paris1953

We'll be seeing Book of Mormon in London in late May. Any favorite restaurant suggestions for dining AFTER the show? Anything from a delicious dive to a five star spot would be lovely. Type of cuisine is completely open. Would like to be able to walk from the Prince of Wales theatre to the restaurant, but we could easily take a taxi anywhere.

Thanks!

paris1953

Just re-asking since I've sunk to the bottom of the heap. Thanks.

ctkathy

I've enjoyed Les Deaux Salon, near Covent Garden, in the past. It depends on the location of the theater as the West End in London is more spread out than the theater district in NY, for instance. Another really good one is J. Sheeky specializing in fabulous fish.,

Kate

The Ivy is a classic. Book very early. http://www.the-ivy.co.uk/

Endorse the suggestion for J Sheekey's, a very famous old seafood restaurant, part of the same group as The Ivy. http://www.j-sheekey.co.uk/

The Wolseley is a glorious, buzzing brasserie, great at any time of day. http://www.thewolseley.com/

paris1953

Thanks so much. I think we may try The Ivy or J Sheekey...we've been to Wolseley before andhad a wonderful meal. Just looking for something new to try.

travelGEEK_live

I see the Ivy recommended her for pre-theatre dinner - how would it compare to the: Wolsely, the Criterion, Ketters, and the IOD?

If you were enjoying a special evening out and looking for a quality dining experience with nice decor and good service, which of the restaurants listed above would you reserve and why?

Any restaurant feedback based on these options would be great.

flanneruk

"how would it compare to the: Wolsely, the Criterion, Ketters, and the IOD?"

For a post theatre supper (which was what this post is about), everywhere on this list - as well as every greasy spoon in London and all Aberdeen Anguses - beat the IOD, because the IOD last orders are at 2100.

Better: they're all open to all comers, whereas the IOD requires one member of the party to be an IOD member. Membership's costly (min £360 a year) and worthwhile to a very tiny proportion of people: the building's pretty, but you can get access to hundreds of prettier ones far, far cheaper with National Trust or English Heritage membership.

The food's OK. Nothing wrong, adequate dining room (not a patch on the rest of the building in terms of prettiness, though) and handy for lots of theatres. But by no stretch of anyone's imagination "a special evening out". Service is designed round the needs of small businesspeople in a hurry.

But there are hundreds of places around Pall Mall Mrs F & I would rather eat before a film, concert or play. The IOD's TERRIFIC for parking, though, and remarkably painless to drive to in the early evening from the Cotswolds.

travelGEEK_live

I'm following this thread - flanneruk your comments about the IOD are great - we were just looking at it when we learned that we could not attend as we did not show membership status.

What places to you recommend that are in buildings that are just as nice (or nicer) with great food/service? We are also looking for pre/post theatre dining and hope to find somewhere special. BTW, what about the Criterion Restaurant?

Tulips

You can't go wrong with the Wolseley. Much nicer than the Criterion.

Havana128

OP dined last May

travelGEEK_live

Hmmm...we should look in at the Wolseley for our own plans but I am sure the OP will want to as well - it seems to show up a lot in positive reviews online.

Tulips

The Wolseley is very popular, book well in advance. Or try the Delaunay, from the same people. Also from the same group is Brasserie Zedel; amazingly good value, and a great place before or after theatre.

janisj

Havana128: yes the OP ate the post theatre dinner back in May. But travelGeek topped the thread to ask again.

TravelGeek - >> Hmmm...we should look in at the Wolseley for our own plans but I am sure the OP will want to as well - it seems to show up a lot in positive reviews online<<

The thread is now in your court - the OP's trip is over and done with.

travelGEEK_live

Well we have booked Wolseley for one evening, we were going to try the Criterion for another as the reviews online seemed positive and the building is historical. Will check out the Delaunay.

Totally missed the OP's travel date - sorry about tha

travelGEEK_live

...t. Computer time out : (

fredandgingermad

The Delauney incidently is very nice but have only done pre-theatre dining there

paris1953

I just noticed all the July posts. Feel bad that I never followed up on this, but I am happy to report that we dined at J Sheekey and had our most wonderful, memorable, fun, and delicous meal of the entire week.

The place has wonderful atmosphere, completely engaging staff (and also hilarious). Our mood was quite good, having seen a great show and our pre-dinner cocktails at J Sheekey were quite stout!

I am probably going to take a bit of flak here, but we did also dine at Wolseley one evening and while the food was good, we had miserable service. Seemed very disorganized that evening and our waiter had no idea how the items on the menu were prepared. Food arrived in installments (some of us had ours 10 minutes before others) and wine showed up just as we were finishing up. We've been to Wolseley on a previous trip and absolutely loved it, so I'm not sure what was going on. Not sure we'll go back. Too many other fine establishments in London.

Kate

Pity about the Wolseley - poor service on the odd occasion can happen anywhere I guess. Well, apart from the Ivy maybe, they are service nazis.

Glad you loved J Sheekey, it's a classic. Spot any celebs?

paris1953

Kate, we did spot some celebs! Sadly, only our kids (late 20s/early 30s) knew who they were!! I believe it was some band, but it was not the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. : ) Actually, on another night, we did meet a couple of gentlemen at the American Bar, one of whom was an attorney for the Rolling Stones, managing their book of music and such. They were quite fun!