I ate In The UK s Weirdest City

I'm eating in every city in the UK to find the best food that this country has to offer. Oh wow, they're addictive then. This is city number 23 and today I'm in Milton Keynes. From a little hut in the middle of nowhere serving some of the best breakfast baps I've ever had to an authentic Spanish restaurant serving world-class tapas and finishing with an Asian hidden gem tucked away in a supermarket in the middle of an industrial estate. I'll be talking to the owners and the chefs about food and life here as well as eating like a king. If you're new to the channel, I'm Jono. I blew up on social media in lockdown, quit my job and now I travel the world full-time telling stories about food and the people who make it. Just me, my camera and you. So if you fancy joining me on this journey, hit the subscribe button below. Forget everything you've ever heard about Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes didn't even exist until 1967 making it the newest city in the UK. The government started from scratch due to overcrowding in London. They stuck it slap bang between the capital and Birmingham. It's made up of boulevards, shopping centres, industrial estates and roundabouts. Lots and lots of roundabouts. It's also got an abundance of green space as well as some very well-hidden food gems that I will be uncovering during this video. The first of those is a 10-minute drive just outside Milton Keynes in the gorgeous Buckinghamshire countryside. The term hidden gem gets thrown around all too easily these days. I actually saw an influencer on TikTok call Hickory's Smokehouse, the UK's biggest barbecue chain owned by Green King, a hidden gem earlier on. But Rowley's Cafe is actually deserving of the accolade. Serving high-end meat at affordable prices, the passion for pork and produce that this husband and wife have is palpable. So we started off in a three-by-three gazebo in first lockdown, doing coffee, sausage rolls and a brickle black bacon roll, which is smoked black bacon which is finished in molasses, treacle and honey. And it took off just down to product. It's beyond what we thought it was an appendage. Yeah, we only thought we were going to do it for a year just to cover us for Covid and then we were going to go back to what we originally did. But yeah, this just took off much, much better than we thought. We didn't imagine for one second. It's great. It's a nice problem to have, isn't it? And it's just gone from strength to strength. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. You're probably doing 200 people a day. Yeah, it's done all right so far, hasn't it? That meant supper. That's great. We've got the simplest menu in the world. There's only 11 items on there. We get the best quality of any meat product you can get and they pass that on to the customer so you're not scrimping on anything. So it's what they want to be eating at home. It's family treats. Everything's fresh cut to order. What makes it so good? It's the preparation. The quality of the produce. It's everything all around. It's not a case of just fresh in from the abattoir that morning. We hang it all for nine days minimum. Our pork side of things. Nice hard skin on it for any of the specials that we do. So we mainly use black bacon or chump bacon, which is off the top of the leg. So this is the brickle, black, smoked. You've obviously got all the black, the honey molasses on the outside. You can see the smoking all the way through. That's where you get your flavour from. Just look at that treacle cured bacon. Holy cow. That is the bacon and brie. Another one of their specialities. And then you've got your cooked sausage meat, which is the exact same length as your roll. Caramelization both sides, flavour both sides. Every bite's exactly the same. Yep. The perfectly sized sausage slabs for the baguettes might be the best invention I've ever seen. We're living in 2026 while this man is living in 3026. Christ, okay. Oh my god. It's caramelized onion jam on the bottom as well. That bacon is outrageous. It's crispy. It's salty. It's a little bit sweet. I want nothing but love for this place. Right, now we've got a burger. It's a bacon burger with lettuce, pickles, tomato, bacon, cheese and that beef patty, the 28-day dry-aged beef. So here we go. Thick, juicy burger. It tastes like when you go to the butcher's and get yourself a treat. It's so good. Quite famous as well for our sliders, haven't we? Yeah, the three sliders in front of you. We've spent loads of marketing, as you can see. We've got a one, two and three slider. The number two slider, which is our most popular, and that is a wooden pork patty, smoked brickle black bacon, hash brown, cheese, free-range egg on a toasted bun. God, I'm excited about this. As a breakfast enthusiast, I have to say this is looking absolutely spectacular. So all I can do really is just bite into it and see what happens. Wow. Every bit of that is singing from the same hymn sheet. You've got your sausage, your black pudding, your incredible bacon, your cheese, your hash brown and your egg with the sauce and the bun. The bag is so light as well and it's not too ridiculous. It's not too massive. Fits in your mouth and the produce on display. It's so good to hear these success stories within hospitality because at the moment there's so many who are struggling so much. Yeah, it's awful. It's almost like they're deliberately trying to destroy the hospitality. They're trying to destroy people enjoying themselves, having that release, isn't it? This is why we try to do everything the opposite of what everyone says to you. You need to have high footfall. You need to be tied into a lease. You need this. We're in the middle of nowhere. It took me about five, six months. I wouldn't do it. And the only way we can make sure that we differentiate ourselves is the quality of the food that we're cooking. Yeah. You have to become a destination, not a venue. Milton Keynes is over there. But I've had my eye on this place for a very long time. So when I realized it was only 10 minutes outside, I thought, you know what? I'll incorporate that into the Milton Keynes video because that's fine, you know? Technically, it's not in Milton Keynes. But when they're doing breakfast this good, I feel like on a technicality, we can sort of swerve around the rules of this series for once. Everything is recycled. So we're ticking the box as a recycled container. Shipping pallets in front of you where all the menus are. All the cable drums, they came from Edmondson Electrical during lockdown because those became a selling point for pubs. Right. So the hardwood ones, people were doing them up, sanding them down, selling them for £180 or £200 each. Yeah. They cost us nine sausage rolls. But it was all little things like that that people were helping us out to do it. All the tables, that's a piece of oak there. It's 12-foot, 240-year-old oak from down at the bottom of the farm by the river that got hit by lightning. There's a tree surgeon right over there where the green container is. Right. We became their showroom. So they do all the slabs, all the different woodcuts, everything like that. Everyone just helps all businesses out. I love what it said about the community all coming together and helping. All look after each other, all these local businesses sort of supporting and lifting each other up. The table I'm sat on was apparently a tree from over there that was struck by lightning. Sustainability, that's what that is. Cash for me is you started something that we both wanted to be involved with, working together, something that we love doing. And it's not about earning huge money or anything. We just enjoy doing the work and providing good food. It's simple. We get to spend quality time together, don't we, Pend? There was obviously, he does all the cooking. Yeah. My background is I was always in sales. Yeah. I'm good with customers. So it's just like what we do together, it just works. We'll remember every single customer's names after one, two trips up here and that familiarity, people like that. Yeah, absolutely. These guys deserve all the success they're getting. What a wonderful couple serving proper English breakfasts with wildly good meats. And that isn't the only diamond that Milton Keynes is hiding. So I'm trying to find the city centre and all I'm seeing is roundabouts. I'm heading in to Milton Keynes, like where the text Milton Keynes is on Google maps because that's pretty much the town centre wherever you normally go. So we're heading there, here's another roundabout. And there's another roundabout coming up as well. So it's a weird city and it's laid out. It looks like it's laid out a bit like an American city in blocks from what I've seen. So that's interesting. MK is surrounded and made up of five towns. One of them is Wolverton and that is where this next spot is. A Spanish tapas bar called Ole. So this place is in a weird, like old, disused, I don't know what it is. This sort of half warehouse, half not a warehouse, half flats. While the middle of Milton Keynes is filled with chains and shopping centres, just a couple of minutes away is this little slice of Spain. The only authentic tapas spot in the city and I was about to order the vast majority of the menu. I grew up here for almost six years. Six years? Six years now. Yeah, I'm Spanish as well. Right. So I was like, I actually wanted to come and just try the restaurant, come for dinner. And I saw that they were hiring. So I was like, all right. It was COVID, I didn't have a job. I was like, yeah, let's go for it. Why not? What's your favourite thing on the menu? Definitely that. That's amazing. The pork belly bites. What do we have? Okay, so we've got pork croquettes. This is one of the most popular Spanish dishes. Yeah. We got the seared scallops with crispy kale, celeriac puree, patatas bravas, which is obviously a must in Spain. Of course. This is our pork belly bites with pork scratchings, Pedro Ximena production and a sweet potato puree. Our marinated white anchovies. Yep. This is the pulpo, the octopus. Amazing, juicy. Gambas, the garlic prawns cooked in white wine and the pork fresa with panadera potatoes. Stunning. Thank you so, so much. Right, here we go. For a start with one of these pork belly bites. That was her favourite, so have to go with what the staff suggest. That pork belly is unbelievable, isn't it? It was so good. Yeah, you can see why this is popular because it is absolutely delicious. Incredibly succulent, savoury goodness with the crackling on the top. We make everything from scratch here. You won't find that in many other places as well anymore. It is the demand on the chefs as well to be able to actually do everything like that. These are going to be your boquerones and patatas bravas. Beautiful. What's in the croquettes then? So it's a bechamel based filling. So what we use is usually the offcuts of the pancetta. Yeah. The croquettes. Oh yeah. Pure Spanish comfort food. That's delicious. The patatas bravas. You know if you've seen this channel before how much I love these. So good. The bravas sauce, sweet, tangy with the garlic as well. Giving that satisfying flavour. And tributes. Delicious. Oh wow, they're addictive then. They're not as ah, anchovies that we have in little tins that we put on pizzas and that we have in the supermarkets are so salty. Whereas these ones, they're in that lovely olive oil vinaigrette. Almost a pickley sort of flavour. What do you love most about working in a place like this do you think? Definitely eating croquettes every day. No, as Chris said, the team is amazing. I haven't found people like this in any other places. And the food definitely makes it even better. Of course, of course. It's an incredibly special place. The vibe I'm getting from the staff. The friendliness. Their cooperation. Their willingness to let me film. When I go into places without actually telling them first, sometimes people are like, the hell does this guy want? What is this guy doing? Setting up his camera just chatting to himself in the corner. Weirdo. These guys, no. And I'm very grateful for that. Scallop time. That's a stunning scallop. So soft. Melts in the mouth. Like a beautiful garlicky seafood buttery treat. Juices dripping off that. Was this one the pork one? That's the pork pressac. Pork pressac. Wow. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you cook pork. It's remarkable tender. This is my favorite so far, I think. It is beautiful. Serious. So the owners are both Spanish as well, right? Yes. They work in the old restaurant that I mentioned before in Puego in Bedford. Yeah. It is really, really good as well. It's been only open for a year. So they have to go there a bit more. This place sort of looks after itself a little bit. Right, what have we got here? The octopus. I never used to be an octopus fan until the last time I went to Ibiza. And I smashed a load of it. Al peta. And I loved it. It's safe to say I'm an octopus convert. It's just this week, well, especially after Christmas, we haven't been really very busy. Except for Valentine's Day, obviously. Of course, of course. Hopefully we get busier. Yeah, I'm sure it will. I'm sure it will. It's been hard. This year has been tough. Yeah, I think it's tough for everyone. It's going to get better. Yeah, of course. I am the only person in the restaurant. So if you're in Milton Keynes or you're in the area, in fact, wherever you are in the world, try and do your best to come and see the guys at 08 because they deserve your custom. Oh man, that black pudding is crazy. So peppery, but also it's got a nice little bit of spice to it. It's so much softer than like a British English black pudding. The ones that you get these little discs, the pucks that you put on your breakfast, sometimes quite hard, but not this. It's hard to explain, but it's just all, it's compact and beautifully, beautifully cooked. I think we have really, really good customers. Really nice customers. Yeah. I've worked here for six years and in these six years, I've seen how people are into tapas or Spanish cuisine a bit more than before, you know, before they wouldn't understand the concept like of sharing and you know what I mean? Yeah. Everyone was like, no, these are my potatoes. This is my chicken. I think it's changed a little and we are the only Spanish place in Milton Keynes as well. It is, it is a nice and quiet city. Really nice for families as well. There's a lot of parks, green space. Greenery, isn't it? Yeah. That's really nice. Not for young people though. Not a lot to do. They have to go to like London. As far as tapas goes, if I found a place like this, of this standard on the mainland in Spain, I'd be absolutely buzzing. So the fact that I found it in Milton Keynes with no one else in the restaurant at lunchtime, you can imagine my shock. Get here immediately. If you're near the area, I want to see this place filled out. Do your thing. Get to Olé. It is tough in hospitality at the moment. Even brilliant restaurants like this are feeling the pressure from increasing costs and business rates compounded by the decrease in disposable income for many people. It's a constant battle and I truly hope that these guys stay the course because they're doing something very special here. If you miss the flavors of your favorite Spanish holiday, Olé will take you right back. I think Milton Keynes has to go down as one of the strangest cities that I've been to Well, it is a city but it's new. And I'm going to show you why Milton Keynes is a little bit different than normal cities. Come with me and I'll show you around the city. So normally, I'd use this little bit of time that I've got between places to show you the city but you can't really go around the city because it's not really there. There's like a shopping bit which is just loads and loads of like buildings in blocks. It's pretty good for shopping. I've got to tell you, the shops that I saw, all of the shops that you want. And then there's these massive, which is right in the center of Milton Keynes. This huge, enormous green space unlike any city that I've been to on the channel before. Yeah, there's parks in the center of town and squares and that but like this is vast and it feels like the countryside. The view over there is absolutely gorgeous and it seems like the whole city's... They've got boulevards here. Like that is such an American thing. I nearly drove on the wrong side of the road down one of the dual carriageways. I didn't realize it was a dual carriageway. Confusing city, unique city and I'm still hungry. Now it's time for the last spot which is undoubtedly one of the weirdest and unexpected places I've ever visited on this channel. And just to add a bit of jeopardy to the video, I got a puncture in my tyre just before I filmed this. So I had to call someone out to replace it. So boss man's come to fix my tyre while they cook up all my food in there. 20-25 minutes. Do you want to just cover? I'm literally by the door. You call me. Yeah. Cheers mate. Thank you. Oh, there's always something in there. Me and You is an Asian food hall tucked away right at the back of an industrial estate attached to a supermarket. It's not the kind of place you just stumble upon. It's very much an if you know, you know gaff. My favourite kind to showcase on this channel. It's run by another couple whose love for food and what they do is contagious. My name is Robert Foo. And I'm Sue Foo. Rob says... Rob's live viewers. We've had the shop for a long time. We always have a lady who would cook staff meals at lunchtime. Customers would come in and smell and go, Oh, can we eat? Smells delicious. And we just thought, well, we couldn't sell to the public. And we thought, well, we might as well. Why don't we just open a little cafe? And so we started off with just one room. So we had one chef, one lady at the front and four tables. And that's how it started. It was a slow burn. People used to come here and then grab a bite to eat and then go, as it were. But now it's the other way around. People come here to eat and then do a bit of shopping. Yeah, what we've done is we've taken a little bit of the most popular meals from around Asia. So we have Japanese, we have Chinese, we have Malaysian, Thai, Korean. We'll do our interpretation of those dishes. I don't think there's an Asian dish from any cuisine that isn't on this menu. The choice is beyond overwhelming. But whatever your favourite meal is, they're probably going to have it. Oh, what a stress. Today's been stressful. And I can't lie about that. I can't pretend. I didn't think I was going to be able to drive home because I had a puncture. That's all sorted out. 350 quid lighter. All this was 50 quid. Spoke to the owners. Wonderful people. Had a quick peek in the kitchen. And now it's time. Finally, taste. It smells absolutely ridiculous. And the thing is, while I've been doing all this other stuff, all I've wanted to do is eat food. All I've wanted to do is eat the food because it just smells absolutely outrageous. This is the Korean. That Korean chicken. Spicy, sweet, sour, tangy. It's got those sweet and sour vibes. When it's got this bite, this kick, this depth to it. A rich heat. It hits every single note that you want a dip like this to hit. Crispy batter. Beautifully soft chicken. That is good good. Right. Not just good. It's good good. Crispy chili beef. My go-to order when I'm at home. Oh, this has got some real heat to it as well. Sometimes you get it and it's more sweet than spicy. This packs the punch that I want. Look at that. Considering how much is on the menu, they're excelling at everything that they put in front of me here. I'm not sure if that's because I've got the best ones. But I've got a feeling that they're this consistent across the board. Beautiful chicken and vegetable gyoza. Beautiful crispy on the bottom. And then this bit, so soft where it's been steamed in the pan. Always have gyoza. Store-bought in your freezer. And you can just lash it in soups. You can lash it in your noodles, in your instant noodles. And it just elevates it immediately. Now this is her recommendation. This is her favorite. The chili beef ramen. Wow. That broth could cure any ailment. This warms you up. My beef. Look at it. It's steak. It's a steak. It's so good. Yeah, this is my favorite thing so far. If you've not already downloaded my app, please do. It's completely free. It's got all of my recommendations. All these hidden gems that I go to. Every single place I've been. On YouTube, on Instagram, on TikTok, on Facebook. All of them are in there. Logged in. You can go on there. Bring up the map. Find out where you are. Show you everything that's in your radius. And you won't be let down. You won't ever have to have a disappointing meal out again. The link for the free download is in the description. So Milton Keynes is a... I find it really alive. I think a lot of cities, a lot of towns are quite sleepy. And I think Milton Keynes is just a really new... It's a newish town heat. It's just buzzing. It's a great place to be. Yeah, there's a lot of young families here. A lot of young people here. I think since the pandemic, really, a lot of new... You know, probably had a few hundred thousand people move in. So it's really grown. Really grown. Really grown here so far. Yeah. Who knew, but tucked away in the corner, at the very back of an industrial estate, you could find something like this. It's a miracle, by the way, that I've not spilled any of this on myself. Must be a first. Oh, the taste sensation. There's a party in my mouth. Everyone's invited. Beautifully fragrant, spicy vermicelli. Plenty of egg running through it. Prawns, beef, pork, chicken. First time I ever had a Singapore vermicelli. It was a place in East London. In short, it's called Noodle King. Unfortunately, it no longer exists. If you remember Noodle King, please do get at me in the comments so we can reminisce together about what a wonderful place it was. They stopped serving here at half four on Wednesday and there's some disappointed people coming in, expecting a feed. And unfortunately, we're not being able to get it. I got it. Against all the odds, I got it. Yeah, coming in here on a Friday night and Saturday night when it's busy and seeing everyone enjoy the food. We love it, yeah. Yeah, we've made friends, really, from our customers. So we've been to weddings. At the beginning, when it was small, I would hold the baby while the mum was able to eat. And now those children have grown up and are 15 years old. So yeah, it's lovely. Yeah, we've really enjoyed that part of it. Yeah. You know what? A few months ago, I was in a bit of a bad place with my mental health. Because even though I got sober, it doesn't stop there being things fucked up in my head. And I think with all of the little, they are small, things that I've had to go through today, like the puncture, those little tiny micro stresses, I'll make it fair, have happened a few months ago or a year ago. I'd have got myself in a right tizzy and I'd have just gone home. But I feel so good at the moment. And a lot of that is down to how well this channel is doing at the moment. I'm just so happy that this is my life. I'm not going to stop until I've got the best YouTube channel on earth. Not the biggest, not the biggest. I'm not after millions and millions of votes. I just want the best, the best content, the best community. If you want to join me on that journey, please do hit the subscribe button. Milton Keynes isn't the kind of place you go on holiday to, but being the home of several big music and sports venues, you might just find yourself here. And when you do, I hope that this video serves you well as a culinary guide to the place. I'm on a mission to eat in every single city in the UK, and I've got a playlist full of videos just like this one with everywhere I've been so far. It would mean the world if you could like this video because it really helps me with the YouTube algorithm. And if you enjoyed it, let me know in the comments. Subscribe for the journey, and I will see you same time next week.