Sir Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses (2025)
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Slow Horses is back for its 5th season, and Gary Oldman is back playing the gristly, flatulent MI5 agent: Jackson Lamb.
Oldman has become known for his commitment to the role, not even relying on a fat suit to fill out his costumes and instead eating a diet to mirror his character.
Lamb may not appear to be patriotic, but his stomach tells a different story. His diet consists of English classics, from greasy spoons to Jaffa cakes, adopting a preference for convenience rather than flavour.
Slow Horses’ popularity is not just because of the quality of the content, but the ‘close to homeness’ of it all. The gritty, comic nature of the show is quintessentially British, celebrating London in all its glory. Set against brutalist architecture of the Barbican, you can retrace the characters steps, with major locations filmed across London instead of on sound stages.
So, I decided to embark on a culinary journey, and eat like Jackson Lamb for a day. If I survived it, so can you…
Beppe’s Café, Farringdon
Breakfast: Full English @ Beppes Café Farringdon (S5, Ep.1)
Hungry (Slow) Horse rating: 5/5
I started off my calorie busting journey at Beppes Café in Farringdon. A local ‘greasy spoon’ breakfast spot featured in the first episode of Season 5.
The café is a stone’s throw from Slough House’s base on Aldgate Street where you can have ‘breakfast in bread’ or Lambs ‘full English’. Beppes’ had closed for their holiday… but fans fear not! They will be back on the 20th of October.
A full English breakfast is Britishness ‘full fat’. The platter encompassing, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, beans, tomatoes, hash browns and black pudding, I tried my best to embody Lamb’s signature messy eating. it would be a crime to not taste this porky delight.
Full English-Lamb style
Lunch: Lamb Doner wrap, with chilli sauce @ Naar Lebanese Takeaway, Old Street (Series 3, Ep.1)
Hungry Slow Horse Rating: 3/5
Jackson stops for a lamb kebab in Series 3 whilst being tailed by a ‘Dog’ (agent) and nonchalantly steals a large knife in the process. A doner Kebab at the end of a boozy night out is now a British tradition.
These grisly meat wrapped delights are easy to come across, especially in London; the most populated kebab city in the UK with 946 kebab shops located here. Naar Lebanese Takeaway on Old Street is Lamb’s go to doner spot, “two regular lamb doners, with chilli sauce, to cover the taste of the meat”.
Now, personally I struggle with kebabs without an alcoholic beverage. This lamb kebab wasn’t bad, but it would have been immediately excellent with Jacksons ‘double scotch’.
Naar Lebanese’s Slow Horses cameo
Snack: Mr Whippy with a Flake @ The Rose Garden Regents Park (Series 3, Ep.6).
Regents Park is not only a classic London landmark, but also significant in the author, Mick Herrons novels. Within the Slow Horses universe, the MI5 headquarters sit next to Regents Park.
So, follow Sir Gary’s footsteps in the Rose Garden from Series 3, and grab a soft serve at the nearby Ice Cream Shack. The sweet, tinged nostalgia of a Mr Whippy, colloquially known as a 99 with a Flake, because of its ninety-nine pence price, which has since increased 120% in London.
Ice Cream in the Rose Garden
Dinner: Noodles @ Stag City, Finchley Road (Series 2, Ep.1)
Hungry Slow Horse Rating: 3.5/5
For fans looking to try Lambs favourite Chinese takeaway, time for a little TV magic. The Chinese famously shown in Series 2 doesn’t actually exist! Instead, it is a façade, or “built in” set, using the exterior of Gate Grill Café on Aldgate Street, just below ‘Slough House’.
A Chinese takeaway is an inherent part of British cuisine with ‘Anglo-Cantonese’ food rated as the top takeaway in the country in a 2025 survey. Lamb opts for a mysterious ‘number 7’ order, with double noodles and house sauce.
I picked my local to sample a Jackson Lamb special. Slurpy and saucy, with much of it down my front I felt myself slowly morphing into Jackson Lamb.
The real life Slow Horses Chinese
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HeadlineGrease! Gristle! Gout!: The Official Jackson Lamb Diet
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StandfirstEat like Slough House's finest all across London
Slow Horses is back for its 5th season, and Gary Oldman is back playing the gristly, flatulent MI5 agent: Jackson Lamb.
Oldman has become known for his commitment to the role, not even relying on a fat suit to fill out his costumes and instead eating a diet to mirror his character.
Lamb may not appear to be patriotic, but his stomach tells a different story. His diet consists of English classics, from greasy spoons to Jaffa cakes, adopting a preference for convenience rather than flavour.
Slow Horses’ popularity is not just because of the quality of the content, but the ‘close to homeness’ of it all. The gritty, comic nature of the show is quintessentially British, celebrating London in all its glory. Set against brutalist architecture of the Barbican, you can retrace the characters steps, with major locations filmed across London instead of on sound stages.
So, I decided to embark on a culinary journey, and eat like Jackson Lamb for a day. If I survived it, so can you…
Beppe’s Café, Farringdon
Breakfast: Full English @ Beppes Café Farringdon (S5, Ep.1)
Hungry (Slow) Horse rating: 5/5
I started off my calorie busting journey at Beppes Café in Farringdon. A local ‘greasy spoon’ breakfast spot featured in the first episode of Season 5.
The café is a stone’s throw from Slough House’s base on Aldgate Street where you can have ‘breakfast in bread’ or Lambs ‘full English’. Beppes’ had closed for their holiday… but fans fear not! They will be back on the 20th of October.
A full English breakfast is Britishness ‘full fat’. The platter encompassing, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, beans, tomatoes, hash browns and black pudding, I tried my best to embody Lamb’s signature messy eating. it would be a crime to not taste this porky delight.
Full English-Lamb style
Lunch: Lamb Doner wrap, with chilli sauce @ Naar Lebanese Takeaway, Old Street (Series 3, Ep.1)
Hungry Slow Horse Rating: 3/5
Jackson stops for a lamb kebab in Series 3 whilst being tailed by a ‘Dog’ (agent) and nonchalantly steals a large knife in the process. A doner Kebab at the end of a boozy night out is now a British tradition.
These grisly meat wrapped delights are easy to come across, especially in London; the most populated kebab city in the UK with 946 kebab shops located here. Naar Lebanese Takeaway on Old Street is Lamb’s go to doner spot, “two regular lamb doners, with chilli sauce, to cover the taste of the meat”.
Now, personally I struggle with kebabs without an alcoholic beverage. This lamb kebab wasn’t bad, but it would have been immediately excellent with Jacksons ‘double scotch’.
Naar Lebanese’s Slow Horses cameo
Snack: Mr Whippy with a Flake @ The Rose Garden Regents Park (Series 3, Ep.6).
Regents Park is not only a classic London landmark, but also significant in the author, Mick Herrons novels. Within the Slow Horses universe, the MI5 headquarters sit next to Regents Park.
So, follow Sir Gary’s footsteps in the Rose Garden from Series 3, and grab a soft serve at the nearby Ice Cream Shack. The sweet, tinged nostalgia of a Mr Whippy, colloquially known as a 99 with a Flake, because of its ninety-nine pence price, which has since increased 120% in London.
Ice Cream in the Rose Garden
Dinner: Noodles @ Stag City, Finchley Road (Series 2, Ep.1)
Hungry Slow Horse Rating: 3.5/5
For fans looking to try Lambs favourite Chinese takeaway, time for a little TV magic. The Chinese famously shown in Series 2 doesn’t actually exist! Instead, it is a façade, or “built in” set, using the exterior of Gate Grill Café on Aldgate Street, just below ‘Slough House’.
A Chinese takeaway is an inherent part of British cuisine with ‘Anglo-Cantonese’ food rated as the top takeaway in the country in a 2025 survey. Lamb opts for a mysterious ‘number 7’ order, with double noodles and house sauce.
I picked my local to sample a Jackson Lamb special. Slurpy and saucy, with much of it down my front I felt myself slowly morphing into Jackson Lamb.
