Pizza Union, Liverpool Street

Pizza Union is an Italian industrial style canteen near Liverpool Street serving super thin pizzas super fast all day. It is as simple as that.

The venue is busiest at lunchtime when the city workers flock in to grab their pizza before returning to the office. The open-plan, airy interior lends itself to big group outings or quick meet-ups, perhaps less ideal for an intimate date. Communal style basic tables are dressed with salt, pepper and chilli oil, the empty surface cries out for a pizza plate. After a cocktail round the corner at Discount Suit Company, Pizza Union was the perfect option to satisfy our seemingly insatiable hunger. Even on a Tuesday evening the large room was full and it had a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

You order at the counter, and when your buzzer is activated your pizza is ready to collect, just 3 or 4 minutes after ordering. The menu has a large selection of classic and creative recipes, though the staff seemed happy to cater to my additional ingredient request. Calabria is a rich and luxurious option with tomato sauce, mozzarella, mascarpone, n’duja spicy sausage and rocket, I particularly loved the flavoursome meat. We also sampled the Pepperoni with additional black olives, red onion and peppers… it was a Mediterranean dream with fresh flavoursome vegetables complemented by the intense pepperoni slices. The pizza bases are thin and tasty and cooked to perfection. I would have loved a pepper grinder for some crushed black pepper but we made good use of the chilli oil. The drinks fridge features familiar Italian beers and soft drinks, I chose a delightfully refreshing Blood Orange sparkling San Pellegrino.

Ice-cream pots are provided from Soho parlour, Gelupo, but I would recommend the authentic Dolce (a dough ring with nutella and mascarpone). Arriving warm to our table we insisted we would never be able to conquer such an epic dessert. Minutes later we were scraping the plate clean… it was indulgently delicious, served hot with a creamy chocolatey centre.

I am still marvelling at the reasonable prices… a Margarita costs just £3.95. Pizza Union is a blessing for those working in this business area; I’m a rare visitor to Liverpool Street but I will keep this great pizzeria in mind next time I’m nearby.

More information on Pizza Union here: www.pizzaunion.com

Clockjack Oven, Soho

Rotisserie Chicken is a staple in European supermarkets and is a familiar favourite from my family holidays in the South of France. Here in the UK it seems to be an almost exotic method of cooking chicken, but Clockjack Oven is beginning to spread the word, and who knows it could be the new fast food fad.

Clockjack Oven pride themselves on offering the best rotisserie chicken, made from top free range chicken and lovingly prepared with a secret marinade. The menu is centred around the roast chickens but also offers a range of salads, sides and burgers.

Rotisserie chicken is served whole or as servings of three or four pieces, depending on your hunger. The meat was tender and tasty though I felt it needed a crispier skin to add more texture and flavour. Sauces are all made in-house: ranch, BBQ, chilli or gravy are all available… we chose the creamy garlicky ranch sauce.

Herb bites were a nice accompaniment but tasted quite like ready made stuffing, made with onion and crispy sage. Chicken bites were delish marinated in buttermilk and lightly fried, they are an addictive bite-size snack. The Caesar Salad was very fresh, but the dressing was too watery which sadly wilted the lettuce slightly, and double cooked chips were nothing special.

To finish the meal we really enjoyed the special dessert of the day, a warm, rich brownie. Soft and gooey it was divine, and particularly indulgent with the contrasting Cornish clotted cream ice-cream!

Located on the edge of Soho, Clockjack Oven is great for tourists wanting a quick tasty meal, though I think this restaurant has a little way to go before their chicken is unbeatable.

For more information, see here.

www.clockjackoven.com/

JUST EAT

A takeaway can be the perfect ending to a busy day, or a lazy one. Even the most dedicated chef has a drawer full of takeaway menus in case of emergency. If you’d like to free up such a drawer for something else, why not go digital with your takeaway ordering.

JUST EAT is an online service that allows you to order from a vast range of different restaurants in your area. It provides every type of fast food delivery from Thai restaurants to Mexican, Chinese, Indian, pizza and more.

Using JUST EAT is straightforward. Create an account on the website or download the app, which is available for Android phones on Google Play or iOS devices on the App Store. Once you’ve logged in, you can search for restaurants in your area, either by specifying the type of food you want or simply by looking for what’s nearby. Selecting a restaurant brings up a menu which lets you order online. Payment by debit or credit card is simple. You can specify a delivery time for your order or ask for it as soon as possible! For instance, you could order via the app while on the train home from work and have your meal arrive just as you get in.

Using JUST EAT for the first time is simple enough, but its features make repeat use even easier. For example, recent orders you’ve made are saved, meaning that should you want the same thing again, or something slightly different, you can start with the previous order and not have to click your way through the full menu. The site also securely stores payment information, so you don’t have to dig out your card every time you want to make an order.

Having moved into my own flat only a few months ago, I am still getting into the swing of home-cooking, takeaways are a rare luxury but… on a rainy and cold Friday afternoon on the bus home from work the idea of a takeaway cheered me up. I logged on to the JUST EAT app on my iPhone and quickly ordered from a new Thai restaurant, Kanna, located in Hammersmith. Ten minutes later I was sitting at home, with the heater on, a glass of wine in hand, and an exotic smelling Thai meal on the table. Absolute heaven.

Kanna offers authentic Thai food and a menu full of variety. We chose a selection of classics: green and red curries, chicken satay accompanied by egg-fried and coconut rice. Costing £25 in total it was the ideal amount of food for a generous meal for two. I was pleased to find the sauces not too spicy and the chicken perfectly tender.

JUST EAT offers a genius solution to eating in, with zero hassle and minimal effort. I can imagine quite easily getting addicted to this stress-free tasty online service. With so much variety, the only difficult part is deciding on what cuisine you want – having done that, lay the table and JUST EAT.

Go on, put the saucepan back in the cupboard and treat yourself, order here now.

www.just-eat.co.uk

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