What to eat in England: typical dishes, tips and trivia on English cuisine

Before embarking on a trip, one wonders what culinary specialities one will be able to taste when one arrives at one's destination. Even England, despite its low esteem from a gastronomic point of view, has its typical dishes! On the menu of a typical English restaurant you can find tasty specialities for every meal of the day: from breakfast to dinner, without forgetting the iconic 5 o'clock tea and the inevitable beer to sip at the pub. If you want to know what to eat in England, here are some suggestions!

10 Typical Dishes of England

1 - Full English Breakfast

Perhaps the most famous of the typical English dishes, it is for them the main meal of the day, as lunch usually consists of a short snack. All establishments open in the morning serve it, it is a very substantial dish and contains mainly savoury foods. Toasted bread, fried or scrambled eggs, a couple of slices of bacon, pork sausages, baked beans, tomatoes and mushrooms are served in a single course, optional are hash browns (potato pancakes cut into small pieces). All accompanied by a cup of tea or coffee.

• Recommended for: breakfast

• Average cost: £8.00/ €8.80

• Main ingredients: egg, toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, pork sausage, bacon, beans, potatoes, tea or coffee

2 - Fish and Chips

This is another very famous English dish, which originated in the 19th century and was also very popular back then, especially among the local working class. The dish consists of fish fillets that are fried in a batter made from flour and beer. The fish used for the dish is usually cod (cod), haddock (similar to cod but fatter), plaice (plaice), skate (skate ). A nice portion of fries, cream of peas and tartar sauce is served to complete the dish.

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner, snack

• Average cost: £6.00/€6.60

• Main ingredients: fish and potatoes

3 - Sausages and mash (or bangers and mash)

Another very hearty dish consisting of sausages, almost always pork, and mashed potatoes. The whole thing is literally drizzled with gravy sauce, a gravy made from the reduction of meat and vegetable stock, which is poured directly onto the plate. The name "bangers" dates back to the First World War and is onomatopoeic, recalling the "bang!" sound of sausages that tended to explode during cooking due to the disproportionate amount of water used to prepare them in order to conceal the scarcity of meat.

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: £8.00/ €8.80

• Main ingredients: pork sausages, mashed potatoes, gravy

4 - British Pie

Photo by Goddard's Pies Limited. These filled shortbread pies are very popular in England, usually served with mashed potatoes and other vegetables. This most traditional one-pot dish dates back to the Roman Empire and can have many fillings, from steak and kidney to chicken and mushroom to vegetarian alternatives such as cheese and onion.

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: £6.00/€6.60

• Main ingredients: puff pastry, beef or chicken filling, vegetables

5 - Shepherd's Pie

Photo by JIP. A typical northern recipe, Shepherd's Pie consists of minced lamb cooked in a gravy of vegetables (usually onion, peas, celery, carrot). This is covered with a layer of mashed potatoes and then baked in the oven. When cooked, the result is a delicious dark-coloured meat pie with an inviting thin crust, which is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: £12.00/€13.16

• Main ingredients: minced lamb, gravy, potatoes

6 - Sunday Roast

Photo by robbie jim. A typical Sunday and bank holiday recipe, this is a roast of roast meat accompanied by potatoes, vegetables and the inevitable gravy. It is made with a choice of three different types of meat: beef with Yorkshire pudding (baked batter cake) and horseradish (horseradish sauce), crispy pork and apple sauce, or lamb with mint and cranberry sauce, or chicken stuffed with sausage meat, breadcrumbs and vegetables.

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: £12.00/€13.16

• Main ingredients: beef, pork, chicken or lamb, potatoes and vegetables, gravy

7 - Jacket Potato

This dish is made using some of the most typical ingredients of English cuisine, it is a very popular recipe and usually quite cheap. It consists of a potato that is baked with its skin on, then it is cut into a cross and a small piece of butter is melted in the opening created. Then the topping is added, usually either baked beans or the typical cheddar cheese.

• Recommended: lunch, dinner, snack

• Average cost: £5.00/€5.48

• Main ingredients: potatoes, butter, cheddar cheese, beans

8 - Cornish pasty

A typical recipe from Cornwall, a region in the south-west of England, the Cornish pasty is considered a national dish and officially became a PGI speciality in 2011. It is a crescent-shaped savoury pastry dumpling with a filling of beef, rutabaga (local variety of turnip), onion and potatoes. Since the period of the Industrial Revolution, this speciality has become the typical lunch of workers, which is why it was important during its preparation that the dough sealed the filling well. It served primarily to keep the filling intact and protect it from soot, as well as having a specific aesthetic function: the recipient's initials were usually engraved on both ends, so that they could recognise their pasty even after a few bites.

• Recommended: lunch, dinner, snack

• Average cost: £4.50/€4.94

• Main ingredients: savoury pastry, beef, turnip

9 - Chicken Tikka Masala

Photo by Sriyarao22. The ingredients and name of the recipe are clearly of Indian origin, yet this is considered a true British dish. The dish, of uncertain origins (according to some theories, it was imported from the South Asian community in Britain), is nothing more than roasted chicken marinated in chunks with fragrant spices, served with a creamy curry sauce, can be enjoyed in many restaurants and pubs and is usually available in about fifty different versions.

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: £9.00/€9.87

• Main ingredients: chicken meat, spices, curry

10 - Burgers and fries

In Anglo-Saxon tradition, it is impossible not to mention the classic meat burger buns. Those served in British pubs, however, are different from those of fast-food chains, first of all because of the quality of the ingredients used and also because they represent a real complete meal. Beef or chicken breast is almost always used, the sandwich is always accompanied by fried potatoes or onion rings, the fried battered onion rings, and plenty of sauces.

• Recommended: lunch, dinner, snack

• Average cost: £6.00/€6.60

• Main ingredients: bread, beef or chicken, potatoes

Typical English desserts

Pastries play a very important role in the culinary tradition of England and the whole of the United Kingdom. Cakes and pastries are indeed very popular among the English, especially to accompany the customary and daily 5 o'clock tea 'ceremony'. Some of the most typical recipes have ancient origins, and with additions and improvements have become true symbols of the country in modern times.

1 - Muffins

They are one of the symbols of English baking. The recipe originated in the 16th century in the kitchens of servants who, as often happened, created a new dish using leftovers, in this case bread, flour and fruit. Word of the goodness of this new creation reached even the wealthiest of people, and muffins soon became a favourite tea-time treat. The name is said to derive from the French mouflet, meaning soft bread, or perhaps from the German muffen, used instead to mean a sweet cupcake.

• Average cost: £1.00/€1.1 per piece

• Main ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, milk, yeast, icing and filling as desired

2 - Scones

A perfect dessert to accompany the classic afternoon tea, scones are filled with clotted cream or strawberry jam. A typical English dessert par excellence, it is spread throughout the United Kingdom with different names, pronunciations, ingredients and baking techniques. The origin of the dish seems to date back to 16th century Scotland, with the name supposedly derived from the 'Stone of Scone', a sacred place where Scottish kings were crowned.

• Average cost: £3/€3.29

• Main ingredients: flour, baking soda, butter, milk, sugar, eggs, fillings to taste including

3 - Bakewell Tart

The Bakewell tart is a traditional English cake made of shortcrust pastry filled with fruit jam and a combination of sugar, eggs, ground almonds and butter. It slightly resembles a homemade tart and, once baked to perfection, should remain light and moist. It is usually served warm, with a dollop of cream or a scoop of ice cream as a topping.
The name of the dish comes from the words bad (bath=bath) and kwell (spring), referring to the many wells that flowed in the Bakewell area of Derbyshire.

• Average cost: £7.50/€8.23

• Main ingredients: flour, butter, fruit jam, sugar, almonds, eggs

4 - Victoria sponge cake

Victoria sponge is a layer cake filled with fruit jam (and sometimes whipped cream). It was invented by Queen Victoria's cooks in the 19th century and quickly became the star of her tea parties, along with sandwiches and scones. The jam used for this cake is usually raspberry or strawberry, although in modern variants apricot jam is sometimes used. The whipped cream in the filling is a 20th century addition and some purists, such as the Women's Institute, claim that a true Victoria sponge can only have a jam filling.

• Average cost: £8.00/ €8.80

• Main ingredients: eggs, sugar, flour, yeast, jam of your choice, whipped cream

Drinks and spirits: what people drink in England

The quintessential English drink is tea, usually consumed at 5pm. Earl Grey is the favourite variety, with its typical bergamot aroma. While in typical pubs it is the draught beer that flows freely, Pimm's is the typical summer aperitif, also available in bottles as a liqueur. Gin, on the other hand, is so popular that even Queen Elizabeth wanted to create one using only ingredients picked from the garden of Buckingham Palace.

1 - Earl Grey hot tea

It is one of the most popular and widely consumed teas in the world, but just the mention of its name immediately brings to mind the refined drawing rooms of Buckingham Palace, as Her Majesty drinks a steaming cup of it with a dash of milk. The origin of this tea is definitely not English, Earl Grey in fact originates from a special blend of Chinese and Indian teas. However, there are mysteries and legends surrounding this blend, the best known being that the British Prime Minister, on a mission to China, saved the life of a Mandarin who confided in him the recipe for this special tea.

• Average cost: £2/€2.19

• Main ingredients: black tea

2 - Pimm's

Pimm's is a hard liquor that is served and enjoyed mainly in summer. In England, it is a drink consumed especially by members of the upper class: at Wimbledon, polo tournaments and prestigious college parties. If you're wondering how it's made, know that its recipe is quite secret: the complete formula, the same since 1840, is known only to six people. It originated as a 'tonic to aid digestion' and is made from gin, quinine and a mix of herbs.

• Average cost: £12/€13.23 per bottle

• Main ingredients: gin, herbal mix and other secret ingredients

3 - Beer

When you think of England, apart from the Queen and red double-decker buses, you can't help but think of beer. Dark, blond, lager, very dark or stout, as a rule, English beer is definitely stronger than American beer. It is almost always served on tap in two sizes, half pint and pint. Also, in most typical English pubs it is consumed with little foam and at cellar temperature.

• Average cost: £4.5/€4.96 pint

• Main ingredients: beer

4 - Gin

It is an alcoholic drink invented by the Holders in the English court in the 17th century and was initially popular among the lower classes. Today, the situation has been reversed, so much so that gin is the favourite of the Queen herself, who usually enjoys it just before going to bed. Gin, drunk with tonic, thanks to its quinine content enabled British soldiers to survive malaria and conquer India. In recent times, Queen Elizabeth II herself wanted to produce and market Royal Household gin, made from citrus fruits and herbs picked right in the Buckingham Palace garden.

• Average cost: £8.00/ €8.80 per bottle

• Main ingredients: juniper, berries, spices and roots

5 - Cider

This is the traditional English drink made on the rural farms of England. Easy to make, it is nothing more than the result of fermenting apple juice. The drink is especially popular in the west of England, in the counties of Kent, Norfolk, Sussex and Hertfordshire. Also in London, cider is as popular a drink as beer, and it is not unusual to come across cider pubs, places similar to our taverns where you can choose from a virtually endless variety of fermented apple drinks.

• Average cost: £6.00/€6.60

• Main ingredients: fermented apple juice

Tips and trivia: where to eat and what to avoid

The first impact with British cuisine, especially for us Italians, is quite traumatic. In reality, once you have tasted a few dishes, you can also appreciate typical English specialities. The full English breakfast and fish and chips can be found practically everywhere, from cafeterias to pubs, they are inexpensive dishes and much loved by the English. Breakfast is considered the most important meal, so it is plentiful and substantial. As a result, lunch is light and quick: there are salad bars and pret-a-manger fast food outlets where you can choose from a variety of single-serving options including salads, sandwiches and sandwiches. For dinner, choose one of the typical pubs and accompany your pint with a fantastic burger and fries.