nessundorma

PS walkinaround,

Outside of certain sections of California and the Gulf coast of the US, it is very hard to find good Vietnamese. It is not all that good in NYC, actually. Houston is much better. It doesn't surprise me London hasn't attracted a critical mass of Vietnamese immigrants (whereas Paris, of course, did.)

annhig

A couple of suggestions for eating well/cheaply -
the time out website is good for researching restaurants - ambiance, price, type
Go to the high end establishments for lunch - set lunches will be cheaper than dinners
Try China town - great food at great prices.
Oops - that's three.
Have a great time.

Girlspytravel

To answer your question, BTilke, no I have NOT been back there more than once-once was quite enough, thank you! I think if you read the various London websites, that more often than not, you'll see reviews that indicate the kitchen is mediocre at best.

However, as I also said, it is a place to see and be seen-if you stick to the desserts and pasta and drinks, you'll do just fine.

BTilke

Spygirl, going to a restaurant shortly after it opens and while it's still working the kinks out and having one meal doesn't really tell you much about the food or service you are likely to get years later. However, I took your suggestion and went to one of the most popular London restaurant review web sites to read customer reviews. Oddly, none of the most recent interviews seem to indicate the kitchen serves food that is "mediocre at best." The more recent reviews pretty much match our experience and the reviews found in the 2005 Zagats and Hardens.
Of course, it is always possible to have a disappointing meal even at supposedly good restaurants. By far the most overhyped, overpriced restaurant we've ever eaten at in Europe was the Cinnamon Club. Mediocre food and the waitstaff made gaffes worse than you'd expect from a server at Denny's on their first day of work.

However, the opinions are almost universal that the Wolseley serves one of, perhaps the, best breakfasts in town. So if someone wants to give it a try, go for breakfast. Then decide if you want to go back for lunch or dinner (if they can fit you in--they're nearly always full).

BTilke

http://www.london-eating.co.uk/3771.htm

Girlspytravel

BTilke -when we had dinner at the Wolseley, it had NOT just opened-it had been open for several months-but I would NOT recommend this restaurant for dinner-breakfast is, of course, a wholly different matter-but when a kitchen can cook a steak (which is not difficult at all) to the point where two people declare their steaks to be "inedible" (and these are big Irish-American men who will eat nearly anything put before them) then I take it that this is a kitchen that doesn't know squat about cooking.

If you want reviews-here's one-and it rates the Wolseley a 13 out of 20 that's not exactly stellar-and it also says, consistent with my review above, that its pastries are terrific (probably outside bakery).

http://www.gayot.com/restaurantpages...;code=+target=

Tulips

nessundorma; I live in Belgium, so get plenty of good food at home!
For dinner with teenagers the Wolseley sounds fine.

I can recommend Boxwood Cafe in the Berkeley Hotel, Knightsbridge. We've had some good dinners there, nice ambiance. It's a Gordon Ramsey restaurant, but not one of the top ones, so maybe a good compromise for tmemedia. And we had a very nice lunch at E&O in Notting Hill last time we were in London.

Girlspytravel

Tmemedia-there are plenty of good choices here, but I wouldn't bother with the Wolseley-unless you want to go just for desserts or breakfast.

caroline_edinburgh

willit: "£300 for two at Gordon Ramsay's ? I think I'll have two return tickets to Naples for the Pizza instead" Sadly it costs us more than that to get from Edinburgh to Naples (£509.05 this year, booked last December to travel in June).

nessundorma : we don't spend money on a big house either - just a small flat in a cheap (but fairly central) part of town. I guess *all* our money must go on food & drink - and hols of course (ideally all together) ! Sadly, hoppong on a train to Belgium isn't a cheap option for us either.

nessundorma

caroline,

I think the only solution is: Come to New York! Direct flights out of Glasgow and lots of good eats. Even the highest priced meal won't set you back 300gbp, and you can have a lot of fun with just 10.

hs26

Hi!

I highly recommend Marcus Wareing at the Savoy Grill. He is a protege of Gordon Ramsay's. This restaurant is top notch but less expensive than Gordon Ramsay's. If you go to Gordon Ramsay's website you can look at all his restaurants and you will see the Savoy Grill there as it is part of his holdings.

Odin

Lunch menu at Le Gavroche,3 michelin stars, £46 each inc wine & coffee, air conditioning, discreet and efficient service, old school French style cuisine

ma23peas

Please, please, whatever you do post a detailed report of your dining experiences!!! I can not/choose not spend our funds on $600 dinners...but oh what a treat it would be! One of the most charming films was 'Babette's Feast'...it surely brings out the gourment foodie in all of us...but, alas, while I'm a mom raising 3 children..I'll have to settle for Wagamama and live vicariously through the wonderful foodie's at Fodor's! So please please post your reviews!
Enjoy! Bon Apetit!
Tara

coldwar27

I asked my friend in London. He suggested Caffe Uno. I have eaten there and liked it as well. He also suggested the Blue Elephant in Fulham which is suppose to be very romantic.

W9London

I won't recommend Caffe Uno, which is just a chain of cheap-ish italian eats. Nothing special, I can do better and cheaper by just boiling a bag of fresh pasta and slopping ready-made sauce. As for Thai, I'd rather prefer FOOD at Mango Tree than clever gimmicky interor at Blue Elephant.

If you're looking for cosy, rommantic french place with GOOD wine list, I'd recommend Bleeding Heart (the brasserie in the courtyard, not the pub facing the street) or Le Cafe du Marche both near Holborn/City.

For fish, I love Poissonnerie on Sloane Ave. Green's in Mayfair has more old-fashioned setting, kinda like gentlemen's clubbish snobbishness, nothing too special in my view. Some friends of mine are die-hard Sweetings fan--no reservation, lunch only, interior stuck in 70s, no coffee
served--though again worth only for eccentricity's sake.

I'm a big fan of open air market food--Borough Market, if you can beat the crowd. If you're near St. Paul's cathedral, I recommend Place Below--more for cakes and desserts or soup rather than veggie main course.

I think you should also try some modern Indian place--Tamarind or Benares would be my choice. Cafe Lazeez used to be good, but found both service and value-for-money slipping of late.

audere_est_facere

The food at the Blue Elephant is lovely, but the prices wil make you cry like a little girl who's pony has died.

Neopolitan

We went to the Blue Elephant for their Sunday buffet brunch in June. The decor reminds me of one of those 1960's Polynesian restaurants -- a bit over the top. But the food was amazing. They had girls making various things that I've never seen before, and virtually everything I tasted was amazingly good and fresh -- not sitting in steam tables for ages. I was indeed impressed with the food. At 22 pounds per person, it actually seemed a real bargain.