Need moderate (or low) priced London restaurant
 

My son and his girlfriend are passing through London this Wednesday on their way to the US from Uganda. They've pretty much eaten rice, beans and chicken, and Indian food for the last 6 months. It would be so helpful if someone could recommend some less expensive restaurants in touristy areas of London. They'll only be there one night (staying at Heathrow, but they'll have all afternoon and evening to spend in London proper). They're young and don't have a lot of money (but we'd be willing to chip in).

Thanks in advance! (P.S. I did a search and found what seemed like some interesting suggestions, but the threads were from 2000 and earlier).

Followup - is there a website like menupages or yelp (or opentable) for London?

Well, depending on where they'll be and what they like to eat:

La Porchetta (pizza, several locations)
Wagamama (noodles, several locations)
Belgo Centraal (mussels, frites, etc)
Pizza Express (everywhere)

You can always use some fast food joints like Wimpy's
http://www.wimpy.uk.com/

I guess I should be a little clearer - area of town isn't an issue, since they have no particular plans (and only have about 7 or 8 hours -- both of them have been in London previously, though). They're definitely not looking for fast food of the Wimpy's/MacDonald's variety. Pizza in a nicer restaurant might be fine (not something like Pizza Express). So, sit-down restaurant, decent food, not terribly upscale/expensive. Thanks again.

My favorite "quick" yet quintessentially London restaurant is Dionysius at the corner of Tottenham and Oxford.

Best doners in the West End (after the demise of Gig's :-)), and a decent Greek menu.
Here's a weblink for you:
http://www.londoneats.com/search/com...staurantID=576
Spend the time having a quick bite and enjoying the scenery nearby.

Best, Dave

I like Dionysus at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court. There's a takeaway side, but the restaurant side is nice but not formal. Last time I got a chicken doner with salad and chips, probably around £8; I can't remember what else they had on the menu, but the doner was good! Wagamama is great, I think, but it sounds like they're looking for nicer, more sit-down experience, so the cafeteria-style seating may not be the right atmosphere. It is inexpensive, good food, though.

Oh, that's funny - Dave and I were posting at the same time! Great minds, I guess. :)

How about taking them into the restaurant/food area of Harrod's? The pizza place looks interesting, especially since the chefs sing opera while working (though I confess I haven't eaten the food at any of the places).

Wagamama's gets mixed reviews in this forum, but we thought it was OK, especially the one on the river.

Dionysus sounds great - I'll suggest it. Actually, they may like the food court at Harrod's (it's where my son was introduced to Indian food about 10 years ago), so I'll remind them of that, too. And I'll tell them about Wagamama's in case they decide they'd rather spend their few hours in London wandering around rather than eating (they'll have 2-1/2 weeks in the US to eat whatever they want before they return to Uganda). Thanks.

I would suggest a branch of Strada or ASK, both moderate priced (for London) Italian chains. You can get a plate of pasta for about 8 or 9 pounds. Food is quite good, Strada is slightly better quality. There is one close to the London Eye, along the Thames, that could be good.
www.strada.co.uk

Also check www.squaremeal.co.uk and www.toptable.co.uk for restaurants by location and cuisine.

Kay

Giraffe is good, with a nice range of options too.

http://www.giraffe.net/

Giraffe is excellent for breakfasts as they have a lot more choice than most places but I found their lunch/dinner menu a bit limited.
Kay

Carluccio's is another decent Italian place that's not terribly expensive. I usually always hit it once every trip to London.

Ate at Navajo Joe's (Covent Garden) and really enjoyed it. Not too expensive either & very good food.

Not sure what your definition of "moderate priced" means...

I'd recommend Belgo Centraal in Covent Garden. I had dinner there back in Sept - had 1 beer, an excellent mussels pot entree, and a dessert. Total was £23. I got to share a table with actor Brendan Fraser, so that was priceless! :)

you've got lots of good suggestions so far. But not quite sure why you say &quot;<i>not something like Pizza Express</i>&quot;

Pizza Express is actually fairly upscale - not like a Domino's or cheap pizza joint in the States.

here is an example of their menu http://www.pizzaexpress.com/MainMenu.pdf

Some locations:
85 Victoria Street,

25 Millbank,

450 Strand,

Royal Festival Hall - The White House,

26 Panton House - near Haymarket

80-81 St Martin's Lane,

Janis, you're right, I too quickly dismissed Pizza Express. I know you're from the Bay Area -- would you say it's something like Amici's?

I'm actually from near Sacramento and the only Amici's I've been to is the one on Lombard Street. So I don't know if they are all similar - but yes Pizza Express is sorta-kinda like Amici's. But PE is maybe a bit more &quot;dinner house-ish&quot; if that makes sense.

There's a great Greek restaurant just around the corner on a little side street from the British Museum called 'Konaki', at 5 Koptic Street.

A 3-course dinner can run as low as 12gbp per person. For 50gbp total, they could eat like kings plus share a bottle of wine. This is an independent, family owned restaurant. The food is excellent, and the atmosphere is friendly and old-fashioned.

My sister took us there to eat; she first heard of this restaurant on the recommendation of acquaintances at the British Museum. Apparently it is popular with museum workers, though the night we went it was full of young professional types. This place is not listed in any guidebook that I know of, and they don't have a website, but if you google it a few British restaurant review websites pop up.

There is actually a Pizza Express right across the street from Konaki-we ate there another night, and paid far more money than we did at Konaki, for very mediocre food. Pizza Express is really popular but I can't say I like it.

...the address is actually 5 Coptic Street, not Koptic...

For British food, we very much liked Bumby's, a recommendation from a Blue Badge Guide. It's midway between Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace. Good food, and very moderate prices!

Wow, I really hate to be a wet blanket and I'm not discounting anyone else's opinion, but my husband and I had one of the worst meals of our trip at Dionysus. I'd heard good things about it, but we were horribly disapponted... dry, flavorless meat, mediocre pita. Plus it struck me as very much a fast-food kind of place; sure you can sit down, but you can also sit down in a Subway here in the states. Sorry :( I think we mostly ate at mid-priced places in London (which would probably be just outside of their price range) but one place I can wholeheartedly recommend is Bistro 1. They have 2 branches, one kind of in Bloomsbury and the other in Soho. The Soho one supposedly has better service and is the one we went to. It's a nice enough sit-down kind of place to make you feel like you've &quot;been someplace&quot; (has a candle and fresh flower on each table too), and the food's delicious and cheap.

From my trip report: &quot;Dinner that evening was at Bistro 1 in Soho, where they have a 3-course prix fixe for 9.90&pound;, a real bargain. And it was delicious! The second-best meal we had in London, and definitely one of the cheapest. I had a starter of delicious mussels in a Provencal-style sauce, beef burgundy for my main, and tarte tatin for dessert. I don’t remember what Jeff had, but he was quite happy with his food too.&quot;

Here's their menu: http://www.bistro1.co.uk/menu/index.php

I should have added that we also ate at the exact Pizza Express location that Apres_Londee mentioned and had terrible service and bad, relatively expensive (for the quality) food. I'd rather eat fish and chips for dinner than Pizza Express.

(BTW: Apres_Londee: I love your username! I take it you're also a Guerlain fan?)

Hi dmlove:

With one afternoon and evening in London, why not check out the 1/2 price theatre tickets in Leicester Sq to see if anything of interest is available?

e.g.:

http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts

Whether or not theatre tickets are of interest, send them to Covent Garden for dinner options. Its pleasant to stroll the area and choose based on what seems tempting. There's a good selection of moderate restaurants in the area:

http://www.coventgardenlife.com/rest...estaurants.asp

We've enjoyed Porter's a couple of times but its been years.

Is any more pre-planning necessary?

good luck,

maytraveller

If they've been on rice and beans in a 3rd world country for months, they will ESPECIALLY love Wagamama- all clean lines, tasty Asian food, excellent for young people- and cheap!!!

how about zizzi's. Its an italian chain and they do some really nice pizzas and pasta dishes for around &pound;10GBP for a mains.

there website is www.zizzi.co.uk

Here's a suggestion. How about the Level 7 Cafe in the Tate Modern? It has a very imaginative menu, a well crafted wine list, reasonable prices and a spectacular view of London!
I believe that it serves until 6:00PM Sun-Thursday and 11:00PM Fri.&amp; Sat. Also they take reservations.
(Don't confuse this with the light fare Cafe on Level 2)
Regards,
JoeG

If you go to the Greek restaurant in Coptic street be careful not to leave anything valuable in your coat pocket if you hang up your coat.
Have a look at Bertorellis in Charlotte Street.

JoeG, that's a great place, but I really don't think it meets the moderate to low budget indicated by the poster. I'd expect two people to spend about 75 to 100 pounds with two courses and a glass of wine each.

If they like mussels -- which sounds like a great change from their recent fare -- I'd send them right to Belgo Centraal, just by the Covent Garden tube station. Great mussels and frites, quite inexpensive, and a fun atmosphere. Or they might even appreciate the great sausages and mashed potatoes even more!

While I like Wagamama a lot, I don't think the change from lots of Indian food, rice and beans would be nearly as great as going to Belgo.

The lunch or late lunch menu at Cafe 7 is very reasonable.

Belgo Centraal is great and fun but it is a beer hall. Wagamama, also excellent,cheap, fast food with communal dining - not much atmosphere.

Wow, thanks so much for all the suggestions. They're leaving Entebbe in about 12 hours, so I'm not sure if they'll see this before they go, but I've forwarded it to them. Lots of choices!

Here's the menu for the 7th Floor at Tate Modern. Yes, it is &quot;reasonable&quot;, but I'll stand by my estimated cost above.
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/pdf/tm...urant_menu.pdf

Or more if we're talking about dinner and not lunch.

I've been to two Pizza Express. One in Greenwich once &amp; several times to the location on Beauchamp Place &amp; both have been wonderful, especially the Sloppy Giuseppe. Maybe different locations vary in quality but I wouldn't brand all of them as terrible at all.

&gt;&gt;&gt;I take it you're also a Guerlain fan?&lt;&lt;&lt;

Love Guerlain :)

&gt;&gt;&gt;If you go to the Greek restaurant in Coptic street be careful not to leave anything valuable in your coat pocket if you hang up your coat&lt;&lt;&lt;

That's awful if you had something taken from your coat pocket, I'm sorry to hear it. The best advice is not to leave valuables unattented in any public place at any time. It's not particularly fair to suggest the item was taken from your coat pocket because you were in that specific restaurant. It's just bad luck that something valuable was left in your coat unattended, on the same night an opportunistic thief was around. Still sucks, though, I know.

&gt;&gt;&gt;Maybe different locations vary in quality but I wouldn't brand all of them as terrible at all&lt;&lt;&lt;

I don't think Pizza Express is terrible, it's just very average and run-of-the-mill IMO, and not really well-priced considering the quality of the food and atmosphere.

Pizza Express is enjoyable, but we prefer Strada for pizza/Italian.

Belgo does have beer and Belgian ale, but the food is really good, and if you go early there are specials that are downright cheap.

We had a great meal at Portrait - it's at the top of the National Portrait Gallery - good view and the fixed price pre-theatre menu was reasonable.

bookmarking

Another vote for Carluccio's. Also Prezzo http://www.prezzoplc.co.uk/

If they like Japanese, the lunch specials at Kiku's on Half Moon Street in Mayfair has excellent lunch specials. Expensive when you go for dinner or a la carte, but the set lunches are great value, especially for that neighborhood.
http://www.kikurestaurant.co.uk/

They're on their way to the U.S. so they'll be able to get a great burgers there, but if they're in the mood for a good burger (including venison and buffalo burgers), Gourmet Burger Kitchen offers the best burgers we've had in Europe. However, their fries were just so-so (and yes, they're listed on the menu as &quot;fries&quot;)
http://www.gbkinfo.com/GBK_Menu.htm

http://www.gbkinfo.com/GBK_Locations.htm

dmlove's son was in London back before Christmas