The hospitality scene in the UK has been exciting for a very long time now – so much choice, so little time – but some how it keeps on getting better and better. With fantastic restaurants, deli’s, pubs and street food markets popping up all the time, we’re truly spoiled for amazing food & drink options and Eat Local is here to introduce you to some new gems that you might never know about…

If you’re an authentic Japanese cuisine lover, curious foodie or just crave some sushi or noodles, then get yourself down to Ezo Japanese in Acton!

A cosy, welcoming restaurant, the menu contains a whole host of delicious Japanese dishes, including curries, ramen, all types of sushi or noodles and a variety of vegetarian dishes. The head chef also adds weekly specials to look out for.

Ezo offers both dine-in and takeaway options, is dog-friendly and always happy to help with special requests. If you’re over in West London, we highly recommend grabbing yourself a bite to eat at this hidden gem.

Head over to ezojapanese.co.uk for more information and to book.

Moving on from running successful restaurants in South-West London, Ben gave himself the mission of creating the perfect Bloody Mary.

After much testing, combining the right blend of herbs and spices in a mix to deliver a bloody great Bloody Mary every time, Ben began bottling it in 2017. It means anyone can make a great Bloody Mary, in moments. No more delving into the back of the cupboards to find the ingredients you need, just add 25ml of the Mix to Tomato Juice for a Virgin Mary and then add Vodka/Gin for the perfect Bloody Mary.

Not content with the perfect Bloody Mary and with his huge love of gin, the next step was to create a fantastic London dry gin, inspired by living in London and holidaying in Mallorca – Bloody Bens Signature Gin was born. The spirit of this Gin and label is one of escapism, dreaming and sunny vibes. This was released in December 2018.

Head over to bloodybens.com to check out all Ben’s products or enjoy them in our IT’S A LONDON THING gift sets over in our shop

From mellow yellow to triple XXX, if you love a chilli sauce, then welcome to Saucy Bitch! Born in Walthamstow, their sauces are now delighting customers across the UK.

To keep their sauces as local as possible, Saucy Bitch established The East London Chilli Growers Collective – a community of locals from Walthamstow and surrounding areas who grow their own chillies that they share with the company. The chillies are then fermented and used to produce their amazing sauces. This keeps everything as locally sourced as possible.

If you live in East London, grow your own chillies and are interested in joining The East London Chilli Growers Collective get in touch at info@saucybitch.co.uk​​​​​​​ or head to saucybitch.co.uk

In years gone by, Bermondsey certainly wasn’t known for it’s cocktail swilling locals. But times have a changed. Now a trendy hub south of the river, bars and pubs are bustling with customers wanting to try new tipples.

Life for Bermondsey Mixer Co began at London gin bar, Two One Four. Nick Crispini & fellow Gin lover Lawrence Mason found that the overpowering taste of Quinine extract, used in most commercial tonics, was smothering the subtle flavours of the gins they were serving. So, work started on what would become Bermondsey Mixer Co.

Bermondsey Mixer Co products are created to be lighter and crisper than commercial tonics, with none of the cloying bitterness, just a lovely warming dryness. A great mixer with Tequila, Vermouth, Vodka & Amaro, why just stop at Gin? Head over to bermondseymixer.co for all their products.

The brilliant Chubby Dumpling is brought to you by father and daughter team Joe and Chantel. This dynamic duo serves up fresh dumplings using original recipes passed all the way down their family tree for generations and you can now get them delivered to your front door!

Dad Joe ran his own restaurant for 31 years and has been making dumplings since he was a kid running around the streets of Hong Kong. He and daughter Chantel decided it was about time to take Dad’s recipes to the road and thus the Chubby Dumpling truck was born. (Joe used to call Chantel a Chubby Dumpling as a child when she would eat all his dumplings!)

Their delicious food is served out of their stunning black 1992 fire engine at markets across London and they have served at numerous prestigious events, including Gala Festival, Asahi Superdry and an event for Warner Bros Studios.

We’ve been in absolute awe of Ama during lockdown. Delivering amazing food across the capital, keeping Instagram fully loaded with videos and images of culinary deliciousness, plus being a full-time mother. Some kinda superwoman!

“My idea is to serve up rustic but modern comfort food with a twist on classic dishes. After gaining a wealth of confidence and experience at my pop-up in Soho, I moved on to cooking meat and fish dishes at various corporate events, until eventually opening another pop-up restaurant in Shoreditch, under the name ROOSTERED where I started to showcase my sauce making skills in 2017.

After my husband and I welcomed our daughter into the world in 2019, pop up shop life was no longer realistic time wise, as I’m a big believer in balance, so I came up with the idea of delivering hearty meals to peoples homes, freshly cooked by me on the date of delivery. So EATWITHAMA was born.”

Having previously won a “Best Pub In The Country” award, the Red Lion & Sun has not only a great local following, but one from far and wide. A rare privately owned public house, it boasts two beer gardens, wood burning fire, daily changing menu, great wine list and whisky galore.

There hasn’t been much to smile about during lockdown, but if you venture over to their Instagram feed @theredlionandsun, you’re sure to have a chuckle viewing one of the many musical videos on offer. People make a venue and this is certainly the case here.

If you’re ever up in the Highgate area, the Red Lion & Sun pub is well worth a visit. Great food, plenty of booze and friendly staff – a winning combo!