St. John or Hereford Road? and please help round out my addtl restaurant choices [London]

[imn204]

Hello,
Ive been obsessively reading the boards and am finally ready to post looking for advice.

Ill be in London in two weeks for 3 nights and am starting to book tables for my visit.
We are looking to mainly have "British" food as we'll have spent the prior three days in Paris and can get most other types of food back home in NYC. We're staying in Kensington, but don't mind travelling to any point in the London for a great meal.

I have already booked a table at St John for my thurs night dinner, would it be redundant to go to hereford road within the same visit? Should I altogether skip St John and go to Hereford Rd instead? It seems that the two are both held in high regard on this board, but is St John mostly hype?

I also have lunch booked at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and dinner at Arbutus on Sat night.

I was thinking of being touristy and having high tea on friday, and having a small dinner (if necessary). Bad idea?

Is Arbutus a good choice for dinner? If not any suggestions for a comparably priced restaurant would be greatly appreciated.

Is Harwood Arms worth the visit?

Also interested in checking out some pubs for a pre/post dinner drink. Should I go to the Fox & Anchor by St. John? any other recs?

I know I have a ton of quesitons, thank you for your help!

[chief1284]

I haven't eaten at Hereford Road so my opinion is somewhat redundant.

Nevertheless, even though some people say St John is overrated/overhyped, I can't but help to disagree. Sure it's not cheap for the type of food you get (although on recent visits to Spitalfields I've been stuffed for around £16), but it really is A+ and totally English food. It's also such a legendary restaurant and so synonymous with London, it would really make a visit here I reckon.

Even if you decide to go to Hereford Road instead, I'd recommend going for one of your lunches to St John in Spitalfields. You can try an array of fantastic and cheap bites for not too much. The only drawback is they don't serve the signature bone marrow and parsley salad there.

It's pretty much a win-win situation regardless.

[MMRuth]

I went to both Hereford Road and St. John for lunch during a quick visit in February, and I don't think you would make a mistake by going to both if you are interested in "British" food, as I am. If you didn't run into my report while reading the board, let me know and I'll find the link for you.

[imn204]

found your comprehensive report, thanks so much!

[Paprikaboy]

Firstly I would have no hesitationn in recommending Harwood Arms.
Have posted numerous times on this.
I haven't been to Hereford Rd but love St John .
Service was great and the waitress recommended chilled Pinot Noir with my eel, which was an inspired choice.

[fat boy slim]

Harwood Arms ticks all the boxes for me, our one and only visit was way above the norm for gastropub food. Don't miss it.
Hereford Road was ok but I would not dash back as there are other options out there.
Not been to St John, but will do before the year is over just to find out if it is over hyped or not

[Jase]

US resident here who recently visited London for a week and ate fantastic thanks to this board. Trip report coming soon. I went to Hereford and St. John's. We stayed in the Earl's court area, not to far from the Kensington area. If I had to choose one, I'd go for St John's in a heartbeat. We liked Hereford but loved St. John's. Thought the service and quality was just better all the way around.

Every single one of Howler's suggestions were spot on. We regretted not making it to the Scarsdale pub for a drink, which he had suggested. That's close to where you're staying. Given the success I had with his suggestions, I'd feel safe throwing that out there for consideration even though I didn't go there.

My thread was the London Geography and Addresses. Very generous and helpful advice from many people on this board. Take a look there for further inspiration.

[howler]

"Trip report coming soon."

we're waiting, we're waiting.

[PhilD]

I would put the Harwood ahead of St John and Hereford Road. I have been to St John numerous times and always feel, that whilst good, it is more solid than spectacular. The Harwood always satisfies though. That said St John would be ahead of Hereford Rd in my list.

Interesting you chose Robuchon after coming in from Paris, I thought you wanted British food?

Two other thoughts. "Corrigans" in Mayfair for game in a great setting at a reasonable price, and maybe "Maze" to try modern British. Arbutus is fine, but you get what you pay for, especially in that area, same team but nicer restaurant is "Wild Honey".

[fat boy slim]

Our dinner at Corrigans earlier this year was extremely pleasant with much game on the menu,very good value also,one of the main courses was only £12 ish.

Don,t go for the table-d'hote at Maze it was poor quality on our visit, however some of the a la carte dishes were as you would expect.

Watch the final bill because the portions are tapas size and its tempting to order extras to fill up

[imn204]

The Robuchon lunch was more to check out the space and to compare the food to the NYC one. And we figured we would be in the area during lunch anyway. Should we not waste our time? Any suggestions for lunch in the area?

[Harters]

"was thinking of being touristy and having high tea on friday, and having a small dinner (if necessary). Bad idea? "

Possibly you mean "afternoon tea" rather than "high tea". High tea is a very specific meal which I've really only encountered in the north - normally served around 5pm , it'd be something like ham, egg & chips, follwe dby cake. Afternoon tea is served earlier and usually comprises sandwiches, cakes and pastries. Assuming you meant afternoon tea, then go for it - it's one of life's luxuries when done well. You'll want to seek out one of the capital's top hotels.

[alexdz]

St John. It is better. It's more expensive mind, but it is better.

[zuriga1]

Have a great afternoon tea and then a very small dinner. It makes for a welcome change, especially if you've just had some large, wonderful meals in Paris. There are many to choose from, and I think a search here will bring up some names. Brown's has lovely food but probably requires a bit of dressing up - maybe a bit similar to the Waldorf in Manhattan for atmosphere. A smaller, less formal room is at Sotheby's Auction House on Old Bond St. It sounds odd, but it's really very nice.

[fat boy slim]

Just checked Corrigans website and it appears the cheapest mains are now £22, starters begin at £7, desserts about the same. Not bad for Mayfair, but not quite the bargain it was when it first opened.Add to this the fact that you would need at least one side dish each and it soon starts rising.
On the plus side, the lunch deal at £27 for 3 courses including wine looks very appealing indeed.

[bron]

The lunch deal at corrigans is really good.

I add my vote to St John - seriously love the place, it serves utterly brilliant food.

If you're around the south bank/tate modern do try Anchor & Hope near Southwark tube, no reservations but extremely consistently great british food.

[fat boy slim]

Best described as Modern British, Michelin starred The Ledbury is top notch with Aussie chef Brett Graham keeping his punters more than happy with his offerings.

The lunch deal is superb value at £19.50 for 2 courses or £24.50 for 3.

Wish it were closer to me.

[imn204]

So we're def going to St. John, as it seems it must not be missed. We'll def give a visit to Harwood as well. Is Arbutus a waste of our time? Its scheduled for the last night of our trip, and I wanted to end on a good note. Any other suggestions? Was looking for something in a similar price range.

[fat boy slim]

It will be hard to match the pricing of Arbutus. The pre /post theatre set dinner at £17.50 is totally unbeatable for the quality.
For three courses at Launceston Place its £45, Maze is about £55, The Ledbury is £60 and to push the boat out at The Square it will cost you £75, plus of course service charge.
I have eaten at all of t he above and The Square is the best, however look at the price difference, perhaps that may help you decide?
Good luck
D

[imn204]

well i wasnt trying to match the pre/post theatre set price, was really looking at the a la carte menu in terms of determining total meal cost, but thank you for taking that into consideration.

[helen b]

The Jerusalem Tavern near St John is very British and olde worlde. If you're just after a pleasant glass of wine, Vinoteca opposite St John is great.

Instead of Arbutus, have a look on here for recent reviews of Launceston Place, the Ledbury, Maze and the Square. Bit better methinks.