Testicles, Squirrel and Kangaroo: London’s Weirdest Menus
London is a city of extremes, a place where anything can happen. Like eating a plate of lambs’ testicles. For the city that gave the world the culinary masterstroke ‘jellied eels’ (odd that it didn’t catch on anywhere else), this shouldn’t be a surprise. Here are a selection of some of the weirdest items on London menus. Enjoy.
Garlic & Shots
Breath of fresh air
What goes well with shots? Lemon? Check. Salt? Check. Umm, garlic? Come again? Except if you head down to Soho’s Frith Street then they’ve got hundreds of shots to pick from, as long as you chase it down with Dracula’s least favourite veg. The entire menu is garlic-based, making this a garlic lover’s paradise, though perhaps not an ideal first date.
Where: 14 Frith Street, Soho, W1D 4RD
Website: www.garlicandshots.com
Archipelago
Yes you kan-garoo
No need to tie my kangaroo down, sport, because this one’s been slaughtered and kebbabed. Archipelago is a restaurant with what we can safely call an eclectic menu. Highlights include kangaroo skewers, jerked alpaca, crocodile curry and ostrich steaks, eating at Archipelago is like a safari of the mouth, going from one exotic beast to the next. Kangaroo? Don’t mind if I do.
Where: 53 Cleveland Street, Marylebone, W1T 4JJ
Website: www.archipelago-restaurant.co.uk
Testi
Test-icle your senses
Testi serve testicles. Not because that’s what Testi means (in Turkish it actually means ‘jug’), but because lambs’ testicles are a Turkish delicacy. You don’t need to go on I’m A Celebrity to experience utter balls, because at Testi they’re actually rather delicious. As long as you don’t think too hard about what you’re putting in your mouth.
Where: 38 Stoke Newington High Street, Stoke Newington, N16 7PL
Website: www.testirestaurant.co.uk
F. Cooke's
r-Eelly nice, honest...
Jellied eels, even the very name has a stomach churning effect, but it’s a historic London dish nevertheless. And if you’re going to do the jellied eel thing properly, you must head to F. Cooke’s in Hackney’s Broadway Market. The market cafe (and it’s definitely a ‘caff’ and not a ‘café’) has been serving the stuff for generations.
Where: 9 Broadway Market, Hackney, E8 4PH
Website: www.facebook.com/fcookes
