Kastner And Ovens

First day in Aldgate and was out exploring with a mate to find a place to eat and he strongly recommended Kastner and Ovens.
A small joint with limited seating space but a whole bunch of passionate workers. That’s how it appeared to me. I am told the menu changes every day and all the food is cooked on site with quality ingredients.
There are a number of hot food options — when I went they had two kinds soups, a stew, Rice, pies and a Vegi Lasagna! Plus various breads and salad and desert options.
From a pricing perspective, a small soup is under 3 quid + 50p for a piece of bread, A Pie is around 3 again. A bowl of salad is around 4’ish. Over-​all reasonably priced.
From a service perspective, the way it works is that you get in stand in a queue and reach the front where the food is served, its served in takeaway boxes but there are few tables where you can take you food to. Once you get what you need, you need to go to the other end and pay. Many times, the two queues sort of jumble up right in front of the main door causing confusion.
I had a Smoked Chicken, Leek and Tarragon pie which was pretty nice but I found the Tarragon quite strong. I loved their thick soup, which was Cauliflower, Cheese and Mustard. My friend had the Veg Lasagne and which looked amazing and he confirmed that it tasted brilliant as well.
4 stars only because of the lack of a proper layout inside and limited seating places + the Tarragon which I realised that I don’t particularly like!
Highly recommended if you are in this part of town.

Five stars. No question. No debate. This is now my new favourite place to get lunch in The City.
It is a few streets back from the main road, but at lunchtime there is always a queue of people who have learnt about this gem. There are a couple of tables where you could eat if you wished, but it is more set up for buying a box of food to take away.
There are different offerings of hot meals and salads each day. Everything looks inviting and there really is something for all tastes. In my first visit, I got a creamy celeriac and cannellini bean bake, with some of the pea and mushroom salad served on top. There were some moreish-​looking mackerel pies on display, so I got one of those too.
I had the pie first when I was back at my desk. Wow, it was great! Mackerel is one of the bigger flavour fish and it came through well in the pie. Big chunks; proper juicy pieces of fish. It felt like a reward to eat. The bake and salad also had good taste and texture combinations.
It was £8 for the lot. Filling, delicious and I felt like I was eating healthfully too. There was a good variety of fresh ingredients and food groups.
I went back the next day and got something very different, but still a great success. This is the beginning of a regular lunchtime ritual.

A little corner café that only opens for lunch during weekdays. The food here is so good, so when it does open, there is always a line here. There are about 3 tables in side and another two outside, so most of their business is take away.
The menu changes on a weekly basis and some hot dishes are changed daily. The café are known for their tasty salads. They are all made fresh daily and you can choose from 6 – 8 different varieties. If you would like something hot, there are always a few hot options, stew, pie, quiche, etc. You never know what they have, so it is never boring. I have come here twice in one week and had two completely different meals.
For 6 pounds and change, you can get a big box which includes 3 – 4 salads and one portion of hot meal. Trust me that is a solid good lunch right there. Still feel like a sweet ending to a meal? They have nice cakes and pies that will sure make your mouth water.
If you are in the area and want a quick and tasty meal, you have to give it a try.