It's almost worth being hungover when you can enjoy food like this.
Squeezy cheese and gravy
When feeling fragile you need everything to be that little bit filthier in order to hit the spot. Enter Dip n Flip. Not only will they cook you a burger, they’ll put their own recipe squeezy burger cheese on top, then soak the whole thing in gravy (dipped, double dipped or soaked). That sauce is so good we put in our round-up of London’s best gravy.
Dip n Flip, various locations (Battersea, Wimbledon, Tooting and Brixton)
Fry, fry me away
Fry up more your style? Then you’ll need one of the best fry ups in London, which we’ve handily mapped out for you.
Dumplings
There are few things as fine to eat as a plate of Chinese dumplings and Dumpling Shack at Broadway Market make some of the best. Their soft, pleated bundles come with fillings like pork and crab soup, or eight-hour braised beef short rib.
Dumpling Shack, Broadway Market, E8 4JQ
The best buffalo wings
One should not tolerate sub-standard buffalo wings when hungover. Get yourself to Brick Lane's Sticky Wings. They make some of the best in London, doused in a classic sauce made with Frank’s Red Hot and melted butter. Get blue cheese dip on the side. Also try: Orange Buffalo.
Sticky Wings, 40 Brick Lane, E1 6RF
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Sunday roast
For us, one of the best roast dinners in London is to be had at Blacklock Soho, and we recently added it to our mapped and rated list. Joints of meat are roasted over English oak then served with all the trimmings, like duck fat potatoes, giant Yorkies, cauliflower cheese and bone marrow gravy.
Blacklock Soho, The Basement, 24 Great Windmill Street, W1D 7LG
Toasted cheese
Yup, a good ol’ toasted cheese sandwich cures pretty much anything. Kappacasein arguably still make the finest, thanks to their three-way mix of cheeses and onions, although there are other serious contenders in The Cheese Truck and Grill My Cheese.
Spicy burger
The green chilli cheeseburger at the Meatliquor restaurants is one of the best burgers in London, end of story. The success of the burger is down to labour intensive way it’s made, and the fact that the restaurants won’t compromise on methods. The result is a product that kick-started London's burger scene.
Meatliquor, various locations.
Blackout
Another ‘best burger in London’ title must go to the Bleecker Black. This masterful creation is made with beautiful loose meat, cooked nice and rare, alongside an intense layer of black pudding and cheese. They’re masters of their trade.
Bleecker St Burger, Pavilion Building, Old Spitalfields Market, E1 6EA
Quack on
If your delicate stomach can take the hair-raising ride up to the top of the Heron Tower in a glass fronted lift, then you will be richly rewarded. The signature duck and waffle at Duck and Waffle is a sweet and salty delight. A crisp duck leg sits atop a fluffy grid and the whole thing is drizzled with a maple syrup sauce. Oof.
Duck and Waffle, Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY
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Curry calmer
There’s not much one could consider 'calm' about a visit to Tayyabs, but that’s all part of the fun. This east London grill is famous for a reason — the freshness and punch of their food remains unmatched. Piles of sizzling lamb chops and glistening, herb-flecked seekh kebabs keep people coming back for more. Everything is good including ghee slicked bread and their cracking tinda masala, a curry of tiny pumpkins. Also try: Lahore Kebab House.
Tayyabs, 83-89 Fieldgate Street, E1 1JU
Wrap of dreams
There are many fine kebabs in this city but the lamb adana wrap at FM Mangal is truly addictive. The place to order this is right at the front of the shop, in the takeaway area. The wrap comes with a spicy minced meat kebab cooked on their charcoal grill, salad, garlic and chilli sauce and char-grilled vegetables in a very thin yet seemingly unbreakable bread. It’s a masterpiece, and once you’ve had one, you’ll be hooked.
F M Mangal, 54 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8QZ
Salvation in broth
Round up your mates and order a great big bowl of steaming chicken broth at Silk Road in Camberwell in the form of 'middle plate' or 'big plate' chicken (they're both huge). The anise-scented liquor will heal you while your carb quota will be well and truly satisfied by chunks of potato and hand pulled noodles. The latter are springy, filling and completely brilliant. You can order a top up round too, which they'll slip messily into the broth.
Silk Road, 49 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR
Brunch
In need of a bloody Mary? Eggs? Bacon? We hear you. That’s why we compiled a flow chart which will solve all your brunch dilemmas. Answer the questions to find your brunch heaven.
Tingling Thai
Fancy sweating the alcohol out? Look no further than the restaurant with some of London’s highest heat levels: The Heron. This Thai gem was one of the first restaurants in London to sell authentic Thai food and they really do not hold back on the chilli so be warned, if you can’t stand the heat, you might want to give it a miss. See also: Som Saa.
The Heron, 1 Norfolk Crescent, W2 2DN
Traditional healing
Sometimes you just need a big plate of steaming carbs and sauce and in that case, you should head for Manze’s, for some traditional pie, mash and liquor. The carbs will give you that ‘time for a snooze’ feeling, while the vinegar in the liquor will simultaneously revive you restoring balance and… oh who are we kidding, you’ll need to take a nap afterwards.
Manze's, various locations.
Pizza
Pizza comes in pretty high on everyone's list of hangover foods, and we think the best come from Pizza Pilgrims, Theo’s and Santa Maria, but take a gander at our full list of the best to see if you agree.
Shellfish pleasures
Now we can’t see too many of you agreeing with this one but we swear it’s true — oysters are an amazing hangover cure. Providing you can get them down, the salty, briny little molluscs seem to have healing properties. A dozen oysters and a pint — works every time. See our list of the best places to try them.
Philly me up
There’s only one really great Cheesesteak in London and that’s from The Liberty Cheesesteak Company where they keep things authentic (definitely no peppers) with soft sub rolls, thinly sliced rib eye and Cheez Whiz for the brave (always get the Cheese Whiz). They’re so good they made it onto the list of our 100 favourite sandwiches in London.
The Liberty Cheesesteak Co., 6 Lamb St, E1 6EA
Carbs, carbs, carbs
Let’s face it we all just want to stuff our faces with carbs when hungover. Pasta is a perfect choice, but why go out for it when it's east to cook at home? Well, because Padella exists and it’s likely to be some the best pasta you’ve ever had in the UK. See our full review here.
Padella, 6 Southwark Street, SE1 1TQ
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Amen for ramen
It’s another noodle in broth situation — there's something so cleansing about sipping at a stock that someone else has put a lot of time and effort into because Hungover You sure as hell isn’t going to do it. Our favourite place to slurp with the best of them is at Kanada-Ya, but this list can help you find your nearest spot should the need strike.
Kanada-Ya, 64 St Giles High Street, WC2H 8LE and 3 Panton Street, SW1Y 4DL
Secret herbs and spices
Fried chicken is up there for many when they’re in need of comfort but there’s no need to hook up with the Colonel, at least not in this town. There are many places to get a fix but one of our favourites in Chick n Sours, who serve beautiful, golden craggy battered chicken in various ways, not least a towering sandwich and a whole fried chicken on Sundays. Don’t miss their sides, which have south east Asian flavour influences — the aubergine is particularly brilliant.
Chick 'n Sours, 390 Kingsland Road, E8 4AA
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Fancy something sweet? Try one of these sundaes or a stack of these pancakes.
Veggie or vegan? These vegetarian or vegan restaurants should hit the target.
Need to go gluten-free? Let us help you find somewhere to do it.
