What to Eat in England

Food is always a highlight of our travel, and England was no exception. We were so much looking forward to its unique and quirky souding food…

Toad in the hole, Welsh rarebit, and bangers always tickled our curiosity, and it was quite an experience tasting our way through some familiar, and lots of unfamiliar foods.

伦敦是一个Mecca for all food lovers. Anything and everything your heart desires is out there to explore on the food scene.

From hundreds of vintage old pubs serving their world famous fish & chips and meat pies, along with other pub food, to any cuisine from around the world at its best.

You can wander through roads lined with restaurant after restaurant, especially in SoHo or Chinatown, and eat through your heart’s content.

From high end restaurants to simple, humble eateries dishing out one cracking dish after another… Go through our Top Foods to try when in the Queen’s Land. Have fun…

1. Fish and Chips

We lost count of how many fish and chips we chowed down on. Noah’s favorite dish out of England is fish and chips. Surprisingly, they serve pretty a huge chunk of fried fish even from the kiddy menu.

One thing we noticed is that they LOVE THEIR CHIPS… Big time. Every single thing is accompanied by their beloved chips. Lasagna, steak, pies and even good old curry can come with a side of chips.

Plus, fish and chips comes with a side of peas, and sometimes their famous mushy peas. Don’t forget to have pint or two of their local beer, or a glass of pretty rose.

2. Bangers and Mash

Bangers and Mash is nothing but some sausages on a bed of mashed potatoes along with their onion gravy. Sausage lovers, enjoy this pub classic.

3. English Breakfast

We had our share of English breakfasts whenever we stayed in hotels. In most of the cottages, we cooked our own breaky, but were treated big time with sumptuous Full English Breakfasts in London and Gloucester.

The ‘common’ full English breakfast mostly has bacon, eggs, British sausage, baked beans, fried tomato, fried mushrooms, some kind of pudding, with fries and toasted bread on the side. Eat this breakfast KING sized.

4. Toad in the Hole

Toad in the Hole is a uniquely British dish, where sausages are baked in Yorkshire pudding batter. On a whim we decided to cook this for GyspyPlate when in Wales, and it is forever here now.

Check out ourToad in the Hole recipe!

5. Pies

They have great Pies all over England. We especially loved their steak and ale pie and lamb pie. You will find them in most of their pub style restaurants.

There is also shepherd’s pie and cottage pie, which it topped with mashed potatoes. The former contains ground lamb, and the latter ground beef.

6. Cornish Pasty

A Cornish pasty is a kind of hand held pie. Famous out of Cornwall, it can be found all over England. The filling is mostly meat and vegetables in a thick hearty sauce. A quick grub on the go, for sure.

7. Indian Food/Curries

England is literally a curry land. I must agree that Brits sure know their curries. From London to the smallest coastal villages, curry is everywhere. A good one on that!!

It was a real feast for some one curry deprived like me, from Florida, to chow down all the curries I could find all over England.

8. Scotch Eggs

英国苏格兰蛋是一个受欢迎的菜是hard or soft boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat that is breaded then fried. Perfect grab and go breakfast, and their first choice for picnics and outdoor trips. We tried regular scotch eggs, as well as salmon scotch eggs.

9. Lamb

Lambs and sheep are all over the English countryside, and sure are all over on their menus. We absolutely loved the lamb shank. We tried it Mediterranean style, Moroccan style and homestyle slow cooked. All yum…

10. Ploughman’s Lunch

A ploughman’s lunch is an English cold meal based around bread, cheese, and fresh or pickled onions. Additional items can be added such as ham, green salad, hard boiled eggs, and apple, along with some sort of chutney.

11. Sunday Roast

Now this one is like having Thanksgiving or Christmas meal every Sunday . Apparently very popular with locals, a Sunday roast or roast dinner is a traditional British meal that is typically served on Sunday in pubs across the country.

It mostly consists of roasted meat, roast potatoes and accompaniments such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, gravy, and condiments such as apple sauce, mint sauce or jelly.

We had one in the Welsh town of Caernarfon, and needed to walk quite a lot to digest all that gluttony.

12. Welsh Rarebit

This one is a Welsh classic. It’s basically a hot cheese-based sauce served over slices of toasted bread.

We have had aWelsh Rarebitrecipe on GypsyPlate for a long time, and were eager to try a local one. I must say, it was a really, really good to try for lunch.

13. English High Tea

When in England, drink what they drink… their beloved English tea. We decided to go all the way by trying their English High Tea.

It’s quite an elaborate experience, where tea is served along with their famous scones, cakes and finger sandwiches. We tried it in the Ugly House in in Betws-y-Coed, Wales.

The Ugly House is in fact not ugly at all, but a pretty charming rustic little stone cottage surrounded by lush greenery.

14. Beef or Lamb Wellington

If you have any chance to dig into Beef or Lamb Wellington, don’t miss it. It’s an absolutely divine dish where meat is roasted in puff pastry.

15. Stews

England has some of the best hearty thick stews that are made with lamb or beef, along with veggies. Most of them also include a strong ale that makes it rich and sumptuous.

16. Katsu Curry

Besides Indian curry, one curry you spot all over England is Katsu Curry. It’s a Japanese curry often served with chicken or pork cutlet (katsu) over a bed of rice. I tried it at few places, and it was fantastic.

We have great Katsu dishes on GypsyPlate likeKatsudonandTonkatsu. Katsu Curry is on its way very soon…

17. Moroccan Food

We tried Moroccan twice in London. Both places had excellent cracking lamb and chicken tagines, with great North African flavors. We also tried theirZaaloukand Harira.

18. Sri Lankan Food

We have heard a lot about Sir Lankan food, and even have oneSri Lankan Curryrecipe here. But we had never tried it before in a restaurant, and were pleasantly surprised to find that it was similar to South Indian food, but a tad bit spicier.

19. Tapas

We always try local tapas bars or restaurants. This one was great overlooking the ocean at St. Ives. The tapas spread we ordered was quite extensive, with many seafood specialties out of coastal Cornwall.

20. Mediterranean Spread

This one was a very special Mediterranean spread in London. From different spreads like baba ganoush, tahini, tabbouleh and zaalouk, along with kebabs, falafel and stews.

We really enjoyed it with lots of pita and great wine. Highly recommended when in big cities.

21. Asian like Thai/Malay/Vietnamese/Korean

We love our Asian food. From Korean Bibimbap, to MalayLaksato Vietnamese Pho and everything in between, like ThaiCurries,Pad Krapowand Nasi Goreng. It was an absolute pleasure to try all these unique flavors.

Places like London, Liverpool and Brighton are very cosmopolitan, and brimming with ethnic cuisines.

22. Seafood

England proudly presents their local food in most of the grocery stores. You get to really taste the good quality of fresh produce, and their seafood is excellent.

Besides Fish and Chips, we got to try their popular Mussels, Calamari and the highlight was this Seafood Platter in London.

The Shell Restaurant ranks as the number 1 seafood restaurant in London on TripAdvisor, and it will have our 5 star vote too.

23. Beer and Drinks

No great meal is complete without a nice drink on the side. We enjoyed their local ales, some great wine and ciders, as well as the occasional cocktail.

24. Ice Cream

We were amazed by how many ice cream shops we saw all over England and Wales. Often proudly advertised as being local to the area, there is no shortage of ice cream.

Grab a cone to enjoy while walking around and taking in the sights.

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We hope you enjoy going through this list of amazing foods, and that it inspires you to go beyond the tastes you are used to and explore all the flavors hidden out there.

Every single meal was treasured and enjoyed, and now will be cherished with fond memories.

So many of these meals will soon come on to GypsyPlate, as they have hugely inspired us to cook more for you all, and teach you how to make them in your very own kitchen.Subscribeto GypsyPlate, and learn all about these new flavors.

If you’re planning to visit England, be sure to check out our other posts from the trip:England Travel Tips,What to Do in London, andWhat to Do in England and Wales.

那再见了,直到我们下次destinat见ion, or next recipe…