What’s the longest amount of time you’d stand in line for a sandwich? When I’ve put this question to non-Londoner friends, they usually say 10 minutes, 15 tops. The revelation that I have, on more than one occasion, waited an hour for a sarnie, pastry or bagel leaves them bewildered. London’s unrelenting restaurant queue culture might have begun its spread to other cities but the capital remains undefeated.
Social media has turned us all into critics, but it’s made us all recommendation machines too. Instagram and TikTok are flooded with snappily compiled videos listing the best places to head for everything from croissants to jerk chicken, the video-makers positioning what are often fairly well-known restaurants as “hidden gems”. A mere mention can lead to a queue winding out the door, a shout-out from the posh boys at Topjaw (an Instagram page where celebrities and chefs list their favourite London pub, curry, pizza and more) seeming to carry the same weight a glowing broadsheet review once did.
