Above: All-you-can-eat cheese on conveyor belt at Pick & Cheese Seven Dials
Restaurant listings arranged alphabetically might not prove user-friendly in a city as sprawling as London, but I’m stubbornly persisting in that practice. As in the earlier part one, these are scattered all over the map.
Where to eat when museum-hopping in South Kensington without squandering away too much time presents a dilemma for someone biased by pre-existing chain-restaurant phobia. Lina Stores has more than a half-dozen Italian restaurants in London, so we were hesitant to cross the threshold into the South Kensington one. But it was bright in a retro-diner kind of way.
Gnudi, fried balls of ricotta and semolina, were almost pillow-like. Artichoke-filled agnolotti proved luscious with a bright lemony sauce and toasted pine nuts. A successful stop.
Above: Lina Store South Kensington
We were on the hunt for a lunch packed with vegetables when we wandered into Megan’s on King Street. Again, a chain, but each is individualized with a bit of neighborhood funkiness. This outlet features macrame room dividers and two sizes of dog beds at-the-ready.
We both gravitated to the warm Buddha bowl full of hearty roasted vegetables and grains satisfyingly contrasted with sliced avocado studded with pomegranate seeds. And, don’t worry, there are plenty of meat options.
Above: Megan’s on King’s Street
Seventy-five minutes. How much British farmhouse and monger-produced cheese would you consume if it seductively cruised by within easy grasp? The answer is best measured in kilos if you have a family gathering of six turophiles cheered onward by our turophilic daughter.
Pick & Cheese Seven Dials offers such an opportunity at its conveyor-belt trough on Wednesdays. Tasting proved addictive, with amazingly addictive cheeses – whether from cow or sheep; creamy or firm; mild or sharp; yellow or blue. Plates can be plucked from the belt seven days a week, but only once a week for the fixed-price feast. And, no, it’s not true the restaurant upped the number of pounds charged for all-you-can-eat after the Spangland family visit.
Above: Pick & Cheese Seven Dials
We ate twice at Romulo Cafe and Restaurant, with an intimate, formal dining room decorated with mementoes of Philippine General Carlos P. Romulo. A starter of sea bream ceviche was bright and refreshing. An overstuffed baked winter squash contrasted sweet and savory flavors. The house glass noodles were loaded with shrimp, chicken, black tree ear mushrooms and shredded vegetables.
Halo halo evidently is a popular kitchen-sink kind of dessert in the Philippines – always topped with a scoop of ube ice cream, colored by its namesake ingredient of purple yam. Romulo’s had shaved evaporated ice milk at its base and jello-looking cubes, candied yams, both jellied and shredded coconut, bean curd and no idea what else. An over-the-top-sweet experience, but we definitely preferred the lime flan tart with meringue and pistachios.
Above: Romulo Cafe and Restaurant
On a whim, we opted to lunch aboard The Summerhouse, a bright and cheery boat always at anchor on a canal in the neighborhood of Little Venice. A trio of tender scallops was ample enough to satisfy, and fish cakes accompanied by broccolini distinguished themselves from the standard fish and chips. And we still had room to share a rich hazelnut brownie.
Above: The Summerhouse
Lunch in the middle of touring an enormous modern art museum should reflect that contemporary vibe. The menu of Tate Modern Restaurant does not disappoint. Dishes we enjoyed included burrata with figs and thin slices of dried pork tenderloin; cured char with gooseberries; and a salted ricotta dumpling with roasted squash. For dessert, several different preparations of meringue with nectarines for a meal topped only by the picture-perfect view of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Above: Tate Modern Restaurant
A temperate, sunshiny day can make snagging an outdoor dining spot at The Waterway in Little Venice a difficult maneuver, but we managed. Our bruschetta paired artichokes and sundried tomatoes, and the sweetness of roasted squash and beets contrasted nicely with radicchio in a salad. Pumpkin tortellini was topped with a handful of fresh arugula, and we rounded out our meal with apple creme brulee.
Above: The Waterway
Hope our food wanderings help you on yours. There are a bazillion choices in London.
Postcards from Barton Springs 