In London, Ontario, I’ve been enjoying takeout from these places over the past year.
Los Comales ( Salvadoran and Mexican)
I have ordered takeout online from Los Comales twice in the past 6 months. It’s an affordable small restaurant in a strip plaza on Southdale Road.
Frozen Pies from Fancy Tart (open Fri and Sat only)
Beef pie
Arva flour! Available at the Arva Flour Mill shop and at Remark Fresh Market.
Yasmine’s, an upscale Lebanese restaurant in Masonville. Everything I have ordered has been delicious. They package their takeout beautifully. They have a wood fired oven for pita and lahmajun. The fish dishes are good, as are the lamb and eggplant dishes. There’s a lamb shank with freekeh and yogurt main which I enjoyed.
https://yasminesrestaurant.com/
Craft Farmacy. This has become my go-to for special occasion takeout. I like everything. Especially good posh burger, good duck, nice lobster appetizer.
My first takeout meal in 2022 was a salmon dinner from Craft Farmacy in London. Good salad, sun choke gratin, creamed spinach , salmon with gnocchi.
The tuna poke wasn’t very good- there was something in the marinade that wasn’t quite right.
Tried the vegan Milanese which was good for something vegan. Probably won’t get it again, but I’m glad I ordered it.
The menu changes every few months.
Craft Farmacy has a great upscale burger. I pick it up the takeout myself. They also have an upscale brunch that I would like to try one of these days.
Grace Restaurant runs Grace Bodega, which is a lunch shop, coffee shop , gourmet shop and wine bar on Dundas St near Clarence.
At Grace Bodega,
I bought a very good flat white, some Squish gummies, local mustard, soba noodles, furikake, local chocolate and furikake at Bodega yesterday. Will definitely return next time I need some hostess gifts or a good coffee in downtown London.
The takeout pickerel cakes and salad are very good. They sell some super breads. A nice Pain de Mie was last loaf I bought. Excellent cookies, too.
I have been slowly trying London’s independent pizzerias.
I order Deluxe or the mushroom green pepper pepperoni equivalent to keep it somewhat consistent. So far, I’ve tried Through Thick and Thin’s NY Style, Bondi’s , Byron Pizza, Sissio’s and Pizza Projekt’s Deep Dish.
Byron is a classic London/ SW Ontario type pizza, which is not quite a regional thing like Windsor pizza. The Byron Pizza reminds me of pizza in the 1980s in London, something like my memory of Frank Vetere’s pizza or Mother’s Pizza. Byron Pizza and the NY Crust Pizza at Through Thick and Thin have been my favourite pizzas so far.
I order Fish & Chips from Kipps Lane almost once a month. I like their Captains’ Platters, haddock and halibut. They give a lot of fries with their dinners, so I get one dinner that includes fries, then order extra seafood à la carte. Lobster roll isn’t that great. I really like their mixed seafood platters, and usually upgrade to halibut for my fish. Halibut has gone up in price lately.
Congee Chan for Chinese
I’ve been twice now.
Enjoyed takeout from Congee Chan last night. Fried chicken dumplings, tai dop voy, char siu, salt and spice squid, and fried vermicelli in the Taiwanese style. They offer 4 free spring rolls if you pay cash and order more than $35 worth of food.
Also enjoyed the Lobster with Maggi sauce and the Buddha’s Feast chow mein.
London has quite a few mainland and Northern Chinese restaurants and dessert shops I haven’t tried yet. Amylie’s has good XLB and I like their MaPo Tofu.
For groceries, Remark Fresh Market. Excellent Faroe Island Salmon. Good Italian sausage. Better produce than national chains. Good refrigerated soups, esp the clam chowder.
Mark’s Fine Meats in the Covent Garden Market. Mark Kitching, who owns Waldo’s runs this. Fish you can’t buy elsewhere, such as Mahi Mahi. Top quality cuts, less common meats. Organic egg nog, eggs. This would be the equivalent of Cumrbae’s for London.
Mark’s Fine Meats
For coffee, Locomotive, which serves Pilot coffee, Sidetrack and Asmara.
Through Thick and Thin Pizza in Old South https://www.throughthickandthinpizza.com/
Steelhead Fish Co fishmonger in St Thomas is very good. https://steelheadfoodco.ca/