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London: good eats?

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    Headed to London later this year, and as we are staying with family no need for hotel advice. However, any/all eating out suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance!

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    What area are you staying in, what kind of food do you like and what is your price range?

    in the mean time, here is a pretty reliable website:
    www.london-eating.co.uk

    Thanks from: dianepage
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    Well, I'll give you 3 recommendations in 3 different ranges:

    We loved the Boxwood Café, which is Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at The Berkeley in Knightsbridge. http://gordonramsay.com/boxwoodcafe/

    Unfortunately, I've heard that it's not quite as good as it once was. When we went 3 years ago, it was extraordinary, especially considering that it is really one of his low-end restaurants (it doesn't have a Michelin Star). I remember that it wasn't difficult to get a reservation at the time, which you can't really say for his upper-end restaurants. Dinner at Boxwood tends to run above £50 per person. So, while I highly recommend it, there are probably some other options that are more current.

    The Cow Dining Room, in Notting Hill, is truly excellent and often considered to be one of the best gastro pubs in London. Even if you can't make it for dinner in their quaint dining room — tucked away upstairs — the pub itself serves food all day which is quite good. The pub is more casual and very relaxed. I believe dinner there runs between £30-£40 per person — which is no doubt expensive even for upscale pub food. I'd say you definitely can't go wrong at The Cow, but you should reserve early because it's very popular.

    My final recommendation is Wagamama — only if you've never been. Otherwise, you know what it's all about. It's really just a Japanses fusion noodle bar that serves a wide array of soups and other dishes. It's a lot of fun for groups and the food is rather satisfying and good. The orders are taken on these little handheld PDAs and are beamed back to the kitchen. The food is very inexpensive and there are many locations around London.

    Thanks from: dianepage
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    A visit to London wouldn't be right without going to St. John Bread and Wine. £35 goes a long way here. It's excellent, and gotten a lot of great reviews recently. But it's not for the faint of heart. The menu changes all the time. I'm looking at their website today, and it looks like "Duck Hearts, Pickled Walnut & Watercress" were being served today:

    http://stjohnbreadandwine.com/menus/

    They also serve a real hearty breakfast if you're up to the challenge.

    Thanks from: dianepage
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    Thanks all - we're staying in Kensington, if that helps or there are local suggestions. And we tend to like bistro food while at home in NYC but are eager to explore all foodstuffs and regional cuisine while away.

    That said we're excited to try some of the ideas posted above and are grateful for more! Not leaving till end of year...sigh, vacation anticipation.

    As for price, we tend to splurge at least once while away, so any ideas from high to low are fine.

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    If you are staying in S.Ken, there are a lot of great restaurants near by. Our favorite Italian is a place called Lucio on Fulham Road. I would definitely go there.

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    For your splurge, I'd recommend Bibendum in the old Michelin building on Fulham Road http://www.bibendum.co.uk/

    Fine food, good atmosphere (not too stuffy) and interesting building. It never disappoints.

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    15 Jaime Oliver's restaurant was a great dining experience, and is also a good cause, teaching low income young people new skills to help them get real jobs. Also, Sketch gallery, albeit a bit expensive was worth going to for the decor alone; check out their website (sketchgallery)... lastly, the restaurant at Harvey Nichols is also tres chic as well as tasty.
    Oh, and for High Tea go to the Berkeley for their Teaporter service...

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    oi! I'm so dyslexic at times.. it's Pret-a-porTea @ the Berkeley...

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    My wife has been to tea at a few places in London (including The Berkely for the Pret tea. Her favorite though, is the tea at Brown's Hotel. FYI

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    Wagamama or Busaba for cheap, Asian lunches of an excellent quality; Nahm for Michelin-starred Thai food. Amazing; there's a Vietnamese in the backstreets of Dalston in Hackney which attracts A-list celebs and the Hackney cool crowd for amazingly priced, authentic dishes; Ramsay at Claridge's for the drama and spectacle; St John if you like innards and off-cuts; Alan Yau's Hakkasan for faultless contemporary Chinese food time after time; Leon for lunchtime snacks using seasonal, local, fresh produce......

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    Try one of the classics like Mirabelle in Mayfair. By the way it's often good to go for lunch at upscale places like this if you want a very good but relatively inexpensive meal and get the prix fixe.

    Good sites to check out:
    http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/
    http://www.london-eating.co.uk

    Useful for bookings:
    http://www.toptable.co.uk/

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    Along the lines of less expensive, Delfino's on Mount Street has great pizza- extremely thin crust. We go there at least once a week for lunch or dinner.

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    If you're after good bistro food, either try Galvin at 66 Baker Street (extreme value for money), Wild Honey or the newly opened Le Café Anglais, which is a large rôtisserie in Queensway which is supposed to have delicious grilled pheasants.

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    The Wolseley on Piccadilly is great for a bit of old-school glamour.
    For good British grub in contemporary surroundings, Canteen in Spitalfields Market and The Royal Festival Hall is worth a visit.
    Tom's Kitchen in the back streets of Chelsea is quite cosy and food is good.
    Oh god, just scratching the surface... so many good spots.
    Oh yeah, Bistroteque on a rather dodgy back street in Hackney is where all the East London trendies hang out. Good food and nice atmosphere.

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    For fabulous seafood, try Scott's in Mount Street (near the Connaught); St Alban's--the new Tim & Jeremy resto--in Lower Regent Street has very odd dining room but food is faultless and staff is very charming; J Sheekey, just off St. Martin's Lane, does wonderful lunch in the bar, mainly seafood. And of course, dinner at the Caprice still never disappoints.

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    We had a big weekend out recently and tried two top restaurants.

    Zuma on saturday night was great- great food, great atmosphere, great service. Probably my best dining experience in London so far.

    Sunday night- Locanda Locatelli- another top rated restaurant. Great service, non-traditional italian (not a red sauce kind of place!). Was great. great service, dishes I had never had before. Great experience.

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    I would also visit Mr Kai's at Mayfair, Cipriani at Mayfair too. Spoon @ Sandrson Hotel is excellent, but i thin that the restaurant changed its chef and is renamed..

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    Kettner's (www.kettners.com) in Romilly Street (Soho) opened just two weeks ago - designed by Ilse Crawford (designer of the Soho House group) it has been beautifully renovated with intimate nooks and crannies, some fantastic individual pieces of furniture and lovely welcoming, relaxing vibe. I only had breakfast but if that is anything to go by, the food is great!

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    Oh I just remembered - also just opened is York & Albany near Regent's Park (by Angela Hartnett - Gordon Ramsay's protegee). I had Sunday lunch there which was fantastic - three courses for £21 which at that standard of food is incredibly good value. Ask for a seat downstairs for a view of the kitchen action.

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    My wife and I have been to Cipriani and thought it was pretty good, but overpriced.

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    A number of times, years ago, we dined at Le Gavroche in London:

    http://www.le-gavroche.co.uk/main.swf

    We had some exceptional meals there, and a few of our British friends told us that it was the finest restaurant in the U.K., an opinion that was reiterated in a New York Times review. But, that was quite a long time ago.

    Does anybody know if it's still as good?

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    Can't help you with Le Gavroche, Don Pablo, as it was ages since I last went there, but I have an anniversary coming in July (not wedding) when we will return. I'll let you know!

    I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned my favourite, the River Cafe. In another place, I described it thus:-
    The River Cafe never fails. Superb atmosphere - the 'mise en scene' is perfect - wonderful lighting - making women look more beautiful, the freshest of fresh ingredients used in deceptively simple dishes, charming and attractive staff and - until recent illness - the constant presence of one of the founders to ensure its standards never drop. The tables are bit close together and the hubub almost engulfs the room in the late evening (it's never less than totally full), and if you are seated too close to the open fire it can be a bit warm....but these are quibbles. Take your fullest wallet, your prettiest friends and a taxi (because you won't find it if you try and drive there and you want more of that delicious Pinot Bianco and a grappa to finish off with).The River Cafe

    Thanks from: DonPablo
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    If any of you were thinking of dining at the three-star Michelin rated restaurant "The Fat Duck" in the U.K., you can forget about it. It's been closed, as a result of many of its customers becoming violently sick after eating there:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/world/europe/07fatduck.html?scp=1&sq=Fat%20Duck&st=cse

    Evidently, the outbreak of food poisoning has been so severe that it has set back Heston Blumenthal's concept of "molecular gastronomy" 100 years.

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    Rover, it's most unlikely that it was anything to do with the restaurant or the food. The most likely explanation is that it was a form of novovirus or Legionnaire's disease, both of which are most commonly found affecting large numbers of passengers on cruiseships.

    Thanks from: The Rover
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    You're probably right. In fact, the article that I provided a link to mentioned that it might not have anything to do with the food and that the diners might have come down with a "...highly contagious type of norovirus, or Norwalk-like virus, that has been cutting a swath through Britain." Consequently, even though The Fat Duck's customers ate in the restaurant and then became ill, there may be no connection between the establishment's food and their misfortune. Nevertheless, with The Fat Duck closed, molecular gastronomy's image has probably been tarnished, whether justified or not.

    Thanks from: Herry Lawford
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    Best advice for great value dining in London right now is to plan your day around a leisurely lunch. Lots of the city's finest restaurants have excellent fixed price lunch menus which offer far better value than in the evenings. I've recently enjoyed a £25 3 course set menu at Bibendum and similar at Gordon Ramsay at Claridges for £30. Both fantastic settings and atmosphere.

    Thanks from: Herry Lawford

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