So you’ve been in the capital for a few days and you’ve sampled the best food that
London has to offer.
Pizza Express, Gregs and the Boots Meal Deal.
Now that’s great and all but what you’re really looking for, is something unique.
So we’ll be showing you our 10 favourite unique restaurants in London.
We’ll whizz by the worlds first cheese conveyor belt, Sample some white chocolate mash which
believe me is much better than it sounds, feast next door to the Prime Minister, be
surrounded by cats, dine in a Victorian toilet, and much much more.
If you’re new here, we make travel movies from our home town of London and around the
world, hoping you might just find your next holiday inspiration.
This is Suitcase Monkey, looking for unique dining in London.
First up on our list is Rabot 1745 and this place is heaven for anyone who loves chocolate.
That’s because every single dish on the menu uses either cacao (which is the seed
chocolate is made from) or the roasted cocoa bean as a subtle ingredient.
The food all draws on Caribbean traditions with a contemporary British twist and
the addition of chocolate on the menu makes everything appear original.
My personal favourite was the main course, A slow cooked portion of Beef, with cacoa
mushroom dumpling.
On the side, we pecked at white chocolate mash, and Caribbean Sweet Potato with cacao
barbecue sauce.
The chocolate theming is a gimmick that could cheapen the experience but it’s actually
quite a swanky place.
Owned by Hotel Chocolat, the serving presentation is more elegant than you might expect.
And so I think overall its a great place to visit if you're intrigues by what is essentially, a very posh Mars Bar.
Next up is The Attendant which is a restored Victorian toilet, originally built and used
since the 1890s.
Now, to put the 1890s into perspective, this means you could be eating an avocado
in the exact spot where Jack the Ripper did a poo.
And if that isn’t unique, I don’t know what is.
The original public toilet was closed in the 1960s and was remodelled, cleaned and reopened
50 years later.
There’s a nice mixture of lighter snacks such as bacon rolls, porridge and granola,
to full plates of traditional brunch staples: Avocado, hummus, lentils, grilled halloumi,
eggs, they’re all here.
Served with a tasty coffee, it was a satisfying menu and yes apparently those tiles are original.
This next suggestion is something that won’t be unique for lots of people, but for Londoners,
is something of a rarity.
A place we have visited more than anywhere on this list is The Quince Tree Cafe and what
makes it stand out, is its surrounding and tranquility.
Turning off the main road, you walk down this narrow alley and feel as if you’re entering
into a hidden oasis.
Greeting you at the end, is London’s oldest garden centre which has been inspiring people
since 1851.
It’s the most peaceful dining entrance I’m aware of.
The Quince Tree Cafe itself is just as lovely.
The main seating area is inside this large greenhouse, but there is also a roofed outside
space more open to the elements.
With all of this, it is easy to feel like you’re in some English countryside town
and the whole setting already makes this worth the trip.
But thankfully the food also holds its own.
Again, it hosts a mixture of small or large dishes so should work for most appetites and
budgets.
These chorizo croquettes served with a tasty mayo were awesome as were these avocado deep
fried chips with a chilli jam.
If you’ve seen my hidden gems in London video, I suggested a walk along the canals
of Little Venice.
The Quince Tree Cafe is just a few minutes away so makes for a convenient starting location.
Now, here’s a little Suitcase Monkey fact for you.
I love cheese.
Out of 365 days, I reckon I will enjoy a cheese sandwich on about 300 of them.
And most of the days I’m not enjoying one, its because I’m somewhere abroad and I feel
I need to be less English and y’know, eat like the locals.
So our next stop literally blew my mind when I discovered it.
Enter the worlds first cheese conveyor belt restaurant named Pick and Cheese.
Presented in a really cool cloche, each of the 25 different cheeses, are all paired with
complementary condiments.
We had clothbound cheddar with tomato relish, Spenwood which is a hard ewes cheese, served
with truffled potatoes, and my personal favourite which was this Kingham cheese, paired with
a walnut fudge.
We also added in some smoked chorizo adding some spice and everything was coupled with
a variety of crackers.
This also goes down in history as the earliest time I’ve had a wine in my hand on a Sunday
morning.
Pick and Cheese is only a few months old, being situated inside London’s newest market,
named The Seven Dials.
I’ll be doing a future video on all my favourite London markets so please subscribe for that
if you haven’t already.
If you are a lover of cats then Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium is for you.
This place is super popular so you will almost certainly need to book in advance.
These rescue cats are obviously the main attraction, so of course there’s some games, some sleeping,
some drinking, some stroking, some attention and some being ignored.
The tea room is split over 2 floors and has a nice subtle but distinct Wonderland theming.
The layout is also really well designed providing lots of space for the cats to explore.
The food is traditional English, with soup, High Tea, scones, sandwiches and cakes.
I think if you’re treating a cat lover to a unique dining experience, this would be
a perfect surprise.
For these last few suggestions I want to rattle them off fairly quickly for 3 main reasons.
One, I think they are a bit more niche so I wouldn’t universally recommend them to
everyone.
Two: Some of these I don’t have much footage for and Three; It’ll help justify these
meals as an expense for the taxman.
So here are 5 quick suggestions you also might want to consider.
The first is Swingers.
This is 18 holes of crazy golf that also serves food and drinks for your enjoyment.
Great fun for either a couple or a small group.
Second we have The Jazz Cafe in Camden.
One of Londons most famous live music venues, you get to enjoy your food from the balcony
while listening to live jazz, soul, funk and blues.
How about the Paternoster Chop House?
This is the actual restaurant where the popular UK TV show, First Dates is filmed.
We are massive fans of the show so spent our first anniversary here.
Even without Fred and his team, it’s great to see Merlins bar and make that infamous
walk towards the unknown.
Fourth, we have Sketch.
This place is probably most famous for its incredibly pink Instagrammable Gallery room
where you can enjoy afternoon tea.
But it has numerous rooms that are each something to behold.
It is expensive here but its toilets are almost worth the price alone.
And lastly, there is dining inside the Houses of Parliament.
This is technically classed as a pop up so availability isn’t always open.
But when it is, you get to walk around the inside of Parliament, see the House of Commons
in action, or not as things can sometimes be and then sit down to some English food
in a room overlooking the Thames.
For further inspiration, check out my other London food guides as well as our international
travels around the world.
And follow us on Instagram to see us exploring live as it happens.
Thanks for watching Suitcase Monkey.