Need help with London restaurant decisions

[lacontessa]

Hi--have spent hours going through Chowhound recommendations and checking menus, prices and calendars and still need your help. We will be arriving in London on Boxing Day (December 26) and leaving late afternoon on the 30th of December. We are staying in a B&B near Southgate tube station, on the Piccadilly line. So, have 4 dinners and 4 lunches to map out. I would like to make reservations for at least one meal each day since hubbie and I have learned a long time ago that we tend to get cranky when we have missed a meal!

Several of the places recommended on this board are closed during the end of December (Launceston Place, Hibiscus) or only open certain days.

Based on earlier postings, the following are possibilities, but, am open to any and all suggestions. Since we will have just visited Paris, French is not required. And, we have good Asian restaurants near home. We definitely will visit the British Museum, V&A, Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum, and see a panto at the Hackney Empire. Any suggestions near these sites?

Thoughts about these and other suggestions gratefully appreciated:

Saturday December 26: dinner????

Sunday December 27:
Harwood Arms (lunch or dinner)
Chez Bruce (dinner)

Monday December 28:
Chez Bruce (lunch or dinner)
Harwood Arms (lunch or dinner)

Tuesday December 29:
Arbutus (lunch or pre-theater)
Chez Bruce (lunch or dinner)
Harwood Arms (lunch)
Wild Honey (lunch or pre-theater)

Wednesday December 30:
Arbutus (lunch)
Chez Bruce (lunch)
Harwood Arms (lunch)
Murano (lunch)

Thank you!

[limster]

You mentioned that French is not required because you're coming from Paris -- the centre of gravity for Chez Bruce, Arbutus and Wild Honey are all French. Perhaps that could help you narrow your options.

[limster]

P.S. what's your home city? Might be useful for tailoring recommendations.

[lacontessa]

Thanks for the replies. We live in Maryland, near Washington DC.

[limster]

London is one of the most (if not the most) diverse chow cities in the world. Be sure to take full advantage of it.

One place worth checking out en route to Southgate from central London is Chez Liline, on Stroud Green Road (Finsbury Park tube station). Mauritian seafood with very old school classic hotel-style French technique (in a very good way).

I love the roast baby chicken at Alwaha, and you could probably combine that with a few mezze at this Lebanese place, then stroll down a block or two to El Piratas de Tapas for a few Spanish bites. Then ice cream for dessert at L'artisan du chocolat, all in Westbourne Grove.

Don't know if you can find world class xiao long bao or shanghai-style shumai in Maryland, but if you can't and am not planning a trip to Shanghai, go get it at Min Jiang in Kensington. The xlb are slightly better than the versions I've had in California (that includes LA's Din Tai Fung and ones made by a ex-head chef from Shanghai's Liu Bo Long).

And if you haven't had Keralan food in your home town, try lunch at Quilon. Also have a look at howler's post on Maharastrian food at Indian Zing. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/650385

British cheeses compare very favourably with their French counterparts. Neal's Yard is a good place to sample them, and I remember the National Dining rooms at the National Gallery having a large selection of British cheeses. It will be a good opportunity to compare with your more recent French experiences.

[Pan]

I'll be staying on Stroud Green Road for almost a fortnight, starting in early August, so I'm excited to read your recommendation of Chez Liline. I patronized a wonderful restaurant in Nice years ago, which served food from La Reunion. It was heavily South Asian-influenced, combined with a French sensibility of how to imaginatively mix ingredients (I recall they served a curry with green peppercorns and red grapefruit slices), and this resulted in a unique taste experience for me. Is Mauritian food similar to that description? How are the prices at Chez Liline? Also, is there anyplace else you recommend within walking distance of Stroud Green Road (2 km or so)?

[limster]

I haven't been to any other places in that area, but I vaguely remember someone recommending the Turkish place across from Chez Liline. I haven't been in a while, so a update would be awesome.

[Pan]

If I go to Chez Liline, I'll definitely report back.

[lacontessa]

Ahh. Perhaps that is why their menus looked good (smile). I love Paris. Will only be my third time to London, but, my fifth time to Paris in the past 8 years. I don't recall wonderful meals that we have eaten in London other than afternoon tea but do recall wonderful meals in Paris--so want to do a better job planning our meals to London this time.

[helen b]

After the British Museum I'd walk down to Holborn/Covent Garden - try Great Queen Street (very good British gastropub style cooking) or head into Covent Garden for Rules (archetypal Brit, very good at game, great new cocktail bar, London's oldest restaurant), or J Sheekey off Trafalgar Square ( classic Brit seafood, my favourite restaurant in London for predictably good fare).

After the V&A and Natural History Museum, Knightsbridge is in walking distance and your best bet...Racine is a great brasserie, but French, so...maybe the Grenadier (ex officers' mess for the Cavalry, now cutesy pub with goodish British food), Amaya for good Indian grills, Zuma for trendy Japanese, Signor Sassi/San Lorenzo/Sal e Pepe for middling Italian.

[pj26]

Near the Hackney Empire is a great Turkish place called Tad - their lamb beyti and chicken shish are amazing - it's about a minutes walk up Mare St. You could also head over London Fields to Broadway Market for some of the best steak in London at Santa Maria Buen Ayre - Argentian grill. There's also some pretty good pubs to check out on Broadway market - the Dove and the Cat and Mutton.