Where to Eat Kosher Food in London

It’s not hard to work out what they specialise in at White Fish. From fish soup to fried fish to white fish curry to salmon teriyaki, this Hendon restaurant is the place to come for kosher fish. They also have an entire sushi menu that covers sashimi, nigiri, maki and futomaki rolls as well as some special and not-so-traditional creations – the New York roll has salmon, avocado and mango with a smoked salmon and cream cheese.

Kaifeng is named after the city in China’s Hunan province where Jews had settled from the 10th century after journeying on the Silk Road. Bar pork and prawn dishes, the menu is full of Chinese classics like steamed dumplings, crispy aromatic duck, beef in yellow bean sauce and drunken fish. It’s pretty pricy for what is essentially a neighbourhood Chinese restaurant, though the food is good, so perhaps it’s one to save as a treat rather than as a regular occurrence.

If you can’t decide between cuisines, Isola Bella is the restaurant for you; they serve Mediterranean salads, pizza and pasta, a range of Thai noodles and curries, and traditional Middle Eastern dishes like shakshuka. Should you just fancy a coffee and a cake, they have that covered too with a whole array of sweet treats to choose from.

Novellino is another kosher restaurant that’s gone for the more is more option – the extensive menu encompasses breakfast and brunch plates as well as pizzas, pastas, risottos and fish. Though the food is largely Italian, a few Asian and Middle Eastern dishes like sushi and mezze platters have snuck onto the menu. Fish aside, there’s a lot for vegetarians to enjoy and one of their sweet ice blended drinks is the perfect way to end a meal here.

For authentic kosher deli food there’s only one place to go and that’s Reubens on Baker Street, which has been serving hungry Londoners since 1973. All the meat they use is glatt kosher and their renowned salt beef, steamed to a special recipe, is a big hit with diners as is their chicken soup with lockshen and kneidlach. Like any good deli, the portions are large, so pace yourself if you plan on making it to dessert – the lockshen pudding and apple strudel are worth it.

It can get a little chaotic at Sami’s, especially when a rush of takeaway orders come in, but it’s worth bearing with it for the shawarma, laffa and salads. There are lots of options when it comes to meat – lamb cutlets, steak, chicken shashlik and so on – as well as a few classics like chicken soup, salt beef and liver and onions for the times you crave home comforts.

As well as being the in-house café/restaurant at the JW3 Centre, Zest is also a social enterprise, using their profits to assist in the running and programming of the centre itself. Inspired by Tel Aviv, the menu is a mixture of a modern take on Middle Eastern staples – the mezze includes carrot hummus and marinated aubergines with feta – whilst the mains range from fish and chips to salmon with borsch. Drop by on Sundays for a bottomless brunch buffet where you can pile your plates with everything from shakshuka to kedgeree to pancakes with maple syrup.

Predominantly a Chinese restaurant, Met Su Yan also serves up some Malaysian, Thai and Japanese crowd-pleasers like beef red curry, pad thai, sushi and miso soup as well as Asian beer and hot sake in addition to kosher wine. The imperial hors d’oeuvres and the crispy shredded beef come recommended here as do the toffee bananas. It’s easy to overlook the desserts when you have such a large savoury menu before you but these don’t disappoint; if you opt for one of the value-for-money set menus, desserts come included.