Melt Room, 4th May

Given the surge in popularity of grilled cheese toasties in the capital, it was only a matter of time before someone tapped in on that and opened up a bricks and mortar place, rather than a street food van. And of course I had to try it.

Prices are what you'd expect and they have some options that are definitely different (tuna bean!?) as well as just the classic which I had. I added onions and got some of their relish as well.

Have to say, it did not stand up to the best out there. I cut it in half and grease seeped to the front. At one point a glob of oil actually dripped from the sandwich onto the paper which was a bit offputting (though I somehow managed to overcome this and finish it). I don't know what cheese they used, I wondered if it was something processed hence the grease. There seemed to be two kinds - one orange and one 'normal' cheese colour. There wasn't very much of it, it wasn't particularly thick and it didn't have a very strong taste. Overall, underwhelming.

The relish was quite good - kinda of sweet but with a spicy kick. The cafe was rather basic but cheerful - bright yellows. It's very small. Only space for about 12 people. While I was in quite a few people popped in to investigate but a good portion of them left again and I think it's because they realised there wasn't anywhere to sit. 

So, final verdict - seek out Morty and Bob's, The Cheese Truck or Grill My Cheese if a toastie is what you fancy. 

Kappacasein, 18th April

Kappacasein may be the original grilled cheese street food trader, touting his wares in Borough Market for 15 years now but I’m afraid the new kids on the block are showing him how it’s really done.

I didn’t think my toastie was that great, but this I am willing to put this down to them being victimes of their own success. There is so much demand, this little food stall is like a factory producing them via a conveyor belt, rather than each one lovingly made to order. Your order is taken in the queue, they have two people grilling and one person shoveling the cheese between slices. They’re trying to serve as many people as possible as quickly as possible and it’s not surprising if quality suffers a little. In my case I felt there wasn’t enough cheese and it was too overdone. I still liked it, but I wouldn’t bother with them again when there are much better offerings out there.

After this I thought I'd better burn off the cheese and went for a marathon of a walk across London. I wanted to see the Tweed Run. I was just a bit too late to catch their pit stop in Red Lion Gardens but I managed to catch up with them at Hyde Park corner. Quite the spectacle to see all these men, women and children all spiffing in their tweed, and sometimes with penny farthing bikes to boot!

From here I hopped on a bus to Shepherd's Bush and from there continued my walk. I wanted dessert after my grilled cheese and I had a destination in mind - WA, the new Japanese bakery. I knew I would probably get there too late in the day to sample their specialities, and so it proved. No curry doughnut for me. But I did get a mont blanc and a pear tart. I didn't know what a mont blanc consisted of when I got it and I still couldn't tell you afterwards but it was a buttery, sweet little pastry of deliciousness and so was the tart. Too much of a schlep for me to visit again but if you are local to it, I would absolutely check them out.

Grill.My.Cheese, 10th September

When I was a child, I loved eating grilled cheese sandwiches. And non-grilled cheese sandwiches too come to that. But I must have overindulged because I went through a long phase of being so put off by melted cheese that I didn't even like pizza. 

I know.

Happily I have overcome that difficult time of my life and now embrace melted, gooey cheese, on pizza, in fondue and best of all in between toasted bread. And it looks like London is doing the same. There are so many places doing grilled cheese sandwiches these days (or 'toasties' if you want to be all British about it) that there are even features about where to get the best ones in Londonist and Time Out.

I of course consider it my duty to work my way through them all. I finally had the one at Sager and Wilde a while back, and went up to Morty & Bob's quite recently. The first one I tried, but didn't write about was the chorizo one from The Cheese Truck. Spotting that Grill.My.Cheese were at Leather Lane, I thought I'd best try them while they were around.

Their USP is mac n cheese toasties. And the big mac daddy comes with pulled pork besides. Yes. Sounds insane doesn't it? Insanely bad for you. In a good way.

Actually, I have to say, that I didn't find it as bloating or as 'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives' as I thought it would be. Perhaps because a lot of the space is taken up by pasta with holes in it rather than cheese, it doesn't feel as heavy or as greasy as others can. The one I had from Morty & Bob's for example, was far more filling, and my boyfriend ate about a quarter of it!

They also add BBQ sauce which is a trifle too sweet for me - I'd have preferred the punch of a chilli sauce (Ribman - when is that collab going to happen?) but it was still a mighty fine toastie and I enjoyed eating it immensely. Behold.

Morty and Bob's, 30th August

So, you guys know I love bread and cheese right? And melted cheese and toasted bread are a combination made in the very belly of heaven itself. And luckily, quite a few street food places seem to agree. There’s the Cheese Truck, and Grill My Cheese, and these guys... and counting.

Now, I love street food – you can get some fabulous food for reasonable prices but it does have its drawbacks. They can be kinda flaky and a dedicated trip to get to their stall/van can lead to disappointment if you don’t check ahead. Such was the case the other week when I decided I wanted to finally try Morty & Bob's cheesy goodness only to discover the stall was shut and they were at Wilderness or something. Instead I had the worst banh mi of my life from Caphe VN. It was a bad day.

But I went back, and got treated to a supersized toastie with cheese lava cascading down its sides. I decided to try their ‘straight up’ and see what it was like unadulterated by bacon or pulled pork. I didn’t even get any jalapenos or add any hot sauce. They use a cheese mix of three cheeses plus their own secret sauce and they add some spring onions and regular onions and to be honest, this is all you need for a hearty breakfast. Stephen practically ate half of mine and I was still sated. Mmmmm. I think they should quickly go away to some more festivals to stop me going back every weekend! I could practically feel my arteries turning to cheese. *happy face*. A couple of pickles could be found hiding round the back in case to give you a palate cleanser partway through in case the cheese became too much at any point.