strandediniowa

I need some advice on a nice Christmas meal in London. We are staying near the British Museum in Bloomsbury. Something walkable and not chinese or Indian. Thanks in advance!

janisj

To be honest - the best place for Christmas lunch is usually right at your hotel (assuming it has a restaurant/dining room) Just easier all way around - no walking, and preference normally given to residents.

Baring that - any other hotel w/i walking distance of your own place.

Cholmondley_Warner

And make sure you book. London is pretty much shut on Christmas day.

laurie_ann

You might try this restaurant website for London. www.toptable.co.uk. It lets you search by date and then you can organize the search by postcode. With descriptions of cuisine, prices, reviews. (For reference British Museum postcode starts with WC1B 3DG so closest other addresses also start with WC1B.)

When I did a quick search of toptable for December 25 and I saw many kinds of restaurants that appeared to be open for Christmas Day in Covent Garden area which is walkable from Bloomsbury. If you find one that appeals, many restaurants have their own websites where you can confirm they are open for Christmas, find menus, prices, etc. and then phone and book. And I would book ahead as many restaurants I believe even if they are open on Christmas are available only if you advance book.

ira

Hi S,

To me, real traditional English dining is Simpson;s in the Strand.

I think that they will be open on Xmas.

See http://www.restaurant-guide.com/simp...rand-divan.htm

KayF

Another good restaurant website is -

http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/">http:/...aremeal.co.uk/

The best way to look on the site is click on 'London Restaurants and Bar Search'(on the dark blue bar) then tick Bloomsbury and what type of food you would like. From there, you can check websites and menus etc.

Kay

crellston

Rules in Covent Garden or Simpsons in the Strand offer traditional English fare. Or maybe Christopher's also in Covent Garden (american but v. good food). There are also lots of local restaurants in Red Lion Street (off of High Holborn v. close to where you are staying. Oviusly check to see whether they are open over Xmas & you will need to book.

NeoPatrick

Just one note. When we were doing this, I kept finding lots of places on TopTable and SquareMeal listing special Christmas menus. It took a lot of calling and double checking to find out that almost ALL of them are closed on Christmas Day. Special Christmas meals generally refers to office party type menus for the month of December.

Sadly they are closed on Christmas Day, but a favorite of ours -- and our Christmas Eve Dinner was at Maggie Jones off Kensington High Street. No, it's not very walkable, but on Christmas Eve you can get the bus or tube to very close to there. Very traditional in decor and in food.

I really don't recall a single place in Covent Garden being open on Christmas Day for dinner -- and we checked a lot as our flat is in the heart of Covent Garden. I do know that Rules and Simpson's were both closed for Christmas Day (2006)-- we checked. We ended up picking a hotel/restaurant in Mayfair. Hotel restaurants and Chinatown were pretty much all we could find that were going to be open.

sf7307

Also, keep in mind that all transportation is shut down on Xmas Day in London, so you have to be close enough to walk there and back.

Londonres

You could try the Farringdon branch of Little Bay:

www.little-bay.co.uk/london.html

It has a Christmas Day menu at £29 for 5 courses. It's walkable from Bloomsbury.

travelme

Actually it is 26.95 which sounds so reasonable. The menu looks inviting. Not that I am going to London for the holidays but these prices are pretty decent considering the current exchange rate.

walkinaround

>>>>>>>
Special Christmas meals generally refers to office party type menus for the month of December.
>>>>>>>

this is a very special facet of british culture in which all visiting foreigners should partake.

starting on 1 Aug our pubs only serve from the 'special christmas menu'. this is a very special christmas menu with little pictures of special holiday things on it. this 'special menu' has 1/3 the choice of the regular menu and costs 3x as much. the quality is very special with only the finest frozen meals freshly prepared in the microwaves.

not to be missed. highly recommended if you long for a truly local experience.

Cholmondley_Warner

But the food isn't the point. It's all about wearing paper hats and photocopying your arse.

PatrickLondon

>>It's all about wearing paper hats and photocopying your arse.<<

Not easily done while pulling a cracker.

chartley

Many of us spend our lives wondering if Walkinaround and Chumley are one and the same. Is it a case of alter ego, or nemesis?

However, in her latest post, Walkinaround writes about "special holiday things". No real Brit uses the word "holiday" to mean "Christmas". "Holiday" is a time when you leave home and go somewhere warm, usually in the summer.

So is Walkinaround really an American pretending to be a disaffected Brit? Or Chumley being subtle (a possibility)?

I think we should be told.

Cholmondley_Warner

It aint me guv. But there's no way this walkingaround tool is English.

PatrickLondon

>>So is Walkinaround really an American pretending to be a disaffected Brit?<<

Or a resident expatriate? Or someone doing American readers the courtesy of using words their way?

NeoPatrick

"However, in her latest post, Walkinaround writes about. . ."

Huh? Walkinaround is a man.

chartley

So it's true about Americans and irony.

strandediniowa

Thanks for all the advice about christmas!