KOSHER London
 

Hi everyone, i was just wanting to know if anyone here knows anything about the kosher scene in London. A friend that i am traveling with eats kosher and i was just wanting some food recommendations. also, are the kosher places open on friday nights and saturdays?

Also, i've heard there are some good delis, mikey's and ruebens. i think those were the names. does anyone have comments on either of those. we love to picnic, so also if anyone knows of a great picnic spot around those delis, i would love a recommendation. Or we'll just find some pretty park!

I know there are previous posts about this and i will be reading them, but they were 2 years ago and i am looking for current information.

Thanks fodorites!

Hi V,

>...are the kosher places open on friday nights and saturdays?<

Not if they are really Kosher and not just "kosher style".

If you google "kosher food london" you will get a number of grocers and restaurants.

((I))

try these

www.jewishroutes.com/ click on food for kosher restaurants

http://www.kosherdelight.com hotels and restaurants around the world

www.kosher.org.uk/

www.jewishtravel.com

www.shamash.org

www.kashrut.com

Hermolis Glatt Kosher caterers - London Will deliver food to your hotel , has a 25 page menu, your Concierge can order for You
Selfridges Dept store food hall also has (or, had) a Kosher counter

places to picnic in London
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34516100

"are the kosher places open on friday nights and saturdays?"

If your friend is eating kosher, then they shouldn't want to be dining out on these evenings should they? If they do want to eat out on these evenings then the whole thing is my eyes is a farce!

Try Golders Green, although it's a very depressing area (awful clothes shop, and perma-grey skies), or Stamford Hill although the latter is rough.

m_k2 is wrong. There are restaurants in some cities that will provide meals on the Sabbath, especially for travelers.
Usually advance reservations have to be made.
The meals are generally cold, except for dishes that can be kept simmering on a stove all the time without a stove having to be turned on and off.

Just 2 examples: the King Solomon restaurant in Prague, the
Gam Gam in Venice.

However, the websites I've provided above have information also on various ways to arrange for kosher meals while traveling.

Hi elaine,

I checked out your good suggestions.

Gam Gam is closed Friday night.

On Saturday, Chabad invites visitors to dinner there - after Sabbath services.

The King Solomon does offer Friday dinner and Saturday lunch, for which you pay in advance.

((I))

When we were in London we ate at Ruebens, just fair and then we spent an afternoon in Golders Green at Bloom Brothers. I didn't think Golders Green was depressing. I thought it was interesting seeing how religious jews live.

M-kingdom, thank you for the laugh! You are so right!

I'm just intrigued at the idea that the skies are greyer over Golders Green than anywhere else in London (there ought to be a song title in there somewhere, perhaps).

Didn't a nightingale sing in Golders Green?
Oh, no, Berkeley Square, sorry.

Harry Morgans and Panzers deli in St Johns Wood are very close to Regents Park.

MK2 said "If your friend is eating kosher, then they shouldn't want to be dining out on these evenings should they?"

Do you mean to say that people who keep kosher and are travelling shouldn't eat at all on the Sabbath? They can't very well eat at home when they're out of town.

Also, FYI, quite a number of people keep kosher but do not observe all the laws of Sabbath, such as not driving or handling money.

"If your friend is eating kosher, then they shouldn't want to be dining out on these evenings should they? If they do want to eat out on these evenings then the whole thing is my eyes is a farce!"

Once again, you've proven yourself a fool, and an ignorant one to boot. Well, at least you are consistent.

"Also, FYI, quite a number of people keep kosher but do not observe all the laws of Sabbath, such as not driving or handling money."

What hypocrites!

I'm not religious as you've probably gathered. However, if one is going to be religious I belive that they should observe all of the rules, not just the ones that suit their lifestyle. Religion isn't a pick 'n' mix affair. If it makes people feel better keeping kosher but not doing the rest, all I can say is "grow up"!

I'm not religious, either, but all I can say is "you obviously know nothing about Judaism." There are several varieties of Judaism, and there is no big authority who lays out all the rules, and demands that they must be obeyed. That's simply not the way it works.

Would you tell Protestants who celebrate Christmas but don't christen their children to "grow up"?

You really didn't need to add your original gratuitous comment, and now you're just showing how ignorant you are. I'm not going to get sucked into this any more. Bye.

We've finally unmasked m_k2 as not just a snob or a pretentious faux know-it-all who can at least from time to time be amusing in an outrageously silly way, but as someone who, however ignorant he is on the subject, will in fact continue to make the error even more egregious, rather than admit to making it or simply staying silent.

He clearly knows nothing about Judaism, or about people's freedom to
organize their adherence to faith or culture or to any other code, as they see fit. His use of the word hypocrite, 'to put on a false appearance of virtue or religion' is particularly incorrect. I wish there were a word for putting on a false appearance of knowledge. Oh wait, we have one--
m_kingdom2.

All kosher restaurants shut down for Shabbat. All OBSERVANT Jews don't handle money on Shabbat.

Several varieties of Judaism - you mean Madonna's Kabbala and Britney Spears? They are varities all right!

I agree there are Jews who keep kosher but go shopping on Saturday. But this is not a variety of religion, it's a variety of personality.

OK, back to the question ...
If your friend is Kosher, would she not eat Kosher all week? If she is Kosher, she probably knows that most Kosher restaurants are closed from Friday night to Saturday night.
I second the Golders Green suggestion.
Finding a pretty park is the easist thing to do in London, and taking a picnic is fun.
You might try googling Kosher in London and see what happens there too..or ask your friend.
We have friends in NYC who are Kosher and it involves taking food for the plane ride, taking food for the hotel, so you might have to discuss this with her more than with us.

More errors. There are Reform Jews, for example, who can be completely observant according to the tenets as their rabbis promulgate them, and still choose to handle money or drive on the Sabbath.

There are even variations of being Orthodox, from Chasidim (essentially fundamentalists) to Modern Orthodox who observe most rules but who may from time to time eat in a non-kosher restaurant but order fish or vegetables or cold dishes.

However, the original question was simply and only about eating kosher food, and many people eat kosher food and may not necessarily be Orthodox. To call them hypocrites, or their preferences a farce, is simply ignorant. As it would be to assume that all those who call themselves Catholic go to confession regularly, or never use birth control. That's not a perfect analogy, because there are sanctions for some behavior on the part of Catholics that does not comply with official teachings. With Judaism there are no official sanctions though the Orthodox don't agree with the Reform practices.

How about we not use a travel forum to proffer religious analyses or make judgments on people's religious values, especially when we have next to no information other than how they like to eat.

I'm starting to wonder if we've all been had, myself as much as anyone.
Here is one of only two previous postings by the OP

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34612342

wow, hahaha... this arguing is not necessary. This is her religion, its not up to you or me to critique it. Anyways, my friend eats vegetarian at normal restaraunts, but she enjoys meat, so we will go to a kosher restaraunt. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS! and by the way, i am not jewish, so if we went out, i would be the one paying.

And i didnt expect the kosher places to be open on friday or saturday, but i thought you guys would know for sure, so thanks!

Thanks guys!

Ruebens has good takeaway food and is close to Regent's Park. (They also have a restaurant.) It's open on Fridays in the afternoon but closes before sundown. There's a great veg restaurant nearby on the Marylebone High Street called EatAndTwoVeg. They both have websites which you can Google.

For additional restaurants, I find these two sites helpful for London:

www.london-eating.co.uk/

www.hardens.com
(you have to register but it's free)

For kashrut info on the kosher scene in the UK & Europe contact the Badatz Igud Rabbonim.
www.koshercertification.org.uk

Thats what I find funny about being Jewish. and our culture..we run from the very observant to the only going to Temple/Shul three times a year.. and everybody makes up their own rules. You can order Kosher food on plane flights..

Head for Golders Green, Temple Fortune (has a kosher Chinese) and Hampstead Garden Suburb.

Golders Green probably has more options for restaurants than the others which are good for take aways.

The supermarkets in Finchley all have Kosher sections, Tesco probably has the best selection.

ParrotMom - We run from the ultra observant to the anti-god, anti-shul but loving Jewish heritage, like my friend in Tel Aviv, who deprecates religion but is an ardent Zionist. Go figure. ((*))

Guys - this question is 3 years old.

"Author: ParrotMom
Date: 08/02/2008, 10:46 pm

Thats what I find funny about being Jewish. and our culture..we run from the very observant to the only going to Temple/Shul three times a year.. and everybody makes up their own rules. You can order Kosher food on plane flights.."

ParrotMom.

Last year I flew to England and sat next to a Jewish couple and decided that I should also order a Kosher meal on flights (even though I'm not a Jew) - not only was there a lot more food than my meal but it looked freshly made. Also their meal was served first.

BA and some other airlines (though probably not most of US carriers) use Hermolis for kosher catering, which is generally deemed as one of the best (the other being El Al first and business-class).

Six-13 on Wigmore St closed down recently, leaving Reubens on Baker St and Bevis Marks in the City as the only two kosher restaurants in central London (both meaty). GG and Hendon have pleathora of kosher restaurants (though not HGS).

You can find DD's sandwiches at many supermarkets (Tesco/ Sainsbury). Selfridges has a small kosher food section.

The main London-based kashruth certifying organisations are London Beth Din (an equivalent of OU in the US), which publishes kosher food guide. http://www.kosher.org.uk/intro.htm
though there are others like Kedassia (more strict), Federation (KF logo on Tiptree jams), and Sephardi Kashruth (SKA logo on Kingsmill bread).
I must say I have not seen products carrying Manchester Badatz logo.

They sell kosher bagels in the west Stand at White Hart Lane.

I'm not sure how much that helps really.

I've never seen an ongoing argument concerning kosher on this forum...especially one in which all "branches" of Judaism are somewhat defined. Hopefully, we have helped the OP to an acceptable degree.

So to the OP's kosher friend, and to all the practicing, non-practicing, partially-practicing, and those not in need of any further practice, I can only wish you, in the words of my Apache grandmother...

"zay gezunt, biz a hundert und tzvantsig!"

stu t.

"Hopefully, we have helped the OP to an acceptable degree."

I doubt it, since as I pointed out before, this thread is *three years old*.

I wouldn't label this as an "argument', but a discussion. And, when we Jews are involved, there can never be an end to any discussion. ((*))

touche', Jed....you're so right...
stu

Caroline...forgive my aging eyes...I just didn't notice the date...but that did not seem to stop the large last batch of respondents, so the topic appears to have resonated.

Now to find out where there is an Imperial Russian restaurant in Chillicothe, Ohio.

stu t.