London food, a love letter

I’m ten years old, sitting opposite my Dad in Pellicci’s on Bethnal Green Road. On the Formica table between us is our usual. He has a full English breakfast. I have a plate of hand cut chips and a chocolate milkshake. Founded in 1900, Pellicci’s is the oldest café in London. My memories of Pellicci’s start nearly a century later when I was living in my childhood home down the road back in the late 1990s.

When I visit now, nearly two decades later, not much has changed. Food still comes out from the kitchen through a hatch in the back of the café, ferried through the walnut-panelled room by one of the family members. They conduct the joyful chaos with a warmth that keeps customers coming back year after year. The chips are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The pasta dishes are as deep and beautiful. The food is just as delicious. Pellicci’s is one of London’s establishments that has held onto its magic amidst the endless, swirling changes of the city.

Another is Şömine, a Turkish restaurant on Kingsland High Street. It’s low-key. One of those places that could easily slot into your dining-out routine. People sit alone or with friends and family, making their way through the daily selection of stews served with bread, rice and, my personal favourite, a selection of pickled vegetables.

South of the river, you'll find Italo, a corner coffee shop and delicatessen nestled in the heart of historic Bonnington Square. Locals and visitors perch on benches outside. They nurse delicious coffees. They nibble pastries and other offerings that emerge from the kitchen.

There’ve been some London establishments that didn’t survive the waves of change. Two closures that stung the most were Percy Ingle and Frank’s Café in Covent Garden. Frank’s served delicious sunshine yellow omelettes; Percy Ingle ignited my lifelong obsession with Tottenham cake, a cloud-like vanilla sponge with dark pink icing. 

In more recent years, I’ve found a lot of joy in the restaurants, cafes and bakeries that have sprung up across London. Some of the best food memories of my adult life have been in Jolene on Hornsey Road. Sharing bites of pizzetta and soft-serve with those I love feels pretty perfect. 

There are magical evenings to be had at Little Duck the Pickelery on Dalston Lane. Evenings pass by whilst perched around the candle-lit kitchen counter eating seasonal dishes. Mornings spent sitting by the canal eating granola, yoghurt and poached rhubarb at Towpath Café are hard to beat. I never feel luckier than when I get my hands on the last yuzu-orange Jaffa cake at Toad on Peckham Road.

The character, shape and DNA of London continues to change. Sometimes I find her unrecognisable, but mostly she is still the same place that makes my heart bloom whenever I come home to her. When you visit I hope you too will find pleasure and comfort in the food she has to offer.