I generally like to have some ideas of where we'd like to eat prior to departing. We've not done that well "winging it" and have found that food is important to us. However, London is so big that it doesn't make sense to head all over the city looking for a particular restaurant.

We will be staying in/near Bloomsbury (Fitzrovia technically, if that means anything to anyone) for a week+ (W1T 4BP). If we stay to form, we will generally eat close to the flat There are 6 of us (3 generations) and we like all types of food. Ideally, we could get some nights under £100 but some up to £150.

Specific recommendations would be great but I'd also be interested in tips for searching certain areas. Thanks.

My friends and I (all big foodies) all use www.toptable.co.uk to book and research food selections. You can select your area and then it will give you reviews, food menus etc of places in the area. Plus many places have deals. You can sort by cuisine and also cost.

Hope this helps!

For something different try this Turkish/Anatolian restaurant in Bloomsbury

http://www.tasrestaurants.co.uk/Restaurants/Bloomsbury

I ate there last month very friendly service and they were doing two courses for under £10, but you can pay more for a la carte. Food was really good

www.fancyapint.com might help.

Lee Ann

100 pounds for 6 people - is only 16 pounds each. Is this supposed to include a glass of wine or beer - or is this just for a main course? (Seems fine for lunch but not much for dinner.)

Thanks, Jamikins. Just what I was looking for.

@sofarsogood -- thanks for the tip. I'll look into it.

Lee Ann -- thanks as well. Not big pub grub fans but we might have to take the in-laws to one at least once. Good to know.

oh and there's lots of restaurants on Charlotte Street (Oxford St end), though I haven't eaten at any but I'm sure you'll find a good choice there

While not a restaurant per se, the reason the area is called Fitzrovia is because of the Fitzroy Tavern - see http://wp.me/p2r6no-7l for more details - this is where the literary set all went for years - they do serve typical pub food and they have a comedy club there on Wednesdays - but it is a true piece of history for the area and something you may enjoy.

there are some good fish & chips to go at northsea in bloomsbury. there's a restaurant side and a go-side.... the latter costs about half as much.

When I worked in Mid City Place in High Holborn we used to take clients for lunch in one of the many retarants and pubs in Red Lion Street, off of High Holborn. Isolabella was always good for Italian, but there are lots to choose from and most times you would be able just to take a walk and find a table somewhere. Matsuri in the basement of mid city place itself on High Holborn is excellent for Japanese but expensive. There was also a small south african place in RL st which served "wild food" - every thing from deep fried locusts to giraffe steaks and wildebeests burgers. Also, you are not that far from Covent Garden where there are loads of , usually busy and overpriced, restaurants but if you like Authentic Thai food, then Thai Pin in Maiden Lane is a good bet.

A current favourite of mine is Princi (princi.co.uk)- Italian food - at 135 Wardour Street, south of Oxford Street. For indian veggie food Drummond Street, north of Euston Sq tube has some good options.

I use 'Bookatable' a fair bit.

You can read reviews and they have special offers for set menus (starting at around a tenner per person). You can also book and cancel online.

http://www.bookatable.com/uk/london/restaurants#

We stayed in a flat in Fitzrovia and found a couple local places that we enjoyed. On the corner of Goodge and Whitfield Streets, there is a pub called The Fitzrovia which served the usual pub fare but had daily specials. Across the street from The Fitzrovia is the Spaghetti House which I would think adults and kids as well could find something they enjoy. Enjoy your visit to London - it's a joy to read your blog.

We enjoyed the area and found there to be many options nearby. Toptable was helpful in the planning stages as well as for one of the bookings (30% off at one of our choices).

We didn't try too many of the specific suggestions except for the Spaghetti House which was a nice safe option of the first night. We tried Korean (Koba), Japanese (Nizuni) and Turkish (Ozer). We ate near Covent Garden one night and surprisingly ate in 3 nights (M&S prepared meals). Not only did that save some money but it was nice to not have to go out every night.

Perhaps not up to nytraveler's standards but we averaged about £100 per dinner for 4 adults and 2 kids. Pre-dinner drinks in the flat and we rarely made it to dessert so that helped as well.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Morning Ben, welcome to Fodors.

We were staying in Westminster in October and ate at Cote Brasserie on St. Martin Lane. We loved the food, delicious and reasonable. We thought we had stumbled on a great, intimate local find.....

Imagine our surprise when we found out it is a chain! Nothing at all about it to indicate this. So I recommend trying whichever one is close to you. Here is the site:

http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk

DOH! Just noticed the date and the fact that you already went and are back! Maybe this info will be useful to someone else.....

Not to worry - the thread was topped by an advertiser - since been deleted by the powers that be . . . .