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Vlex
Aug 4, 2006
I'd rather be a climbing ape than a big titty angel.



Anae posted:

Hi all. I'm moving to London next week. Will be living in Putney and working in Farringdon. On that note, do any of you learned foodies have...

a) Recommendations for dinner in Putney? Have heard good things about Prince of Wales and Ohayo Sushi.
b) Recommendations for lunch spots in Farringdon?

I love any and all cuisines so fire away.

Late, but The Putney Canteen does a mighty fine breakfast and has its own in-house butchery. The huevos rancheros are a perennial favourite of mine.



So it looks like I'm also moving to London in the new year. The recommendations in this thread aside, how do you lot keep up with that is buzz-worth in terms of new places to eat/food-related events across the city?

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Muga
May 7, 2004

Exercising My Demons
I find the hot dinners new restaurants provides a nice brief summary and they're all listed on one page for easy scanning

http://www.hot-dinners.com/Features/Articles/new-and-recently-opened-london-restaurants

Rolled Cabbage
Sep 3, 2006
I made the mistake of looking at the Time Out website at the weekend and its suggestions were total pants. 50% expensive and obvious hotel restaurants, 50% ???. Like recommending Opium as a dim sum restaurant. Their food is nice, but it is by no stretch of the imagination a restaurant. Might as well as add Mahiki in there too if that's the case.

Lady Gaza
Nov 20, 2008

Rolled Cabbage posted:

I made the mistake of looking at the Time Out website at the weekend and its suggestions were total pants. 50% expensive and obvious hotel restaurants, 50% ???. Like recommending Opium as a dim sum restaurant. Their food is nice, but it is by no stretch of the imagination a restaurant. Might as well as add Mahiki in there too if that's the case.

They're most likely sponsored suggestions.

Rolled Cabbage
Sep 3, 2006
I thought Time Out wasn't supposed to do paid reviews? Or has that gone the way of the dodo now the pay version got scrapped?

Brand New Malaysian Wife
Apr 5, 2007
I encourage children who are bullied to kill themselves. In fact, I get off to it. Pedophilia-snuff films are the best. More abused children need to kill themselves.
Time Out doesn't say anything about how good/bed a place is now- just really basic info and a vague star rating.

Kaiho
Dec 2, 2004

Rolled Cabbage posted:

I thought Time Out wasn't supposed to do paid reviews? Or has that gone the way of the dodo now the pay version got scrapped?

They definitely feature in return for pay. Whether that's the case with reviews I don't know.

Heran Bago
Aug 18, 2006



I recently had a short vacation in London. I was looking to eat well but not spend a ton. So I did a ctrl+f for "cheap" over this thread and listened to what friends suggested. Here are the results listed from worst to best.


Petek Restaurant aka Petek’s
This place near Finsbury Park thinks it’s Indian food. It’s not. There is a serious lack of curry. One friend had very plain chicken and I had some Lamb meatloaf (looked like poop) that was closer to Turkish food than Indian. It wasn’t on the menu so I took my chances and asked the waitress if they had a mango lassi. She gave me this look like ‘gently caress you, what are you even talking about?’ Pricey and not worth it. Not even Indian food. Avoid.

Lupita
Between Embankment and Charing Cross, which are already like a block from each other. I am a little spoiled with Mexican food but this place just plain could have been better. The meat was well done but everything else was just mediocre. Gourmet sizes for gourmet prices. Avoid.

Sansbury's (Grocery Chain)
They have some take-away food there and stuff you can heat up. I got some Higgidy brand meat pies which were good breakfast the next day. It’s not really worth mentioning a grocery chain in this thread but I’d way rather go there than the previous two entries.

Kerb Market
This small collection of food trucks north of King’s Cross is delicious and cheap across the board. I had a good burrito, a friend had good falafel. I totally recommend it if you’re in the area.

Chesters (Fast Food Chain)
This fast food chain is kind of a cheap halal competitor to KFC I guess. There’s a big menu and the chicken was cooked to perfection. I’m sure anyone from London is laughing at me for even putting this here but if you’re in the mood for a cheap meal, like fried chicken, and there’s one of these around, you could do a lot worse.

Ben’s Fish and Chips
Some locals insisted this place had the best chips in all of London. They’re certainly some of the best french fries I’ve ever had. I also had a battered pure beef sausage. It’s not a fancy place and would be absolutely perfect drunk food after a good pub crawl. The staff is very friendly. This place is on the cheap end and wouldn’t be a romantic date but I absolutely recommend it.

Hawksmoor (Seven Dials)
This fancy out-of-the-way meat house is a short walk from Leicester Square. They have a good beer selection and very polite staff. It’s a bit pricey. I went for the french dip which was almost too rich/heavy! The cheese on it was very sharp and the au jus was made with bone marrow! It was a smaller sandwich but already dripping with soggy goodness. It’s the only time I’ve ate a french dip with a fork and knife. To the earlier guy complaining that ti didn’t come cut in half, mine was served with a fork and steak knife but you could probably cut it in half with a butter knife or toothpick.
A little expensive but classy and delicious. Good for a meat-lovers date. There were other amazing sounding things on the menu but I didn’t dare. The dining area opens up at 5:00 PM but you can go earlier and get a table near the bar. Probably a meat-lovers only kind of place.

Borough Market
This place is amazing and a highlight of my trip. I ended up coming back a second day. It a large open-air market including farmers market stalls, fishmongers, a bar (see below) weird things like mushroom hunters, potted meats and specialty cheeses, and of course food stalls.
The first time I had the famous grilled cheese sandwich. It was so sharp and greasy and delicious. There are probably a half dozen objectively better things you could get at the market but I would highly recommend that for grilled cheese fans.
The second time I went to the exotic meats stall. I had a reindeer burger there and brought home a patty of Wagyuu beef (not a mix!) and one of Zebra meat. All were delicious. Also on hand were ostrich, camel, kangaroo, llama, and some kind of antelope. The people working there are really friendly and I can’t recommend the place enough.



:beerpal:Bonus Round: Bars:beerpal:
I was keeping an eye out for craft beers or microbreweries. That combined with social circumstance brought me to these places, again listed worst to best.

The Edge
This bar in Soho is not particularly close to any station. Google maps calls it a 4-floor gay bar and club but I didn’t notice any of those things. The doorman didn’t want to card me but gave me a really hard time entering even though I was well dressed and the place was mostly empty. overpriced drink and a terrible selection. The decoration and lighting is gaudy, but not quite so-gaudy-it’s-good. You won’t be holding more than a fraction of a conversation over the full-volume pop music. Overall poo poo drinks, poo poo staff, and just a poo poo bar.

Holborn Whippet
Very close to both Holborn Station and the amazing free British Museam. On a weekday evening this was one of the loudest and stinkiest bars I’ve ever been too. I swear I kept smelling poop, which I optimistically figured was just dog poop somehow everywhere. I’ve been to louder bars because of music (see the previous) but this way loud by virtue of everyone trying to scream casual conversation. Considering how popular this place seems the staff is clearly overworked and very polite.
Great, great selection of beer on a nice set of chalkboards behind the bar. I can totally recommend the place for beer enthusiasts but you might want to stand and drink outside in the wet cold.

Going to a corner store and drinking at someone's house, in a park, or in a hotel
A better option than the previous two unless you are just all about craft beer, in which case Holborn Whippet is worth it if you're in the area or weather is good.

The Leather Exchange
This bar a bit south of London Bridge station has a great atmosphere. The beer selection isn’t impressive but there’s a good selection of ciders and wines. The staff is very friendly.

The Globe
This bar in the middle of Borough Market near London Bridge station is cozy. Despite the location it doesn’t seem to fill up even at the height of weekend tourist traffic. It’s a nice place to get out of the cold and get a seat with the market’s free wifi or if you prefer you can opt for a plastic cup and carry your drink around the market. The beer selection is special but not diverse. Very nice staff. Just try not to look at the molding ceiling.
Borough Market also has a Cider stall/area which I highly recommend. Feel free to ask for tastes of stuff. After getting a pint or half from what the have on tap take a look at their bottles.

O'Neill's Muswell Hill
It’s a bit out of the way to the north and not near any underground stations. It’s a long walk from Highgate, East Finchley, Turnpike Lane, or Hornsey on the Overground. It’s accessible by quite a few buses though. This place is a former church that has been converted into a restaurant / bar. The atmosphere is great, the interior is spacious, and it has billiard tables that are free even on a busy night. The menu and food looked good but I was only there for drinks which were good but limited.

The Queen’s Head
There are a few of these by name but I’m talking about the one a short walk south east from King’s Cross. The beer selection is amazing! Two pages of bottles and some interesting stuff on tap. The staff didn’t make change for me correctly but I kind of let it slide.

tentish klown
Apr 3, 2011

Heran Bago posted:

Petek Restaurant aka Petek’s
This place near Finsbury Park thinks it’s Indian food. It’s not. There is a serious lack of curry. One friend had very plain chicken and I had some Lamb meatloaf (looked like poop) that was closer to Turkish food than Indian. It wasn’t on the menu so I took my chances and asked the waitress if they had a mango lassi. She gave me this look like ‘gently caress you, what are you even talking about?’ Pricey and not worth it. Not even Indian food. Avoid.
Er, it's a Turkish restaurant.

quote:

Lupita
Between Embankment and Charing Cross, which are already like a block from each other. I am a little spoiled with Mexican food but this place just plain could have been better. The meat was well done but everything else was just mediocre. Gourmet sizes for gourmet prices. Avoid.
It's also the best mexican food I've had in London. We just don't do Mexican well.

quote:

Kerb Market
This small collection of food trucks north of King’s Cross is delicious and cheap across the board. I had a good burrito, a friend had good falafel. I totally recommend it if you’re in the area.
Agreed here.

quote:

Chesters (Fast Food Chain)
This fast food chain is kind of a cheap halal competitor to KFC I guess. There’s a big menu and the chicken was cooked to perfection. I’m sure anyone from London is laughing at me for even putting this here but if you’re in the mood for a cheap meal, like fried chicken, and there’s one of these around, you could do a lot worse.
It's a chicken shop, right? Like, the ones on every street corner?


With that, the comment about Sainsburys, and the list of mostly-terrible pubs you went to, I'm surprised you don't think London is a total shithole.

Heran Bago
Aug 18, 2006



tentish klown posted:

Er, it's a Turkish restaurant.
Well poo poo I don't know why I thought it was supposed to be Indian.

quote:

It's also the best mexican food I've had in London. We just don't do Mexican well.
Again, I'm spoiled with Mexican food. It was also a stone's throw from Westminister. I wasn't expecting anything authentic. I forgot to mention, they totally forgot a side I ordered but at least didn't charge for it.

quote:

It's a chicken shop, right? Like, the ones on every street corner?
Yeah. It was really good for a cheap fried chicken place though. Better than KFC for sure.

quote:

With that, the comment about Sainsburys, and the list of mostly-terrible pubs you went to, I'm surprised you don't think London is a total shithole.
Next time in the UK I'm going to have to visit other cities for sure. But I was really happy overall. The good points greatly outweighed the bad and goddamn Borough Market was amazing if crowded.


I'll never get used to service charges. Just let me tip.

Brand New Malaysian Wife
Apr 5, 2007
I encourage children who are bullied to kill themselves. In fact, I get off to it. Pedophilia-snuff films are the best. More abused children need to kill themselves.

Heran Bago posted:

O'Neill's Muswell Hill
It’s a bit out of the way to the north and not near any underground stations. It’s a long walk from Highgate, East Finchley, Turnpike Lane, or Hornsey on the Overground. It’s accessible by quite a few buses though. This place is a former church that has been converted into a restaurant / bar. The atmosphere is great, the interior is spacious, and it has billiard tables that are free even on a busy night. The menu and food looked good but I was only there for drinks which were good but limited.

Of all the pubs in that area, you went to the worst one.

Also if you liked Sainsburys it's lucky that you didn't discover Waitrose because it would have blown your mind.

Rolled Cabbage
Sep 3, 2006

Heran Bago posted:

Again, I'm spoiled with Mexican food. It was also a stone's throw from Westminister. I wasn't expecting anything authentic. I forgot to mention, they totally forgot a side I ordered but at

When you come back, please come to Kent and visit our one Mexican restaurant. Your mind will be blown by their especial...:ssh: Chicken Kiev

Kaiho posted:

They definitely feature in return for pay. Whether that's the case with reviews I don't know.

Just surprised. I am p. certain my old place never paid and we got a fair amount of coverage, oh well I am ~forever free~ now and don't have to deal with that crap....

Squibsy
Dec 3, 2005

Not suited, just booted.
College Slice

GiantAmazonianOtter posted:

Of all the pubs in that area, you went to the worst one.

Also if you liked Sainsburys it's lucky that you didn't discover Waitrose because it would have blown your mind.

There really aren't that many in that area (I live there) but yeah, O'Neills is pretty much only good for watching rugby when Ireland is playing.

If you have a hidden gem pub in Muswell Hill that you know of, I'd really, really like to know about it. My favoured local closed like a year ago (The Alexandra) and that was only good because it quite deliberately did not subscribe to the bullshit and pretension of almost every other drinking establishment within like a mile radius. It was actually pretty poo poo, and the owner could be... touchy, to say the least.

Edit: OK, the John Baird is hardly pretentious but it's also just really forgettable and boring.

Squibsy fucked around with this message at 18:16 on Nov 25, 2014

sweat poteto
Feb 16, 2006

Everybody's gotta learn sometime

tentish klown posted:

It's also the best mexican food I've had in London. We just don't do Mexican well.

Eh, Lupita was high prices, unbalanced dishes (two tiny cheese enchiladas at the bottom of a deep bowl of gluggy sauce) and miserable portions on some dishes. I've had better food at Mestizo near Euston and Casa Morita in Brixton Market or if it has to be central, every visit to Wahaca was more enjoyable than Lupita. It's not terrible, but really not a good meal. vOv

The_Doctor
Mar 29, 2007

"The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."
My boyfriend went to Ay Caramba (:cripes:) in Camden yesterday and said it was really good. But yeah, we really don't do any sort of decent Mexican over here. By which I mean Tex-Mex I guess.

Neris
Mar 7, 2004

don't you dare use the word 'party' as a verb in this shop
Aahahahahah your review of Peteks. "Avoid." (by the way, since when is £12 for a gut-busting main with shitloads of free bread, dip and olives pricey?) I actually love Peteks and it's local to me so forgive my defensiveness. Seems you had quite the whirlwind tour.

There is SOME good Mexican as far as I'm aware, but it's all very inaccessible. Honestly, I've heard some good things about Bodega Negra and Mestizo is supposed to be passable but there's just not that much in the way of the culture here, whereas seemingly for every other type of cuisine London gets at least somewhat close to nailing it.

Off to Green Lanes Gokuyuzu on Thursday for my birthday dinner with a bunch of mates, looking forward to the cheap smoke goodness!

sweat poteto
Feb 16, 2006

Everybody's gotta learn sometime
La Bodega Negra is excellent, but we only had a roast corn salad (amazing) and a few other nibbles and drinks so I never think of it as a restaurant. Keep meaning to drag some friends along for a meal. Interesting entrance :D

sweat poteto fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Nov 25, 2014

Brand New Malaysian Wife
Apr 5, 2007
I encourage children who are bullied to kill themselves. In fact, I get off to it. Pedophilia-snuff films are the best. More abused children need to kill themselves.
I'm off to Little Social for my birthday- anyone from here been? Good?

deetron69
Jan 18, 2005
The Guinea in Mayfair is incredible - I had their steak and kidney pie and it was one of the greatest meals of my life. Mind-shattering.

http://www.theguinea.co.uk/

Neris
Mar 7, 2004

don't you dare use the word 'party' as a verb in this shop

GiantAmazonianOtter posted:

I'm off to Little Social for my birthday- anyone from here been? Good?

Jason Atherton is great - I've only been to Pollen St Social (and for its soft launch too) but I think you're in for a good time!!

MEANWHILE: How long until Honest Burgers reaches peak expansion!? They've just opened another one in Clapham. Within walking distance of my office now I have a Byron, a GBK, a Red Dog Saloon, a Bodeans, a Haché and now Honest Burger. :[ I love burgers but this is insane.

sweat poteto
Feb 16, 2006

Everybody's gotta learn sometime
Yeah, can London please pick another lovely American food to exploit? At least BBQ mania is in decline.

Though I am pleased at Boom Burger opening in Brixton.

The_Doctor
Mar 29, 2007

"The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

sweat poteto posted:

Yeah, can London please pick another lovely American food to exploit? At least BBQ mania is in decline.

I would love for us to get some good tex-mex. Hell, even an advancement of Taco Bell would be ok for me. Actual proper quesadillas, chimichangas, sopapillas with honey, crunchy tacos, queso, all of that.

Wahaca isn't doing it, and all the Chilangos, Benito's Hat, etc miss the mark.

Loving Africa Chaps
Dec 3, 2007


We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.

Five guys isn't even as good as an Angus from BK I really don't get the hype.

Rolled Cabbage
Sep 3, 2006
Someone said it was because of the really great milkshakes? But then I went there and the one near me doesn't do milkshakes, so...

Edit: Over christmas I went to HKK and I think it was the best meal I've had in a restaurant for the last 10 years. The staff are really good, but still friendly.

Rolled Cabbage fucked around with this message at 18:51 on Jan 10, 2015

The_Doctor
Mar 29, 2007

"The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

Rolled Cabbage posted:

Someone said it was because of the really great milkshakes? But then I went there and the one near me doesn't do milkshakes, so...

They more than likely confused it with Shake Shack, also in Covent Garden. It does both good (if very small) burgers and awesome shakes.

sweat poteto
Feb 16, 2006

Everybody's gotta learn sometime
Queue outside Clapham Honest Burgers 30 mins ago

Bollock Monkey
Jan 21, 2007

The Almighty
For North London folk who aren't yet sick of burgers, Bun & Bar on Green Lanes does a pretty good burger and chips for around £8. It's an alright pub as well, with a reasonable own-brew lager and a small selection of decent cocktails - I had a very yummy espresso martini.

Amused Frog
Sep 8, 2006
Waah no fair my thread!
One thing I found about Honest branches is, having been to a bunch of them, the quality of the burgers and chips varies (not massively but noticeably) with Brixton being way ahead of the rest.

Burger spergin.

angor
Nov 14, 2003
teen angst
I have a friend who will be coming to London for a week, staying near St. Pancras station. He's looking for good food. He's open to suggestions, but definitely wants one GOOD Indian place (doesn't have to be fancy, food needs to be outstanding) and one place where he can get game (venison, grouse, boar, etc.).

He'll be in town for a week, mostly museum hopping, so anything near Tate Britain, British Museum, the British Library, the V&A, the Courtauld, and the National Gallery is also fair game (heh).

Any recommendations?

Ahdinko
Oct 27, 2007

WHAT A LOVELY DAY
Tayyabs has come up a few times in this thread I think, supposed to be a pretty good indian and its bring your own booze too

http://www.tayyabs.co.uk/

Lemon-Lime
Aug 6, 2009
Tayyabs is lovely but it's also nowhere near St Pancras.

There's a Dishoom right next to Kings Cross. I've only been to the one in Covent Garden, but it was pretty great - their breakfast is also neat if you're used to boring old US/UK/continental breakfast.

Lemon-Lime fucked around with this message at 10:20 on Jan 13, 2015

Ahdinko
Oct 27, 2007

WHAT A LOVELY DAY
Its only about 5 stops on the tube, if hes there for a week and visiting a bunch of places, I'd assume he will have a travelcard

The_Doctor
Mar 29, 2007

"The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."
To be fair though, most of London is incredibly close.

For game, you can't go wrong with St. John. https://www.stjohngroup.uk.com/smithfield/

angor
Nov 14, 2003
teen angst
I think he'll be walking for the most part, but you can't really do much without a travelcard in London. I'm sure he's open to suggestions that are a few tube stops away.

He did mention that he had Rules in Covent Garden on the list. It looks astronomically expensive for what it is. Has anyone been? Is it worth it?

I did mention St. John to him, but I'll make sure and mention it again.

For Indian, does anyone know of a GOOD Gujarati place where he can tuck into a thali? I know of a bunch, but they're all in Harrow/Wembley :D

The_Doctor
Mar 29, 2007

"The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

angor posted:

I think he'll be walking for the most part, but you can't really do much without a travelcard in London. I'm sure he's open to suggestions that are a few tube stops away.

He did mention that he had Rules in Covent Garden on the list. It looks astronomically expensive for what it is. Has anyone been? Is it worth it?

I did mention St. John to him, but I'll make sure and mention it again.

For Indian, does anyone know of a GOOD Gujarati place where he can tuck into a thali? I know of a bunch, but they're all in Harrow/Wembley :D

Harrow represent! :D Actually, the best Indian I know of out this way is in Stanmore.

angor
Nov 14, 2003
teen angst
Where in Stanmore?

please don't say Abercorn, please don't say Abercorn...

The_Doctor
Mar 29, 2007

"The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

angor posted:

Where in Stanmore?

please don't say Abercorn, please don't say Abercorn...

Ali's (formerly Memories of India) on the Broadway. Their Monday night banquet deal is amazing.

Starter, main, side, rice or naan, and coffee for a tenner.

love 2 text my friends
Jun 30, 2004

angor posted:

For Indian, does anyone know of a GOOD Gujarati place where he can tuck into a thali? I know of a bunch, but they're all in Harrow/Wembley :D
What are some good thali places in Wembley? I like Sarashwathy Bavans, but I'm open to alternative recommendations.

_Dav
Dec 24, 2008
Just throwing this out there:

Gokyuzu on Green Lanes is fantastic. Really top notch Turkish food, can't recommend it enough.

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Brand New Malaysian Wife
Apr 5, 2007
I encourage children who are bullied to kill themselves. In fact, I get off to it. Pedophilia-snuff films are the best. More abused children need to kill themselves.

_Dav posted:

Just throwing this out there:

Gokyuzu on Green Lanes is fantastic. Really top notch Turkish food, can't recommend it enough.

Fun fact: There is also a Gokyzu in Wood Green now!

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