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I think I speak for most Londoners when I say we are already suffering from Olympics Fatigue. Roll on September...
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Mar 16, 2012 14:54
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The_Doctor posted:I think I speak for most Londoners when I say we are already suffering from Olympics Fatigue. Roll on September... When I saw that some of the hotels and such were offering "special rates for the Olympics!!!!" I got a little panicky, but we're leaving ten days before the events start, so hopefully we'll miss the absolute worst of it. I want absolutely nothing to do with that insanity. Why do they host the Olympics in major cities? The 1920 and 1980 winter games were held in a town called Lake Placid, NY and it only inconvenienced a couple thousand people, rather than millions. (My grandfather grew up in the next town and got to play in the Olympic arenas as a kid  )We'll be down the block from Goldhawk Road Station. The rates for the studio are pretty good, less than I've paid for hotel rooms on the majority of my vacations. Hopefully that's not because it's in a lovely neighborhood, I just don't know enough about the city to gauge that. Then again, I get the impression nowhere in London is as bad as, say, Atlanta or some of the seedier parts of DC, which I've successfully navigated without getting raped or murdered, so I'm not that concerned. Anyplace right by there that I should definitely try, or do I need to go further afield to sample awesome restaurants?
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Mar 16, 2012 16:27
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(Hello girls fashion thread goon!) The one piece of advice I give to people who come to London and want a good restaurant near where they're staying (though I know that's not specifically what you're asking) is: travel into central. Our public transport is awesome, and unless you get lucky, most of the time you won't be fortunate enough to be near something pretty fantastic. That said, I don't know the area at all but I had a look around and this place looks yummy. Additionally, a Thai place called Esarn Kheaw has had very mixed reviews but might be worth a look in. If you go a little bit further to Notting Hill, you have the astounding Ledbury which is michelin-starred but with fantastic lunch deals, then there's Cafe Anglais by Bayswater (get the anchovy custard - sounds gross but is amazing) which is perfectly good, and plenty of good Chinese/Szechuan places. But seriously, there is so much wonderful food in central London. The Riding House Cafe, Bob Bob Ricard, Polpo, the Opera Tavern, etc etc etc. It's worth the trip! Try to pressure your husband  And have a look through those food blogs I posted earlier in the thread. Gourmet Chick in particular sorts restaurants by occasion/price/area which might be handy.
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Mar 16, 2012 17:47
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RazorBunny posted:
It's one stop from Hammersmith which has good links to almost everywhere. It might even be walkable to Hammersmith. There's a really good and reasonably cheap Persian restaurant in Hammersmith called Mahdi. Go for the mixed grill. But as Neris points out there's almost no reason to stay in your area to eat. You can get almost anywhere in zone 1 and 2 (you'll be in zone 2) in under an hour. There are probably more places to avoid in deep Central London though but if you check out reviews and have a rough idea everything has probably been documented to death because it's all so high traffic. Paragon8 fucked around with this message at 13:58 on Mar 17, 2012 |
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Mar 17, 2012 13:55
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I went to Red Dog Saloon in Hoxton last night. Very much the All-American BBQ joint in the same vein as Bodeans. They do a big line of burgers including 'The Punisher' and 'The Devestator' which is some kind of 6-pattie monstrosity. I had ribs and pulled pork. The ribs were large, had plenty of meat on them and had a dry BBQ rub rather than being slatered in BBQ suance as Bodeans' often are. I didn't get much opportunity to sample the whole menu (and it's quite pricey anyway) but definitely look forward to going back and trying other dishes. Their chicken wings and cocktails seemed to be quite popular.
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Mar 17, 2012 17:32
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Has anyone ever been to "The Diner" in Camden? I'm seeing very mixed reviews online. Their website is http://www.goodlifediner.com/. Also, not sure if it really counts as London but does anyone know any good places to eat in Kingston-Upon-Thames? Just moved here and dying to find somewhere good to eat!
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Mar 19, 2012 20:29
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Double Happiness posted:Has anyone ever been to "The Diner" in Camden? I'm seeing very mixed reviews online. It's kind of meh, the chilli cheese fries and the hard shakes are good though.
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Mar 19, 2012 23:38
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RazorBunny posted:When I saw that some of the hotels and such were offering "special rates for the Olympics!!!!" I got a little panicky, but we're leaving ten days before the events start, so hopefully we'll miss the absolute worst of it. I want absolutely nothing to do with that insanity. Why do they host the Olympics in major cities? The 1920 and 1980 winter games were held in a town called Lake Placid, NY and it only inconvenienced a couple thousand people, rather than millions. (My grandfather grew up in the next town and got to play in the Olympic arenas as a kid There's a Thai restaurant near Goldhawk Road station that's good but nothing amazing. Shepherd's Bush itself came off as kind of ghetto (from the perspective of a suburban white dude from Australia) but no-one actively tried to stab me or anything. I also saw a dead guy on the pavement just outside Shepherd's Bush station one morning when I was there.
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Mar 20, 2012 00:52
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reality_groove posted:I went to Red Dog Saloon in Hoxton last night. Very much the All-American BBQ joint in the same vein as Bodeans. They do a big line of burgers including 'The Punisher' and 'The Devestator' which is some kind of 6-pattie monstrosity. Holy poo poo. I know where I'm eating in two weeks time! Thank you goon sir!
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Mar 20, 2012 02:26
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When I lived in London, I used to go to this German style bar place called Katzenjammers all the time with a few friends. They serve typical German sausages and meats, cheeses, etc., along with a great selection of wheat beers sold by the stein. The St. Thomas was always a good one from what I remember, and pretty drat strong. A stein of beer is around 8-9 quid, which is around two pints worth. Not too bad for price either, with food at around £10 for a hearty dish of meat and sides. It's by no means fine dining, but it has a really cool atmosphere for hanging out with a group of people, and I've never seen it too busy. The kind of place to spend an afternoon drinking beer and having some rich food. I'd usually go for the sausage platter where you can pick from a selection of German sausages, served with fries and sauerkraut. http://www.katzenjammers.co.uk/ Double Happiness posted:Also, not sure if it really counts as London but does anyone know any good places to eat in Kingston-Upon-Thames? Just moved here and dying to find somewhere good to eat! I love Kingston! Grab some fine chicken from Dallas or CFC? I jest.  But, yeah, Kingston is a good place to live. Obviously the Rotunda has the regular chain places to eat, but there is a Tony Roma's there, one of only two in England, which can be quite decent if there's a voucher around. They tend to do a lot of BOGOF vouchers so you can eat there quite cheaply if you find one. Again, not amazing, but good if you've got a hankering for a big ol' toasted sandwich, slab of ribs or cheeseburger. Satori in the top of Bentalls is decent, and I know there's a retro-ish burger diner place up there too, although I've not eaten there. There used to be a Satori sushi conveyer belt style restaurant in the Rotunda which was absolutely amaaaaazing and did an all-you-can-eat on a Monday, but that's gone.  There's a pizza place near The Mill that does gigantic 22 inch pizzas. I've never eaten there, but I've heard they're good and fairly priced. Then obviously you have Jamie's but I've never eaten there, and there's GBK, La Tasca, Byron etc. in the same area. Thinking back, I never realised how many drat chain restaurants there are! yung lambic fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Mar 20, 2012 |
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Mar 20, 2012 06:19
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Thanks for the help! Do you have any idea what the pizza place near The Mill is called?
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Mar 20, 2012 16:57
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I went to that new restuarant Burger and Lobster in Mayfair (very close to the Green Park tube station). They only do two things, they both come with chips and they both cost £20. Expensive for a burger, cheap for a lobster. Delicious.
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Mar 20, 2012 17:02
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West London goon here (Acton), another good place in Kingston is El Peyote. Pretty good Mexican food and excellent Mojitos. I loved Tony Roma's when I was in Japan, but the Kingston one seems a little hit and miss, sometimes the ribs come out super tender, other times really tough. To the people heading to Shepherd's Bush there's the massive westfield there with a ton of restaurants, all pretty run of the mill though. If you get the tube a couple of stops out to Ealing Broadway there are a couple of good restaurants. Osteria del Portico is excellent and really cheap, they do a two course lunch with wine for £10 last time I checked. Wine and Moussaka is good if a little more pricey. La Siesta does some pretty good Spanish food, the tapas deal they've got is nice if you want to try a load of different stuff.
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Mar 20, 2012 21:21
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So I keep hearing how Brazilian BBQ is basically meat meat meat and they laugh if you ask for veggies, which I'm all in favour of. Where's good to start in town? I know there used to be a place on Maiden Lane, but I think that's long gone now.
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Mar 20, 2012 21:26
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Paragon8 posted:It's one stop from Hammersmith which has good links to almost everywhere. It might even be walkable to Hammersmith. There's a really good and reasonably cheap Persian restaurant in Hammersmith called Mahdi. Go for the mixed grill. I definitely plan to go all over, I was just curious if there was anything close. It's always nice to have something right by where you're staying for that first night when you've been traveling all day and you're beat. There probably aren't very many cuisines in London that I can't get in my area, we're fairly cosmopolitan in that regard here (fantastic Lebanese and Vietnamese in walking distance, Thai a short way further, tons of Salvadorean and Peruvian, etc.). So I'm not really expecting to try anything new, per se. Just hoping to come back with happy stories about the food instead of "ugh we went to this one place and it was awful" when there's clearly good eating available. I'm definitely interested in the tapas place Owithey mentioned. Tapas around here is one of the few things that's a bit hit or miss. A fair number of the places charge as much for a small plate as you'd pay for an entree next door, and the food is boring. We're debating renting a car for at least part of the time, since we plan to do the geeky tourist thing and head out to Stonehenge and Savernake Forest, but all of our travel within London is going to be by foot or public transit. I'm looking forward to a subway system that actually works - DC's big claim to fame is "Less rats than New York!" My husband wants to rent a Mini 
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Mar 20, 2012 21:57
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RazorBunny posted:My husband wants to rent a Mini Unless you're planning on going outside London, you don't need a car. The tube goes almost everywhere, and buses go everywhere else. Also, to drive in Central London is [a] absolute hell and [b] expensive. We have a congestion charge of £10 a day to drive in Central London. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/
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Mar 20, 2012 22:29
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I don't think I've ever really heard of anyone actually enjoying the whole Stonehenge thing. I've just driven past it and it's just not all that amazing I think. And yes the Underground/subway is pretty drat good and very user friendly, although you're on the Hammersmith and City line which is probably the worst of all. It's gotten a little better lately and now runs every 5 minutes instead of every 10, at least. You'll probably be better off walking to Shepherd's Bush and taking the central line. The one thing you really want to watch out for is engineering works on weekends when there's generally 4-5 sections of lines closed somewhere. sweek0 fucked around with this message at 23:32 on Mar 20, 2012 |
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Mar 20, 2012 23:29
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sweek0 posted:I don't think I've ever really heard of anyone actually enjoying the whole Stonehenge thing. I've just driven past it and it's just not all that amazing I think. Bill Bryson has a great bit in 'Notes from a Small Island' about how the interest threshold at Stonehenge is about 11 minutes. You can't go up to it, you can't touch it, so you just look at it from about 100ft away and... pssh, that's it, really.
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Mar 20, 2012 23:41
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I promise you, the worst subway line in London is better than the best one here. DC Metro is notoriously one of the least useful subway systems in the world. I didn't expect to spend much time at Stonehenge, but I do want to see Savernake. I'm kind of a nut for old forests. Plus there are some old historic cemeteries around that I'm curious about, so we'll have plenty to do to make a full day of it. There was never any intention of driving in the city, believe me. The car would just be for the trip out of the city - I can't for the life of me find any public transportation that makes sense for that trip. He only wants to get a Mini because he has one at home and is a little bit of a fanboy. He spent years driving on the other side of the road in Japan, so he'll probably be doing the majority of the driving, and that means he gets to pick the car even if I think it's silly. It's a little sad that you can't get close to the henge anymore - when my grandparents went you could still go up and touch it. Makes sense from a conservation standpoint. Oh well, I'll have to be satisfied with my experience at Foamhenge.
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Mar 21, 2012 01:29
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The_Doctor posted:Bill Bryson has a great bit in 'Notes from a Small Island' about how the interest threshold at Stonehenge is about 11 minutes. You can't go up to it, you can't touch it, so you just look at it from about 100ft away and... pssh, that's it, really. It's still pretty damned cool.  Your feathered sacred self by Phanatic, on Flickr  With the ghosts and the ancient stones by Phanatic, on Flickr
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Mar 21, 2012 01:37
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Owithey posted:West London goon here (Acton), another good place in Kingston is El Peyote. Pretty good Mexican food and excellent Mojitos. I loved Tony Roma's when I was in Japan, but the Kingston one seems a little hit and miss, sometimes the ribs come out super tender, other times really tough. I used to live on the same road as El Peyote. Walking past there one night I saw them cutting a Mini down in half for the decoration Never got to try the food though. It always looked pretty packed on weekend nights though with music and lots of boozing. There's an hilariously bad looking cocktail bar next door too which advertises as 'very smart casual only' Double Happiness posted:Thanks for the help! Do you have any idea what the pizza place near The Mill is called? This is the one! Took me a little while to remember. My mate bought a pizza from there which was absolutely huuuge! http://www.alfornokingston.co.uk/
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Mar 21, 2012 06:02
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The_Doctor posted:So I keep hearing how Brazilian BBQ is basically meat meat meat and they laugh if you ask for veggies, which I'm all in favour of. Where's good to start in town? I went to rodzigo rico on upper street and it was pretty mediocre, especially for the price.
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Mar 21, 2012 13:37
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What's the word on Stroud Green/Crouch End - have just moved there. I've heard good things about that Thai place - Cat's - or something. And there's apparently an amazing pizza place, a fairly hipsterish coffee place opposite a Tescos which was full of curly-haired glasses-wearing types and the smell of coffee coming out the door was divine. Any suggestions?
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Mar 21, 2012 15:33
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Neris posted:What's the word on Stroud Green/Crouch End - have just moved there. Howdy neighbour! I live on Corbyn Street. The coffee place is Vagabond, and it is REALLY nice. Really nice people who are not themselves hipsterish, with v good coffee, and excellent hot chocolate made by melting the choc of your choice (of 3) with hot milk. V good carrot cake. If you see a dark-haired woman with a cute baby and a sand-coloured monstrous bugaboo pram (a loaner) sitting there, that's my wife and son. She's there a lot! Boulangerie Bon Matin food is not that good; I prefer the delicious crocque monsieur/madame at The Front Room. Season, for a classy dinner, is great. Their chocolate rosemary pots are sensational. So much so that I've wangled the recipe from t'internet and made it myself. Amazing. I LOVE Season. Cats Thai is OK, as is Petek. Serviceable without being excellent. Haven't been, but people love Dotori right at the bottom of SGR. Hana on Seven Sisters is not bad for Japanese, and corner 7 Sisters and Blackstock is a decent bagel bakery. For Indian takeaway, Dinnerbox is fantastic although slightly variable. Good quality ingredients and proper spicing though. Check out the discussions on stroudgreen.org - lots of restaurant discussion. Apparently Il Piccolo Diavolo on lower Crouch Hill is v good but have not been there. In Crouch End there are no real stand-outs. WOW Japanese is pretty good, and Khoai Cafe Vietnamese is apparently good but my recent meals have been a bit disappointing. O's Thai is reasonable, as is banners, although slightly overrated. The tapas place is also OK without being that good. Oh! Thaitanic is pretty good - excellent corn cakes. They deliver!
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Mar 21, 2012 16:24
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AMAZING. Thank you so much! The coffee place is really near to me, so I will absolutely check it out as I am a coffee fiend. And keep an eye out on all these other places too. I went to the Faltering Fullback yesterday and loved it too. Seems like a great area.
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Mar 21, 2012 22:05
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Neris posted:AMAZING. Thank you so much! The coffee place is really near to me, so I will absolutely check it out as I am a coffee fiend. And keep an eye out on all these other places too. I really like FF as I really love rugby and it's a rugby pub, and it has a very nice atmosphere. The garden area is great too, and the Thai food pretty decent for a casual night out. Where exactly are you? The greengrocer just before Tollington Park/SGR on the left going up the road is newish and very nice.
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Mar 21, 2012 22:34
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Been a while since I've been, but St James in Crouch End is pretty good for slightly pricier fare. Also if you've just moved there it seems to be yummy mummy capital of the world. So many babies.
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Mar 22, 2012 02:10
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I'm right in Spitalfields this morning and might have to treat myself to a St John bacon sandwich.
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Mar 22, 2012 08:37
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therattle posted:I really like FF as I really love rugby and it's a rugby pub, and it has a very nice atmosphere. The garden area is great too, and the Thai food pretty decent for a casual night out. Where exactly are you? I'm down off Oakfield road, so not too far, though I'm having to adapt to not having a bus a 3m walk from my door. Totally spoiled by living in Camden! What's the greengrocer called? Because I know Tollington Park, but I have been living here less than a week! (Moved in saturday) I'm always, always skeptical of "lovely old pub" + Thai food. For instance the Pineapple in Kentish Town is a BEAUTIFUL pub but my god the thai in there is pretty rank and underwhelming, which is a shame. I had totally amazing Mee Goreng noodles from Eatzone Noodlehouse (also in Kentish Town) for lunch yesterday. For £6.50 it is really one of my favourite lunch treats. I really recommend the place!
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Mar 22, 2012 10:34
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If it's that pub off Stroud Green Road that does Thai food I'd recommend it too, it was fairly decent. The pub and garden were spacious and it wasn't too busy either. I don't remember the road or the name but yeah it might be the one you are talking about. The garden had multiple levels of decking and such.
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Mar 22, 2012 12:39
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Lady Gaza posted:If it's that pub off Stroud Green Road that does Thai food I'd recommend it too, it was fairly decent. The pub and garden were spacious and it wasn't too busy either. I don't remember the road or the name but yeah it might be the one you are talking about. The garden had multiple levels of decking and such. Yeah, that's the one! The Faltering Fullback. I really liked it in there, and the big back room with the benches and the pool tables really reminded me of Ireland, which many Irish pubs fail to do.
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Mar 22, 2012 13:04
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Double Happiness posted:Has anyone ever been to "The Diner" in Camden? I'm seeing very mixed reviews online. Their website is http://www.goodlifediner.com/. the New Kam Tong is a great chinese restaurant! other than that you're mostly stuck with a bunch of midrange chains. There's a Jamie Oliver restaurant which might be worth checking out
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Mar 24, 2012 00:39
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Double Happiness posted:Has anyone ever been to "The Diner" in Camden? I'm seeing very mixed reviews online. Their website is http://www.goodlifediner.com/. Actually was chatting to someone about the food in Camden quite recently, who's not really a proper veggie but the only time they were craving a good burger meal, they actually travelled to Camden for the Diner, so might be worth checking out! (though if it is a good burger in camden you're after, i personally think Haché is awesome)
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Mar 24, 2012 10:22
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Haché's alright. Good food, but the time I went, I left hungry still. The burger I had was tiny! I could have gone for one double the size.
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Mar 24, 2012 13:46
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Went to Hache last night and thought it was pretty good. OMG, the onion rings. For those of you who are in Crouch End/Hornsey/Finsbury Park there is an AWESOME Thai place on Hornsey High Street called Thai Neung. Some of the best Thai I've ever had. The restaurant itself isn't much to write home about but delivery is all good.
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Mar 25, 2012 12:49
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Neris posted:Actually was chatting to someone about the food in Camden quite recently, who's not really a proper veggie but the only time they were craving a good burger meal, they actually travelled to Camden for the Diner, so might be worth checking out! (though if it is a good burger in camden you're after, i personally think Haché is awesome) The Diner is nothing to write home about, I was pretty underwhelmed last time I was there. For a much better - and cheaper - burger in Camden go to Brewdog on Bayham Street, over on the other side of the tube station. Also a lot of strong beers, if you like that kind of thing.
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Mar 26, 2012 00:49
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Mousepractice posted:The Diner is nothing to write home about, I was pretty underwhelmed last time I was there. For a much better - and cheaper - burger in Camden go to Brewdog on Bayham Street, over on the other side of the tube station. Also a lot of strong beers, if you like that kind of thing. gently caress yeah Brewdog. Does anywhere do a good steak tartare or am I stuck going to Paris or hacking up meat myself?
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Mar 28, 2012 16:09
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It's not steak tartare but the yuke (Korean-style steak tartare - so raw beef + egg) in Seoul on Finchley Road is AMAZING. I had dreams about it afterwards. It's slivers of raw beef, raw egg, pear and sesame oil and it is so, loving, delicious.
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Mar 28, 2012 17:03
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My brother and I had lunch at Nagomi near Bond Street today since we heard it had good ramen. I might not be the best judge having not had much ramen before but this stuff was great! Had their tonkotsu ramen which also came with four competent gyoza, the soup was nice and thick, well seasoned, just all round delicious and the pork had plenty of melting fat A++ would slurp again. The atmosphere is lovely too with some bizarre music and nice staff. Worth a visit. My parents are taking us all out to Bistro Bruno Loubet at the Zetter Hotel tomorrow too, has anyone been? It's been a while since I've been to a really good restaurant so I'm really looking forward to it
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Mar 28, 2012 17:12
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NLJP posted:My parents are taking us all out to Bistro Bruno Loubet at the Zetter Hotel tomorrow too, has anyone been? It's been a while since I've been to a really good restaurant so I'm really looking forward to it Not been but I really liked the look of it, it was featured on the recent UK Masterchef I'm sure it will be great.
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Mar 28, 2012 18:42
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