In a city filled with plant-based dishes and health conscious menus, sometimes all you want is some good old junk food.
For the times when you're craving salty snacks and struggling to ignore your niggling sweet tooth, the capital has a whole host of treats to tickle your taste buds.
And we're not talking posh or vegan junk, but unashamedly indulgent food.
From crispy fried chicken to sugary doughnuts, these are London’s best bites.
Chicken Waffles at Bird
This dish combines both savoury and sweet junk food elements into one lip smacking experience. It can sometimes be hard to choose between a drumstick or thigh but, thankfully, here you don’t have to. Both pieces of tender meat arrive on a griddled waffle. The honey butter and Canadian maple syrup cuts through the salty chicken perfectly and all the flavours and textures marry together nicely to form one wholly satisfying dish.
42-44 Kingsland Road, E2 8DA, birdrestaurants.com
Bread Ahead doughnuts from Borough Market
Let's not sugarcoat it — doughnuts are filthy and that’s why we love them. These bad boys at Borough Market mean business. They come with cream bursting out the sides so a napkin is essential. The classic vanilla is a cult favourite and is incredibly sweet — the dough is beautifully light with a blanket of sugar covering the outer surface.
Cathedral Street, SE1 9DE, breadahead.com
The Dirty Barbie Burger at Mother Flipper
Burgers are the very definition of junk food, and Mother Flipper knows how to make a belt-looseningly good one. The Dirty Barbie burger is the one to try here. The double pattie comes the only way a burger should — smothered in American cheese. Sweet crispy strips of sugared "candy bacon" top the burger off along with onions, barbecue sauce and tomato relish. To get your hand on this meaty creation, head to KERB at West India Quay.
20 Hertsmere Rd, E14 4AZ, kerbfood.com
Mac and cheese bites at Dirty Bones
Just when you thought mac and cheese couldn’t get anymore indulgent, the folks at Dirty Bones decide to deep fry it to make gooey bite-sized treats. They come served with a sweet chilli sauce to cut through the creamy pasta. When the cheese strings from your mouth, that’s when you know it’s great junk food.
Across London, dirty-bones.com
Hot dogs at Bubbledogs
Hot dogs are an all-American classic and a junk food favourite. Bubbledogs fuse champagne and sausages to form a sizeable menu. The meat in each dog can be customised — be it pork, beef or a veggie substitute — and there are 11 types to choose from. Standout dishes include the Sloppy Joe with chilli beef and the Fourth of July with barbecue sauce, coleslaw and crispy bacon. The spot is not to be confused with the Michelin star restaurant Kitchen Table downstairs — two very different venues for two very different food occasions.
70 Charlotte St, W1T 4QG, bubbledogs.co.uk
Seoul Destroyer at Chick 'n' Sours
This enormous burger contains fried thigh covered in a Korean glaze made with roast chicken fat. It's topped with nacho cheese and kimchi but the meat still remains incredibly crunchy. Just be warned, this dish is incredibly messy — but all the best junk food is.
1A Earlham St, WC2H 9LL, chicknsours.co.uk
Pizza at Sud Italia
The capital offers gluttonous amounts of excellent pizza and Sud Italia is a top contender. The vintage blue van is parked up as you enter Spitalfields from the Lamb Street entrance. To create a beautifully airy base, it blends different types of Italian flour and lets the dough rise for over 24 hours. The meaty ‘nduja is a crowd pleaser, as is the humble margherita. All pizzas are made fresh in front of you in the van’s built-in oven.
Brusfield Street, E1 6AA, suditaliapizza.co.uk
Biskies at Cutter & Squidge
The famous 'Biskies' at Cutter & Squidge are a must-try. Each one features two biscuit pieces closing in on a layer of cream to create a beautiful dessert sandwich. They’re the perfect sugary pick-me-up and come in a selection of creative flavours. Try the rich billionaire dreambar, which is served with an extra layer of chocolate in the middle.
20 Brewer St, W1F 0SJ, cutterandsquidge.com
