English food is often maligned, but I will happily eat in England. London boasts outstanding restaurants. The presence of the Ottolenghi restaurants alone would make it a food destination (full disclosure, I have not had the privilege of eating in any Ottolenghi restaurants, but I do own five Ottolenghi cookbooks, and the recipes are consistently excellent). I have friends who swear by St. John. We made it to St. John Bread and Wine the last time we were in London, and it was fantastic. If you are not familiar with the St. John restaurants, they are nose-to-tail, so you have to be ready to eat some things you might not usually think about eating. Trust me, you’ll enjoy it all.
One of my favorite things about eating in England is full English breakfast. I generally skip the black pudding, but I do appreciate the baked beans and roasted vegetables with my eggs, bacon, and sausage.
Whatever your views about other aspects of English cuisine, I’ve never heard anyone say they dislike afternoon tea. If you are on vacation and are free for a few truly civilized hours in the afternoon, there’s very little quite as lovely as a fancy afternoon tea. At least as of a few years ago, one of the best rated afternoon teas in London was the art tea at the mirror room at the Rosewood. Service began with tea, of course, along with the requisite tea sandwiches.
When it came time for the pastries, they were all formed/decorated based on inspiration from various artists – Yayoi Kasuma, Banksy, Damien Hirst, Mark Rothko, and Alexander Calder. They were, in a word, exquisite. Each one was beautiful outside and in (although we made a mess of some cutting them open), incredibly creative, and delicious. Please pardon the crumbs on the plates in some of the pictures.
The specific artist(s) and pastries have changed since we were there, but it appears that they are still offering art teas at the Rosewood. Art Afternoon Tea at Rosewood London | Book Now | UK Guide
As if the art pastries were not enough, there were also scones hiding on the bottom layer of the pastry tower, as well as berry tart.
Here would be a good place for me to include a recipe for scones, but I am not going to because I have yet to be happy with the texture of my own homemade scones.
London is so widely photographed, that there is little point to including photos of London landmarks. I will leave you with a few photos of ancient church abbey in Titchfield.
