Everything You Need To Eat And Drink In London This Summer

By Clare Finney

Clare Finney’s memoir, Hungry Heart, takes an MFK Fisher quote as its starting point: “When I write of hunger, I am really writing about love.” Over the next 200 pages, the London food writer juxtaposes a recipe for her Mum’s Cheesy Pasta with reflections on the disordered eating she suffered from as a teenager; declares her preference for hobnobs over digestives before segueing into a treatise on the exigency of office tea breaks in a capitalist society; and shares her condiment theory – “that what a person added to their food could provide some clues as to compatibility” – as a tongue-in-cheek prelude to an essay on the negotiations and compromises inherent in any romantic partnership. Praised by Diana Henry and Quo Vadis’s Jeremy Lee, it’s a book that will appeal to anyone with a Vittles subscription as much as someone trying to figure out what really nourishes them, in every sense of the word. Below, Finney shares her own gastronomical hit list in London this summer.

By Hayley Maitland

Finding somewhere in London that gets plenty of sunshine and serves good food and drink outside can feel like an impossible dream. To date, I know of only a handful of spots that sit in the middle of that particular Venn diagram, and one of those is Parrillan. The terrace is sheltered enough to ward off the wind, but open enough to be a sun trap. The vibe is Victorian railway arch meets Spanish hotel courtyard, with a menu revolving around British produce cooked over a woodfire grill (or parrilla). With some para picar (picky bits) and a jug of sangria, it’s the place to sip and snack until sunset.

If you believe that success tastes sweeter when it’s hard-earned, head to Crystal Palace, where The Chatsworth Bakehouse team has taken that philosophy and turned it into a sandwich shop. Every Monday, owners Tom Mathews and Sian Evans announce a new £10 sandwich on Instagram, and in under a minute, they sell out online. People come from across the country, never mind from across town, to eat them, and for good reason: recent hits have included Sicilian pistachio and basil with roasted peaches, mozzarella and mortadella, and sticky aubergine with kimchi, served on impossibly light, salt-flecked focaccia.

The best salad I’ve eaten this summer is no longer available – or rather, it is, but you’ll have to go to Glasgow to find it. For one glorious week in June, Julie Lin brought her Malaysian-Scottish cuisine to Carousel in Fitzrovia, and I shall take her rojak to my grave. My second-best salad, though, is at Carousel for the foreseeable: ripe tomatoes, peaches and burrata, served at the wine bar. Come summer, Carousel flings open its doors and spills out onto Charlotte Street, which is easily the most European-feeling street in the capital. Come for the atmosphere, stay for the small plates and wines.

By Hannah Coates

By Alexandra Macon

By Daniel Rodgers

In the summer months, the tables at Carousel spill out onto Charlotte Street.

There’s only one flavour of gelato that beats pistachio, and that’s double pistachio. You’ll find it at Bilmonte in Soho, and after just one lick of its green, creamy nuttiness, you’ll never look back. As if pistachio-upon-pistachio wasn’t quite enough, they top every cone with another baby cone filled with melted chocolate. There are other flavours, like mandarin and wild berries, but they’re best treated as double pistachio’s excellent supporting acts.

The former editor of an online restaurant guide once told me they never review rooftop bars because they are all awful. He was right then, and is mostly right now, because good views give vendors license to overcharge and underdeliver. Joia, at the terribly named art’otel next to Battersea Power Station, is an exception. The concise snack menu comes courtesy of celebrated Portuguese chef Henrique Sá Pessoa, and goes well with Alessandro Mannello’s Iberian-inspired cocktails. As for the view? Battersea Power Station’s art deco detailing is far better appreciated from a neighbouring rooftop – especially at night, with one foot dangling into art’otel’s pool.

Rum’s coming up, but tequila and her big sister mezcal remain the spirits du jour, particularly when swirled with citrus and served in a glass dusted with sea salt. There’s plenty of these knocking around, but the best I’ve had are at Maene, a well-hidden restaurant and bar in Shoreditch where they transform waste products from the kitchen into cocktails to be enjoyed in the sun. The sea buckthorn – featuring El Rayo tequila and smoked agave – is a smokey, salty, zesty number with an orange glow that’s nostalgically reminiscent of fake tan circa 2003.

By Hannah Coates

By Alexandra Macon

By Daniel Rodgers

Maene in Shoreditch boasts zero-waste cocktails and a glorious terrace.

Look, I love an Aperol as much as the next holiday-thirsty Brit, but it’s cornered the market for too long now, and so has its uncle vermouth. Fortunately, These Days has come to an arch on Bermondsey’s beer mile, ready to shake up the scene. Their Sundown spritz is a blend of blood orange, soda and organic wine, while their Venetian option is a refreshing upgrade on the classic Bellini. Meanwhile, the bar snacks, sourced from Neal’s Yard Dairy and St John Bakery nearby, are way better than any you would find in a regular pub.

As someone who hates Marmite and is unenthused by éclairs, I didn’t expect to love these creamy morsels, whose unholy marriage of mushrooms, sugar and choux pastry left me simultaneously sated and craving more. They’re served in Sussex, which sounds and even looks like a country pub – dark wood cladding, things on boards – but the name is actually a nod to the restaurant’s ethos of serving local and wild British ingredients. Arrive early, and you can nab a seat on their tiny terrace and linger over a glass of English sparkling wine.

Somewhere between the cheese and the pre-pre-dessert course, my friend looked at his watch. “Do you realise we’ve been here for four and a half hours?” In that time, the sun had set. We’d had four snacks and six courses. We’d discussed family dynamics, love, eggs and budget airlines, and neither our chat nor our glasses showed any sign of running dry. Da Terra is a balm – an expensive balm, sure, but one which, like that luxury moisturiser you buy with your eyes shut once a year, really delivers. Not for nothing has it been ranked the third best restaurant in the UK. The dining room is in the old town hall in Bethnal Green, and the refined décor is both sympathetic to its history and utterly idiosyncratic. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dotted around the place are a nod to head chef Rafael Cagali’s name, while the food is inspired by his Brazilian childhood and Italian heritage. Think white pork with morel feijoada and cavolo nero, baba with cachaça and pistachio.

By Hannah Coates

By Alexandra Macon

By Daniel Rodgers

Da Terra in Bethnal Green is rightly considered one of the best restaurants in the UK.

Any bakery boffin worth their salt will remember Flor, the Borough Market-based bakery which broke hearts and minds with their brown butter cakes. Flor is no more, but its former baker, Helen Evans, is alive, well and whipping up breathtaking baked goods in East Dulwich. The croissants are stuffed with seasonal produce, the doughnuts are to die for, and every bit of dough is enriched with sustainably farmed heritage grains.

Looking for somewhere laidback, easy to get to and, if necessary, sneak out of? A place that’s quirky but not too quirky? A spot serving great drinks, with the option of food if all goes well but no obligation to order anything? Look to Renegade. This London winery has a new site in Walthamstow, but it’s the OG Bethnal Green spot that has my heart. The wine is crushed and blended in Walthamstow, and named for different Londoners, but there are beers and spirits, too – and, if all goes swimmingly, you can snuggle up over a board of cheese and charcuterie.

With a front terrace that catches the sun and a foliage-filled back garden, The Albion is a go-to for north Londoners year-round, but especially in the summer. The food is standard pub food, and the drinks are standard pub drinks; you’re here for a good time, not fine wine. For that, head to The Drapers Arms, which marries a more sheltered garden with a legendary wine list.

Hungry Heart: A Story Of Food & Love by Clare Finney is out now

By Tom Howells