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WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T EAT OUT AT HOME?

Especially when London is home to so many excellent restaurant meal kits

17.03.2021

By Heather Gwyther

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We miss London’s restaurants. But while they will be able to serve customers sitting outside from April the 12th and fully from May the 17th (along with the rest of the country’s), there is a solution in the meantime: London restaurant meal kits.

Essentially, restaurant meal kits enable you to enjoy food from a restaurant without leaving the house. They’re different to takeaways in that some of the cooking may have to be done by you, but this ensures each dish is as fresh as possible. If this doesn’t sound very appealing, remember that it’s your only option at the moment and that it also serves to support these restaurants before they can reopen properly – so there! Anyway, here are the best London restaurant meal kits for your consumption.

1/13. EMPIRE BIRYANI

FOR BIRYANI

@empirebiryani

Empire Biryani specialises in – you guessed it – biryani. But this is a special sort of biryani, one that comes with a shortcrust pastry topping that can be used to scoop its contents directly into your throat. With The Emperor’s Feast, you can also expect the following: beef boti kebab (or paneer tikka if you’re vegetarian); a baby aubergine dish; raita; and, finally, a triple chocolate brownie with cardamom custard.

EMPIRE BIRYANI THE EMPEROR'S FEAST, £50

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2/13. BREDDOS TACOS

for TACOS

@breddostacos

Unless you dislike tacos for some reason, there is nothing more tantalising than tacos. The Breddos tacos kit offers an opportunity to have chicken, chorizo and steak tacos in the comfort of your own home. And accompanying vegetation.

BREDDOS TACOS TACO BOX FOR 2, £35 AT PLATEAWAY

3/13. BERMONDSEY LARDER

for BRITISH FOOD

@bermondseylarder

While we can’t wait to eat at Bermondsey Larder IRL, its meal kits are magical enough to keep us satisfied until then. This week’s menu features chicken liver mousse, Norfolk asparagus, cornish crab salad, lamb pot pie, ricotta salad and bay leaf panna cotta.

BERMONDSEY LARDER AT HOME MEAL KIT FOR 2, £70

4/13. DARBY'S

for IRISH FOOD

@darbyslondon

St Patrick’s Day is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with a meal kit created especially for the occasion? Darby’s includes wild garlic soup, soda bread, beef pie and – most importantly – four cans of Guinness.

DARBY'S AT HOME ST PATRICK'S DAY MEAL KIT FOR TWO & GUINNESS, £75

5/13. SOUVLAKI STREET

for GREEK FOOD

@souvlakistreet

Souvlaki Street’s DIY kit makes four wraps, but who’s to say that means they should be shared between four people? We mean, can you truly see yourself being satisfied with just one of these?

SOUVLAKI STREET AT HOME DIY KIT, £25

6/13 . HOME BY NICO

for ITALIAN FOOD

@homebynico

Home by Nico is an extremely close relation of Six by Nico, the chain – in a nice way – of restaurants with a menu that changes every six weeks. Over at Home by Nico, the menu changes every month. This month, it’s a Tuscan affair: ribollita, pork rosticciana and hazelnut bomboloni all feature – amongst other things.

HOME BY NICO COOKING TUSCANY MEAL KIT, £60 AT HOME-X

7/13 . GREEN HAUS

for VEGAN FOOD

@greenhaus_uk

Vegans, rejoice – this one’s for you. By ‘this one’, we are specifically referring to the meal kits Green Haus bless us with. Changing each month, they include eight courses and a bottle of vegan wine. The March Edition has us fetishising peanut hummus.

GREEN HAUS SPRING VOL 1 MEAL KIT, £60 AT HOME-X

8/13. COYA

for PERUVIAN FOOD

@coyamayfair

COYA is somewhat of a destination restaurant, but since that’s not currently feasible, you will have to settle with their homewares instead. And they don’t disappoint. Their appropriately-named ‘feast’ features everything from shrimp crackers and guacamole to ceviche and Berkshire pork belly.

COYA COCINANDO CON COYA FINISH-AT-HOME PERUVIAN FEAST, £130

9/13. BOCCA DI LUPO

for a PICNIC

@bocca_di_lupo

It’s not really the weather for picnics, but that won’t stop us digging into Bocca di Lupo’s Picnic Feast and calling it ‘dinner’.

BOCCA DI LUPO PICNIC FEAST, £86

10/13. OFFICINA 00

for more italian food

@officina00

As you choose dishes individually, a meal kit from Officina 00 is potentially a more understated affair than its peers’ – but no less delicious.

OFFICINA 00 COOK AT HOME KIT, FROM £8

11/13. BLACK BEAR

FOR BURGERS

@black_bear_burger

Sometimes you just want a burger, but it has to be the right burger. And they don’t tend to travel well, so a DIY number may be the wiser option. To that end, we recommend Black Bear Burger. Their DIY kit arms you with the ingredients to make two signature burgers with beef dripping fries. And, perhaps, a profound sense of accomplishment.

BLACK BEAR BURGER + BEEF DRIPPING FRIES DIY KIT, £20.95

12/13. SARAP BAON

FOR FILIPINO FOOD

@arap_baon

You might not have tried Filipino food before, but the Lechon meal kit from Sarap BAon could change that. And why not try it? You have nothing better to do. We can’t be the only ones to have a penchant for garlic rice, either.

SARAP BAON LECHON MEAL KIT, £65

13/13. SWEET BOY DUMPLING CO.

FOR Dim sum

@sweetboydumplingco

Most of us like dim sum, so it stands to reason that you will like Sweet Boy dumplings. Handmade north of the river but delivering to a different area of London each week, a meal kit from this venture will bring entertainment to your evening and joy to your palate.

SWEET BOY DUMPLING CO. MEAL KIT, £30