10 Eats I Still Dream of (London, York, Edinburgh)

laviedeshan
Aug 25, 2017
5 min read

Few months ago I went to UK. It was my first time going to UK and it's such a wonderful trip. If you want to know about where I went in UK, click here,

I didn't expect too much for food in UK before I went there. Reason? Well, let's admit that UK is not well known for its food in the culinary world.

However, based on my foodie nature, I still tried my best to conduct some research.

Turns out, the food part in UK was a huge surprise for me! (there are some that were overrated and not so great ones as well, that I will mention).

So, first let's talk about the restaurants that really pleased me.

Duke’s Hotel - Afternoon Tea!

Classic British afternoon tea? Yes!!!

You can't come to UK without trying their famous afternoon tea.

Although tea is originally from China, British people certainly assimilated it into their culture by making it more elegant and interesting.

Duke's Hotel offers an array of teas, but we tried their specialty (special tea) Duke's Hotel blend and that was delicious!

First, they arrange the food on a three-tiered display where you start from bottom to top.

The lowest level held some delicately cut triangle sandwiches (salmon, cucumber, and chicken). Personally, I am not much of a sandwich person, but Duke's offered the perfect filling to breading ratio. Each one was so delicious that I wanted more, but then again there's another tier to eat!

Up next were the scones (fruit and plain). My biggest fear with pastries is that they are rock hard and dry. This was not the case! The outer shell was hard and buttery, but inside was soft. Eating it by itself exceeded my expectations, but with the addition of their specially made clotted cream and strawberry jam only elevated the taste on a whole other level! Regretfully it was a lot and needed to save room for the last tier.

Finally onto the dessert! There were three to choose from and I don't remember the names, but they were pretty good!

Skosh

This is the best surprise for me!

Skosh is a small restaurant in York. If you don't pay attention, you will pass them by easily. I highly recommend either making a reservation or coming before the dinner rush and hope there's a table available. They serve small dishes and they recommend choosing 3-4 per person but you can easily order a lot more. We tried to sample as much as the menu as we could.

Note: I think they change the menu a bit according to seasonal ingredients, but this is a bit of what we had.

Aux Pains de Papa

So I was craving a fruit tart to start my day and happened to pass this small bakery. I was immediately drawn to the strawberry tart, I mean look at it! But with a lot of pastries, just because it looks good doesn't always mean it'll taste good. This was well above the exception. Every bite had enough sweet strawberry taste that wasn't overpowered by the buttery crust. I thoroughly enjoyed every single morsel and I would love to go back as many times as I could. I also had the chocolate croissant which was also delectable, but you want to try something truly one of a kind I would go for the strawberry tart.

Flat Iron

I love steak. I'm a big meat eater and steak is probably my favourite.

What could be better is the price. At £10 a piece, that's hard to beat!

Now this price only includes one steak (sides are additional) but it was plenty and I had to save room for the free ice cream cone!

Great food at affordable prices is why this is a must visit.

Poppies

Very famous for fish and chips, so I could not afford to miss trying it out myself. In conclusion...delicious!

I was intimidated by the large portion of the fried fish, so I highly recommend sharing with someone. The ends are extremely crispy. That first crunch mixed with their house made tartar sauce is absolutely divine. Then when you get to the middle where you have a generous hefty bite of cod.

The only thing I could say is lacking would be the chips (french fries). However, it all boils down to personal preference. They are perfectly rectangular and a little big, which may add to the reason they are on the soft side rather than crispy. I prefer crispy, but the chips were not bad with ketchup.

Although, the star of the dish is what matters and that is why I would recommend this.

Bill's

This is a restaurant chain. I've seen them several times all over the place and I heard many good things about it, so I had to try it.

Finally I tried on near the Windsor train station on my way to visit Windsor Castle.

The omelette was fluffy, vegetables and bacon were really fresh and sauce was well balanced.

Sky Garden

Even if you don't want to eat here, you should still visit this little gem. Early reservation is required and the hour time slots go quick so I suggest three weeks in advance. The views are absolutely amazing. Not just outside, but inside too! With plenty of windows, there is a lot of natural light that comes through which is a perfect habitat for all the plants that live there. Afterwards you can step outside and view many of the landmarks London has to offer.

We had an early afternoon time slot and I needed coffee so I decided to get a cup of flat white which was decent, but what really won me over was the quiche. Now I don't have quiche very often but that was the best I ever had. Absolutely scrumptious to have every bite and paired well with my cup of coffee. (Be wary though that there were flies hanging around the sweeter pastries) Aside from that I can't complain.

Polo Bar

Many people eat here late at night or early in the morning because it's a 24-hour diner but they actually have good food.

The breakfast food was nice so if you're nearby looking for food at a random time like coming in from a late flight this will hit the spot.

The price is very reasonable for spot like this in London as well.

Furness Foodhut

Borough Market had the unfortunate terrorist attack not long before we came to UK so it was closed up until the last few days of my trip.

Now they play a bell for a moment of silence for those victims so please be mindful and respectful.

This food stall is in front of the bell by the organic juice bar.

They famously make a big pan of paella and curry. I tried both of them from the free samples and they tasted homemade like from my grandma (if she were Italian). I couldn't choose, so I got half of each for the same price of one. They are very friendly and accommodating so please go visit them!