London Local (CLOSED)

Just off of Ellerslie Rd and 91 st, you’ll find London Local – an English-inspired restaurant that serves up pub-style food made with local ingredients. Notably, their website says that their dishes feature a Canadian twist on British food. Now that they have lunch hours, I decided to meet up with some friends here and to my surprise, the restaurant was empty! Being one of the only tables there, the space felt really open. The rustic accents make it truly feel like a pub.

I don’t know if I’ve ever actually tried British food (other than fish and chips..) so I don’t have much to compare it to. However, the dishes were very visually appealing and contemporary. In terms of taste, it wasn’t bad – good, but it didn’t completely win me over.

The lunch menu features a smaller menu with no appetizers/starters. They do have some of the same dishes for both lunch and dinner but I’m assuming it may be a different portion size since prices are a bit cheaper. We ended up trying the Fish and Chips, the Chestnut Pasta and the Poached Salmon and Shrimp.

I’d have to say that the Fish and Chips ($24) were my favourite of the 3 that we ordered. The batter was crispy and the fish was soft. The only disappointing thing was that the batter didn’t always hold and easily fell off the fish. Their house made sauces made up for this though.

The house made dill sauce and ketchup were really good and complemented the deep fried goodness perfectly. The fries were good, though nothing special and I didn’t care for the cole slaw as much as it was pretty plain.

The Chestnut Pasta ($16) was made with a mushroom chestnut truffle sauce. Being truffle lovers, we didn’t hesitate to order this one. It definitely had strong hints of truffle, garlic and mushroom which I really enjoyed. The sauce itself was rich but quite thin and runny, lacking a creaminess that I personally anticipate for in my pastas.

We also gave the Poached Salmon and Shrimp ($23) a try. The colors of this dish were so eye-catching, perfect for the gram! Alongside lemon and a dill slaw, the salmon and shrimp came in a curry sauce as well. Being accustomed to asian curries, the curry for this dish was personally not my favourite. It was pretty tart, probably attributable to the dill slaw and lemon flavouring. The shrimp and salmon were very cooked well though.

Though all dishes were beautifully presented, none completely wow’d me. The dessert, on the other hand, was so delicious! Given three options on the menu, we opted for the Sticky Toffee Pudding ($11). Although no pudding was visibly there.. I thought that this dessert was super yummy. My favourite types of desserts always have a warm and cold component and this was just that. The cake was warm and the toffee sauce and vanilla whipped cream were just the cherry on top.

: Sticky Toffee Pudding

Overall, my experience at London Local was alright. Service was mediocre and the food wasn’t anything that blew me out of the water. If I were to come back, it would likely have to be for dinner so that I could try more of their menu. I’m also aware that they do a 3 course meal – Sunday Roast – which would be pretty cool to check out.

Although my personal experience wasn’t one for the books, I still encourage fellow foodies to check out London Local if you ever find yourself in the area and/or want to try out some English-inspired dishes. Try it for yourself – perhaps you’ll end up loving the contemporary Canadian flair that is offered in their food!