Wortley Village is known for many things. It’s known to be like a mini village inside of the neighbourhood of Old South. It’s known for being charming. It’s known for being a friendly and welcoming place to live. It’s even known for its beautiful historical houses. But what people don’t seem to know about Wortley Village is that it is actually a Foodie’s paradise.

Walking down Wortley Road you’ll think that you’ve been transported to Main Street of some adorable small town. The small cafes that serve incredibly delicious coffee are busy with people grabbing their morning java on the way to work or sipping cappuccinos while catching up with a friend. The patios are filled with friendly neighbours drinking craft beers and enjoying the sunshine. The restaurants are lively with friendly service and leisurely lunches. The happy dinging of chimes in boutique shops as shoppers stroll along sings in the air. Within this picturesque snapshot of Wortley Road lies the things that make Wortley Village the perfect place for food lovers to live.

Chain restaurants are not even in a Foodie’s field of vision. They don’t want mass-produced anything. They search for restaurants that use local, farm-to-table ingredients. They scout out small, cozy, family-owned restaurants with dishes made from scratch only using the freshest of ingredients. They look for restaurants that can offer food that you just can’t get anywhere else. Wortley Village has a ton of incredible restaurants that fit the bill for what a Foodie is looking for. Here are some of the highlights:

La Noisette Cake Studio (Formerly Bake Shop Studio) is a boutique bakery in Wortley that makes custom, hand-made baked goods. They boast the best ingredients such as the freshest eggs, 100% pure Madagascar vanilla bean, real butter, and local produce. And yes, to a Foodie, the region that the vanilla beans come from is absolutely important. Plus, their cakes are always finished with swiss meringue buttercream, and a true food lover knows that the American buttercream we’re used to on cakes can’t hold a candle to a swiss meringue buttercream.

Roll Roll might just be London’s best hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The tiny sushi joint serves beyond incredible and unique rolls with unimaginably beautiful presentation. They have incredibly personable customer service and have quickly become a favourite for many. Their perfect 5 out of 5 rating on Google speaks for itself.

The Sweet Onion Bistro is a quaint local restaurant that has countless regulars that frequent the joint. Their Greek Nights are always well attended and they have a legendary birthday tradition of taking a shot and breaking a plate. They are well rated by guests with a 4.8 on Facebook and 4.4 on Google.

Plant Matter Kitchen is one of London’s revolutionary eateries. Its entire menu is organic and vegan and tastes absolutely delicious. And by delicious, we don’t mean delicious for vegan. We mean delicious, whether you’re a carnivore, omnivore, or herbivore. It was voted as London’s favourite vegan restaurant and with good reason. Their ingredients are fresh, local, and organic and their menu is inventive and downright delicious. Foodies love the plant-based “meat” options and the fact that there are absolutely zero additives, zero artificial ingredients, and absolutely nothing processed.

Mai’s Cafe and Bistro is a tiny, locally owned restaurant that serves traditional Thai dishes. It has a 4.7 rating on Google, 4.8 on Facebook, and a restaurant reviewer gave it a rating of 9.5 out of 10. People can’t get enough of their signature dish: Drunken Noodles.

You can’t talk about the food scene in London without mentioning the Wolfe Brothers. Every restaurant they’ve brought to the city has been a smashing hit. They serve elevated dishes and use ingredients like beef cheek and pork belly and have, by far, the best cocktails in the city. The Wolfe Brothers have incredible restaurants both in Wortley Village and in London’s Downtown core: The Early Bird, Los Lobos, The Wolfpack Company Bar, and more!

Foodie’s have a reputation for being particular about their food and beverage choices. They don’t frequent chain coffee shops for their morning jolt. They search out hand-roasted coffee beans, specialty blends, and fresh, local ingredients and won’t settle for anything less. Wortley doesn’t just offer one cafe to its residents, but three incredible options. Sidetrack A Wortley Cafe is tucked away in a quiet nook of the village and offers vegan and gluten-free snacks as well as incredible, premium coffee beans, and local ingredients. Black Walnut Bakery Cafe hand roasts their beans and makes fresh-baked pastries every day from scratch. Little Bird Cafe is one of the infamous Wolfe Brother’s incredible London establishments.

While we’re talking about Foodie-worthy restaurants, Downtown London has seriously elevated its food scene within the last few years. We’re talking about tasting menus, locally sourced and sustainable ingredients, everything made in house from sauces and dressings to pastas and breads, elevated and inspired dishes that are off-the-beaten-path, and ever-changing menus that take what is in season and fresh into consideration week after week. We’re seeing restaurants serving wine that you can’t find in the LCBO, local craft beers, and imaginative cocktails that are handcrafted with care. Downtown London is a short, 20-minute walk from Wortley Village, making this a place to live if you love the idea of dining being not just a meal, but an experience.

Of course going out to eat is just one piece of the food-lovers’ puzzle. You can’t eat out for every meal, so when it comes to cooking at home, you want to be able to have just as delicious experiences. Wortley Village has a grocery store that you can walk to where you can buy fresh food and all of the kitchen staples, but Foodies will love the fact that they can also find some of those hard-to-find ingredients at Quarter Master Natural Foods. As one of the very first health food stores in London, Quarter Master Natural Foods has over 30 years of experience. This family-owned and operated store has plenty of gluten-free options and offers an incredible range of organic produce. They also have healthy vegetarian take out meals that are made, from scratch, each and every day.

Wortley is a food-lovers’ paradise. It has some of London’s best and highest rated restaurants tucked along the charming streets of this neighbourhood. You won’t find a chain restaurant in this neighbourhood. Plus, it’s just a short walk from the downtown core, which is bursting with incredible dining experiences of all varieties. It hosts boutique shops that have those hard-to-find ingredients that home chefs love. For a Foodie, your food isn’t just something to eat. It’s an experience full of presentation, flavour, and imagination. It’s a balance and a science and an art all at once.

If you love food and want to live in a place where that love can flourish, then check out Wortley Village: it’s the neighbourhood for food lovers.