Songdoc

Every time my husband and I travel, we wind up wandering up and down streets, looking at menus, and trying to decide on a restaurant. We end up overly hungry and irritable. So … I’ve decided that this time, I will put together a list of restaurants in advance, and we will choose from that list.

We are NOT foodies and have lots of restrictions. No fish, no sugar, no wine or other alcohol. I limit carbs and fried foods, so pizza or a big plate of pasta won’t work (although a small side dish of pasta could work) and no chips. (FYI, yes, life is still worth living.) DH limits salt and doesn’t like Indian or Japanese food.

We’re looking for restaurants near the Amba Charing Cross Hotel, on the Strand. (We chose that hotel based on recommendations on this board. Thanks, Dukey1.) $25 - $30 (US) per person would be nice, but a little more would be okay.

I saw that there is a Nando’s quite close by. That will be perfect.

We eat pretty plainly and enjoy Mediterranean/Greek food; Thai; Chinese; salads; roast meats; vegetables…

Any suggestions? Thanks!

PS. Our breakfasts will be included, so no breakfast recommendations are needed.
PPS. I’ll be posting this same request for Prague.

jamikins

I like using www.opentable.co.uk for restaurant reviews.

Sorry, I have no suggestions given the limitations but you will find Nando’s all over London.

Odin

Food in Greek restaurants in London tends to be pretty dire IMO.
You might find dishes within some of your limitations at this Lebanese chain

http://www.comptoirlibanais.com/locations/

Or this French chain

https://www.cote.co.uk/restaurant/details/soho

There are loads of Chinese restaurants in Chinatown but the limitations of no sugar, low salt etc are going to be impossible to meet no matter where you eat, including Nando's.

CharlotteK

London is a huge international city with so many food options you can't imagine.If you are vegetable/salad and lean meat eaters (which is what I'm gathering from your descriptions above) you're sure to find lots of "fast, casual" places in the area where you are staying that will satisfy. I have good luck anywhere asking hotel staff where to eat.I also use Google maps to pre-identify possibilities. Find your hotel. Zoom way in and restaurants will start to appear, then you can check them out separately. I eat everything and don't have your restrictions but I also have been in that "grrrr I'm so hungry I don't know what to eat" state--so I can sympathize.

texasbookworm

When my daughter was avoiding gluten and trying to have a mostly vegan diet, it was hard to order meals in restaurants, anywhere. But we found plenty to eat in London by using groceries; there's a M&S Simply Foods and a Sainsbury near your hotel, and groceries are scattered all over London.

Of course, that doesn't help if you are averse to eating take-out, and it isn't always a solution for meals when you are out and about. And it doesn't help if the weather or location prevents finding a seat outside to use while eating. But we found it much easier to control her diet by shopping at groceries and then finding some place to sit to eat. (She still avoids gluten as much as she can but isn't strictly vegan or vegetarian now, so it's much easier to find food in restaurants. But last June in London, we still got a good bit of our food from groceries. It's cheaper and usually healthier.)

Dukey1

Songdoc, I hope you enjoy your stay at the Amba. We have used it several times (along with the pricier Savoy just up the street).

I cannot help you with rest recs; I do agree with trying OpenTable for reservations and reviews. You can easily walk into nearby Covent Garden and find what I think are all sorts of possibilities altho we often end up at places like the Delauney or the meaty Hawksmoor neither of which you would probably be much interested in.

Have a great trip nonetheless.

Songdoc

The Lebanese and French chains both look they'll work great. Thanks for that.

There's no way to 100% avoid salt and sugar when traveling,. We do the best we can do without getting crazy. In Asian restaurants we ask for low-salt/soy sauce and low-fat. They can usually accommodate that.

Take-out would be fine. That's something we sometimes do, bringing back a rotisserie chicken, salad, and vegetables. We will be there early March, so it will likely be too cold to eat outside. But we can still take some things back to the hotel. When we go someplace for a longer period we try to get lodging with a kitchenette. But we didn't do that this time.

FYI, we'll spend five nights in London, four nights in Belfast, and seven nights in Prague. Belfast is for work. We've been there many times and our hotel is next door to quite an upscale, 2-story Nando's! It's nothing like the fast-food stands in Australia and NZ. We love their chicken and it's easy to make healthy choices with their salads and vegetables.

Thank you all so much!

Odin

Here are a couple more that might suit:
Mildred’s vegetarian restaurant, I used to eat there when I worked close by many years ago. Their food is very good and according to reviews, seems that it is still the case.

http://www.mildreds.co.uk/

If you are close to Oxford Circus, the Scandinavian Kitchen is a great casual place with fresh cooked food E.g. meatballs with lingonberry sauce and wonderful range of salads.

http://www.scandikitchen.co.uk/

Songdoc

Thanks, Odin. These look like two more good suggestions.

Much appreciated!

CaliNurse

The chain EAT has assorted hot plates and salads. There's one on Strand, not far from your hotel's excellent location, as you head toward the Savoy. (Walk a bit further and you'll reach St Paul's.) Branches of Pret a Manger are also ubiquitous and have salads as well as sandwiches and hot food like soups.

Charing Cross is so close to Trafalgar Square, with famous St Martin in the Fields. Its popular cafeteria, the Crypt, is downstairs. It's atmospheric in a dark way. Many people I know love it, with its good basic food, but I find it a bit too... crypt-ish. Still, worth a look at the place, the attached gift shop, and the food, as you'll no doubt pass there at some point.

Living on Kauai, then visiting London...how lucky can you get, Songdoc??! Merry Christmas and Happy 2018!

Songdoc

CaliNurse: those look like terrific suggestions. DH will LOVE eating in a crypt!

<Living on Kauai, then visiting London...how lucky can you get, Songdoc??!>

YES! But I might not feel lucky when it takes 38 hours (with an overnight layover) to get back to Kauai from Prague!

Mele Kalikimaka and Happy New Years to you, too!

janisj

Besides EAT, Pret, Nandos and so forth - Most of the major sites have decent cafes/restaurants usually with vegetarian options. St Martin's in the Field, St Paul's, the V&A, Westminster Abbey, both Tate's etc etc.

The #15 bus goes right past your hotel and connects Trafalgar Sq - The Strand - St Paul's - Tower of London . . .

Songdoc

Thanks, Janisj. That's good info!

It looks like we won't starve ;-).

Scootoir

Sounds like a great trip Songdoc. My poor husband has to go along with my dietary restriction (no wheat, no gluten, low fat) and we managed well in London last year. As mentioned by another above, being close to Covent Garden gives you many options. We were glad to find Le Pain Quotidien there because they offer organic options and simple cooking.

The Wolseley isn't far away from your hotel: https://www.thewolseley.com/

northie

Bistro 1 - cnr Frith and Romilly Street - run by a Turkish family but has great variety of dishes for all tastes - reasonably priced .

Tulips

Middle Eastern food would work. Not so near your hotel, but Nopi is wonderful, or Honey & Smoke. Or Palomar.
Comptoir Libanais has been mentioned; we like that a lot and there are several of these in London.

Odin

The OP states they are not foodies and want to spend around $25-$30 per person. Palomar is fantastic but not within that price range unless you have very little to eat. My last bill there was over $200 but we did have cocktails and ordered several dishes. The dishes are small. Nopi is pricey and so is the Wolseley although you might get a Salade Nicoise or very nice burger within budget.
I usually suggest Brasserie Zedel but last visit the food was disappointing, however they do a reasonably priced set menu.

Tulips

You can eat for that at Honey & Co or Honey & Smoke if you don't have alcohol. If you have dinner at EAT one night, you can spend a bit more the next. Most places have a lower-priced lunch menu.
Though I don't know exactly how much that budget is in pounds. Not helpful to talk about dollars when discussing London.

Songdoc

I really appreciate all the suggestions. At the current exchange rate one British pound will equal $1.35 USD. FYI, my "budget" of 18 - 23 pounds per person is not because I'm too poor to spend any more. I mentioned it because fine dining is not important to us, so it would be a waste for us to spend much more than that for a meal. Much of what makes fine dining "fine" are ingredients that I avoid.

I checked the menus. Honey & Co. would work. Honey & Smoke would not. Palomar looks good. Palomar looks good--and within the price range I mentioned -- w/o cocktails and desserts.

Nopi looks like a nope ��. It's a bit too sophisticated for my palate.

Le Pain Quotidien looks great. I associate that chain with fast-food counters in airports where the menu is different from the one I saw in London.

This would be a perfect meal for me: green salad, soup, roast chicken w/herbs, fresh steamed or roasted vegetables.

FYI, I have traveled extensively through Europe and have always found wonderful food that works for us. I just want to avoid the nightly grind of wandering up and down streets, looking at menus, and having to make decisions when we're already too hungry. I hope to have a list and BEFORE mealtime have already decided, "this is where we'll eat tonight." Lunches will likely be in museums cafes.

Again, thank you SO much for your great suggestions. I'm getting excited about the trip! I'm in Nashville for the next 10 days, then Florida, then back to Kauai, and back to Nashville before I leave for the U.K. in two months.