LONDON — After landing in London on Friday morning after a six-hour flight, I was exhausted from two hours’ sleep and spent the whole day not thinking clearly.
Before arriving to cover the Eagles-Jaguars game on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, I heard from colleagues that London is a bustling city with a great food scene. Since this was my first time ever outside of the United States, I was excited to see what London had to offer.
But instead, I went for disco fries and pizza.
Now, I’m regretting that decision.
While walking around the city, I stopped to eat at this place called “Dover Street Counter” because I read they made amazing disco fries. As someone who didn’t grow up in New Jersey, I had never eaten disco fries, but I’ve heard my friends rave about how delicious they are.
After getting slammed around in the back of my Uber in bumper-to-bumper London traffic, I was finally dropped off at the Dover Street Counter around 4 p.m. But I walked around for 20 minutes on the same block because I struggled to find the entrance — yup, the lack of sleep was catching up to me.
The entrance was tucked on the side of this big building, covered by a black curtain. On the inside, there was a bar and a few small tables with cushion seats. I sat at one of the tables and listened to the pop music playing on the speakers.
At the bar, they had these large lamps shaped like mushrooms that were bright orange, but the room was dim. It felt like being in a club.
The chefs were cooking in their kitchen, and the food smelled good. It was time for me to try these disco fries.
My waitress told me the disco fries are “her favorite dish on the menu” and are “super yummy,” and as she explained her love for them, she gave a chef’s kiss.
The disco fries quickly arrived at my table. They came with pickled chili and ginger, mayo and disco jus. On the first bite, the fries were crunchy and hot — just how I like them. But after the first bite, it went downhill.
The fries weren’t bad. But the plate looked spectacular, and I was hoping it would blow my socks off. The jus sauce was not super savory, and I wish there were more pickled chillis on top because they added this wonderful sweet and tangy taste. There was a little bit of mayo, but the dish was drier than I anticipated.
These were different from the New Jersey-style disco fries that are loaded with mozzarella cheese and brown gravy, and honestly, I just want gooey and cheesy fries that are hot with each bite — nothing fancy.
So, I’ll be stopping at a New Jersey diner soon.
The London disco fries.Cayden Steele
After wrapping up that meal, I found a Reddit post of native New Jerseyans living in London. They listed the names of pizza locations that reminded them of home, and one of the popular destinations was “Homeslice Neal’s Yard.”
Once again, I struggled to find the entrance because it was tucked away behind these other buildings on a side street—thankfully, I got some sleep last night.
The room smelled good as the pizzas cooked in a wood-fire stove. I ordered the slice of the week, which was a four cheese pizza. I should have asked what toppings came on it because it came with spicy sausage, and I hate the heat.
Spicy pizza.Cayden Steele
The first bite wasn’t too bad, but my mouth started to burn after the second bite. I powered my way through to finish the large slice of pizza, but my mouth paid the price. The top of my lip and the roof of my mouth burned for about five minutes even after I was done eating.
I took small sips of my espresso drink, but that wasn’t enough to stop the burning sensation. I kept sipping at the glass even after the drink was empty.
The size of the slice was massive, and I’m typically a big fan of wood-fire pizza. Perhaps I would have liked it better if I chose a different flavor.
On my second day in London, I’ll stay away from the pizza and fries.
It’s time to try something else.
