Favorite Restaurant in London?
 

Hello,<BR>My husband and I will be visiting London for the first time in October. Where do you like to eat? We're interested in nice restaurants, as well as the "typical English pub" experience. A good Indian restaurant too!!! Thanks for the tips!

We enjoyed Terrance Conran's Quaglino's for a "nice restaurant; it's large, not especially beautifully decorated, IMO, but the food was very good.<BR>The Bombay Brasserie, near Earl's Court, is a super Indian place.

If you would like to combine your "nice restaurant" with your "good Indian restaurant", the Cinnamon Club (near Westminster) is sort of "nouvelle Indian" - absolutely delicious, and very different from anyplace else that I've been.

My suggestion is kind of off the beaten path in the Kentishtown section of London, but it is worth the trip. There's a very lovely restaurant there named Le Petit Prince (after the children's book) that serves delicious non-vegetarian or vegetarian stew over couscous. They also have other specialties that are excellent. The desserts are fantastic also. The couple that owns it are from a rural town in France. Very nice people. Nice ambience and good music playing the background.

I've got some suggestions on the traditional English pub experience. <BR><BR>Within central London, I'd recommend lunch on the lowest floor of Ye Old Chesire Cheese (Fleet Street). Some may say this pub is for tourists but tourists visit it for good reason. It's maintained much of the traditional character which makes the experience like traveling back in time. Especially in the casual dining area on the lowest level.<BR><BR>In Greenwich (just outside London), I'd recommend Trafalgar Tavern. It's got great food (and ale) and sits right on the Themes providing a wonderful view during daylight hours. It's one of our favorites. Greenwich is certainly worth a visit. It's got a lot to see.<BR><BR>Enjoy.

We "discovered" Wagamama in our trips to London. We wish there was one closer to Michigan USA! Highly recommend, several locations in London, One on Kensignton High Street, One near the British Museum, several others!

We had a great meal recently in London at Gordon Ramsay's at Claridge's. I've posted on it previously on this site---a search should bring it up. <BR><BR>Very very nice, pricey but good value if it's the sort of thing you like. <BR><BR>We tried Veeraswamy for dinner one night. Trendo interior, lots of positive reviews from others, but we were underwhelmed. <BR><BR>Great pub lunch one Sunday afternoon in Greenwich at a place called The Gipsy. Not on the Thames, but a nice courtyard and very good food. There was a place across the street that served meat pies (can't remember the name) that looked like it would be worth trying, but was also quite busy so we passed it up.

Como Lario (Sloan Square)- Italian Wodka - Polish<BR>Livebait - Seafood<BR>Alfreds - English (Contemporary)<BR>Belgo Central

Mela is the best Indian/southeast Asian restaurant I've ever been to in the world. I strongly recommend it. It is on Shaftbury near Picadilly Circus stop.

On my last trip in Feb I fell in love with two restaurants. one is Rules, a very old restaurant specializing in traditional English fare and game<BR>(don't miss the sticky toffee pudding for dessert) and the other, even better, was<BR>The Ivy. Both convenient for pre or post-theatre as well.

Rules is world-class rated as "best".<BR><BR>Enjoyed it very much.

<BR><BR>Two favourites of mine:<BR><BR>Geals at Nottinghill Gate<BR>The Boot and Flogger in Blackfriars<BR><BR>Then there is always my favourite Pub . . the one just around the corner!<BR><BR>Enjoy London . . there is a lot to like!<BR><BR>Rich

Gordon Ramsay in the Claridge Hotel. Very nice.

My faves were Geale's and Belgo Centraal. For finer dining, Criterion (although the cuisine is French, right?).

As someone who lives in London, let me make some suggestions- <BR>The best "typical" Indian is the Standard on Westbourne Grove - really good and won't break the bank, and near Hyde Park and Notting Hill. For unusual "nouvelle" Indian go to either Zaika (Michelin starred) or newcomer Cinnamon Club. <BR><BR>Pubs - I usually don't like to eat in pubs as I don't particularly care for greasy pub food, but the food is getting better and you can always order sandwiches. There are pubs all over London, so you won't have any problems finding any, wherever you are. If you are near St. Paul's, there are a few good pubs on Fleet Street - someone already mentioned Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. Punch is also very atmospheric (more Victorian). If you are at the Soane Museum, up by Holborn, one of my favourites can be found, the Princess Louise, which has a fabulous ceiling, and decent food and good brews. Belgo's was good when it first opened up, but now is primarily geared for tourists - but the beers are yummy. For really good pub food, you have to go into the residential neighborhoods... For example, the Angelsea Arms near Ravenscourt Park is quite nice, but rather far from the normal tourist centres so probably not worth the trek out there. <BR><BR>Nice Restaurants - For "Nice" Restaurants, take a look at Zagats and Hardens for recommendations. I personally find the Conran restaurants great on atmosphere, but over-rated on food. One of the few exceptions is Pont de la Tour which has great food and a -great- view. For one of the best restaurants in London, you won't go far wrong to go to the Square or Petrus. If you are in Covent Garden and want nice food, go to Palais du Jardin on Long Acre.

I fear you're going to get a very random, not particularly helpful list as the choice in London is vast – you've already been recommended everything from Wagamma's which is a cheap japanese canteen with communal tables to Gordon Ramsey's which is one of the most expensive restaurants in London.<BR><BR>Before you go dashing off to any of these places, then please, I emplore you, buy a copy of Harden's Guide to London Restaurants (order it on Amazon) which gives impartial "man on the street" reviews, realistic pricings, maps and categorisies (eg Best Indian, Best for Romance, best pre-Theatre, non-smoking etc).<BR><BR>By all means take these Fodor's recommendations with you, but match them to the back before you end up spending $150 a head on a quick bite!