http://www.chow.com/boards/42 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:44:41 GMT Keep track of the lastest threads on Chowhound http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849368#7342251 Not going to ask 'why Gordon Ramsay?' but none would be my first choice for the brief. It depends to some extent on whether the key point is wonderful room/service or whether it is the food and if so whether you are looking for interesting or just classical. Maze: modern interior, quirky food. Claridges: average food but beautiful room and service as you'd expect. The 3* restaurant: decent (expensive) and fine for a well-behaved 13-year-old but at that price there are better options. If you wanted to expand happy to advise more. ManInTransit Wed, 16 May 2012 12:08:44 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849368#7342251 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849318#7342198 We would have taken it but I'm going to the States next week and am swamped. zuriga1 Wed, 16 May 2012 11:04:01 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849318#7342198 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848118#7341271 Me too - good nihari and very good seekh kebabs Theresa Tue, 15 May 2012 22:08:24 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848118#7341271 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849331#7340750 The Mandeville Hotel off of Oxford St. does a very does, quiet afternoon tea. There's also one people like at The Wallace Collection, an often overlooked gem of a museum with a nice restaurant. zuriga1 Tue, 15 May 2012 18:38:56 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849331#7340750 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849072#7338381 Great find, EXACTLY what Chowhound is all about! Thanks zedman_1 Mon, 14 May 2012 18:39:22 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849072#7338381 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849027#7337659 Bistro 21, part of the 21 Hospitality Group. Even better, hop on a train to Newcastle and visit Cafe 21 on Trinity Gardens, the "mother" restaurant. Al Toon Mon, 14 May 2012 14:15:37 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849027#7337659 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847441#7337464 If its oysters you're after, Ondine do three different type of oysters (its a seafood focused restaurant), I think you can just sit up by the bar and Honours by Martin Wishart do one type but a variety of different ways. orchidalbion Mon, 14 May 2012 11:51:38 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847441#7337464 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/845169#7337442 Has anyone tried a Crombies haggis? As their sausages are so good, the haggis can't be too bad either.... they supply the Halfway House, but surely they must do so for other (more spacious!) places in the city. bodessa Mon, 14 May 2012 10:43:35 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/845169#7337442 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848896#7337386 keep an eye out for pre theatre and lunch menus if your trying to save money, both of these are great value, well regarded and within strolling distance to theatre land: £15.95 for 2 courses or or 3 courses for £17.95 at les deux salons http://www.lesdeuxsalons.co.uk/menu/get/pre-theatre.pdf or £18.95 for 2 courses or 3 courses for £20.95 at Arbutus (run by the same people and has a michelin star) http://www.arbutusrestaurant.co.uk/menu/get/pre-theatre.pdf damien76 Mon, 14 May 2012 08:06:27 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848896#7337386 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848536#7337360 That gives a little more scope for recommendations! On South Frederick Street there is a new restaurant called Bite ( www.bitedublin.com) and right opposite is a great spot for an inexpensive lunch and a glass of good Italian wine ( www.dunneandcrescenzi.com) There are a few hip places for cheap eats owned by the same people, all with different concepts..Crackbird is a really tasty fried chicken place, Bear serves steak in it's many different forms and Skintflint does grilled pizza. All are fun, hip and have good quality food. Enjoy! Patricko Mon, 14 May 2012 07:12:40 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848536#7337360 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848870#7334949 I'm staying in Wyboston a few days next week. Can anyone suggest some good food along the lines of gastropubs (not more than moderately expensive, my expense account has been cut back!), etc. in the area? Might be able to get as far afield as Cambridge. Thanks! ftarazu Sat, 12 May 2012 14:28:30 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848870#7334949 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848717#7333091 Hi, this Google map maybe of use, given recent posts on budget dining in London. (All links to same map) http://g.co/maps/t6dgq http://bit.ly/Hu3ToS http://t.co/hMBezEX3 Patra19 Patra19 Fri, 11 May 2012 13:28:04 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848717#7333091 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848570#7332902 You might be able to order it online at www.creamsupplies.co.uk. This company sells a lot of things like that. zuriga1 Fri, 11 May 2012 06:40:30 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848570#7332902 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848231#7331990 Thanks ! kschuman Thu, 10 May 2012 19:37:06 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848231#7331990 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/828529#7331473 Thanks for this. I had considered Wagamama, but it was slightly pricier than I had hoped to pay for lunch. I had dismissed Nando's because I didn't think it had veggie options, but checked the menu on your suggestion and saw that it had plenty; it should be perfect for our needs. We have 14 people, so No 10 might be a problem. And thanks a bunch for the pubs. nc213 Thu, 10 May 2012 15:48:33 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/828529#7331473 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/843258#7331397 I'd never tried dosas in London - would be interested to compare those with the ones we have here in Singapore and also the ones I tried in Chennai (where it's called "thosai") last month. klyeoh Thu, 10 May 2012 15:19:03 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/843258#7331397 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848573#7331249 I am visiting the UK from Massachusetts and have enjoyed some good, English food in a whole range of places, but today's lunch at Carter's in Moseley took it to another level. The cured salmon starter with crab mayonnaise and pickled cucumber was an almost perfect combination of tastes and textures, the salmon underdone and delicious and the crab mayo nicely spikey. My companion had the mackerel which was also good, but with frozen horseradish and avocado, I thought there was too much going on. I notice that on older menus they have mackerel and rhubarb, which would have done it for me. My main was a mixture of rack of lamb and lamb belly. Both were superb, but for me the belly took the biscuit. I've never eaten lamb belly in a restaurant before. Indeed, I don't think I have had it since I was a kid. It managed to be crisp, soft, meaty and unctuos all at the same time. Delicious with that taste of lamb that I think you only get in the UK/Ireland. We had a side of Jersey Royal potatoes and they were authentic, nothing like the pale imitations I have bought from supermarkets in the past few years. We had no time for desert, but I must mention the amuse bouche. Cold almond soup was really interesting, the chocolates offered in lieu of desert were great, but just before my starter I was given a small scotch egg the like of which I have never eaten before. A soft-boiled quail's egg, wrapped in good pork sausage, and then deep fried until crispy. The combination of taste and texture was deliigntul. Only two bites, but I would travel a long way to repeat the experience. Service was fine, knowledgeable and unobtrusive. Wines by the glass well-priced and a particularly well-chosen rioja. Looking back over this it reads as though I have shares in the place, but not so. It would be well worth getting a cab out of the centre of Birmingham to eat here. Last time I had food this good was at TW Foods in Cambridge, Ma. And that is praise indeed. And if you are a tourist, down the road and round the corner is a pub called the Fighting Cocks. Very traditional and currently very well run. http://www.cartersofmoseley.co.uk/ Green Drake Thu, 10 May 2012 13:41:53 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848573#7331249 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848387#7331236 Not sure if it's in play, but you might consider further west along Embankment (somewhere like Painted Heron), or even just across the river, stretch to Waterloo or so. Might not be too far in terms of a cab ride. Scythe Thu, 10 May 2012 13:34:10 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848387#7331236 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/420368#7331166 Agreed -- the ones are Nobu are incredible. I had them in Vegas at Nobu and was craving them so much I popped in on Berkley Street for desert. The ones are Japan Center are good too (but not in the same league as the Nobu). brokentelephone Thu, 10 May 2012 12:50:43 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/420368#7331166 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848196#7330983 at koya, i really recommend trying one of the noodle dishes (up to you if ou go hot or cold) with the walnut and mushroom miso - it has a wonderful sweet and savoury flavour. hix oyster and chop house has a good sunday lunch deal - i posted about it recently; sharing starters, a choice of chicken or beef and then cheese or a sweet pudding - but the area is a bit lifeless on a sunday, although you can link it with time exploring brick lane, colombia road etc abby d Thu, 10 May 2012 07:56:07 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848196#7330983 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847320#7330754 I'm wondering about this also. I was just in London two weeks ago (2nd trip this year for work) and have found a pub about four blocks from Harrod's that I like visiting. The first time I was there back in January, my waiter was a really nice and wound up talking to him for quite a long time. He gave me a lot of recommendations and bits of info about all the neighborhoods. I rounded up my tab (£8 fish, chips and peas) to £10. I went back to the same pub this past visit and it was great to see and have my same waiter, it really was like seeing an old college friend. I ordered the same and rounded up the tab but I included an additional pound to £11 because he helped me read my crinkled up map, lol. Both these visits were during lunch hour. For service charges already added for dinner (I only noticed service charges tacked on my dinner bills), I just pay and leave it as such. But if my pub lunch buddy sprung up as my waiter for a glossy dinner service, I'd be happy to leave additional because this guy deserves it! mushroomaffairs Thu, 10 May 2012 03:41:16 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847320#7330754 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848451#7329699 http://www.chaam-london.co.uk/ anyone been? howler Wed, 09 May 2012 18:55:58 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/848451#7329699 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/840691#7329402 Thanks so much for all the insight. We leave tomorrow, and it turns out that we're NOT staying in Waterloo, but rather south of there near Clapham Common. We will be touring about on Friday and Saturday evening when we return from Ascot. I'll be sure to report back. frenchprof Wed, 09 May 2012 17:05:37 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/840691#7329402 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/844083#7329025 I tend to agree. It can be hard to secure a booking once the groupon has launched, and you have a fixed time limit in which to use it. I find that a lot of Groupon places offer a roughly comparable deal through toptable/tastecard, etc. lacemaker Wed, 09 May 2012 14:38:34 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/844083#7329025 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847850#7327172 Most of the kosher restaurants are in north london (golders green, hendon) and some are really excellent. Shamash.org will help you find them. In central london, Bevis Marks (recently moved to Middlesex street a few blocks from its prior home on Bevis Marks street next to the 300 year-old synagogue) is a fine-dining experience. Nearby Spitalfields has a range of restaurants for the rest of the gang (including a very authentic chinese place just up Middlesex St, 'My Old Place' - not at all kosher!) Reuben's on Baker Street has a deli upstairs and a fancier restaurant downstairs. Deli West One (http://www.thedelilondon.com/) is only a few blocks from Reuben's. The salt beef chili at DWO was excellent. As between the two, I'd go to DWO for deli, Reuben's if I were looking to go to the downstairs restaurant. Your colleague should be aware that there is a brand of kosher prepared sandwiches, D&D (made by Hermolis, who also do the airline kosher food for London's airports). These look similar to the other boxed prepared sandwiches you see all over London, and are carried by a number of supermarkets in their branches where there is a kosher customer base, for example the Waitrose in Canary Wharf, the Tesco Metro across from Liverpool Street Station, and others in the City an environs. http://www.hermolis.com/sandwiches.php has a link to the list of 'stockists' (those who stock their sandwiches) For those looking for a 'kosher style' option, the beigel bakeries on Brick Lane (open 24/7) make a salt-beef-on-bagel sandwich that is great value and reportedly very tasty (all my friends say - but i don't eat non-kosher meat so i haven't tested myself). See the recent NY Times article on 36 hours in East London. ms_in_london Tue, 08 May 2012 17:48:08 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847850#7327172 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/512017#7324312 Glad you liked it and I'm glad to see CHers actively going to this place. I love it, but Bangladeshi food has gotten rather mixed reviews from a lot of posters (plus the environment in Gram can be awkward for certain groups or single women.) JFores Mon, 07 May 2012 12:54:51 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/512017#7324312 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847664#7322665 Also, Edinburgh isn't in England. Lizard Sun, 06 May 2012 10:03:28 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847664#7322665 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846473#7321478 Much appreciated, Dave - you haven't steered me wrong yet! amy626 Sat, 05 May 2012 15:27:32 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846473#7321478 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/531683#7321298 Fair observations. Seems like you are becoming an expert on bengali food. Also reading this thread making me salivate. Need to cook some chingri paturi today. Look it up if you fancy....delicious Bengaliatheart Sat, 05 May 2012 13:32:26 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/531683#7321298 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/842853#7319355 I bought a few bottles from the wine shop last night--a Spanish rose and an Italian montepulciano. More interesting than what one normally gets sub £10, and a nice guy too. shiraschnitzer Fri, 04 May 2012 13:16:21 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/842853#7319355 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847429#7317900 Perhaps Quo Vadis, which has a three course menu for 20GBP. emsny Thu, 03 May 2012 19:30:23 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847429#7317900 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846357#7317816 St. John had them last year. Selfridge's dept store had them too. Tried them at St. John, and it didn't taste that different from a chicken egg! mehrirubin Thu, 03 May 2012 19:02:44 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846357#7317816 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847236#7317276 I'd also recommend Ciccones for breakfast -- its quite inexpensive and has a very cool vibe in the mornings. brokentelephone Thu, 03 May 2012 16:00:00 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/847236#7317276 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846804#7315949 Thanks for the Ducasse warning! I was surprised by the National Portrait Gallery because the same foodie recommended it that recommended the Tate. I've been to Marcus Waring and agree! awinestory Wed, 02 May 2012 22:58:39 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846804#7315949 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/801731#7314685 There is quite a large carpark about two blocks from the restaurants. It's the first right hand turn after you pass Sorabol on the right coming from the A3 and just near the Lidl store. We've never parked on the High St. or anywhere else as this is so convenient. Around 6, there's always a space... not sure about lunchtimes. zuriga1 Wed, 02 May 2012 15:00:19 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/801731#7314685 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/842727#7312399 I'd second (edit: third just seen the post below) Great Queen St, it's about 10 minute walk at the most and it's excellent. And across the road is Moti Mahal for great Indian. And a bit further in to Covent Garden you have Da Polpo or Hawksmoor which are also really good. pj26 Tue, 01 May 2012 16:11:00 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/842727#7312399 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/845199#7311924 Thanks MiniMonster. I'll check it out artdonuts Tue, 01 May 2012 12:32:15 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/845199#7311924 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846632#7311781 As they had no one else dining there at the time our table of 6 was offered the chance to move down to it on the day of our booking just after Xmas. Overall I had a good time and would recommend it. The table is in the kitchen (funny enough); however, this is in the basement so unlike for example at Maze, you are completely removed from all the other dinners. The table is positioned with a great view of the pass and the kitchen behind, whilst still being set back a bit from the action. There were 6 of us and although on their website it says it it is suitable for up to 8; I would say 6 is very comfortable, 7 would be fine but 8 may be a bit of a squeeze. The sommelier was our waiter for the evening and was very good despite having to run up and down the stairs quite a bit I would imagine. The head chef, Sean Burbidge, was very friendly he came over and had a chat and then at the end of our meal he gave us a tour of the kitchen. If you are interested in how these places are run or just would like something a bit different I think it would be a good experience. Before I forget I am a fan of the food there, sure it is not revolutionary but it is very high quality French cuisine. Keith_ell Tue, 01 May 2012 09:04:30 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846632#7311781 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/844447#7310116 Staying near Grand Canal area. We don't mind a good walk, so fire away. thompkin Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:58:37 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/844447#7310116 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846797#7309938 http://www.hixoysterandchophouse.co.uk/ DavidT Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:45:40 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846797#7309938 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/843266#7308694 Woops, misheard -- they are opening, not have, opened a new place in Clapham Junction. They are expecting the new place to be open in a couple of months. limster Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:24:27 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/843266#7308694 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/844368#7308158 Obika which is in the glass atrium between the tube and Heron Quay is wonderful, they serve Italian small plates but is billed as a mozzarella bar. I hear there is excellent and there is a new tapas place, Iberica which is near the DLR Canary Wharf stop and is supposed to be good. Camino on the river is good too. YummaYum Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:48:22 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/844368#7308158 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/841916#7307938 Haven't really tried looking for it but don't recall seeing it around so far. If you are really craving for the bakkwa taste, I find the grilled pork neck starter dish at Addie's tastes rather similar to bakkwa. Not identical but worth a try. Addie's is a thai restaurant near Earl's Court tube (http://www.addiesthai.co.uk/ ). The thai food there is good too so it'll be worth a visit anyway. It's a popular place so it's usually quite packed. Hope this helps. acme15 Sun, 29 Apr 2012 14:48:40 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/841916#7307938 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/805343#7305379 Happy to do that! And will look forward to your good ideas. amy626 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:23:10 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/805343#7305379 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846054#7304164 Hey Zuriga tahnsk for you tips, especially the one for the olympics... your are 100% right :-) Thanks again !!! JARRIKEIIN Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:33:27 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846054#7304164 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846243#7302581 As per the title -- I've never tried Azerbaijani food but it sounds like a cool mixture of Persian, Russian, and Middle-Eastern. brokentelephone Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:53:54 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846243#7302581 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/845980#7301722 That's very kind Thissy Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:34:47 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/845980#7301722 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/843439#7300950 Here's another recent discussion... http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/821913 Lambowner Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:39:49 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/843439#7300950 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/808604#7300672 So, we went back to sample the Malaysian menu. I think it’s better than the South Indian. Google tells me that “Rojak” is the Malay word for “mixture”, so it’s no surprise that this is exactly what the dish was. A mix of soft fried tofu, bean sprouts, egg (and other stuff I couldnt identify) in a thick sweet chilli sauce, topped with peanut sauce with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. This was good – very good. The other starter was roti canai. A couple of delicious flaky roti – just as we had a few months back in a Cape Malay restaurant in South Africa. The daal perfectly flavoursome and well seasoned but very thin in texture. Perhaps that’s how it’s supposed to be but it wasn’t a massive success – not least as it was so thin it ran off the bread. Nasi Goreng Kampong Style was a very generous serving of rice, chicken, king prawn, vegetables, topped with anchovies. The prawns were obviously previously frozen and were served still with their tails on – but cooking managed to avoid the usual turn to rubber. Good dish – but not as good as my partner’s lamb rendang. This was a portion that would happily have fed both of us. This was good quality meat, cooked for a long, long time, so it was exceptionally tender. The sauce had all but gone and there was just enough clinging to the meat. I managed to get a couple of tastes (well, “tastes” undervalues the greed with which I attacked the leftovers). This was a star dish and I’d go back just to eat it. (And we spotted that Shiraz is open again, so that's now back on the "to try" list) Harters Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:29:27 GMT http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/808604#7300672