8 Most Famous Dishes of Traditional English Cuisine

Every nation has a distinct culinary practice, often resulting from a history of changes in tastes and preferences. Factors such as geographical location, proximity to the sea or the mountains, and cycles of famine or drought have shaped the way people eat today. England has a long and rich history regarding food. Incidents such as the industrial revolution and the two World Wars have been harbingers of many creative recipes and exciting meals. Here, we look at some of the tastiest dishes you will find in English cuisine and their origin stories.

1. English Breakfast

*Photo by Richard Bell on Unsplash

Often tagged as “full English Breakfast,” the English breakfast is one of the most famous meals in Great Britain. Its popularity is so high that many cafes and restaurants serve breakfast anytime and don’t limit their service to mornings alone.

The ingredients are varied and are very much dependent on the region and people’s tastes. Nevertheless, bacon, sausages, eggs, and black pudding, accompanied by a hot beverage like tea and coffee, seem very common. Other ingredients are more regional. For example, the Welsh include cockles and laverbread in their breakfast, while oatcakes and fruit pudding are also included in Scotland.

Family restaurants such as E Pellicci and The Wolseley in London are well-known for the quality of their English breakfast.

2. Afternoon Tea

*Photo by Tea Creative │ Soo Chung on Unsplash

In the mid-1800s, when the duchess of Bedford desired an afternoon tea to be served for her with some small snack, by no means could she predict that made-up meal to become one of the most commonplace of dishes served throughout England. In another blog, we have discussed the history of afternoon tea in more detail.

Today, you can see afternoon tea served in every restaurant and cafe. It consists of a cup of black tea and the addition of cakes or scones with an accompaniment of cream and jam. Although black tea is traditionally used for the afternoon, herbal tea and other flavours are also considered. Most restaurants serve afternoon tea between 2 and 5 in the afternoon.

3. Fish and Chips

*Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Fish and Chips is a popular take-away food in England and the whole Commonwealth. The history of Fish and Chips dates back to the 1500s and started to appear in the UK by the turn of the 20th Century.

The ingredients mainly include fish, especially cod and haddock, and British-style chips. Flour batter is added to fish before frying in a pan hot with beef or mutton fat. Of course, the choices of ingredients can change depending on taste. For instance, one might use vegetable oils or different kinds of fish. You can even prepare the chips in the American style, in which the potato is thinly sliced. But for a perfect English taste, the traditional recipe is better.

You can try this dish anywhere in England. D. Fecci & Sons in Pembrokeshire or Poppies Fish & Chips in London are two famous restaurants with excellent fish and chips. Depending on where you travel, there are even more great restaurants to try.

4. Sunday Roast

*Photo by Lisa Baker on Unsplash

As its name suggests, Sunday Roast is traditionally served on Sunday. It consists of roasted meat and roasted potatoes, accompanied by different puddings, types of sauce and a range of vegetables. Presumably, Sunday Roast was a meal taken after church services and gradually gained a place in British cuisine.

The ingredients are varied. The roasted meat could be pork, beef, or a variety of poultry like chicken and duck. The sauce ranges from mint, apple or bread sauce to mustards or puddings.

It is common for every pub or restaurant in the UK to serve Sunday Roasts. There is a whole list of restaurants with the best roasts you may have a look at.

5. Toad in the Hole

*Photo by Ash Berlin on Flickr

In the 1800s, when the Industrial Revolution was at its peak, the lower-class families who couldn’t afford luxurious meals and dishes made with meat came up with a more affordable dish. It consisted of inexpensive cuts of leftover meat and hot gravy filling. 

The dish gained further popularity and is now found in most English restaurants. The chefs now mainly use sausages instead of leftover meat, and they are cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter, which is then served with gravy and vegetables.

6. Bangers and Mash

*Photo by David Pursehouse on Flickr

During the first World War, meat shortages caused the sausage maker to make sausage with a lot of water. As a result of this process, the sausages would pop or bang under heat while cooking, paving the way for a very common British dish, called Bangers and Mash.

Bangers and Mash consists of sausages of any kind, mixed with mashed potatoes. Despite its humble beginnings, today, it is served all over England in different styles and can be very nutritious. 

7. Shepherd’s Pie

*Photo by  Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

An icon of British and Irish cuisine, Shepherd’s Pie is another great dish you can try in England. Just like Bangers and Mash, it has a humble origin, originally cooked as an attempt to cut out on expenses and avoid waste.

The British homemakers of the 18th century, who hated to see their household waste food, decided to cook a mixture of leftover meat and potatoes, coming up with a delicious pie that would satisfy their husbands and children. 

Today, the dish has gained enough status to be cooked and served in countless pubs and restaurants, with usually fresh ingredients instead of leftovers.

8. Steak and Kidney Pie

*Photo by Thomas Quine on Flickr

Another one of England’s national dishes is Steak and Kidney Pie. This traditional dish consists of diced steak, kidney (beef, lamb or pork) and onion. The dish dates back to the early 1800s, and by the end of the century, Steak and Kidney Pie was served in the majority of English restaurants, and its recipes were in every cookbook.

Among restaurants well-known for the quality of their Steak and Kidney Pie, one can name Warwickshire’s Fleur de Lys, Goddards at Greenwich and Rules in London.