Weekend with Daniyal Khan: ‘Most of my enjoyment is centred around dinner’
The sports presenter on spending hours in restaurants, long walks with his family and his favourite place to watch football
Daniyal Khan, 33, is a sports presenter and broadcaster. He has appeared on Sky Sports’ Saturday Social programme, and worked as a presenter for Arsenal’s YouTube channel AFTV. Khan is also the host of Gameday Gourmet, an online series that showcases the best places to eat near popular football stadiums. Khan spent six weeks in New York eating through 20 different cuisines during the 2026 World Cup. During his time there, he presented the World Cup Extra Time show for ITV.
Khan lives in London with his wife and daughter.
What does your ideal Friday evening look like?
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Most of my enjoyment is centred around dinner. I couldn’t tell you anything else I would rather do than go for a nice dinner and spend the entirety of my night in that restaurant, ordering everything.
Favourite restaurants?
One is Ling Ling’s. The chef, Jenny Phung, hops around pubs that have really nice kitchens between east and north London, serving up spicy, tingly takes on Chinese food. Her cauliflower dish with the pickled radish and lime leaves is incredible, and her chicken wings are from a different planet.
Another is Firangi, a supper club run by two sisters of Indian origin. They do food from all around the world, but all of their dishes are laced with that South Asian flavour.
Also Tollingtons Fish Bar in north London, which serves perfectly made seafood and amazing chips. You’ll feel like you are in Spain.
What’s your ideal date night?
We would happily have a three-hour dinner. There’s a saying: “It’s not dinner and a show, dinner is the show.” I’m never going to a dinner with the intention of going somewhere else afterwards. If I went to the cinema on a date, I would fall asleep. Don’t put me in a comfortable chair in a dark room, because I will fall asleep.
So how are you in all these trendy, dimly-lit restaurants?
I did go to a restaurant in Shoreditch the other day that was way too dark for my liking, and honestly I was knackered. Why am I holding a candle to the menu? We are not in medieval times, this is not Robin Hood, we don’t need to be doing that.
What do you get up to on Saturday?
We go to a park called Virginia Water in Surrey. It’s a beautiful place. We get there between 8:30-9:30am. If you go anytime after 11am it’s the middle class white Olympics.
About a mile and half in, you get to this really lovely coffee shop. If we are feeling adventurous we go a bit further and go to the deer park, where you can get a view of Windsor Castle.
How do you like to wrap up the weekend?
There is no better feeling than Arsenal winning a game. If I’ve had amazing food, a lovely walk in nature, and Arsenal have won, it’s euphoric.
Where is your favourite place to watch football?
If I can’t make it to the live match, I do like watching it at home. But if not, there’s a pub called The George, five minutes from the Emirates. You can hear the stadium when goals are being scored.
You spent six weeks in New York over the summer during the World Cup. What were your favourite eats?
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We went up to Harlem in an area called Little Senegal to a place called Le Baobab. We had their national dish, thieboudienne. It was a giant piece of grilled fish, some amazing jollof rice, a spicy sauce and steamed veg.
A unique experience was Egyptian food. I had no idea what kushari was — pasta, broken rice, lentils, spaghetti and spices all mixed together. I think someone was high in Egypt when they made this. It is so chaotic.
Lastly, a Pakistani place called Lahori Chilli in an area called Little Pakistan, where we had pakoray and chai. When you walk in, you wouldn’t think you were anywhere in the western world. They’ve got the same fans, the same harsh lighting. It was incredible.
But Pakistan wasn’t playing in the World Cup?
Pakistan wasn’t playing, but I’d like to make it very clear that Pakistan always has been and always will be an integral part of the World Cup because that’s where all the footballs get manufactured.
