On previous trips to London, I really enjoyed some of the food. On this trip though ... not so much. Not sure why, but I was really let down, and really dissatisfied.
When I'm food-grumpy, I turn to desserts, er, puddings. The British are known for some good desserts, like sticky toffee pudding, bread and butter pudding, and mince pies (which, were in season!). I went one night to Hawksmoor to obtain what I had read about as the best sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream and ... found it highly lackluster. The one on my Virgin Atlantic flight was better. I went to Borough Market and had what I had read was the best mince pie from Konditor & Cook. Again, meh. My hotel in Sydney had better!
It was also "freezing", at least for me, so all quests for cold desserts were out. Which left one more item to seek out the "best" of: bread and butter pudding. This one I could certainly get behind, as I adore a good bread pudding (as we know it in the States). The internet pointed me at one place that said they no longer carry it (so glad I called ahead!), with The English Restaurant, near Spitalfields Market, in a close second place. Boring restaurant name aside, I decided to seek it out, even though annoyingly far away.
The restaurant is family owned, and is housed in a super old building. It is cozy and quaint, and seemed like a locals sort of place.
I had no trouble getting a table for one in the white tablecloth restaurant, although I could have chosen to just eat in the bar area as well.
I was also still kinda on a quest to find good sticky toffee pudding, but, the bread and butter pudding is why I was there, so, I barely glanced at the menu when it was provided. The single page menu also had all the sides and mains as well.
When I told the server I was there for the bread and butter pudding because it was supposed to be the best, he told me that they have a table that comes every morning, a group of 10 friends, and they only get the bread pudding. For breakfast. This seemed like a great endorsement. I was in.
My dessert was prepared quickly, and emerged via a dumbwaiter, which was novel and amusing to me. This place had character at least.
And ... here it was. A hunk, served in a pool of custard.
When I'm food-grumpy, I turn to desserts, er, puddings. The British are known for some good desserts, like sticky toffee pudding, bread and butter pudding, and mince pies (which, were in season!). I went one night to Hawksmoor to obtain what I had read about as the best sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream and ... found it highly lackluster. The one on my Virgin Atlantic flight was better. I went to Borough Market and had what I had read was the best mince pie from Konditor & Cook. Again, meh. My hotel in Sydney had better!
It was also "freezing", at least for me, so all quests for cold desserts were out. Which left one more item to seek out the "best" of: bread and butter pudding. This one I could certainly get behind, as I adore a good bread pudding (as we know it in the States). The internet pointed me at one place that said they no longer carry it (so glad I called ahead!), with The English Restaurant, near Spitalfields Market, in a close second place. Boring restaurant name aside, I decided to seek it out, even though annoyingly far away.
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| Interior. |
I had no trouble getting a table for one in the white tablecloth restaurant, although I could have chosen to just eat in the bar area as well.
 |
| Menu. |
When I told the server I was there for the bread and butter pudding because it was supposed to be the best, he told me that they have a table that comes every morning, a group of 10 friends, and they only get the bread pudding. For breakfast. This seemed like a great endorsement. I was in.
 |
| Dumbwaiter! |
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| Bread and butter pudding with custard. £7.50. |
It was ... ok.
I will back up and say that I like a certain style of bread pudding. I like it moist and custardy, which, this was. I like it warm, which again, this was. But I like a crispy top, and distinct chunks of bread, which this wasn't. In the UK, if you order "bread pudding" it is often a dense slice, definitely not the style I like, so this was closer to the style I like, but missing a few key elements.
The pudding was pretty bland, just plain bread, with a few juicy raisins. I kinda liked the raisins, mostly because they were ... something. But the pudding ... very bo-ring.
That said, the custard was great. Sweet, creamy but thin, vanilla-y. I easily polished off all the custard.
I probably could have just gone to the grocery store and bought some custard and called it a day?
I wouldn't return obviously.
I will back up and say that I like a certain style of bread pudding. I like it moist and custardy, which, this was. I like it warm, which again, this was. But I like a crispy top, and distinct chunks of bread, which this wasn't. In the UK, if you order "bread pudding" it is often a dense slice, definitely not the style I like, so this was closer to the style I like, but missing a few key elements.
The pudding was pretty bland, just plain bread, with a few juicy raisins. I kinda liked the raisins, mostly because they were ... something. But the pudding ... very bo-ring.
That said, the custard was great. Sweet, creamy but thin, vanilla-y. I easily polished off all the custard.
I probably could have just gone to the grocery store and bought some custard and called it a day?
I wouldn't return obviously.
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