{"id":560820,"date":"2025-11-10T05:45:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T05:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/560820\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T05:45:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T05:45:28","slug":"mini-cocktails-italian-confections-and-curry-from-londis-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/560820\/","title":{"rendered":"mini cocktails, Italian confections and curry from Londis \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The maritozzoForno, 322 Andrews Road, London E8 4RP and other locations\"MaritozzoMaritozzo from Forno in London <\/p>\n

Some of the best places to eat<\/a> in London<\/a> are found under the train tracks. Hiding beneath the arches of the Overground on the edge of Hackney (you still have to mind the gap), is the bakery Forno. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s 2pm on a Friday. The display counter is almost empty. I order the last maritozzo (\u00a34.50), and glasses tinkle as a train passes overhead. A lightly salted brioche bun that\u2019s sliced in half and filled with an alarming quantity of sweetened whipped cream, the maritozzo is elegant and refined. The cream is carved to look like an extension of the bread, but this illusion shatters as I take a bite and send half of it flying. Sticky fingers; classic Italian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a neighbourhood feel to Forno. Friends chat, a young man reads, and a toddler waves to one of the bakers. As I near the end of my confection, another baker passes by. He sports flour-covered Birkenstocks and a magnificent moustache. He says I\u2019ve picked a good time to come; on the weekends, it\u2019s \u201cferal\u201d. The city has taken to these cloud-filled treats, and it\u2019s not hard to see why. At Forno, simplicity and quality wins.<\/p>\n

Mini CocktailsRita\u2019s, 49 Lexington Street, Carnaby, London W1F 9AP\"MiniMini Martini at Rita’s in Soho <\/p>\n

I sit facing the window, next to another solo diner. I ask about her food, but she nods at her drink. \u201cI come here for those.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rita\u2019s in Soho, a modern American restaurant, is famous for its mini martinis. And whether it\u2019s because you can convince yourself you\u2019re drinking less or because we\u2019re hardwired to love small, adorable things, these ones are irresistible.<\/p>\n

Rita\u2019s mini martini (\u00a39) is made with gin. Lemon oil pools over the surface like spilled petrol. An anchovy-olive-jalape\u00f1o-bleu cheese gilda (+\u00a34.25) is perched on the rim \u2013 salty, briny, creamy. The martini itself is spectacular. Balanced and not overly strong \u2013 you can take a gulp without grimacing. The vermouth lends a coy, burnt sweetness reminiscent of creme caramel. The gin is herbaceous; singing with fennel and tomato.<\/p>\n

The dining room lights are reflected in the window, as though Rita\u2019s is spilling into the street. From a restaurant across the way, chefs come out one by one to smoke a cigarette in the same little corner. Black cabs flash by. And there\u2019s an empty mini martini glass in my hand. <\/p>\n

Immersive diningLagana, 19 Willow Street, London EC2A 3HU\"DrawingDrawing in Lagana in Shoreditch <\/p>\n

Crayons on the table isn\u2019t a new phenomenon. But at Lagana, they don\u2019t seek to distract the children; these crayons are for the adults. Lagana is a Greek restaurant in Shoreditch serving both classics \u2013 Greek salad (\u00a314), grilled pitta (\u00a34) \u2013 and twists; caramel cheesecake (\u00a312) oozes enticingly on the pass. But I\u2019m not here for the food. I\u2019m here to draw.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019m scribbling away, I notice that everything here seems topsy-turvy. Water is served in wine glasses, the menu is printed on notebook paper that\u2019s been doodled on, the waiter sits down at our table as she takes our order. Shapes in primary colours decorate the wall, held in place with masking tape. It\u2019s almost like being at lunch in a nursery school. But this is a place with a tiled bar, with curated playlists, with funky chandeliers \u2013 a place that\u2019s positively cool.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0An Irish air steward picks her 10 favourite places to eat in LondonOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The waiter says most people draw, continuing with a grin: the ones who don\u2019t are usually men in suits. But she urges them to try. Drawing is good for you, she insists. And she\u2019s right \u2013 by the time we leave, I\u2019ve remembered how fun it is to play. <\/p>\n

Nose-to-tail, but visibleLegado, Yards, Unit 1C Montacute, London E1 6HU<\/p>\n

Around the corner is Legado, a new Spanish restaurant. This time I am here for the food: the suckling pig. It\u2019s the star of the menu. It\u2019s also sitting right there on the bar. Split down the stomach, complete with a curly tail. <\/p>\n

Nose-to-tail dining has been around for a while. It\u2019s a different experience, however, to witness it. Chef Nieves Barrag\u00e1n Mohacho compares her suckling pig to a cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e; crispy skin hiding the supple fat and tender meat below. The quarter pig (\u00a385) is outside my budget, so I get the ear (\u00a313) and half of the head (\u00a318). The ear arrives sliced alongside capers, potatoes, and toothpicks. I skewer and chomp; rich, delicious. The fried half-head is doused in jam\u00f3n powder and dotted with a lemony gel. I swallow the snout and gnaw on the jaw.<\/p>\n

Mohacho\u2019s whole suckling pig upholds Spanish tradition. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a dish; it\u2019s a symbol of community, joy, and the importance of coming together over food,\u201d she says. \u201cIt sparks curiosity, conversation, and delight.\u201d By serving the pig whole, Legado invites the hungry to contemplate the realities of food. To understand the whole story. And it\u2019s a good one. <\/p>\n

Supermarkets with second livesLondis, 76 Fountayne Road, London N16 7DT\"LondisLondis N16 in Stoke Newington. Photograph: Instagram <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably been to a Londis. Bought a 12-pack of toilet paper or a six-pack of beer. But a home-cooked meal? Probably not. <\/p>\n

Londis in N16 has everything you\u2019d expect \u2013 crisps, cat food, chocolate \u2013 but one shelf stands out. A selection of Gujarati food in paper boxes sits above handwritten labels reading \u201cAnju\u2019s Homemade\u201d. I bring an aubergine curry (\u00a34) and a serving of Sambharo (\u00a33.50), an Indian cabbage slaw, to the counter, where I meet Mayank and Priyesh Patel. The Patels have owned this Londis since 1979. \u201cAnju\u2019s my mum,\u201d Priyesh says, \u201cand on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays she cooks food from her childhood to sell in-store.\u201d Mayank asks if I want my curry heated. Priyesh asks for my name. Here, it\u2019s not just pay-and-go.<\/p>\n

The curry is sprinkled with mustard seeds, spicy enough to make my nose run. Aubergine and potato mingle with raw peanuts and roughly chopped coriander leaves; you can practically see the hands that held the knife. It\u2019s sweetened with jaggery and is delicious. The sambharo glows with turmeric. Fried curry leaves hide between slivers of cabbage and carrot, tangy and crisp. I eat in the nearby park. Behind me, another girl is bent over a similarly steaming paper box. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The maritozzoForno, 322 Andrews Road, London E8 4RP and other locationsMaritozzo from Forno in London Some of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,16,15,64123],"class_list":{"0":"post-560820","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-where-to-eat-london"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115523822084458649","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}