It's no secret that London is full of good places to eat and if you know where to look, there's a great diversity of flavors. The cast and crew of Wicked recently proved this when discussing their favorite eateries in the city, and the tastes vary as much as the people involved in the film.
"Some great pubs"
TimeOut London's Instagram account caught up with the cast and crew to ask for their favorite places to eat in the heart of the United Kingdom. There is no shortage of adorable answers. Karis Musongole, who plays Young Elphaba, is unapologetically enthusiastic about dough balls and pizza at Pizza Express. Their desserts menu mentions the "Loaded Snowball Dough Balls" and a festive "Snowball Dough Ball Wreath." With white chocolate sauce, cinnamon and icing sugar and a white chocolate dip, we can understand the appeal. The wreath adds a salted caramel sauce and tops it with chocolate treats. And that's not even taking into account pizzas such as the "festive flavour" Christmas Feast or the American Hottest that boasts Nduja sausage, pepperoni, tomato, mozzarella, chillies Gran Milano cheese, chilli oil and parsley.
What's popular with Glinda's hanger-on? Bowen Yang says, "I'm a Nando's guy." The South African cuisine that adds Portuguese flavor to their signature PERi-Peri chicken. Meanwhile many cast members mentioned Dishoom, the Indian restaurant. One perusal of their website might make you very hungry for a Paneer Roomali Roll or Murgh Malai. They even have vegan options, a children's menu, and holiday feasts on order. Tamarind is another Indian restaurant appreciated by these creative types and its fare ranges from street food to lobster, with something for everyone. Bronwyn James, Bowen's compatriot, enjoys Lebanese food at Soho Joe.
Director Jon M. Chu says "we went to some pretty great pubs" and there are a few mentions of simpler fare. Pret a manger is a popular option, though the Wonderful Wizard of Oz and dancer Emilie Livingston speaks fondly of River Street Cafe.
The most important thing is that, when a Wicked event comes to town, they are willing to try just about anything anywhere. They are looking for a unique menu much of the time, but aren't afraid to enjoy the simpler things in life.
We hope they enjoyed plenty of PERi-PERi and dough balls before they moved on to other flavorful destinations. Wicked arrives in cinemas on November 22.