Hello,

My wife and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary in London right after Christmas through the first week of January. We will have 7 days to explore the sights. I have been reading through similar threads and have gained a lot of good information. This is our first trip to Europe. One thing that keeps coming up is making reservations to eat. This is something we are not accustom to. Is it only required if you want to eat at a "special" place ?? Are there very many walk in places to eat? We love to eat of course, but don't frequent "upscale" places that often. Although the dear wife may want to change that while we are in London. =)

Any advice for first timers to London is greatly appreciated. We are mid 40's primarily interested in museums, history, architecture, and shopping would be last I think (I hope! ).

Thank you,


John

There are loads of places where you can simply walk in, though you may encounter a wait at some. For very popular and/or more upscale places a booking (as the British refer to what we ca a reservation) is advisable. The concierge at your hotel can be of great help here.

Oh -- many visits I don't pre-book a single meal except for maybe when we are having a Fodors get together. You can eat all over town in every neighborhood w/o booking. You only need to book if you want to eat in a specific place or at a specific time. In some areas or especially just before or just after the theatre you might want to book or take your chances. But you won't go hungry -- don't worry.

(My trip upcoming trip between Christmas and New YearsI have booked almost every meal - but it is because I'm dining w/ friends who have only a short time window or at some very posh/upscale, even Michelin starred places. But this isn't my typical mode of travel))

It's been a while since I was in England over Christmas, but used to be pretty much everywhere shut down. Is that no longer the case?

ON Christmas Day yes -- but the OP is arriving after Christmas.

It sounds like a lovely trip and I hope you have a great time. It's not necessary to book at many places, some of my favorites like such as Dishoom (indian) and Yalla Yalla ( Lebanese in Soho) don't take reservations. But as others have said and you suggest in your post it depends on the type of place. You'll also find that some places that offer theatre menus are often busy right before the show and at this time you would need a reservation - just as you would in New York.

Many people make reservations because they want to eat at "the" in place, while for others making a booking can sometimes reduce all the choices which can become overwhelming when you travel. But no worries, you'll find lots of places where it isn't necessary. For example if you want to eat at a particular foodie pub for Sunday lunch (when everyone does too) it's a good idea to call up a day or two ahead, or even try that morning. But you'll be fine if you are flexible about where you eat. We ate several times at Ottolenghi without a reservation by turning up a little late for lunch , they seemed surprised to be able to accommodate us but it happened several times.

I often used the online reservation site bookatable, they also list some dining "deals"

http://www.bookatable.co.uk

I spent a while in London last spring and blogged about lots of places here's the link incase it's any help,

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/search/label/London

If you haven't already done so, get acquainted with the public transport system:

http://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information...-around-london

If you don't make reservations, at least look up some restaurants in the area where you will be. Otherwise you may risk ending up at an Aberdeen Angus or another tourist trap.

opentable.co.uk will let you search for restaurants on the day, in a specific area, if you do want to make a last-minute booking. If you have somewhere specific where you really want to go, then book in advance.

There are plenty of places that don't take reservations, or where you can just turn up.

I've never yet booked a meal in London, or indeed in just about any restaurant in the UK.

I'm told that certain restaurants try to table to turn, that is you book a slot for a meal and have to turn up on time and leave on time.

I will continue to boycott such places and I recommend you do as well, they are confusing eating with dining.

I often book restaurants in London, not just the upscale ones. The problem is that some popular restaurants get booked up and you can be disappointed if you have set your heart on a particular place. Some restaurants do keep tables back for walk-ins. I don't boycott restaurants that have time slots either, couple of hours for a meal is fine and with the later time slots you might find you are not given a time to leave ie you can stay until closing. IMO the upscale places don't have time slots.

Upscale places do have timeslots. Without a turnover on tables, many restaurants couldn't be profitable, or they'd have to increase prices. The later you book, and the larger your group, the longer the time you have.

We mostly book, especially when we're with more people. I hate standing in a queue for a restaurant, or having to try several places before finding one that has a table.

Even the casual Mexican place nearby where we are doesn't have a table at the weekend unless you booked one.

I agree with you Tulips, I forget that Americans like to eat early so therefore the restaurant would have to give a time slot whereas we tend to eat at 8pm or later so are never given a time limit.

good point Odin

For casuale places you can usually just walk in - but there may be a wait to be seated if it's prime dining time and the place is crowded. (If you want to eat at 5 in the afternoon this might not be and issue - but at any regular dinner time - 8 or so - most places are pretty crowded.

If you want to go to any upscale paces I would definitely get a reservation in advance - your hotel concierge can do it for you if you need help or they say they are fully booked. I would reserve a couple of weeks in advance for "name" or extremely popular restaurants.

>> I would reserve a couple of weeks in advance for "name" or extremely popular restaurants.<<

Over the holidays a couple of weeks isn't going to hack it for 'name places'. In fact that is pretty short at any time of year. If by that you mean the 'Celebrity chef' types like Gordon R etc., any of the hot new places, or any michelin starred restaurants, the farther ahead you can book the better. Some are booked solid 2 or 3 months out.

But for the vast majority of places, you don't need to book. If you must eat in the middle of the lunch rush or between about 7:30 and 9PM and want to eat in a specific restaurant - then yes, you'll want to book. But just sightseeing and wandering around London - no need to book. You'll find lots of places to eat.

Also - most of the main tourist attractions have ate least one good restaurant or cafe - some have several. Really good food is available at the V&A, both Tates, National Gallery, the Tower, the Globe, Westminster Abbey, British museum, the Wallace Collection, Somerset House, St Martins in the Field, and just loads of others. (You would want to book the restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery)

With a whole week I'd do at least one day trip into a very different England than cosmopolitan London - like to either Cambridge or Oxford (though these are hardly typical English towns though in many ways they are regional towns) or Salisbury and Stonehenge or Bath or Canterbury or any of a zillion places easily reached by trains.

Get out of London for at least a day to broaden your trip experiences.

Thank you to everyone for the replies and advice! I definitely need to study the transportation options and I would love to venture out of London for a day or two.

Thank you sooo much! Very excited about this trip.


John

Salisbury Cathedral is one of the most sublime buildings, while the train system is a bit out the back of the city, the walk through town can be enjoyable.

Does one need to carry much cash? One would think credit cards are safer.

Not sure about being safer. Really whatever is your normal style works in London.

If you like to use cash -- great. If you normally put mist things on cards - same-o.

I generally carry maybe £50-£100 at all times -- but then I personally like to use cash for small things. Partly because of the extra hassle for the merchants w/ American non-chip and PIN cards, I personally use cash for almost anything under £10 or £15

Some Fodorites don't use any cash at all. just personal preference.