sweet potato noodles, king oyster mushrooms in black pepper sauce and hot & fragrant deep-fried asparagus.

This bakery has been supplying the people of north London with fresh bagels and challah since 1994. Open early doors right through until midnight, it’s somewhere for both early birds and night owls to grab a smoked salmon bagel. And if you want something sweet, it also does celebration cakes, cookies, custard slices, fruit tarts, doughnuts and more.