“I’m A Food Journalist — Here Are My Top 6 Dips In London”

I have hummus fatigue. There, I said it! I’m not afraid of saying it either, despite everyone and their mothers still bringing a pot of hummus with salt and vinegar crisps to the dinner party like it’s never been done before. It’s fine, don’t worry. I, too, often suffer from a lack of creativity. That being said, we must discuss the humble dip, and the best ones at that, so as to stop downing mediocre M&S caramelised onion hummus and Romona’s by the tub. 

1. Best affordable dip

Andy’s Greek Taverna, Andy’s Mixed Dip For Two (Taramosalata, Houmous, Tzatziki) £11.95

May I never stop shouting about Andy’s Greek Taverna. Their website might look like a page taken out of the very first Google search of ‘98 and their facade may look like it needs a bit of a power wash, but this humble-looking spot is number 7 of 23,228 restaurants in London on TripAdvisor. Yes, it is literally the people’s princess, in the democratically voted top 10. I think of their food fondly and often; I think of the dips probably more than I’d like to admit. 

Andy’s mixed dip for two with three large servings of taramosalata, houmous and tzatziki with a seemingly never-ending basket of pita is washed down with a bottle of horrible white wine which I would genuinely only ever drink here. It’s very Greek. 

Where: 23 Pratt St., London NW1 0BG
Website: www.andystaverna.com

2. Best expensive dip

Honey & Co., Labaneh, £14.50, and Hummus, £12.50, or £4.50-£5.50 from the deli

Honey & Co, oh how I love thee. But £15 for a dish of Labaneh? You’re asking too much! Despite the striking prices of this honestly amazing and growing name, their delis are much fairer in price. £5.50 for a takeaway hummus, a wild garlic labaneh or a baba ganoush makes a bit more sense to me. 

Plus, you can grab a loaf of bread and mix and match them. Me personally? Some pita with a slab of the labaneh and a dollop of the baba ganoush with a pomegranate seed on top is one of the more satisfying dip experiences in London. For that, I forgive the bill. 

Where: Multiple locations
Website: www.honeyandco.co.uk

3. Best new(ish) dips

Dakadaka, Lobio, £10
Kiez Kebab, trio of dips, £11

We have a tie! Let us begin with DakaDaka, the Georgian spot in Soho that has recently graced your bucket list. Dakadaka, despite being famed for the khinkali, is, in my opinion, more worth going for the kidney bean hummus with a side of house pickles. It’s soft, it’s oily, it’s fluffy, and it’s swept up by the warm lavash, transportative in its woody depth and incredibly generous portion. Well balanced, well loved. 

Further north, Kiez Kebab has just opened up on Golborne Road. Already I love it simply because I love the road — A+ to the property surveyors. It seems like everyone else loves it too, as less than a month after opening, the spot was practically brimming with mid-to-late twenty-somethings drinking chilled whites and scarfing down a kebab, making it look like a chic ordeal. That being said, it is not the kebab that I would go back for, but the trio of dips served with salty, crusty bread. Spicy ezme and havec tartare alongside a creamy yogurty spread sparked debates on which was nicer, what combination was more superior than the other, and where is that heat coming from? A bottle of wine and some dips here- that’s what the weather calls for. 

Dakadaka
Where: 10 Heddon St, London W1B 4BX
Website: www.instagram.com

Kiez Kebab
Where: 108 Golborne Rd, London W10 5PS
Website: www.kiezkebab.com

4. Best looking burger

Berenjak, Hummus, £9

Are you surprised? Me neither. Perhaps it is the dip presentation that has inspired all dip presentations. Full and smooth and fluffy and brilliantly rotund on its little plate. In a world of dips that are vibrant — pink ones and purple ones, charcoal-stained black ones and perhaps even blue ones — this is the unanimous beauty pageant winner. 

In a world of dips that are vibrant — pink ones and purple ones, charcoal-stained black ones and perhaps even blue ones — this is the unanimous beauty pageant winner…

Where: multiple locations
Website: www.berenjak.com

5. Honourable mention

Harar Restaurant, Hummus, £5

Finally, Harar, simply because I can’t mention them less than once a month. While everything could technically be a dip here, given the way I use bread in a sweeping motion as a vessel for everything that comes with the mixed kirchat, it is the hummus that I will highlight today. Homemade chickpeas and tahini paste dip served with pita bread for £5. That is all. The reason I loved it so much is that it lacks the sort of imposter nature that many hummuses ordered out tend to inhabit. It is what it is, nothing more, nothing less. And what it is is perfectly seasoned and blitzed chickpeas, subtle to soothe and moreish — as all hummuses should be.

Where: 49 S Lambeth Rd, London SW8 1RH
Website: www.hararrestaurant.co.uk