London dining on a budget!
 

We are going to be in London for 3 days. I would enjoy some suggestions of places to dine that will not break the bank. We are staying in the COunty Hall area by Big Ben and London Eye. Has anyone eaten at a place called the Cafe in the Crypt? I am traveling with 2 teen boys and who might think that is fun. Any great fish and chips locations? Also, the Jack the Ripper walk...thoughts please.

Thanks,
1Txgrl

The cafe in the crypt is the lower level of St Martin's-in-the-Field church in Trafalgar Square. There is nothing "crypt-ish" about it if your boys are thinking spooky or scary or something like that. But they do serve good food.

What sorts of food do you enjoy and what kind of budget are you thinking??

there is a rich set of answers to all of these questions. in addition to monitoring this thread, use the search feature to find a lot of good answers to these questions.

ripper walk always produces a lot of debate here that you can read for yourself. the consensus is largely negative and i tend to agree.

cafe in the crypt does not have good food. it's a cafeteria style place with very fatty, unappealing foods. if tx in your name stands for texas, i would say that cafe in the crypt makes the food at luby's (is that right?) look like the gordon ramsey's. and the crypt atmosphere is rather lost in the cafeteria area (and it's cheesy to set up a cafeteria directly on top of ancient tombs). the crypt is fully public so you can always visit the gift shop (although it's unlikely teen boys will like the silly religious trinkets) or just walk around for a few minutes. likely someone will mention brass rubbing in the crypt...something that will probably just make teen boys snigger. the crypt also has some pretty decent toilets that the boys can use if the outdoor urinal behind the church is not in place yet (mysteriously appears in the evening). likely to provide a good photo and laugh for them if they are from a more civilised nation.

if you wish to soak up some subterrainian atmosphere, have a drink in the vaults at gordon's wine bar if you can find a time when it's not packed with a zillion people. it's somewhat close to st martin in the fields church (where the crypt is) and has a more unique atmosphere than you will get eating in the crypt.

for cheap eats, try chinatown places like cafe jen (the place where dumplings are being made in the front window), hong kong cafe. much cheaper and more fun than the much recommended wagamamma. chinatown also has a few good bakeries where one can buy a quick snack for about a quid or two.

i never eat fish and chips at home in london...it's only a rare coastal treat for me.

AHHH, Luby's, a childhood staple!

THanks for the response, I think we will skip the Crypt.

OK, so if budget was not a concern or say a mild concern, where would you go for a good meal? We don't need anything fancy just good food. No German or Italian please, we are currently living in Germany and those two are our only dining out options!!!!

Just to clarify so I don't get in trouble...we live out in the country away from any large cities, so among the local villages our choices are German or Italian or Doner Kebabs.

1Txgrl

Rather than taking a Ripper tour, why not visit the area independently and in the daylight?
Have a look at http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/data/...elds/index.cfm

I think the Jack The Ripper walk is pants.

Go on one of the evening pub or ghost walks instead - they're more fun and there's more to see (and yopu get to go in pubs)

Not to be a contrarian, but I enjoyed the Ripper tour. There are several. The one I took met at the Tower tube stop at 8 in the evening. It was led by a very nice woman who was respectful to the neighborhoods and showed exactly where the bodies were found (one place is now an indoor car park and would be fairly difficult to find otherwise). I'm biased because it was something I'd always wanted to do and I knew a fair bit about it before I went. If I were a kid, I'd enjoy it even more. The London Dungeons and The Clink are also macabre things for kids.

When it comes to cheap eats, I like to go to pubs (the older the better) and (don't hate me for this) The West Cornwall Pasty Company. I live in America and I just can't get Cornish Pasties here. I know they're supposedly not really authentic, but they're good and cheap and all over the place.

As for pubs, Fodor's lists the good ones. I know it's touristy, but I like Ye Olde Chesire Cheese on Fleet Street - not only because of its age but also because they have a good cafeteria-style lunch downstairs for a good price.

I agree about the fish and chips - I've only had good fish and chips once in London, and that was at The North Sea Fish Restaurant.

I know they're supposedly not really authentic>>>

The actual pasties are as authentic as you can get. It's the variants that aren't "authentic". But they are jolly nice.

As for pubs in the county hall area - you're out of luck in the immediate area. There's a slug and letuce in the complex. but I don't like it.

However, if you walk across westminster bridge towards big ben you will come out in Parliament Square where there are two pubs I would highly recommend. St Stephen's tavern and the Red Lion.

Both are old. Both are used by the staff from Parliament (and you will see the odd politician in there, but I doubt you'd recognise any of our politicians). There's a restaurant upstairs in the Red Lion which by all accounts isn't bad (and isn't expensive). I've never used the restaurant as whenever I've been in the area I've eaten in Parliament itself (which is VERY cheap. They look after themselves in there)

If you check out Timeout.com, you can find list of budget eats for London.

Fish & Chips - these places get mentioned quite a lot here:
Rock & Soul Plaice
47 Endell Street
Covent Garden

North Sea Fish Restaurant
7-8 Leigh St

Golden Hind
3 Marylebone Lane
I've eaten here and it was quite nice - and you can bring your own wine/beer

TimeOut's "London's Best Fish & Chips" article:
http://www.timeout.com/london/restau...atures/28.html

Also for budget and an atmosphere your teens might enjoy, you may want to look into the "Beat the Clock" special at Belgo Centraal - Pay the price of the time you order e.g. order at 6 o’clock and pay 6 pounds
http://www.belgo-restaurants.co.uk/

I agree with the poster who suggested Chinatown. If you and your kids like Chinese food, it's a fun place to go, and you can eat rather inexpensively.
We went to the Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, which had the best crispy duck that we have eaten, including in Chinese restaurants in Malaysia and Hong Kong. We ended up eating there twice again in the same week!

The Golden Hind's fish and chips is excellent. And their steamed pudding desserts are truly sinfully good.

el

I stayed at Marble Arch a couple of years ago and was really disapoointed to find that there were only chain restaurants and fast food places. In desperation I wandered the back streets and came across The Golden Hind which is a very traditional fish & chip shop which has only been owned by five families since it was founded in the early 1900s. They were GREAT. It seemed like a real neighbourhood haunt.
73 Marylebone Ln.

http://tinyurl.com/4q5uqp

Thank you all....who needs guide books when you have this!

1Txgrl

Another vote for Belgo Centraal.
Not only do they serve great
mussels and fries, but really
yummy chicken (probably more kid
friendly)!

The ASK Pizza chain has much more than just pizza and is reasonable.

We like Brown's Restaurant on St. Martin's Lane. The have a pre-theater dinner selection, and their Sticky Toffee Pudding is wonderful.

Pret a Manger has good, inexpensive sandwiches.

The Sherlock Holmes Pub on Northumberland Street has a glassed-in room with Sherlock surrounded by some of his paraphanalia. Your boys would probably like it there.