London Trip: 10/27-11/2; 2005

[gwuMACaddict]

Title says it all, maybe you recall this thread. Back looking for advice.

Where do I need to go? What do I need to see? Any good art shows that you've heard of lately?

All my European friends tell me that English food is terrible- where do I need to go to eat? Fish and Chips, etc.

Thanks for the help guys! (and gals!)

 

[4409723]

All my European friends tell me that English food is terrible- where do I need to go to eat? Fish and Chips, etc.

If you are in London you can have ANY kind of food you want, most of it good. It depends on your style. I'm a student so I don't get to try any really snazzy places although I can reccomend Wong Kei's in China town which is a reasonably priced, tasty and filling meal, although not British!

Art isn't my thing so I can't advise there but it's worth going up on the London Eye to get a nice view of the city.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

The Eye is definitely on the list, walking distance from where my girl lives... Have to do a couple of the touristy things while I'm there...

As for the food, I *do* want to experience the English fare... how about some good bars/pubs?

 

[DarkNetworks]

The Eye is definitely on the list, walking distance from where my girl lives... Have to do a couple of the touristy things while I'm there...

As for the food, I *do* want to experience the English fare... how about some good bars/pubs?

check out the Wax Museum...

 

[Applespider]

As for the food, I *do* want to experience the English fare... how about some good bars/pubs?

Go down to Borough Market on the Friday lunchtime (Saturday morning better). You'll find lots of British food (served from stalls) plus lots of other 'adopted' British foods. There's a great pie and mash stall under the railway bridge; and you can experiment with jellied eels etc there if you feel brave. There's also a fabulous cheese shop there where you'll get to try lots of UK cheeses.

Across the road from the cheese shop (Neal's Yard Dairy) is the Market Porter which is a proper English pub and manages to be picturesque. The other pub round there which is worth visiting, even just to take pictures, is The George on Borough High St.

Must confess that most of the bars/restaurants that I frequent aren't trad Brit fare which can be a little stodgy. Most of the pubs in the centre will sell bangers & mash or fish & chips but I've never tried them.

 

[geese]

Title says it all, maybe you recall this thread. Back looking for advice.

Where do I need to go? What do I need to see? Any good art shows that you've heard of lately?

All my European friends tell me that English food is terrible- where do I need to go to eat? Fish and Chips, etc.

Thanks for the help guys! (and gals!)

Buy a copy of the Time Out magazine when you get here.

Favourite pubs:

The Cock - Great Ormond Street.
The Champion- Off Oxford Street, Tottenham Crt road end (both pubs serve great German beer)
The Southwark Tavern - Borough High Street, near London Bridge
Cheshire Cheese- Fleet Street, londons oldest pub, apparently.

 

[iGav]

All my European friends tell me that English food is terrible- where do I need to go to eat?

Nonsense my friend, nonsense.

If you get chance one evening, you absolutely must take your lady to dinner at the Oxo Tower Restaurant on the south bank, the most incredible views of London at night and undeniably romantic (it is also relatively reasonable for such style, but remember, one never discusses the prices when a lady is present. )

However, if you really want to take it up a notch or two, may I recommend
the agonisingly stylish, The Wolseley it's classic '20's style, EXACTLY how you'd imagine London to be.

The only problem you'll encounter is that getting a table within a reasonable timeframe can be, how shall I put this... troublesome, even when you name drop for high heaven like I do. so you'll need to ring them now to try and book.

If you're wanting something more traditional, then I heartily recommend J Sheekey in St. Martin's Court. It'll hit you in the wallet, and hit you hard... but you honestly cannot put a price on this kind of establishment.

Any one of the above would contribute to an incredibly special and romantic evening, even more so if you're willing to turn the style up and go smart.

 

[Applespider]

If you're wanting something more traditional, then I heartily recommend J Sheekey in St. Martin's Court. It'll hit you in the wallet, and hit you hard... but you honestly cannot put a price on this kind of establishment.

Thoroughly second this one; Sheekeys is fabulous. Their fish pie is delectable and it's a wonderful atmosphere.

Have been a little disappointed on the last couple of visits to the OXO tower; it seems to have gone downhill over the past year.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

iGav: thanks for the links! J Sheeky looks perfect for one of the nights I'm in town- and walking distance from her flat- perfect!

Now to start weeding my way through the lists of bars that you folks have provided...

edit: And Applespider likes them too- definitely going to let you two know how the meal goes!

 

[Abstract]

British food is terrible, but that's not to say that eating out in Britain has to be bad.

Wagamama is decent Japanese restaurant (in the UK, anyway). Indian food in London is also quite fab, since there are so many Indian people in London. There's a restaurant 5 minutes walk south of Camden station, and it is great. Good prices, too. Too bad I forgot the name. Starts with a "B."

And as a North American who used to live in London, you'll have to go to Tate Modern if you want to see art. There's also the National Art Gallery (boring) and the National Portrait Gallery attached to it (much better), but neither are as great as Tate Modern.

Don't waste your time with Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and their House of Parliament......not much to see or do in those areas. London Eye.....meh. I've never bothered to see it, but it's not worth the time, really.

Go to Spitalfields Market near Liverpool Station. Anyway:

-Spitalfields Market, or a market of some sort in London.
- Tate Modern
- Greenwich (see the Greenwich/Prime Meridian and their time museum) and National Maritime museum Also a beautiful area. There's a great pie shop around there where they have beef and chicken pies, along with Apple pies and such for around £2.50 each, which is the cheapest you'll get in London, I think.
- Tower of London.....may as well see it.
- Apple Store near Oxford Circus (near the intersection of Oxford St and Regent St)
-Trafalgar Square, and right next to it are the National Art Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. Around 5 minutes from there is Covent Garden, which is interesting on weekends. Neal Street is there as well, and they're quite famous for their shoes if you wanted a pair.

Cheshire Cheese- Fleet Street, londons oldest pub, apparently.

I thought the oldest pub in London was The Flask in the Highgate area? Although maybe its the oldest pub in North London. I forget.

 

[iGav]

Have been a little disappointed on the last couple of visits to the OXO tower; it seems to have gone downhill over the past year.

A couple of friends have said similar things, although they also said it wasn't bad or anything, just not as good as it can be.

It's only ever been exceptional when I've been there, it's worth it for THAT view and THAT wine list though.

iGav: thanks for the links! J Sheeky looks perfect for one of the nights I'm in town- and walking distance from her flat- perfect!

Make sure you book in advance fella (like today, seriously) nothing worse than turning up and being turned away.

I still recommend the Oxo Tower though, if you manage to find time to do Tate Modern arrange that for the afternoon, then at dusk you can both enjoy the short walk along the Thames to the Oxo Tower and then enjoy a glass or two in the Oxo Tower Bar, really... you HAVE to see the nightime view, you REALLY have to.

 

[Zaid]

All my European friends tell me that English food is terrible- where do I need to go to eat? Fish and Chips, etc.

That is just not true anymore. London has probably the widest variety of restaurants in Europe and certainly the best Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern and North African food in Europe. (I'd definately visit edgware road for the Lebaneese, A place called Al-dar is probably the best sit down food on the road, and Cafe Helen does the best take away)

If you want to know what to eat in London, Time Out does a restaurant guide that is really good and covers every price range. It's available in most bookshops in London and is cheap. I'd highly recommend getting one.

This is also quite a useful website:
London Eating

Have a good trip!