Hello

I've arranged to meet a friend for lunch near Paddington/Marylebone on the Sunday before Christmas.

Can anyone recommend a cosy (and not too noisy!) restaurant or cafe in that area? Anything up to £30 per person excluding drinks is ok.

Thank you in advance!

Yuo know, I really struggle to think of anywhere cosy and un-noisy in the area. Mostly it's rather shabby ethnic places. Patogh (Iranian) in Crawford Place is about the best low-cost place around, but it gets a bit bustly.

The Phoenix Palace (quite excellent Cantonese) in Glenworth St, between Baker St tube and Marylebone might meet the geographic brief. I've not been there on a Sunday lunch, when most good Cantonese get very full. But I've been there when it's pretty full, and it seems to absorb the noise better than most similar places.

You might look - I've never tried them, but I've seen OK reviews here - at the restaurants in the Metropole and the Landmark, which might include quiet, cosy places.

PS: The reason I've not included the Sea Shell, which is handy for Marylebone, is that I had a dreadful experience about 15 years ago in the sit-down bit. They - or rather the worst restaurant manager ever to have been miscast anywhere - not only served fish that hadn't been scaled, but insisted that "everyone throws the batter and skin away anyway"

In fairness to the place, they must have fired this prat by now, and they never let me down when I stop off and pick up a few fish cakes from the takeaway bit.

You'll have much better choice if you and your friend won't mind meeting up around Marylebone High St. (which is closer to Baker St than Marylebone main line station). Added advantage is open-air farmers market on Sunday mornings. Imperial China on Baker St is quite popular for dimsum. Another hidden gem is the restaurant at Wallace Collection, which is a beautiful 18c arts and furniture collections.

Closer to Paddington, you'll have all those Lebanese restaurants along Edgware Rd.

I must say Seashell is my favourite fish & chips place--though we usually opt for take-away.

Where are you both coming from? I personally would maybe look fo a different area. But I definitely agree the Wallace Collection restaurant would be perfect. Nice meal and a wonderful collection.

Hi

Thanks for all your replies! My friend's hotel is near Paddington / Hyde Park and she'd like to stick to that area as we don't have heaps of time. I'm coming up the Jubilee from North Greenwich.

I've been to (and really like) Giraffe in Marylebone a few times but it can be very noisy.

I'm not really a fan of Chinese unfortunately but will look into the restaurants in the Metropole and the Landmark, as Flanneruk suggests.

Thanks again!!

How about Frontline? I have only ever read good reviews about it
http://tinyurl.com/36slwv

We've been to Frontline and thought it was decent, but not great. It's not a place I'd rush back to.

The Paddington area has pubs and tabac shops, but it's not all that appealing to meet a friend for lunch.

But there's a cute neighborhood very close-by, between Paddington and Hyde Park, an easy ten minute walk from Paddington station. It's the Sussex Gardens area, near Hyde Park. It's upscale residential, and the blocks around it had some very nice restaurants. It was very quiet and charming.

In fact, we found a fantastic Indian restaurant there: “Noorjahan 2” at 26 Sussex Place. I had an amazing prawn dish with shrimp so big you'd think they were lobster tails, in this incredible sauce. (And this from someone who thought she didn’t like Indian food!)

There were also at least two other little upscale restaurants on the same block.

Good luck with your search.
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I was curious to remember the names of the other little restaurants we'd seen. So, I cut and pasted this from myvillage.com/paddington (sorry it's so long!):

http://www.mypaddington.co.uk/paddin...restaurant.htm


Restaurants > Other Cuisines:
Yas, 31-33 Sussex Place, London, W2 2TH
Address: 31-33 Sussex Place, London, Greater

Restaurants > Modern & European Restaurants: Amandier, 26 Sussex Place, London, W2 2TH
Address: 26 Sussex Place, London, Greater London, W2 2TH, UK

Take Away Restaurants:
Tapas Wine Bar & Restaurant, 28 Sussex Place, London, W2 2TH
Address: 28 Sussex Place, London, Greater London, W2 2TH, UK

Restaurants > Indian & Balti Restaurants:
Noorjahan 2 Indian Restaurant, 26 Sussex Place, London, W2 2TH
Address: 26 Sussex Place, London, Greater London, W2 2TH, UK

Restaurants > Indian & Balti Restaurants:
Dataluxury Ltd, 30 Sussex Lodge Sussex Place, London, W2 2SQ
Address: 30 Sussex Lodge Sussex Place, London

Restaurants > Modern & European Restaurants: Cristini Restaurant, 28 Sussex Place, Lancaster Gate, London, W2 2TH
Address: 28 Sussex Place, Lancaster Gate, London, Greater London, W2 2TH, UK

Rajdoot Tandoori (london) Ltd | 30 Sussex Lodge Sussex Place | London | W2 2SQ

Indian & Balti Restaurants:
Rajdoot Tandoori (london) Ltd, 30 Sussex Lodge Sussex Place, London, W2 2SQ
Address: 30 Sussex Lodge Sussex Place, London, Greater London, W2 2SQ, UK

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"You might look - I've never tried them, but I've seen OK reviews here - at the restaurants in the Metropole and the Landmark, which might include quiet, cosy places."

Just to advise you that the Landmark "Cellars" restaurant which is excellent is not open on Sundays. To my knowledge, all the hotel offers on Sundays is a Champagne Sunday Brunch at 70 pounds per person which is outside your budget.

What about the Orrery next to the Conran Shop on Marylebone High Street? Open for lunch on Sundays, very nice food, and I think it's in your price range. Google it and I bet you'll find a menu.

Hope that helps, Susie!

If you can secure a reservation, Galvin on Baker St. is superb. A wondeful menu, well execute and exceptionally reasonable too!

Landmark--the setting is nice but IMO the food is average at most (nothing innovative) and the service can be veeeerrrrrrryyyyyy slow and rather inattentive side. Haven't been there that recently but heard they don't necessarily have that jazz ensemble on weekends anymore.

On Marylebone, Orrey is very nice both ambient, service, and food-wise, but not a good value for money. Good comment about Galvin, which I also like.

For lunch, I'd rather go to Providores (brunch can get quite crowded--either go early-ish or see if they take reservation).

I would also highly recommend Galvin - definitely fits your "cosy" requirement and the food is excellent.