During my recent visit to London, I decided to grab some coffee from Pret while waiting for a friend but as I approached I noticed how busy it was. Ah the lunchtime rush. Of course. It had just gone 12pm and people were out as quickly as they came. A steady stream of people picking, paying and leaving. It was an all too familiar sight and reminded me of myself when I was working in London. When you work in the city, you become a pro at the lunchtime rush; you get your food with maximum efficiency, spending less than 5 minutes deciding what to get (as you walk there), before heading back and eating lunch el desko whilst finalising the client presentation between mouthfuls of sandwich. Of course, eating out everyday means you quickly become familiar with the usual lunchtime haunts. The Prets and Eats of the world. You look online and study their menu so you know exactly which soup will be served that day (or for those who plan in advance, that week). It’s all part of the prep. New menu? Heard about it in their newsletter. Wednesdays? Oh that’ll be chicken pot pie day. There’s no faffing around. Depending on what you feel like, you know exactly where to go. And everyone has their favourites. So in honour of the working lunch, here are some of mine.
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Eat
- Chicken Laksa – This is the type of soup I stalk Eat’s menus for. I’ve had lunch at 11am just to make sure it hasn’t sold out (I have sadly experienced this)
- Mac and Cheese hot pot – Pasta, cheese, crispy breadcrumb topping. Yum. I bought this back to our project room and made it smell like mac and cheese for the rest of the day. Not that anyone complained
Honourable mentions: Chicken pot pie
Wasabi
- Spicy chicken tamen / soumen – I love soup noodles and spicy food so this was always going to be a winner for me
- Onigiri – Tringular balls of rice filled with yumminess. Introduced by my sister. Fangirl ever since
Honourable mentions: Tofu yakisoba
Pret
- Chocolate crossiants – Amazing. Got me through a post everythings-actually-ok fire drill where I crawled up 8 flights of stairs instead of waiting with the masses for the elevator. Never did a chocolate crossiant come so much in handy
- Cheese and tomato crossiant – I used to live off these in the dark days of going into work at 7am. It was the ray of sunshine when it was still dark outside
- Egg and bacon muffin – Ditto above
- Mushroom risotto – Gaurenteed yumminess. If you want to make sure you have a tasty lunch, this is what you get
Honourable mentions: ALL THE PASTRIES
Itsu
- Froyo – An all time favourite. You know it’s froyo season when coffee runs get replaced with froyo runs. That said, I’d happily eat it in winter too (and have)
- Chicken noodle soup – Classic and coconut versions. Noodley, soupy goodness
Honourable mentions: Spicy tuna maki rolls
Pod
- Thai red chicken curry – This stuff is addictively good. I know I should get a the regular portion, but somehow end up with extra large. Not that I regret it. It’s the stuff you miss when you’ve not been at work cos you’re on holiday
- Salmon detox box – How can something so healthy taste so good?! I love it, but my wallet disagrees. At least my waistline is in favour. My loyalty stamps for POD are pretty much made entirely of this. And the curry
Honourable mentions: Energiser scrambled eggs and chicken detox box
Boots
- Green machine – Always my drink of choice when it comes to meal deals. Actually the main reason I get the Boots meal deal is for this. Boots points are a bonus
- Chicken on sundried tomato bread – I’m not the biggest fan of sandwiches but this is yum. It makes me actually look forward to a sandwich. Which almost never happens
Honourable mentions: Purple machine (when there is no green machine)
M&S
- Cheese and onion sandwich – Another rare sandwich that has made it onto my Id-choose-to-eat-this-although-there-are-other-options list. Maybe because it’s just a sandwich rammed full of cheese. Which can never be a bad thing
- 2 for £5 mix and match mini bites tubs – They are the devil. The tasty, tasty devil. And the ultimate work bribery tool
Honourable mentions: Hot smoked salmon salad and feta and sundried tomato pasta
What are your favourites?