My top 10 quirky places and things to eat in London

Friday 24 August 2018
A collection of quirky places and things to eat in London from Borough Market to China Town. Avo-lato ice cream, bubble waffles, candy floss, cereal, hotpot, disco fries and more. I'm sharing my personal recommendations for hipster places, meaty places, divine coffee, breakfast to die for and a fistful of Instagram worthy eats.



First off a disclaimer. This is by no means anywhere near a comprehensive guide of quirky places and things to eat in London. Instead it's where we have eaten and enjoyed on our last two trips to the capital. Expect some hipster places, meaty places, divine coffee, breakfast to die for and a fistful of instagram worthy eats. Please do leave me your own recommendations of where we should head on our next visit as I know that there's a whole weird and wonderful selection of food trends out there just waiting to be discovered.


1. EVERYTHING at Borough Market
People had told me that I would love Borough Market. How right they were. It's an amazing place. Absolutely buzzing and full of awesome sights, smells, sounds and tastes. It's a place that really has to be visited to be believed such is its sheer variety of produce and traders. Located next to London Bridge it has a rich history within its warren of passageways and open spaces. You'll find pretty much everything foodie that you can think of on sale within it. Fruit, vegetables, meats, cheeses, fish, bread, confectionery, spices, drinks and more. There are cafes and restaurants, street food to take away and plenty of tasting opportunities. You can quite literally graze your way around with food from every corner of the world and the most beautiful displays of produce.


2. Bubble Waffles, Taiyaki and all the bakes in China Town
China Town is not just for roast duck, dim sum, noodles and fried rice. There are a whole host of sweet and savoury baked treats just waiting to be discovered. Best part is that on the whole they are super cheap and wonderfully tasty. Grab a tray and tongs and load up with goodies. The Taiyaki - Japanese fish shaped cakes - are fascinating to watch being made. The small ones come filled with custard or Nutella and the larger tails with Matcha Tea ice cream. You'll probably need to queue for Bubble Waffles but they are so worth it. Both for taste and for Instagram likes.
The shops to look out for are Golden Gate Cake Shop, Bake, Bubblewrap and China Town Bakery.


3. Candy Floss Ice Cream at Milk Train
Ice cream makes you happy. Ice cream topped with candy floss makes you even happier. Live your ice cream dreams at Milk Train with soft serve ice cream swirled with candy floss and topped with sprinkles and popcorn. Best be quick about getting that perfect post for Instagram before it melts. Just off Covent Garden you'll be sure to spot it from the queues outside.


4. All the Cereal at Cereal Killer Cafe
When the cereal killer cafe launched it was all over the news with some folk loving it and some folk knocking it. They say that all publicity is good publicity and as soon as I heard about it I knew that I wanted to go. I'm pleased to say that it absolutely didn't disappoint. Yes you could have a bowl of cereal much more cheaply at your own breakfast table but it's SO much more than just that. Plenty of childhood nostalgia, International cereals that you just can't get anywhere else and a seemingly limitless combination of cereal, milks and toppings to create your perfect small, medium or large bowlful. For me it was all about the cinnamon crunch, apple jacks and reeses puffs with salted caramel milk and all the nutty and caramel toppings. Heaven forbid you don't like cereal there is also an amazing range of Pop Tarts.


5. Hotpot at Shuang Shuang 
My daughter is not the most adventurous of eaters but this one was at her request and we've visited twice now. There used to be a hotpot restaurant in Aberdeen which was her favourite place to eat but alas it closed down. Located in China Town Shuang Shuang offers hotpot in motion with a Yo Sushi style conveyor belt bringing your ingredients. First you choose a broth which bubbles away in front of you in a heated cauldron. To accompany is a dipping sauce - go for the awesome house sauce made with sesame butter and red beancurd paste. Then you start cooking your meal by picking plates from the belt with raw ingredients - noodles, vegetables, meats, fish and shellfish. There's no right or wrong way to do things but you do need to be sensible with cooking times. Whilst Jay Rayner was baffled and refers to it as an exam in cooking we absolutely love it. 


6. Korean Barbecue at GOGI
If the Hotpot was for girl then Korean BBQ was for boy. Thanks to Supper in the Suburbs for the recommendation to head to GOGI in Little Venice (a new area of London to us). I was under the misconception that we'd be doing the barbecuing ourselves but instead the waiting staff cook at your table on a hotplate in the centre. You choose from a variety of meats and seafood along with lettuce leaves and spring onion salad. Once cooked you wrap your meat in a lettuce leaf and devour it. Various sides and starters are available to accompany but for us it was all about the barbecue. Can you tell that as a family we like an interactive eating experience?!


7. Avo-Lato at Snowflake
This surely has to be the most hipster ice cream ever with a rather hefty price tag of £9.50 to match. Find it at Snowflake in the Selfridges Food Hall. We really enjoyed it and there was plenty for two to share which made the pricing more reasonable. Only wish it came with two stones! Served in real avocado skin this vegan gelato is made with 60% fresh avocado and the superfood stone is peanut butter and flaxseed gelato. Eating for the insta at its finest. 


8. Milk and Cookie Dough at Blondies Kitchen
Also located within Selfridges Food Hall is a cookie lovers dream in the form of Blondies Kitchen. The attraction here was their Milk and Cookie Dough combo but they also offer cookie pizzas, cereal milk, cookie sandwiches and every which flavour of cookies. Warning - a little cookie dough goes a long way. Eyes were bigger than bellies at this emporium however leftover cookie dough makes an epic late night snack.


9. Breakfast at The Breakfast Club
Following a shout out on IG stories I got a fantastic recommendation from Joshi Cooks to head to The Breakfast Club. We were there before 9am and had to wait 15 minutes for a table but waits for up to an hour aren't uncommon. They take your details and send a text when your table is ready so you can go for a wander. The interior is full of kitsch and memorabilia and menu is epic to say the least. Porridge, breakfast sandwiches, benedict's, pancakes, waffles, eggs, avocado - they're all on offer. Plenty of vegetarian options too. Despite the name they don't just do breakfast and are open all day. We chose banoffee salted caramel pancakes, avocado, egg, bacon and cheese sandwich, chorizio hash and disco fries. 


This one could easily have been covered within Borough Market but I reckon it deserves an entry of it's own and strictly speaking it's not within the market itself. The huge queues at all times of the day tell you all that you need to know. The aroma of the coffee as you wait is mesmerising. Whatever you have it will be worth it. These guys are serious about their coffee but also super friendly. Amazing bakes too but they sell out quickly. The seating space is tiny so best bet might be to get one to go and have a wander around Borough with it.


If you'd like to get your heart racing whilst in the capital check out my blog post with the best Adrenelin and Heights experiences in London and for breakfast without the bacon and/or eggs Kate at Veggie Desserts has you covered with her 10 best places for veggie or vegan brunch in London.


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www.foodiequine.co.uk A collection of quirky places and things to eat in London from Borough Market to China Town. Avo-lato ice cream, bubble waffles, candy floss, cereal, hotpot, disco fries and more. I'm sharing my personal recomendations for hipster places, meaty places, divine coffee, breakfast to die for and a fistful of instagram worthy eats.

5 comments

  1. Great little list Claire! I haven’t been to all of them but glad you enjoyed The Breakfast Club!

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  2. What a fantastic selection, love the range of different ideas. Some I've not visited as a Londoner, so I must try!

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  3. I live in London and I haven't heard of some of these. They're no on the wishlist!

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  4. Wow, what a lovely selection of foods and places you got to visit. I would love to have a bowl of cereal in the Cereal Killer Cafe too!

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  5. I've lived in London my whole life, and I've only done 3 of those. ha. I love Borough Market and its def one of the reasons I live in SE London, I'm lucky I pass by it very frequently and will never tire of it. Great post!

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