Make the most of the long winter evenings with these restaurant meals delivered straight to your door
In Review
Arion McNicoll
Lockdown two may be over, but the ongoing pandemic plus the logistical complexity of Tier 2 restrictions mean that many people may still prefer to eat at home rather than going out.
If you prefer to have your food couriered to you, then there are many great options to choose from in London.
To help you decide, here are some of the best restaurant deliveries.
Park Chinois
One of the joys of eating at Park Chinois is the restaurant’s retro chic French/Asian Chinoiserie, not to mention on weekends the live music and stage shows. Also, is there a finer spot in London for people watching? Last time The Week visited we were seated next to the UK’s then foreign secretary and a tableful of what we can only assume were Instagram influencers. And while the lavish decor and human traffic can’t be enjoyed at home, the spectacular dumplings certainly can. Available via Supper and Deliveroo seven days a week, the expansive menu by chef Lee Che Liang offers everything from wasabi prawns and kimchi to vegetable spring rolls and the restaurant’s popular Duck de Chine. Or if you can’t choose, just pick from one of the four set menus on offer, which range from £45 for one to a massive family-style spread for four to share at £440.
Benares
For a high-end restaurant that has only recently begun delivering, Benares’ takeaway menu is surprisingly extensive, including a wide range of tandoor dishes, curries, and biryanis as well as a selection of the restaurant’s exquisite signatures. Add to that a rotating list of specials of the day and there is plenty of deliciousness to choose from. The Week tried the tasting menu for two, which offered a host of highlights, including a superb prawn kasundi – a marinated tandoor grilled prawn which travels surprisingly well – and an unctuous rogan josh, perfect for a cold winter’s night. The black dahl was also superb, as were the pair of soft, milky Gulab Jamun which finished the meal. It isn’t cheap, as you might expect from a top-notch restaurant located in Mayfair, but the quality is sublime, the portion sizes very generous and the home delivery experience flawless.
ASAP Pizza
From the team behind Michelin-starred east end restaurant Lyle’s and spin-off wine bar Flor, ASAP Pizza offers New York-style pies made with heritage British wheats and topped with exceptional produce. Now that lockdown is over, ASAP only delivers on Sundays (when Flor’s kitchen is otherwise closed) but it is worth putting a date in your diary and ending the weekend right. The menu includes Flor head chef Pamela Yung’s much-loved signatures including the Porco Rosso with red pesto, mortadella, stracciatella and guindillas; Spice Grrl, with tomato and ‘nduja sauce, caciocavallo, honey, sicilian oregano; and the Marg & Rita with tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil, and spenwood. Lyle’s and Flor can do no wrong, and their classy pizzas are no exception.
Honest Burger
There was a time when eating burgers meant a choice between McDonald’s or Burger King. Then everything changed and the “dude food” revolution dragged the humble burger into the mid- to upper-echelons of takeaway. Among the best to join the revolution was Honest Burger which has quickly become a contemporary classic due to its high-quality meats and of course its scrumptious rosemary chips. Now, the chain’s burgers can be delivered right to your door – a small upside of the pandemic. It is hard to go past the eponymous Honest burger with its red onion relish and smoked bacon, but the veggie alternatives are also exceptional. The coleslaw is also a must.
Officina 00
On the face of it, pasta is one of the world’s simplest and most democratic dishes. It is readily available, light on the wallet, and easy to prepare. And yet the gulf between good pasta and the merely adequate stuff you might whip up at home on a bog-standard Wednesday night can be vast. This is where Officina 00 comes in. Not only can they deliver fresh pasta straight to your door that you can then finish yourself, they also now offer their superb menu as takeaway, so all you need to do is open and eat. We tried the aubergine parmigiana and a burrata to start, both of which were cheesy appetite boosters, then a corzetti (a kind of flying saucer-shaped pasta) with sausage, mushroom and port and a pumpkin gnocchi, rich with gorgonzola. The portion sizes are not massive, but the flavours are spectacular. If you are hungry/greedy, like us, you might want to order a bit too much.
