Welcome to our Hole in the Wall series, where we show some love to London’s best affordable eats off the beaten track. No fuss. No glamour. Just the good stuff.
In nearly thirty degree heat, after an odyssey of public transport and three changes later, I was heaving myself up the stairs of Stoke Newington Overground Station with a damp patch of sweat seeping through my t-shirt. I must have looked somewhat bewildered and out of shape (like one of Plato’s allegorical cave dwellers seeing light for the first time). A station attendant asked me if I was okay. I grunted and pointed towards my oasis.
About 20 meters from the overground entrance is Roti Stop; the family-run takeaway joint occupies a corner unit off the A10, perfectly situated to revive the weary Stamford Hill commuter. The interior is furnished with an array of global currencies leftover from past customers and faded 35mm prints of friends and family. It’s all very cozy.
“Call me the Roti King.” That’s what owner Bernard Jackson told me when I stepped inside. He’s run the business from its current location since 2007.
The stop is best known for its traditional Trinidadian wraps: roti, which take their name from the Indian unleavened bread that arrived in the early nineteenth century through British colonisation and became a staple of the island’s cuisine.
Encased in each wrap is a fragrant mixture of curried chickpeas and your choice of lamb, chicken, or salt fish. I decided on the chicken roti for the fair price of £7. The meat was impossibly tender and the bread more so; with each bite it tears away like silk.
Getting Roti Stop to where it is now – a local institution – took some time. Jackson arrived in the UK in 1988 and began selling Trinidadian food from a van in 1991, building a reputation vending outside of carnivals and clubs.
“The idea was really to bring truthful Caribbean food to customers,” Jackson said. “There just wasn’t enough representation from Trinidad.” Armed with his formidable roti, that started to change. The “demand grew more and more” for the signature wraps to the point where a brick-and-mortar shop became realistic.
In the last few years Jackson has also earned plaudits from Eater and a mention in Belly Full, an atlas of the best British Carribean food in the UK. While we spoke, a steady stream of customers came and went. Most ordered quickly and were on a first name basis. Clearly they came often.
It was time for me to leave and find a cool place to finish the rest of my roti, so I opened Google Maps and, lo and behold, there was Abney Park across the street. When I entered I realised that as well as being shaded by old-growth trees, Abney Park is also a colossal cemetery left over from the 19th century – not that that should deter you from munching your takeaway there. I did find an empty bench next to the “Family Vault of Henry Spicer.” With curried chicken this good, my only concern was the aroma might coax someone from their tomb.
Roti Stop is based at 36B Stamford Hill, London N16 6XZ. It is open Monday-Saturday from 11am to 9pm. It is a one minute walk from Stoke Newington Overground Station.