ljagla

One of our travel priorities is gourmet dining. In London, should we choose our hotel location based on this? Is there a best area of town for fine dining? All things being equal, we would stay in one of the hotels near Buckingham Palace/Westminster to be near the historic sites. If we do so, will the tube or walking get us to good restaurants?

elaine

Hi
You can get anywhere in London via tube and/or walking and/or taxi. London is very large, there are fine and also less posh but good value restaurants everywhere.
Many fine restaurants are in the Mayfair to West End Theatre district, but by no means all of them.
I think the best part of London, given its size, is exploring the many neighborhoods.
The Zagat restaurant guide for London is very helpful. So is timeout.com and squaremeal.co.uk

nmguy88001

I would recommend you stay in Mayfair, Belgravia or Knightsbridge. You can walk to the major sites and still take the tube to go further afield if you wish. As well, you will find plenty of fine dining establishments, either in your hotel or without.

Claridges has recently opened its new dining venue under Gordon Ramsay's direction. This would be my recommendation for combining a deluxe hotel with first-rate dining.

Tallulah

My favourite London restaurant website is www.squaremeal.co.uk. Every area in London now has good restaurants (hard to believe, I know!) but do some research. Whatever you do, avoid anything Conran (Quaglino's, Mezzo's etc) as they're pretty dreadful. One really strong recommendation though is The Capital (in The Capital Hotel), down a small side street (Basil Street) in Knightsbridge. If you're looking for somewhere to have a good lunch, definitely go there - it's fantastic value at about £28pp for a three course lunch (dinner gets rather more expensive). The restaurant is tiny so you will have to book - and it has two Michelin stars. Check out www.capital-group.net

rjw_lgb_ca

A colleague's sister-in-law is a food writer for the "Los Angeles Times", and for a time held a similar job in London at the "Independent" (she wrote extensively on BSE). This reporter, Emily Green, writes a lot about a good friend of hers (Jeremy Lee) who is head chef at the Blue Print Café in London. I think they used to appear on cookery shows as well.

How IS the Blue Print Café? I'm planning a trip to London in the near future and now I'd like to try this joint....

DMG

How is the River Cafe in Hammersmith? So far, nobody was responded to my original question about this restaurant. Is it worth the trip and the price?

AllyPally

There isn't a single area in London with fine dining. London is huge and spread out. I agree with a previous poster - I would stay in Mayfair. You will be in a quiet area but also close to loads of tourist sites. Depending on what you want to see, you will need to take the tube at some point to see everything.

My favourite restaurant in London is Mirabelle - the decor is gorgeous, especially in the bar. It has an enormous disco ball which sounds tacky but it just works. It turns very slowly so it sort of twinkles. The food is french, the service is french but even if you go for a drink, just go!

btw, what is your hotel budget?

DMG

AllyPally: Your remarks about Mirabelle sounded great. I just went to London Eating and several recent diners mentioned that the chairs were threadbare, management has gone downhill, etc. Anyone been there recently?

daph

We think that Langan's brasserie on Stratton Street in Mayfair is very good. It was [is?] partly owned by Michael Caine. We like the upper floor, though it is considered "Siberia" as it is quieter and less smoky.

Intrepid

If you'd like a recent rundown of the various restaurant pssoibilities in London you might try surfing to the 22 Jermyn Street hotel website
www.22jermynstreet.com and click on the "newsletter" option (lower right)...an extensive and often updated list which includes location, prices, dress code, etc.

ljagla

Thanks to all for the great tips from this forum. We decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza St. James and get a travelpass.

Tulips

I've always liked the Mirabelle, but it's more than a year since I last went there. Drones is also a Marco Pierre White restaurant, a bit more recent (in Pont Street; very nice for shopping too, just off Sloane Street). A new and 'happening' place seems to be Sketch, but I haven't visited yet (I used to live in London, and go regularly). The Belvedere in Holland Park is nice, and takes you to a less-visited part of town; very pretty, right in the Park. Tamarind in Mayfair is great for Indian food. And for lunch nothing beats Nicole's in Bond Street; good food, people watching. It's always full, but you can eat at the bar without reservations.

ira

Hi

Simpson's in the Strand is the place for fine dining that has withstood the test of time (Sherlock Holmes ate there).

None of your trendy, fashionista, foreign food. Good, honest English fare.