In the jungle the Leon sleeps tonight!

Recently I was looking for a quick bite in Blackfriars and realised I have never eaten in Leon. 11 restaurants 10 of them in London. Hectic, fast, noisy, as would you expect in the City during lunch rush hour. Their offer food that taste good and do good, using seasonal fresh ingredients from farms they trust. 

Leon

Got to the place with a colleague, at the end I ordered Moroccan meatballs and a grilled chicken salad. The meatballs were beef and lamb, a little dry, plum tomato sauce pretty decent, herbs, and a garlic sauce which gave a nice touch, rice as a side good enough, overall ok. The chicken salad a little disappointing, greens including spinach, peas, quinoa, some tomatoes, add to that the aioli sauce which was scarce, some pieces of grilled chicken, it was again just ok. 

Salad

Meatballs

Fast food, not my style, but if you’re in a rush, and want some wrap it might work for you I will probably pass. 

Lunch time completely packed

Meatballs remind me the Seinfeld episode “The Little Jerry” 

Elaine: Kurt? What's with the sweats? Aren't we going out?

Kurt: I don't care

Elaine: You, uh, got a big stain on your shirt

Kurt: Oh yeah, meatball, fell out of my sandwich

Elaine: You already ate?

Kurt: It's from yesterday

Leon

T: + 020 7489 1580

Mediterranean Fast Food

Aprox Damage: £10pp

Area: Blackfriars

Borough: City of London

Twitter: leonrestaurants

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No Bull Just Spanish Snacks

A new coffee place nearby Blackfriars is a Spanish Café. El Coca Pan Club a small restaurant/café serving Spanish treats in the heart of London. You can find bocadillos, tortilla, sweets, Spanish coffee, and even the traditional horchata. They have a tapas menu from 5pm featuring Spanish classic such as fried calamari, spicy sausage or chistorra, patatas bravas, and even paella. 

The Place

Coffee

Sweets

I went for a coffee and a quick snack so took two bocadillos one with Serrano ham the other with chicken and avocado salad, and a Spanish tortilla. The bocadillos were nice, good flavours, also the tortilla. Quick, nice, and efficient way to have your lunch if you are in the area.

Chicken Bocadillo

Tortilla

Serrano Bocadillo

Bull remind me the Seinfeld episode “The Secret Code”

Peterman: You must be Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry: Yes, hi, Mr. Peterman. This is, uh, George Costanza
Peterman: J. Peterman
George: J. Crew.
Jerry: Well, is Elaine here?
Peterman: Oh, Elaine just called, she won't be joining us. Not to worry, I'll tell the maitre'd it'll just be the three bulls

El Coca Pan Club

Spanish Cuisine

Area: Blackfriars

Borough: City of London

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A box in Blackfriars

One of the local places for a quick lunch in Blackfriars is Casella. An Italian restaurant serving sandwiches and salads for busy people in need of a quick lunch. The meaning of Casella is box or case, a simple place serving ad hoc sandwiches with traditional Italian flavours.

The Place 

The Sandwich Bar

I have eaten a couple times and my all time favourite is definitely the chicken Milanese with sundried tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella cheese. Nothing can compare to a good battered with herbs and a subtle garlic flavour.

Lunch Time

Another option is go for a salad, the one I usually get is the Caprese with avocado.

Simple Salad

Traditional Italian food to go in a city where time is money.

Another salad reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Big Salad”.

George: Well, well, well, I'm not treating you to lunch anymore! You had to tell Julie that I made a special point of telling you that I bought you the big salad. Didn't you?

Elaine: Uh, uh?

George: You know, if it was a regular salad I wouldn't have said anything. But you had to have the BIG SALAD.

Fuzzy’s Grub: A More Civilised Breakfast Still Surviving

Is always good to discover unique places to have a quite bite in the city. One of the usual suspects near Blackfriars is Fuzzy’s Grub. You have breakfast all day but what is the masterpiece of the place is the lunch which can be a full roast, a salad version, or a sandwich version of the same roast dinner. You pick your meat, which can be chicken breast, turkey breast, leg of lamb, loin of pork, or topside of beef, and then add the trimmings, stuffing, roast or mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, even Yorkshire pudding, and add gravy, horseradish, mustard, apple & tomato chutney, cranberry sauce, and many other to moist the combination.

The Place

Roasted meats

Trimmings

Options

The sandwich is an atomic bomb, an explosion of flavours on a wholemeal bun. I got the turkey version with all the trimmings. Good flavour, huge portion and quite cheap. A place you will feel guilty after having the huge sandwich but is worthy at least one a month.

The Full Roast Meal in a Bun

Apparently the place was once a chain, but most of the restaurants went into administration, so apparently the only one surviving was the first one in Fleet Street.

Roast meats reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Dealership”.

Elaine: Hey.

Jerry: Hey.

Puddy: Sorry I’m late.

Elaine: My new salesman boyfriend took me out to celebrate his promotion.

Jerry: Ah. Where did you go?

Elaine: Uh, to a restaurant.

Puddy: Arby’s.

Elaine: I had the roast beef.