December 5th is National Comfort Food Day! It’s the perfect excuse to indulge in the dishes that give you the greatest pleasure during this cold weather – just make sure you do it properly. We’ve rounded up the best comfort food treats the capital’s restaurants have to offer, now all you have to do is choose where to go.
Champagne + Fromage is the perfect establishment for cheese lovers seeking to indulge their habit. Among the most popular dishes on the menu is the baked Camembert, which is cooked in the oven for 15 minutes, and comes in three flavours; garlic and herbs, figs and thyme, or basil and sundried tomatoes. If you don’t fancy this particular runny cheese, there is the option of the hot Mont D’Or, which is baked in its wooden box and served fondue-style with sautéed potatoes, bread, charcuterie and green salad.
The staff at J Sheekey boast that their fish pie is almost as famous as some of their diners, and the dish is still one of the most popular on the menu. A great choice for warming up on a cold December evening. (Photo Credit: Howard Sooley).
Just because this restaurant is known for its pizzas doesn’t mean it can’t make a good pasta number, and the beef lasagne is just one example of its excellence in this area. And when it comes to comfort food, the lasagne is a no-brainer.
There’s nothing like a cheeseburger to bite into when you want a warm, filling dinner, and at the Electric Diner you can double up on the patties if you’re extra hungry. If you don’t feel like a burger then the duck confit hash, served with sauce Mornay and a fried egg, is an excellent alternative.
Balthazar is known for its duck shepherd’s pie for a reason, and picking this special take on the humble shepherd’s pie will not disappoint. You can guarantee to get food envy if you don’t.
The Blues Kitchen seeks to bring America’s deep south cooking to the capital and its deep fried Oreo doughnuts take the concept of comfort food to the next level.
The clue to Roast’s menu is in its name, but the restaurant says its most popular dish by far is the pork belly roast, served with mashed potato and Bramley apple sauce.
The Colonel is what Chick n’ Sours owner Carl Clarke believes is the perfect chicken sandwich, and he’s not far off. It’s made with buttermilk-brined herb-fed chicken thighs, fried and served on potato bread with a buttermilk herb mayo, lettuce, pickles and American cheese. (Photo Credit: Hot Dinners)
Japanese restaurant Kanada-Ya makes all their ramen on site and the Haymarket restaurant offers an indulgent truffle ramen made with 18-hour pork bone broth, chashu pork collar, spring onion and porcini truffle paste.
This popular sticky toffee pudding has been on the menu since Hawksmoor first opened. According to executive chef Richard Turner, the secret to its great taste is the use of sea salt in the recipe. And it’s topped off with a dollop of clotted cream. Perfect.
Have we missed your favourite comfort food dish? Let us know in the comments.
This is a guest post from London-based journalist, Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith, who has written for The Independent and the Evening Standard, as well as our Open for Business blog.
Edited November 2016 to remove Vico and Vintage Salt, which have sadly closed.
