As well as screening live sports (including GAA), this Irish bar in Stamford Hill also hosts a range of events, including live music, spoken word and comedy. Coupled with a late licence (until 3am Thurs – Sun, and 2am the rest of the week), a decent Guinness and an eclectic crowd, Mascara Bar is a great spot to have up your sleeve.
"An Irish sports bar in Stamford Hill. It's always open and there are always a couple of men day-drinking so you don’t feel bad for having a midday Guinness on a Monday. Tiger bread ham rolls are nice and only two quid."
Opened on Clerkenwell Green in 1967, when the area was known as Little Italy, Scotti’s Snack Bar hasn’t changed much in the intervening decades – a true time warp of a place filled with Formica, old photos and an even older water boiler, plus plenty of cabbies amongst the regulars. The escalope sandwich has become the Scotti’s signature (with the chicken always fried fresh) but there are other options on the menu – which isn’t on the wall, proprietor Al will just tell you the options.
Photo credit: Thinkingfood247
"Small homely cafe in Farringdon. Aesthetically pleasing. Nice chicken escalope sandwiches and the orange juice comes in a glass bottle. Owners are very inviting and caring, so you kind of feel like you are being cooked for by your auntie and uncle."
At just £5.50 for a falafel wrap filled with sauces, three falafels and salad, Baban’s Naan has got to be one of the best cheap eats in town. All the naans are made on site – varieties include za’atar, peshwari, cheese, garlic, and chilli – and you can get them filled with minced lamb Kurdish kebabs and kubba as well as falafel. Already a steal if you buy them filled to eat then and there, the breads are even cheaper if you wanna take them home, so get down there and stock up.
"Lovely boys. Warm spongy naan. Lush fillings. You’re in and out like it’s a Subway. Lots of sauce and salad options. Lots of residential streets nearby for you to enjoy your lunch on a sturdy tree-shaded pavement."
Born out of the desire to bring authentic Malaysian food to London, C&R Cafe has been operating out of its Rupert Court location since 1998. C&R’s co-founder Rosa noticed a distinct lack of the cuisine in the city when she moved here from Malaysia in the 80s, so she and her husband started the cafe to bring the flavours of her childhood to a new audience. The menu consists of dishes made using family recipes that have been passed down through the generations. Expect classics such as Nasi Lemak and Malay Curry Chicken, as well as the likes of Teo Cheow Pork Belly, Mein Fan Kuih, Five Spice Lok Bak and Carrot Cake.
"I get the Singapore laksa and never anything else. Nice spongy bean curd exploding with good sauce. Broth is creamy and warm. Quiet, comfy, relaxed seating and not much English-speaking going on so there is no obligation for superfluous niceties."
Marugame Udon, the world’s largest udon noodle restaurant, has landed in London right near Liverpool Street. It’s a canteen-style set-up, so you work your way around the open kitchen where you can see the noodles being rolled, cut and cooked. You choose your dish – the menu includes the likes of kama age, beef nikutama with short rib & onsen egg, two pork tonkotsu with chashu & spicy miso pork, chicken katsu curry udon, kimchi yaki udon and salmon donburi – before hitting the tempura station, and the condiment station where you can pimp your noods with ginger, chillies, tempura batter and other toppings. And once you’ve slurped to your heart’s content, hit the unlimited vanilla and vegan matcha soft serve ice cream.
"Has a fun conveyor belt system like the IKEA restaurant so the visit is entertaining and stimulating as well as tasty. They have a great buffet bar with loads of free toppings, including tempura scraps. Usually there are loads of other people eating alone so that eradicates any potential feeling of shame."
La Chingada is turning out some of, if not the best, tacos in London. We don’t like to play favourites but the al pastor – marinated pork, pineapple and diced onion – edges it for us (the al pastor quesadilla is also excellent) but the suadero (confit beef), carnitas (confit pork), chorizo and baja prawn tacos are well worth your time. Fresh tortillas, juicy fillings, great salsas, what more could you want? There’s no bells and whistles here (apart from the Comic Sans sign) but that makes it all the better because all the effort has been put into the food. Order as many tacos as you can physically eat because you’ll regret it if you don’t. And if they’ve got margs on the go, have a couple of those too.
"I don’t like eating Mexican food with other people - the sharing aspect is too stressful and I am incapable of conversing in a relaxed way when there are chips and salsa on the table. Cold beer and tacos is a solo quest."
Looking to try the food from the Xi’an region of China? This is the spot. It’s cheap and cheerful and you can’t go wrong with the pork and veg dumplings, the hand pulled noodles with chunky beef and chilli sauce, and the Xi’an pork ‘burger’. Highly recommended if you’re in the area.
"I sit outside and order cucumber salad and noodles and stare at the Emirates stadium. Good food. Quick, easy and chewy. And the space is too small to go with other people anyway."
Sweetings is a City institution and has been for well over one hundred years, and it is old school to the max. You’ll find it in a Grade II-listed building on Queen Victoria Street standing alongside modern skyscrapers and slightly trendier eateries, but there’s something special about Sweetings. Open just for lunch from Monday to Friday, the seafood restaurant has dishes like smoked haddock & poached egg, bubble & squeak, fish pie, crab bisque, smoked eel, and steamed syrup pudding with custard on the menu. Eating here really is like stepping back in time.
"Fun to go if you are a young woman because the usual corporate clientele (bald men in suits) get unnerved by you crashing their vibe. Good fishy snacks and a black velvet is a nice classy alternative to a lunchtime pint."
Inspired by the brasseries of Paris, you can’t go wrong with dinner at Côte Brasserie. Their all-day menu is pretty accessible with French classics like Beef Bourguignon, Escalope De Veau and Poulet ‘Breton’. Yes, it might be a chain, but this one smashes it out the bag!
"I like going here for a weekday lunch. It's two courses for under 20 quid and the other customers are usually just loads of old ladies post-matinee so that makes me feel young, hot and sexy in comparison."
