"Before it became home to hand-pulled noodles and Xinjiang grilled skewers, 305 Walworth Road was Kennedy’s sausage shop—an iconic London butcher. Now, this Grade II-listed beauty mixes old trinkets with the red glow of Lao Dao’s neon sign, and its Sichuan-spiced dan pan ji, big plate chicken. It makes for an alluring combination. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch After a hard day’s work, this is where we imagine a south London private investigator would decompress. Soft jazz plays from Lao Dao’s liquor-stacked bar, a red glow pulses off of the art deco fittings, and a series of noodles and grilled meats are contently slurped and gnawed. This place is mostly filled with groups medium and big, assessing the vast menu and picking at mushrooms and vegetables in a hot and sour-style sauce, before moving onto something bigger. Everyone is catching-up (rather than tearing it up), and there’s a slower pace you naturally adjust to as soon as you step through these old doors. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Although the menu is big, it’s easy to hone in on a few things. Look to your right and you might see a few housemates sharing hand-pulled noodles and a big tray of crusty lamb ribs. That’s definitely a good idea. Lao’s Dao’s grilled lamb is tender, caramelised, and something we’d happily get our hands dirty for every week. Alternatively, focus on saucier noodles. Things like dan pan ji or tomato and egg noodles alternate the flavours of tomato, ginger, chilli, and vinegar. Flavours and heat are ramped up and down here, but one thing is consistent. And that’s how easy-going everything feels. Food Rundown photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Lamb Skewers A little charred, a whole lot cumin-y, and totally devourable. You need a plate of these classic lamb skewers on your table. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Fried Beef Dumplings These fried dumplings have a crispy skirt and yes, that is the technical term for it. Crack away at these guys and enjoy the beefy filling. It's a simple crowd-pleaser. photo credit: Jake Missing Da Pan Ji This big plate chicken very much lives up to its descriptor. It's the size of a baby's bathtub and filled with a pool of potatoes, whole cloves of garlic, peppers, stewed chicken, and a few miles of hand-pulled belt noodles. The sauce leans more tomato than Sichuan spice and, depending on our mood, that's sometimes more satisfying." - Jake Missing
