Six of the city’s leading chefs came together to select London’s 25 best food offerings. Each chef nominated ten dishes before gathering in June to discuss and refine the list. To ensure fairness, no panellist’s own dishes could feature, and cocktails were excluded.
The panel, part of The T 25 series by The New York Times, included Jeremy Lee of Quo Vadis in Soho; Claire Ptak of Violet Cakes in east London; Adejoke Bakare of Chishuru in Fitzrovia; Cynthia Shanmugalingam of Rambutan in Borough Market; James Lowe, formerly of Lyle’s; and Max Rocha of Café Cecilia in Hackney.
At the top of the list is Fergus Henderson’s roast bone marrow and parsley salad, first served at St John, Smithfield, nearly 30 years ago. Inspired by a scene from the 1973 satirical film La Grande Bouffe, the dish features roasted veal marrow bones with a fresh parsley, shallot and caper salad, served alongside sourdough toast, coarse sea salt and a lobster pick. Rocha recalled his first experience with the dish:
“When I first got into restaurants in London, everyone was talking about how you had to go to St John. I went with my mum and ordered the bone marrow and I was, like, ‘whoa’. I love that it doesn’t compromise. There are no frills. It is quite a brave dish.”
Coming in second is the iconic chocolate nemesis cake from the River Café. Rich, decadent and fudgy in texture, it is created with dark chocolate, sugar, butter, eggs and little or no flour. Known as one of the most copied recipes in London, it has inspired chefs around the world. Lowe explained:
“The chocolate nemesis has legendary status in London. It is also one of the most copied recipes from a London restaurant. Everybody who works there takes the recipe when they leave and does their own version.”
Another highlight is the stir fried clams at Singburi, a family run Thai restaurant in Leytonstone. Cooked with browned garlic, sweet basil and Sirichai Kularbwong’s roasted chilli jam (nam prik pao), it has become a dish of cult status in east London.
Noticeably absent from the rankings were traditional fine dining staples such as Claridge’s, with the list instead spotlighting new, experimental and culturally rich food experiences that reflect the city’s international communities.
Charles Banks, co founder of The Food People, explained the significance:
“In a world where we are bombarded with transient novelty, these dishes become more important than ever. They are the dishes that say: this food, this concept still matters. We call it ‘culinary permanence’ – anchored in tradition or technique, but always relevant across generations.”
The Top Five Dishes to Try in London
- Roast bone marrow and parsley salad at St John, Smithfield
- Chocolate nemesis cake at the River Café, Hammersmith
- Stir fried clams at Singburi, Leytonstone
- Cantabrian anchovies with rosemary oil at Brawn, Hackney
- Rava masala dosa at Saravanaa Bhavan, East Ham and across the city
