Who Run The World? Amy Poon’s Fave London Food Spots From Female Founders

Monmouth has become a Borough Market staple which means it’s often busy, but if you brave the queues you’ll be rewarded with one of the best brews in London. They do a mean espresso but it’s the classic single cone filter coffee, roasted down the road in Bermondsey, that’s the winner here. Buy beans whilst you’re there so you can feed your Monmouth addiction at home.

Run out of baker Hai Lin Leung’s home in Walthamstow, Lucky Yu is the very definition of a micro-bakery. Leung showcases her Cantonese heritage through her bakes, which include pineapple buns, sesame soy congee sourdough, ginger & spring onion focaccia, red bean & coconut buns and egg & tomato buns. She posts the menu on her Instagram page and you can pre-order for collection – well worth doing as these are bakes you’re not gonna find anywhere else!

Master Wei was born out of the success of owner Wei Guirong’s first restaurant, Xi’an Impression in Highbury, one of London’s favourite Chinese restaurants. Luckily for Master Wei, and despite the pressure and overbearing weight of its older sibling’s hype, it’s another hit. The vibe is laid-back, the interior is pared-down and the menu is a trove of some of those faves you’ll remember from Xi’an Impression (hand-pulled beef biang biang and Xi’an liang pi noodles) alongside new plates (the potato sliver salad and the spicy cumin beef burger). If Xi’an Impression made you fall in love with the region’s food, don’t miss out on Master Wei.

After starting out as a pop-up concept, Ellen Parr and Pete Kelly took Lucky & Joy permanent with a place in Clapton. There’s a retro, kitsch aesthetic, with check box menus, bright neon chopsticks and colourful artworks on the walls so it’s a fun place to be. On the menu, you can expect similar Chinese-inspired dishes to those served up at the pop-ups, with all ordering done via a paper checkbox system. We’d definitely recommend the cold sesame noodles, the cumin-drenched mushroom skewers, the roasted aubergine, and the amazing fried brussel sprouts chopped with plenty of chilli and coriander. We also love the fresh spicy salads such as the Yunan smacked cucumber and the tiger salad (tip: keep both the bowls with all the extra dressing and pour it over your rice at the end).

Violet is an East London institution serving up Dalston roasted Allpress coffee alongside cookies, whoopie pies and cupcakes with seasonal buttercreams. This place even has the royal seal of approval as founder Claire Ptak was the woman behind Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake. Impressive, eh? So if you’re strolling the streets of Hackney, this is where to head to for a pit stop.

Chantal Coady is known as The Chocolate Detective because she’s obsessive about chocolate. As well as shining a light on the entire chocolate supply chain, showing how it can be fair trade and slave free, she creates some incredible confections. Her bars include white chocolate with foraged fennel and cardamom and dark chocolate with crystallised ginger but the praline and salted caramel bird eggs have become her signature. You can find The Chocolate Detective in stores like Bayley & Sage, La Fromagerie and D Vine Cellars.

With the Shanghai Supper Club at The Royal Oak in Marylebone, Lillian Luk showcases authentic Shanghainese food. The menu changes for every supper club depending on what’s in season but Lillian always cooks the kind of food her grandmother would cook at home and the kind of dianxin, or small eats, you would find on the streets of Shanghai, like drunken chicken, sheng jian bao, whole fish with mustard leaves, Long Jin green tea prawns and red bean paste mooncakes. All the food is served at a communal table for guests to share – just like you’re at a friend’s dinner party.

Sally Clarke has been running her eponymous restaurant on Kensington Church Street since 1984 and it’s still a big hit with diners today, largely thanks to her commitment to sourcing the very best produce (also reflected across her two shops) and making everything fresh in-house. The menus change with the season but always reflect British and Mediterranean influences, with dishes like hand-rolled taglioni with Scottish lobster, chilli, garlic and samphire; veal chop with padron peppers, bitter leaves and roasted potatoes; and lemon meringue pie with blackberries and raspberry sauce. The food here is unfussy but still elegant and the vibe is grown-up but not stuffy, so Clarke’s works as well for a special occasion as it does for a mid-week lunch.