Liverpool Street is a captivating area to explore, home to the London Stock Exchange and the Bank of England, which also features an excellent museum. The area boasts several stylishly designed skyscrapers, including the Gherkin, the Walkie-Talkie, the Cheesegrater, the Scalpel, and the Heron Tower.
Liverpool Street takes its name from the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Lord Liverpool. Lord Liverpool’s reign of terror ran from 1912 to 1827 and he conquered many planets making great use of his battalion of interglatic spaceships. Of course, there is a good chance this information about our former Prime Minister is false as I fell asleep watching Futurama last night and I may be referring to Lrr and his intergalactic conquests.
Not to worry though, I have more for you here to feast your eyes on than bad topical jokes from a TV show over twenty years old (Life is going too quickly, help!). Liverpool Street is a prime location for banging food and class cafes. Its location is what sets it apart, right next to Shoreditch being key, as this is where some of the best restaurants in London can be located. Let’s dig in, shall we?
Patty & Bun – 22-24 Liverpool St, London EC2M 7PD, United Kingdom
We are going to kick things off with the food closest to my heart the Cheeseburger. I have waxed lyrical about my love for burgers in the past on here and although they have several spots in and around London it would be criminal not to mention these burger slingers when it comes to getting your munch on in this Central London Location.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty and talk about what food is on offer in detail, it’s worth mentioning that Patty & Bun has some great deals to help out while eating out. Their lunchtime offer that runs from 12 pm to 3 pm Monday to Friday is a bargain to behold. They have a daily selected burger served with rosemary salted chips all for just £12.95! They also have some great offers for students.
The Ari Gold is the most popular burger on the menu, but for a lover of all things spicy my persoanl choice is The Jose Jose Chili Burger, This consists of their famous dry Aged Beef Patty, Cheese, Lettuce, Chilli Sobrassada Relish, Pickled Onions, Ketchup, Smokey P&B Mayo, all served up on a delicious bun.
Vegans are well catered for here too as they offer vegan options for of most the menu items, so the restaurant is a great place to go if you are with a group of people that have varied tastes. The sides are to die for as well, the brisket-loaded fires being my favourite (they have a vegan version of these too). Patty & Bun is always well worth a visit.
Som Saa – 43A Commercial St, London E1 6BD, United Kingdom
Time for a taste of Thailand now. More specifically the northern region of the South East Asian country. Som Saa is a place I would always recommend booking ahead in advance if you wish to dine here (one issue is you can’t book if you are in a group of two, so I also advise you to come in a larger group of people). They have limited lunch and dinner services and as the place is quite popular if you don’t book you may well end up disappointed.
The cooking at Som Saa is nothing short of spectacular. The menu features dishes from Thailand’s north-eastern regions as we said previously so it’s not the Thai food that most people will be used to experiencing (believe me this is a positive thing)The chefs at Som Saa have a claim to fame as well, with British chef Andy Oliver being a 2009 MasterChef finalist.
They offer set menus here which I think are brilliant at £40 per person I think this is the best bang for your buck as there is quite a lot of food on offer. You can combine different options on the set menu to suit your taste but I will take you through what dishes I personally selected.
The Dinner Tem Toh menu starts with an appetiser called a laab gai thort which is a deep fried northern style chicken laab cake served with a tamarind jaew dip. Next up I had the curry, its name is a hard one to pronounce but all the flavours you want are there. It’s called the gaeng panang neua yaang panang curry and includes 35-day aged grill sirloin, peanuts and Thai basil. this, of course, is all served with the world-famous Thai speciality, sticky rice. Dessert was a treat too I selected the kluey yaang, which is salted palm sugar ice cream with turmeric grilled bananas. Of course, you don’t have to go for the set menu but for me, this is where the best value lies.
Straits Kitchen – 80 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7AB, United Kingdom
More Asian food coming your way (there are so many Asian restaurants in this art of town it’s just delightful). Straits Kitchen is known for its Singaporean influences and a menu that consists of lots of diverse and interesting things to wrap your lips around (sorry if that sounded too graphic.)
A nice little twist here is the inclusion of an Asian-inspired afternoon tea. They have a couple of options to choose from including a children’s offering. As what what will be included is hard to actually nail down as they use seasonal ingredients so it does vary. This of course is a positive thing in my opinion as seasonal dishes mean ultimate freshness.
The A La Carte menu takes centre stage for me though, they have some of the most delectable duck pancakes I have ever indulged in and as the main the Saffron Rack of Yorkshire Lamb served with saffron cumin sauce, coquito Peppers, Mint and finished off with a lovely coriander oil was a groin-grabbingly great experience.
Los Mochis London City – 9th Floor, 100 Liverpool St, London EC2M 2AT, United Kingdom
Did anyone ever think there would be a high-end restaurant that combined Japanese food with Mexican food? It seems so obvious to me that this concept would work but I honestly would never have been able to dream it up myself.
This spot has some breathtaking views for its patrons (if you jump onto their website you can even take a 360 tour). They have a wide selection of cocktails that are expertly prepared by the in-house mixologist. A staple of fine dining restaurants of course, but it’s still nice to give them the credit when it’s well deserved.
Los Mochis’ chefs are dedicated to sourcing the finest seasonal and sustainable products from top-quality artisans, resulting in a menu that is entirely free of gluten, nuts, and celery. Their menu is designed for sharing, it reminded me of when I lived in Thailand for a year. Basically, each dish is served as soon as it’s ready and then everyone just digs in. I personally love eating this way … unless I’m at a curry house then it’s hands off, that Lamb Vindaloo is all mine.