The top 10 places in London for a cheese toastie

The chef Holly Chaves became London’s Queen of Cheese while running her popular and longstanding pop-up, Wind & Rind, in Tottenham. Here, she shares her top ten picks across the capital.

Cafe Cecilia – cheese & pickled onion toastie £9.50 

This unpretentious but effortlessly gourmet toastie at Max Rocha’s Café Cecilia is exactly what you’d expect from the new-bistro-kids-on-the-block: a classic toastie, perfectly executed with exceptional ingredients. Max uses a mix of Paxton’s cheddar, Red Leicester, mustard and pickled onions on potato sourdough.

Bake Street – four cheese toastie £7

Much like Café Cecilia, Bake Street’s lip-smacking menu, boasting seasonal snacks like the lamb birria tacos and the Nashville hot chicken burger, make it easy to bypass the humbly named ‘four cheese toastie’. But, like everything else coming out of the kitchen, it is proficient comfort food with a connoisseur’s touch. And unlike some of their Insta-famous weekend specials, it’s available all week. 

Cora Pearl – ham & cheese toastie £12

The most ‘cheffy’ contribution to this list is Cora Pearl’s nod to the traditional triptych of cheese, ham and pickle. This toastie fuses Montgomery’s cheddar and Guinness ‘ganache’ with ham hock terrine, and it’s served in thick white bread alongside a homemade, Branston-style chutney comprising puréed pickled walnuts. I really appreciate the dedication to sliced white here. This is high-end nostalgia.

Cora Pearl is available on the CODE app

The Wigmore - XXL stovetop three cheese & mustard toastie £11.50

Could you imagine a toastie created by Michel Roux Jr? No need, it’s on the bar menu at The Wigmore. A mix of the best British and French mega melters Montgomery cheddar, Ogleshield and Raclette, the dish is uplifted by Dijon mustard, red onion, cornichons and chives. Served in sourdough, it arrives with the iron press still atop it, like a molten monument.  

Towpath – grilled cheese served with quince £10.50

A walk or cycle-rewarding staple on the blackboard of this canal-side café between Islington and Hackney, this is a grilled cheese of enduring grace. Here, British cheese is thrust into sourdough and served with a quintessentially English quince jelly. The sticky, sweet quince is a welcome substitute for a classic chutney. Some might see this toastie as an option for pudding after sampling any number of other good things on the menu.

The Canton Arms – classic pub cheese toastie £3.50 

A classic Breville toastie is hard to find in these health conscious and increasingly vegan times. But it’s here in all its bar-snacking glory at The Canton Arms, sibling to the brilliant Anchor & Hope, The Magdalen Arms, and The Clarence Tavern. This is a hot envelope of a pub toastie, and Montgomery’s cheddar in greased up bread is the perfect pairing to a proper pint. Go for the toastie platter for a group session. Yes, the toastie platter. 

The Clarence Tavern is available on the CODE app

Deeney’s – Hamish MacBeth £8

Broadway Market stalwart and haggis hype-merchants Deeney’s has been hot pressing haggis, bacon, cheddar, and caramelised onions in granary for years now, and it’s still a lip-blistering winner. The combination of the haggis, cheese and sweet onion is reminiscent of a patty melt – an American dream, where mince and cheese are squeezed into white bread – and I feel it’s as close as I’m going to get to one in London right now.

The Princess Royal  - Iberico ham & three cheese toastie £12 (add black truffle £5) 

This hottie can be found nestled into the lunch menu at The Princess Royal in Notting Hill. Executive chef Ben Tish, formally of Norma and Salt Yard and now across all the Cubitt House pubs and restaurants, is the brains behind this melting masterpiece. It blends Comtè, pecorino and taleggio, and iberico ham is added for an extra salty kick. There’s optional black truffle for total indulgence. 

The Princess Royal & Norma are available on the CODE app

Bellanger – croque monsieur £13.75

The croque monsieur, which translates as Mr. Crispy (so I’m calling it a toastie), makes a welcome return to the menu at Bellanger after a long hiatus. It’s essentially a ham and cheese toastie but with added love (béchamel). The gooeyness that comes from the béchamel means those French hard nutty cheeses like gruyere, Comté or Beaufort are perfect for this. It’s served with a well-dressed baby gem and radish salad and is best enjoyed with a side of pommes frites, a glass of something crisp and white, while sitting on the terrace overlooking Islington Green.

Sourdough Sophia – cheese & kimchi toastie £6.50

Don’t let the millennial pink, Insta-grid-friendly settings of Crouch End bakery Sourdough Sophia fool you, this place is a serious bakery. Here, the toastie combines Ogleshield and Evenlode with spring onions and house made kimchi in two slices of daily baked sourdough. The pickle-kick of spicy kimchi is exactly what’s needed to cut through this bold mix of two washed-rind cheeses. Find me in winter with this in hand, looking for a Stilton and broccoli soup to dip it in.