Britain's quintessential dessert: a dense date-and-treacle sponge cake, soaked in a butterscotch toffee sauce, served warm in a pool of more sauce with vanilla ice cream or a pour of double cream.
Sticky toffee pudding has disputed Northern English origins, with Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in Cumbria claiming the modern recipe (chef Francis Coulson, 1970s) and several Lake District establishments contesting. The dish became a London restaurant fixture through the 1980s and 1990s; today it appears on virtually every British gastropub menu. The defining elements are the chopped dates, the treacle or molasses for depth, the toffee sauce from butter and brown sugar, and the warm-serve-with-cream finish. The Wolseley and St. John run benchmark versions.
4 editor picks for Sticky Toffee Pudding in London, ranked by editorial score. All London signature dishes · Sticky Toffee Pudding across every city.
Andrew Edmunds ★ 4.8
soho · 46 Lexington Street, London W1F 0LP
The candlelit Lexington Street bistro in Soho London, opened 1985 by print-dealer Andrew Edmunds, still runs a daily-handwritten Modern European menu.
The Camberwell Arms ★ 4.7
peckham · 65 Camberwell Church Street, London SE5 8TR
Mike Davies's gastropub on Camberwell Church Street in south London, opened 2014, runs a daily-changing seasonal menu and a famous family-style Sunday roast.
The Eagle ★ 4.3
clerkenwell · 159 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3AL
Britain's first gastropub on Farringdon Road in Clerkenwell London, opened 1991 by Mike Belben and David Eyre, still serves Mediterranean-leaning.
The Ritz ★ 4.1
mayfair · 150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR
The Ritz Piccadilly dining room in Mayfair London, opened 1906 in Cesar Ritz's hotel, holds one Michelin star and runs classical French cooking.