Good places to eat in London

I'll be in London a few days for the week of the 15th and wanted to know of some reasonably good places to eat that aren't going to cost ludicrous amounts of money. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner, it doesn't really matter, even just a nice pastry shop or something. Basically I want to eat some tasty British food that I would likely not have had in Canada before. I'm sure Watmm has the answers!

no such thing as tasty british food.

McDonald

Fuck the 'British' thing, go get a katsu curry at Wagamama.

greggs the bakers

pub grub... but never at a chain (weatherspoons, o'neills etc) or anywhere around central. also; chippys.

The Covent Garden Grill is really nice for steaks and the like. Probably about £35 a head if you have a couple of cocktails.

Yeah I don't know. People warned me over and over that the food in England was bland, boiled, greasy, nasty, whatever.

I've been there a few times now and I never really had an overwhelmingly bad experience. And for the most part, it seems like you end up eating food that isn't "British".. just like in the States where we have loads of mexican/thai etc.. I ended up eating Indian food, Brazilian food. an english breakfast can be great.

That said.... Canada has some of the shittiest food on earth. I think everybody confused England for Canada when they talked about boiled bullshit. I had curry once in Toronto that made me want to upchuck. Ever eat a steak in Canada? Don't. It is shit.

p.s

glad to hear Canada beat US in Hockey. Was sick of all the facebook USA pride posts.

I've heard a lot of interesting stories about the food in London....yeah.

Time to bust out the lunch box , my son

If you want 'English' food, they maybe try going down the east end and having pie and mash?

In the countryside there's loads of little gastro pubs that are great, but I've never seen a good one in London.

  On 3/1/2010 at 12:11 AM, BCM said:

The Covent Garden Grill is really nice for steaks and the like. Probably about £35 a head if you have a couple of cocktails.

'not too costly' '35 pound a head'

i appreciate im a lowly drug addled student, but i can cook myself decent meals for a week with that amount of money.

£35 a head for an extremely nice steak + sides + drinks coupled with excellent service and all in a very welcoming central london restaurant -that's pretty good really. would be closer to £20 a head if you didn't drink any booze.

also, wherabouts in london thehauntingsoul? I've got loads of good recommendations (I eat out in london a lot!) but they're mainly in south west london which might not be convenient...

  On 3/1/2010 at 10:47 AM, BCM said:

also, wherabouts in london thehauntingsoul? I've got loads of good recommendations (I eat out in london a lot!) but they're mainly in south west london which might not be convenient...

Hit me up with the places in South West London, I'm moving there in about 5 weeks. Good bye stanky ass North London haha.

Don't listen to BCM, he has the palette and sophistication of an oirish navvie.

Without wanting to get into arguments about authenticity, if it's cooked in Britain, it's British food. So go for a curry. Most famous curry house in London is in Whitechapel (not central, but not too far away from Brick Lane/Shoreditch), Tayyabs, and it's cheap too, but there are plenty of other good ones knocking about.

If you want to push the boat out a little try St. Johns in Smithfields (one in spitalfields too, but the original is best). Fergus Henderson, the chef behind it, is famous for being cook in residence for the YBAs, 'nose to tail eating' and for having Parkinsons amongst other things. This is where I take friends for 'British' food. It's Michelin starred, but about £35-£40 a head for 3 courses including a cheap bottle of wine, so not too bad. If you go, don't be afraid of the offal, and have a full selection of puddings, they will absolutely piss on anything you've had in Canada.

For 'cheap' and really good British food you'll be hard pressed. Maybe one of the markets (Borough) for pasties and pastries and the like. They tend to be a little bit of a tourist trap, so treat it as a trip out. Be warned, Borough when it is busy will be full of French and Americans competing to be the rudest. You'll be able to sample cheese and sweets too.

Check the Time out listings online. I'm pretty sure they do a 'best cheap eats in London' type thing.

I'll thank you not to cast aspertions on my palette or sophistication lady kakapo. I'll shall compile a comprehensive list of good SW London eateries once I'm home from work and not on a fiddly iPhone.

you guys heard of/been to khan's for indian food? i ate there early last decade and it was good, was wondering if it was still around or had any cred amongst the natives. i cant remember where in london it was.

  On 3/1/2010 at 6:49 PM, Fred McGriff said:

you guys heard of/been to khan's for indian food? i ate there early last decade and it was good, was wondering if it was still around or had any cred amongst the natives. i cant remember where in london it was.

There will be dozens of Indians called Khan's in London, I can't off the top of my head think of any with a particularly good reputation. There were a couple in Streatham that were decent, Khan's rings a vague bell, although I can't imagine anyone going to Streatham unless it was quite local.

i was shocked there were so many British people in london when I was there last time

http://www.just-eat.co.uk/ - find out the post code from the person you are staying with, though I'm sure they will show you *what to eat out.

edit: *where

edit:

  On 3/1/2010 at 7:35 PM, kakapo said:

  On 3/1/2010 at 6:49 PM, Fred McGriff said:

you guys heard of/been to khan's for indian food? i ate there early last decade and it was good, was wondering if it was still around or had any cred amongst the natives. i cant remember where in london it was.

 

There will be dozens of Indians called Khan's in London, I can't off the top of my head think of any with a particularly good reputation. There were a couple in Streatham that were decent, Khan's rings a vague bell, although I can't imagine anyone going to Streatham unless it was quite local.

i just did a google - the one i'm thinking of is on westbourne grove in bayswater

i just had indian food this weekend - a vegan buffet at a hare krishna temple in the arizona desert (via the aleph in my basement). better than i expected when i first arrived. was my first dining experience at a non-profit restaurant.

  On 3/1/2010 at 8:14 PM, placidburp said:

http://www.just-eat.co.uk/ - find out the post code from the person you are staying with, though I'm sure they will show you *what to eat out.

 

edit: *where

 

edit:

I see what you did there

lol, couldn't resist...

shame you aren't coming to MAnchester for a bit, the best Italian and Indian restaurants I have ever been to are there! om nom nom

Just have some toad in the hole and fried spam on toast...or whatever..

just-eat.co.uk?! Great if you want a greasy takeaway, surely not much good otherwise? Perhaps there's more interesting options on it for London...

  On 3/1/2010 at 8:49 PM, Solo Strike said:

just-eat.co.uk?! Great if you want a greasy takeaway,

Er...yeah! Cheap, good tasting junk food delivered straight to your door!