{"id":11540,"date":"2012-07-13T09:03:27","date_gmt":"2012-07-12T23:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/?p=11540"},"modified":"2018-05-15T06:41:19","modified_gmt":"2018-05-14T20:41:19","slug":"london-where-to-eat-eastside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/london-where-to-eat-eastside\/","title":{"rendered":"London: where to eat Eastside"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Planning a trip to Blighty and preparing your stomach for a stodgefest? Fear not, Food Tour Guide, Charli Matthews, gives us the inside track on East London\u2019s happening culinary scene and it looks darn delicious.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n


\nEast London has always been known for having a dark side. Jack the Ripper and The Krays saw to that. But these days the area is becoming known for something a whole lot more wholesome: the food.<\/p>\n

There are tonnes of places tucked away in the nooks and crannies in this ancient area of London. I\u2019m going to let you in on a few of the secrets of Brick Lane and beyond.<\/p>\n

Best for beer and British fare <\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nMason & Taylor<\/strong>
\nMason & Taylor<\/a> are big on local food and drink, seasonal ingredients and sourcing their beers from independent suppliers. They have a massive chalkboard covered in all the beers they have on offer. If you can\u2019t quite decide, they do beer flights, where you get three third-pints of any of the beers they have on tap.<\/p>\n

The menu is always changing here. They do lots of great traditional British dishes, and that doesn\u2019t mean fish and chips or lots of stodgy carbs (necessarily). We do delicate and light on the island too. Ask the staff what they recommend and they\u2019ll you straight.<\/p>\n

Best for rooftop dining <\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nForzawin<\/strong>
\nOne of Brick Lane\u2019s newest additions, Forzawin<\/a> is a rooftop pizza place. They\u2019ve teamed up with street food vendors Pizza Pilgrims<\/a> and Saint beer<\/a>, a British brewing company. And that guarantees good food and drink.<\/p>\n

Usually you pay through the nose for the views this place offers, but you can get three courses, a drink and entertainment for \u00a325. They only open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and you need to book in advance. So hop to it I say. I just hope you get some good weather.<\/p>\n

Best for a tucked away treat <\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Full Stop Bar<\/strong>
\nAt the top of Brick Lane lies a cafe and bar that you could very easily miss. It\u2019d be a travesty if you did. Full Stop<\/a> used to be an antiques shop and a lot of what was on sale now makes up the eclectic decor.<\/p>\n

They serve Square Mile espresso and recently made it on The Evening Standard\u2019s \u2018Top 50 Independent Coffee Shops\u2019 list. Plus they\u2019ve got locally brewed beers from Redchurch Brewery<\/a>, with names like \u2018Shoreditch Blonde\u2019, \u2018Hoxton Stout\u2019 and \u2018Hackney Gold\u2019.<\/p>\n

Best for a cup of tea or three <\/strong>
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TeaSmith<\/strong>
\nYou\u2019re in England. Drinking tea is practically the law. But this place is all about top quality Chinese tea, served with the care and attention the leaves deserve.<\/p>\n

TeaSmith<\/a> is hidden away in Spitalfields Market. It\u2019s quiet, calm and charming. Head on in, settle at the tea bar and ask the staff for some recommendations. They know all there is to know about tea and they\u2019re really keen to share. There\u2019s something to suit every pocket and every palette.<\/p>\n

Best for something traditional <\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Beigel Bake<\/strong>
\nEvery visitor to Brick Lane should go here. And it\u2019s open 24 hours, seven days a week, so there\u2019s no excuse.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re famous for their salt beef beigels. (That\u2019s the traditional spelling.) They are immense. Leave without napkins at your peril, because the ladies behind the counter are fast and loose with the mustard. I love going there for the atmosphere and the weird cross-section of East End society you\u2019ll find inside: hipsters, homeless, labourers, locals, tourists and the odd celeb.<\/p>\n

Best for something unexpected <\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fika<\/strong>
\nFika<\/a> is a Swedish restaurant on Brick Lane. I love the area they\u2019ve got tucked away upstairs at the back. It\u2019s feels like a tree house\/ski lodge. It\u2019s glorious in summer and cosy in winter. Food-wise there are all sorts of things you\u2019re probably unlikely to have tried.<\/p>\n

Their \u2018Afternoon tea Swedish style\u2019, involves chocolate balls and kanelbullar (cinnamon buns to me and you). And something called Flygande Jakob, which is \u2018chicken pie with bacon, bananas and peanuts\u2019. If that\u2019s not worth giving a whirl, I don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n

Best for curry <\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tayyabs<\/strong>
\nThere are so many curry houses on Brick Lane it\u2019s really hard to pick one, so I vote for heading south off Brick Lane onto Whitechapel Road and walking the five minutes to Tayyabs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been selling Punjabi food there since 1972 and it\u2019s grown immensely. The masses have most definitely found this place, it\u2019s always rammed. It\u2019s also BYO, so if you\u2019re there of an evening without a reservation, get something in for the queue. Try asking for the mixed grill, it\u2019s not on the menu, but you should be able to get it. It\u2019s good eat-with-your-fingers-fun.<\/p>\n

Best for shopping and eating <\/strong>
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Box Park<\/strong>
\nBox Park<\/a> is the world\u2019s first pop-up shopping mall. It\u2019s made up of shipping containers, and in each container you\u2019ll find a different designer, shop or food vendor. Go for a look around and stop for either a Bukowski burger or something from Foxcroft & Ginger, their place always looks amazing. They put a lot of care and attention in to how they display they food, and pour even more into how they make their food. (Box Park is right by Shoreditch High Street Station.)<\/p>\n

If you want to take the headache of finding your way around, but still want a bit of an adventure, experience Charli\u2019s food tour walkeattalkeat.com<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n