2019 is the 13th anniversary of tikichris.com. I’m marking the seemingly inauspicious milestone with Lucky 13: a yearlong miniseries about 13 places to eat and drink that helped shape and define what I love about the London food and drink scene.
Stick & Bowl is a sliver of a restaurant set on the Kensington Gardens end of Kensington High Street for convenient eats during shopping expeditions, a meal after a walk in the park, or for a quick bite pre or post a show at Royal Albert Hall it can’t be beat. But there’s no need to drum up an excuse to visit this classic Chinese food takeaway.
Established in the early 70s (with a menu I suspect has changed very little since), the tiny Stick & Bowl does standard fare westernised Chinese dishes. Going back to my first weeks in London when I started dining here, it’s seemed always to be fully occupied but also with room to fit one or two more customers. It’s that sort of accommodation that’s kept it on my mind and a most reliable standby ever since.
Now as more than a decade ago, I still love tucking into a steaming heap of Singapore fried noodles (vermicelli with shredded chicken, pork, shrimp, chilli, egg and bean sprouts, £6.50). Hot and sour soup (shredded chicken, shrimp, beancurd,beancurd, egg and peas, £2.90) is a winner too. Ditto the obligatory jasmine tea (70p).
Similar to sentiments shared in my last Lucky 13 post, the look and feel of Stick & Bowl does if for me as much as the menu. I’ve got a thing for formica countertops, matte coloured plastic tableware, and interiors that are oddly cosy but not necessarily comfy – an aesthetics of efficiency if you will. Fryer’s Delight and City Snacks in Holborn, Bar Italia in Soho, and E Pellici in Bethnal Green are among the other formica-rich London nooks I admire in much the same way. Stick & Bowl also has this lovely koi mural and cobalt coloured tiles that are subtly pleasing.
Service has been speedy and perfunctory every time I’ve been there. Stick & Bowl is located at 31 Kensington High Street, W8 5NP. Find out more at the restaurant’s Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Stick-Bowl/154001091290515.
Still hungry? I’ll be back soon with another taste of a Lucky 13 place to eat in London.
I miss Stick and Bowl so much! Glad to know they’re still there and not been kicked out for the redevelopment that’s sanitised much of KHS. I assume it’s still family run… the staff seemed a bit brisk the first time I ate there on a recommendation by the Evening Standard (though super efficient rather than rude) but once you’d been in a few times they were always joyfully friendly and happy to welcome you back. We would be pacing up and down on the pavement waiting for them to open at midday on a Saturday. Happy times!
I was there recently. Same vibe as when I first ate there back in 2001. The ain’t broke/don’t fix approach seems to be working well for this little gem!