SOUTH LONDON FOOD
(which means south of the river but not far from the flat - most are a 40 min walk or a short hop on the bus - walk if you can)
Restaurant Story.
Restaurant Story, Tower Bridge (restaurantstory.co.uk): Tom Sellers tells his story and the story of British food through an ever-evolving tasting menu of seasonal dishes. The restaurant gained its Michelin star five months after opening in 2013 and has retained it ever since. Sellers has worked as chef de partie at Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York and Rene Redzepi’s Noma in Copenhagen, but the learning curve and real hard graft was with Tom Aikens at his eponymous restaurant. The premises are a £2 million new-build on the former site of a Victorian toilet block that divides Druid and Tooley Streets. Wood-clad, glazed head-to-toe – with views of Tower Bridge and the Shard – and furnished Scandinavian style.
Bar Tozino.
Maltby Market under the railway arches (www.bartozino.com): It's not actually a bar, it's a jamon bodega. You can sip from a small but fabulous selection of Spanish wines and Jerez, while nibbling on the fine hams – all of which have been curing over your head. It's the only such place in London, but it turns out that railway arches are a great place to cure ham.
Wright Brothers.
Borough Market (www.thewrightbrothers.co.uk): It's a traditional old London oyster and porterhouse. Both Wright Brother is ideal if you are going to go to the Globe to see some Shakespeare or the Tate Modern gallery.
Padella.
Borough Market (www.padella.co): This is a new pasta restaurant at the edge of Borough Market. “Padella is the culmination of Tim and Jordan’s long-held dream to open a pasta bar serving fresh, hand-rolled pasta with delicious sauces and fillings inspired by their trips to Italy.” Amazing and cheap but you have to queue; we went for lunch and queued from 11.30-12:00 when they opened, but it was well worth it. Also, it is at the market so you can take turns whilst waiting to do some market shopping.
Turnips.
Borough Market Turnips has been a fixture of Borough Market for over 30 years. Still a family run greengrocers, we know that quality is the key to flavour. That’s why we decided to open our restaurant, Turnips with Tomas Lidakevicius. Having cut his teeth in some of London’s best restaurants, Tomas was the obvious choice for our Chef patron, sharing as he does our belief that only magnificent produce can deliver truly unparalleled flavour. This place is bloody excellent.
Jose Pizzaro
Bermondsey: Not far away, where once you could sell stolen goods between the hours of dusk and dawn. On Bermondsey Street are two great Spanish restaurants owned by the one guy – Jose Pizzaro. (www.josepizarro.com). Pizzaro is the restaurant and Jose is the tapas joint. Very, very good food and let them guide you on jerez.
Manze
Okay, super traditional and don't be surprised that if you try jellied eels you may never love London again, but you don't get more traditional than a pie and mash shop. Manze is one of the few remaining real ones (www.manze.co.uk). It's been there for 112 years – I have no idea who these people are but they clearly didn’t eat the eels.
40 Maltby Street
Bermondsey (40maltbystreet.com): For wine—whether red, white, orange or sparkling—made without fertilizers or pesticides, plus small sharing plates (often cooked with wine). “The food that issues from the postage-stamp-sized kitchen is all pretty much faultless: not a beat is missed”