British food is not gourmet or particularly amazing, but some local specialities are highly recommended, and today you will find some local British signatures.

Cottage Pie

Shepherd's Pie, also known as Cottage Pie, is a pie of English origin, a type of mince pie with a topping of mashed potatoes. There are many variations of shepherd's pie, but the main ingredients are minced red meat cooked in a gravy or onion sauce and some mashed potatoes.

Sometimes other vegetables are added, such as peas, sweetcorn, dry celery or carrots. It is also sometimes served with grated cheese. The name shepherd's pie did not appear until 1854.

Full English Breakfast

English Breakfast tea originated in Scotland and is perhaps more appropriately referred to as a Scottish breakfast. It has been used as a 'tea for breakfast' for over a century after it became nationally popular throughout the UK and has become part of British food culture.

In contemporary times, many British hotels serve English breakfast all day long. A hearty English breakfast consists of roasted tomatoes (crossed on the bottom of the tomato and put in the oven), scrambled eggs (a double egg can also be fried), sausages, black pudding, savoury meat, cereal (with milk or yoghurt), baked beans and mushrooms.

For the main course, toast (with butter and jam) is available, as well as European specialities such as cakes and Danish rolls. Drinks include orange juice. Coffee and tea are also available. The typical 'English Breakfast Tea' is a blend of black teas, which is strong and invigorating.

Fish & Chips

Fish and chips is a hot dish of British origin, where fish is battered and fried and served with Chips and eaten with different flavours of sauces as street food. Fish and chips are a very common take-away food and an early example of fusion cuisine.

A boy, Joseph Malin, invented fish and chips on the streets of London's East End in 1860, and by 1910 there were over 25,000 fish and chip shops in Britain, and by the 1920s there were over 35,000.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill called fish and chips 'good company', John Lennon would serve fish and chips with plenty of ketchup and George Orwell called them an 'important household dish' for the working classes.

Pie and Mash

Pie and Mash is a traditional working-class food that originated in the East End of London. Pie, mash and eel shops have been in London since the 19th century and are still common in many parts of east and south London and Kent and Essex. Shops may serve eel stew or frozen eel.

Apple Crumble

Most traditional British desserts are not suitable for the obese, but they sure are tasty! This consists of peeled, cored and thinly sliced Bramley apples covered with bread crumbs made from flour, sugar and butter. This dessert is baked in the oven until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown and the apples are soft.

The dessert is usually served with vanilla ice cream or a cascade sauce made from milk and vanilla. Other popular fruits include blackberries, peaches and plums.