Assenheims 56.

Assenheims 56

Assenheims has sold the same thing since 1989: chicken marinated then grilled until it chars, portioned by the 100 grams, and finished with a green sauce of coriander, spices and cold-pressed rapeseed oil that effectively gives the business its name (Time Out, 2015).

Why go

You pick the protein, then how much of it you want, then a base and a sauce, and the counter builds it while you wait (The Infatuation). Grilled marinated chicken runs GBP 10.95 for 100g up to GBP 13.40 for 300g, and the green sauce is a GBP 2.00 line item, which tells you where the house pride sits (venue menu). The rest of the board reads South American rather than generic: an Argentine choripan of two chorizo sausages in a torpedo roll with a carrot, cabbage and coriander salad, and Colombian pulled beef slow-cooked in guiso sauce, with the wider menu drawn from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay (Time Out, 2015; venue menu). The company now runs eight London counters, four of them in the City, and opened a Kingsway site most recently (venue Visit Us page, 2026).

Order this / avoid

• Order: the Assenheims Marinated Supreme with green sauce, GBP 9.50 for 100g of chicken or GBP 11.50 for 200g (venue menu). Jeff takes it with the green sauce and no cheese.
• Avoid: treating the branches as interchangeable. On the FSA register the Ludgate Hill counter sits at 3 from an 8 January 2026 inspection and Great Tower Street at 4 from 13 April 2026, while Wormwood Street holds a 5 from 9 February 2026. Same sandwich, better kitchen.

What locals & experts say

• The Infatuation, David Paw (2017): This excellently named South American joint is famous with locals for its grilled chicken in special sauce, and the honest coda, Although the food isn't pretty to look at, it's good. Filed Unrated.1
• Time Out London (2015): the chicken is grilled until slightly charred and served with tabasco or their homemade green sauce, the sauce made from coriander, spices and cold-pressed rapeseed oil. That listing covers the 24 Copthall Avenue shop, which no longer appears on the company's store list.2
• Local rec: Jeff's own order, carried in his list, is the Marinated Supreme with green sauce and no cheese. REAL.

Good to know

• Timing: breakfast and lunch only, and the counters wind down with the City working day. The venue publishes no per-branch hours, so check the specific shop.
• Booking: none. Walk in, order at the counter, takeout or eat in.
• Dietary: the venue's own menu carries a vegan line, including vegan chicken pieces in the same house marinade, jackfruit "vegan pulled pork," and vegan versions of the Supreme, the Cuban and the patacone at GBP 9.50. No allergen or gluten-free statement is published, so treat gluten as unaddressed.
• Hygiene: the register rates the group unevenly. Five sites hold 5s, Great Tower Street a 4, and Ludgate Hill a 3 as of 8 January 2026 (FSA).
• Which one: four City counters (Wormwood Street EC2M, Great Tower Street EC3R, Ludgate Hill EC4M, Queen Victoria Street EC4N), plus Holborn, Kingsway, London Bridge and Canary Wharf.

Jeff's take (his words)

• Order: "Try the Assenheims marinated supreme with green sauce; no cheese." REAL.

Verdict

could-visit — A City lunch counter that does one thing with real specificity: chicken marinated, grilled to a char, portioned by weight, and finished with a coriander and rapeseed-oil sauce that the whole business is named for. That is a genuine technique and a genuine reason to walk two blocks if you are already in EC2 or EC4. It is not a reason to cross London, the group now runs eight sites with hygiene ratings that vary from 5 down to 3, and no current critic or chef vouches for it.