260330 Sun Aug 19 13:23:34 -0700 2001 2 26 International 0 1375805 Hi all I am new here - seems like a really good site, lots of useful info and some interesting debates! I have a question - I have been living in London for six months now and like to eat out regularly. I'd like to get a restaurant guide but don't know which to get....do any of you have any guides you think are any good? Or do you even think it's worth it? Thanking you! Sun Aug 19 13:23:34 -0700 2001 0 classybird 1 1375809 I hesitate to recommend any guide because as ever it depends hugely on your own personal taste. Also, the problem is that in London things change quickly, new places open and chefs move on. Which is why this site looks great as it's a way of getting some unbiased views. That also means that one's generally at the whim of the weekly reviewers. But in answer to your question...here we go: Good Food Guide - used to be a bit of a bible as one of the few guides at all; I believe it's impartial, but then what do I know. A bit staid but good for top end recommendations. Time Out Guide - good insofar as it has huge listings: but how accurate can they be with so many ? Not sure it's particularly reliable Zagat - Hmm. I think restaurants probably deserve more than a few lines and an arithmetic calculation: I guess I'd like to read more than a potted comment and an algorhythm. Or is that Harbins/Hardins/whatever... Square Meal - used to be just the City but now the whole of London and outside too. Probaby put it in the time out box but without the sparkle. As to weekly recommendations, I'd go for Time Out magazine and AA Gill in the Sunday Times, who I just have to respect for not taking it all too seriously... And as for my own recommendations, go for the Real Greek in Hoxton for fantastic Greek food, but not as you know it; or Club Gascon in Smithfield for the best regional French food in town (and not just if you like foie gras). And then I'd probably pop around the corner to either Match or SoShoMatch, but then I guess bars are another story..... Sun Aug 19 15:18:26 -0700 2001 1375805 0 jim c 1 1376051 Modern guides tend to be "trendy guides" which is fine if you want the latest un-known amazonian fish toppped with sauteed Indo-Chinese water chestnuts and "graced" with authentic eskimo crocus leaves. I stick to the reliable ones--Wilton's is always on the list. It was famously derided years ago as offering comfort to upper class snobs who like it becuase it reminds them of their infancies: women serving bland food. But ti is still the best seafood in London: it is resonably quiet; it requires coat and tie; it does not admit children nor wireless telephones. In short, it is a slice of paradise in an increasingly debased world. Fri Aug 31 13:23:12 -0700 2001 1375805 0 Hazelhurst