 |
| Doughnuts in Whole Foods Kensington - PBJ second from left. |
London is one of the great foodie capitals of the world! It has some of the world's greatest restaurants and some amazing street food.
You can buy virtually any kind of food in the world and cook the food of any country you want. You can get every herb and spice known to man. Every supermarket carries a good range of food for Chinese and Indian cooking.
Many towns outside of central London have Chinese or Indian supermarkets.
South London is particularly rich in areas with a large number of ethnic minorities which means there are plenty of Afro-Caribbean and Asian shops and restaurants. I am so glad I live in South London!
South London
Brixton SW9
Brixton is a great destination for lovers of Afro Caribbean food and other cuisines. Head to Electric Avenue, Market Row or Brixton Village for food shops and market stalls.
My favourite shop is Nour's Cash and Carry in Market Row (also accessible from Electric Avenue). This shop has a huge range of herbs and spices particularly Afro Caribbean and Indian. They have a huge selection of fresh vegetables and herbs at bargain prices.
There is a Chinese supermarket in Electric Avenue.
There are also a few shops selling cookware, including Dutch pots, in Station Road and Electric Avenue.
There are of course plenty of restaurants to choose from. Head to Brixton Village for a great choice! Fish, Wings and Tings run by Brian Danclair serves delicious Caribbean food. Okan sells okonomiyaki pancakes. Brixton Village Grill is a Portuguese restaurant that serves hand-cut chips with it's grilled meats and fish. Kaosarn is a wonderful Thai restaurant. These are my particular favourites.
This photo of Fish, Wings and Tings is courtesy of TripAdvisor
Go through Pope Road market and across the road is Pop Brixton - a sort of box park. Cafes, bars and shops in shipping containers. Very popular with young people and has all different kinds of foods.
Peckham SE15
Peckham has the largest Nigerian population in the country - hence its nickname - Little Lagos. You are spoilt for choice as Rye Lane is studded with Afro Caribbean food shops selling a great array of food. A great place for picking up cheap vegetables and herbs.
My favourite shop is Khan's Bargain - a huge one floor department store selling a huge range of cookware as well as having the biggest spice selection you'll ever see! You name it - Khan's sell it.
Peckham also has two Chinese supermarkets. There's a mini food court next to the station which has about three food stalls. One of them is Steamer who do a lovely sweet and sour chicken. Peckham is an up and coming area and has had a lot of new restaurants open there in the last couple of years.
Tooting SW17
Tooting has a large Indian population and Tooting High Road is known as the Curry Mile due to the large number of Indian Restaurants. My favourite is Mirch Masala.
There are of course Indian food shops and of course, best of all, two Indian Sweet Shops - Pooja and Amala.
 |
| Photo by H O Mehmet |
Thornton Heath, Croydon, Surrey
Thornton Heath has a few Indian shops. One of them is Santosh in London Road. I can highly recommend their Diwali snacks!
North London
Green Lanes, Harringay
Green Lanes is another foodie paradise. This long road has many Turkish restaurants and some great Turkish supermarkets and food shops. There are also a couple of really nice Polish shops.
There is a wonderful Malaysian Restaurant - Penang Satay House, 9 Turnpike Lane, Hornsey, London N8 0EP. The food and service is wonderful!
Brick Lane E1
Brick Lane is a fabulous foodie destination famous for its curry mile. There is also a food market and a food hall with lots of different food stalls. It also boasts two famous bagel shops including the famous 24 Hour Beigel Bake. It's even busy in the early hours of the morning! There's nothing like a cream cheese bagel at 3 am when you've been clubbing in Shoreditch.
 |
| Hot salt beef |
 |
| They also do great cheesecake! |
West London
Southall and Wembley, Middlesex
Southall and Wembley are also Indian areas which are great for restaurants and food, but as they are on the opposite side of London to me. I have yet to go there.
 |
| Aziz Shaik's food stall in Southall. |