Signature dishes can be so called because of the hours of creativity and refinement that have gone into them but equally because they are simply absolutely delicious. Here’s our list of London's signature dishes available to enjoy in the comfort of your own home and what you may lack in restaurant experience is made up by that slight feeling of smugness that you didn’t have to make an advance reservation or stand in a queue to enjoy it.
Adam Handling’s Cheese Doughnuts
Where: 34-35 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HG
These fluffy savoury doughnuts are filled with a creamy Mornay sauce made with Lincolnshire poacher cheese, Dijon mustard and cream. Upon delivery you finish off the doughnuts at home - just scan a QR code on the recipe card included with your order. You'll see a video of Adam showing you how to cook all the prepared components and add the final touches to your dish. One order makes 15 doughnuts. (Note - the amazing chicken butter is available for delivery too)
How to order: on his website.
Follow them on Instagram: @frogbyah
Dominique Ansel’s Cronut
Where: 17-21 Elizabeth St, Belgravia, London SW1W 9RP
Described by The Guardian as "flaky croissant and custard interior and fried, sugar-dipped exterior” it takes three days to make a single Cronut and they can be seen popping up on Instagram feeds across the globe. Since its inception in 2017 the bakery release only one flavour each month and they are never repeated. June’s flavour is Strawberry & Mint made with fresh mint ganache homemade strawberry jam.
How to order: On their website or Deliveroo (or collect).
Follow them on Instagram: @dominiqueansellondon
Duck & Waffle’s Duck & Waffle
Where: 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY
The namesake of the sky-high restaurant is delivering fluffy crispy waffles, crispy duck leg confit, fried duck egg and mustard maple syrup from their Covent Garden location. A £25 minimum order value applies but add in a Whitstable Bay organic pale ale and it’ll push you just over the threshold.
How to order: On their website or delivery up to 5 miles radius via Supper.
Follow them on Instagram: @duckandwaffle
Gloria’s Burrata with Pesto Heart
Where: 54-56 Great Eastern St, Hackney, London EC2A 3QR
A true representation of the beautifully bold restaurant itself, this dish looks (almost) as good as it tastes. A huge 250g burrata is as fine an example of Puglian cheese as you can eat. The Big Mamma group import directly from Andria, birthplace of the burrata, to make sure it’s perfectly plump and oozing. The “heart” of the creamy cheese is filled with a zingy home-made fresh basil pesto that transforms it to more than the sum of its parts.
How to order: On their website
Follow them on Instagram: @bigmamma.uk
Gunpowder’s Kashmiri lamb curry
Where: 11 White's Row, Spitalfields, London E1 7NF
A variation of their famed Maa's Kashmiri Lamb Chops, this curry is made by cooking down a whole lamb using their signature lamb chops recipe of fresh ginger, garlic cloves, green chilli, mustard oil, fennel seeds and ground cinnamon in the gravy as well as the Gunpowder house spice mix of ground rice, urad dal, chana dal, Kashmiri Chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, black pepper, sesame seeds and salt. And for the curious, we're told by owner Harneet Baweja that "the "Maa" referred to is my wife Devina's mother. She made this for me when we first met”.
How to order: Pre-order and pick up on their website. Otherwise Deliveroo
Follow them on Instagram: @gunpowder_london
Gymkhana’s Muntjac Biriyani
Where: 42 Albemarle St, Mayfair, London W1S 4JH
Since it won its first Michelin star in 2014 in the same year of opening, this Mayfair restaurant has maintained popularity for its chatpatta Indian food and in particular the wild muntjac biriyani. Replacing the traditional lamb with wild venison the dish is crowned with a flaky pastry top peppered with nigella seeds that demands to be smashed to reveal a steaming fragrant rice. Don’t forget to select the pomegranate and mint raita as extras when you make your order.
How to order: On Supper
Follow them on Instagram: @gymkhanalondon
Hakkasan’s Peking duck
Where: Hakkasan Mayfair and Hakkasan City
While the accompaniments are very recognisable (pancakes, baby cucumber and spring onion) Hakkasan have opted for a more lean duck than the fatty duck normally used, a nod to their typical customer, we expect. The dish comes with a second-course wok-fried in black bean sauce and if you splash out an extra £40 you can add Prunier Caviar to the mix.
How to order: Links to Supper and Deliveroo on their site
Follow them on Instagram: @hakkasanmayfair.
Jose’s Presa Iberica
Where: 104 Bermondsey St, Bermondsey, London SE1 3UB
Jose Pizarro’s famed acorn-fed Ibérico Presa (shoulder cut) is available from the “finish at home” range and exceptionally simple to recreate. Served sliced up and beautifully rare, we'd pair it with fried Padron peppers and roasted Jersey royals as they do in his Bermondsey Street restaurant. You should also serve with Piquillo de Lodosa (you can add this to your order).
How to order: Via their website
Follow them on Instagram: @jose_pizarro.
Kricket’s Keralan Fried Chicken
Where: White City and Brixton
One of London’s best-fried chicken variations was created almost by accident. “When we opened, there was no room for a tandoor, only a fryer. So I adapted a basic tandoori marinade and Kricket’s very own fried chicken was born” says co-founder Will Bowlby. Keeping close to the original dish the takeaway version is served with chilli garlic mayo, pickled mooli, and those delicious crispy curry leaves.
How to order: via Deliveroo
Follow them on Instagram: @kricketlondon.
Manteca’s Pink fir potatoes with roe
Where: 58-59 Great Marlborough St, Soho, London W1F 7JY
We called this dish genius and we stand by it; pairing creamy cod’s roe with the distinctively nutty flavour of Pink Fir Apple Potato creates a wonderful combination. Those little knobbly bits also catch that extra blob of roe… we’d be very tempted to order two portions. To achieve that hot-out-of-the-oven temperature to ensure a melting whipped roe we recommend a quick blast in the oven when they arrive.
How to order: On their website (for Saturday delivery only)
Follow them on Instagram: @manteca_london.
Nobu’s Black Cod Miso
Where: 19 Old Park Lane, Mayfair, London, W1K1LB
While many of Nobu’s dishes are Nikkei their signature miso-glazed black cod is completely Japanese, based on the traditional gindara kasuzuke that combines sake and miso with butterfish. As the soft silky flesh of the butterfish melts away within its sweet-savoury miso sauce you could close your eyes and transport yourself to luxurious surrounds of a buzzing Nobu where you’re dining next to Brad Pitt (actual true story).
How to order: Order on Deliveroo
Follow them on Instagram: @nobuoldparklane.
Quality Chop House’s Confit Potatoes
Where: 90 Farringdon Rd, London EC1R 3EA
The confit potatoes at QCH are legendary for a good reason and while the recipe is widely available (see our Insta for our attempt) there is nothing that quite matches receiving delivery of The Original (and the best). Just five ingredients plus a huge amount of time and effort results in what could be London’s greatest potato dish. Note that on arrival you’ll need to shallow fry and whip up the quick mustard dressing (recipe online).
How to order: Order online
Follow them on Instagram: @qualitychop.
Rice Error (Bao)’s Fried Chicken Bao
Where: Fitzrovia, Borough and - soon - Hackney
The namesake item comes in a DIY box that not only ensures your bao is not squished or soggy but it also means you can modify your bao to exactly how you like it. The box contains 4 DIY sesame BAO buns, Taiwanese fried chicken, hot sauce, sichuan mayo, Taiwanese golden kimchi and coriander; a double-decker fried chicken bao could be very tempting…
How to order: Via Deliveroo from Borough or Fitzrovia.
Follow them on Instagram: @riceerror.
Smokestak’s brisket and burnt end beans
Where: 35 Sclater St, Shoreditch, London E1 6LB
London’s best barbecue shows us how it’s done with their brisket: charred caramelised bark before tender, sweet meat that falls apart with the most gentle of bites. Your side dish has to be a pint (yes a pint) of smoky beans peppered with more of that delicious charred bark this time as crispy gnarled “burnt end” nuggets. We also recommend adding a couple of the pickled cucumbers to your order.
How to order: on their website - collection only (Saturdays)
Follow them on Instagram: @smokestakuk.
More food and drink delivered...
And for even more delivery ideas (including shops, coffee, booze, bakeries and more), check out our Staying in section.
Food delivery in London, by area...
North: Islington, Highbury, Stoke Newington | King's Cross, Camden & Clerkenwell
South: Borough, London Bridge, Bermondsey | Clapham, Brixton | Peckham, Camberwell, Dulwich
East: Hackney | Shoreditch and Spitalfields | Walthamstow and Leyton
West: Chelsea, Kensington & Belgravia | White City and Notting Hill
Central: Central London restaurant deliveries
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