World Food

Listed here are my top world food finds in east London.  Most have fresh baked items and/or essential imports for the home sick from abroad.

Belgique, a Belgian patisserie with several locations in north east London and Essex.  The owners come from Dadizele, a town in West Flanders.

Locally-made: pastries, cakes-to-order,  Belgian and German bread

Imported: chocolate bars, beer, Belgian and German deli items

Delivery: yes, online

Dining: cafe (brunch, lunch, tea), brasserie

Special Events: Jazz nights, Christmas market

Recommended: frites + mayo, brownie, mushroom toast, 1/2 chicken, asparagus

Bom Pecado, a Portuguese patisserie and cafe near Whipps Cross Hospital.  Great place to watch TV and practice speaking Portuguese.

Locally-made: pastries, cakes-to-order,  

Imported: Portuguese juice and soft drinks

Dining: cafe (soup, warm sandwiches)

Recommended: pão com chouriço, pastel de nata, espresso

Brick Lane Beigel Bake, cheap 24 hour bakery for bagels and other things in Brick Lane.  Always a line after hours.

Locally-made: bagels (far superior to any grocery store), cholla bread

Dining: there is a sort of 'bar' if you are not squashed by the queue.

Fresh Nan bakery, Walthamstow High street.  Literally a hole in the wall.  Amazing!

Locally-made: nan

Karaway, a Lithuanian bakery stand in Great Eastern Market of Westfield Stratford City.
Locally-made: pastries, bread, pierogies
Recommended: cheese danish with blueberries, Russian Borodinsky bread
Dining: mall seating

Lituanica, Lithuanian store, eatery, and shops set up like a micro mall in Beckton

Locally-made: bakery, deli

Imported: eastern European groceries including Lithuanian tea, Latvian chocolates

Dining: self-service restaurant

Orientex, a Filipino grocery store in Walthamstow.  The biggest East Asian store I know of this side of China Town.

Imported: fresh vegetables, north and south east Asian ingredients, Hersheys syrup

Dining: restaurant next door

Shalom Bagel Bakery, in Gant's Hill (far east!) but especially good

Locally-made: bagels, bread, salads

Imported: German food
Dining: there is a table outside
Recommended: onion plaitzel

Tayyabs, a Pakistani Punjabi Restaurant in Whitechapel.  Extremely popular on weekend nights. Love that they bring you salad on arrival (and if you are lucky, papadoms too). Very smoky.
Locally-made: sweet pastry bar, kulfi
Dining: restaurant with "VIP room".  The owners also have a cafe near Centre of the Cell.
Recommended: lamb chops, tandoori chicken, eggplant, pumpkin, kulfi


WORTH-A-TRIP-OUT-OF-EAST-LONDON

Cool Chile, in Notting Hill (and also a table at Borough Market).   Noteworthy as one of the few places to manufacture corn tortillas anywhere in Europe.  Part of a restaurant, Taqueria, in Notting Hill.

Locally-made: tortillas, sauces

Imported: cactus, chili powder

Dining: Taqueria
Delivery: yes, online

Recommended: tacos

Mestizo, in Camden near Euston.  The most authentic Mexican restaurant in Europe.
Imported: Mexican sauces
Dining: restaurant
Recommended: Everything you can possibly imagine from a REAL Mexican restaurant (from Mexico, not USA).  Even a Sunday Brunch with everything from huevos rancheros, traditional Mexican stews to share, to specials for the Queen's jubilee. Also tequila tasting.

Whole Foods, the American grocery store.  There are several branches, none in E postcodes (although a small one in Stoke Newington, Hackney).  The biggest and best on Kensington High Street is accessible by tube.  Probably has the best range of fresh American (and other international) foods in town.
Locally-made: bakery, sausages, eggnog
Imported: sauces, chocolates, cheese, wine
Dining: posh vegetarian restaurant, food-court
Delivery: for in-store purchases, but not available for east London :(
Recommended: corn tortillas and mole (from Cool Chile), turkey sausage, wholegrain pasta, Quinta d'Avo piri piri, Pralus 100% Criollo Dark Chocolate Bars