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Just come out of Hawksmoor Seven Dials after dinner with two American friends. One friend and I shared a 900g porterhouse between us, and the other guy had the ribeye. Absolutely hands down the best steak I've ever had. We all had mac & cheese sides, and I had the beef dripping chips too, because I am a fat bastard. All of it was amazing and delicious. I ended up having at least 2/3rds of the porterhouse, and one and a half portions of the mac & cheese. I am so very full in the best way. My one regret is having no room for dessert. Some of them sounded delicious, especially the sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream! Next time, Hawksmoor, next time!
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May 19, 2012 20:29
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If we're talking about "not exactly London", The Oak in Newcastle is amazing. Service was lovely and the prices were remarkable. Big portions too, couldn't finish the potato skins starter.
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May 19, 2012 21:25
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Just out of curiosity, has anyone eaten at Incanto in NW London? Thoughts?
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May 20, 2012 10:35
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How did I only just find this thread? I live in Camden and am always looking for good eats. Two great places I would recommend that I did not see mentioned: Machiavelli near Covent Garden. They have an ever changing menu and the food is always excellent. The Whistling Shop on Worship Street. Another very cool speakeasy that does a lot of in-house distilling and creation of flavors.
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May 20, 2012 11:15
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angor posted:Just out of curiosity, has anyone eaten at Incanto in NW London? Thoughts? That's just around the corner from me, and I've never eaten there, but friends have and they've said it's pretty middling. The food is fine, but doesn't live up to the pretentiousness of the place. It really thinks its a hell of a lot better than it is.
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May 20, 2012 11:33
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YourCreation posted:How did I only just find this thread? I live in Camden and am always looking for good eats. Seconding this, Whistling shop is a hoot, and does some truly awesome cocktails.
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May 21, 2012 13:23
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They're opening a pizza east in Kentish Town, ha ha!  Up and coming area or what. Conveniently, I work a 5 minute walk from where it will be (opposite the Vine pub where the Grand Union used to be if that helps anyone.)
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May 21, 2012 13:51
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Neris posted:They're opening a pizza east in Kentish Town, ha ha! I live a 5 minute walk from where it will be  They're also opening a new place called 'Chicken Shop' in the same building. http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-news/uk-london/17-05-12/soho-house-to-open-two-restaurants-in-kentish-town/
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May 21, 2012 16:01
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Recently went to Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec in Kennington. Bar upstairs with live music pretty much every night, French restaurant downstairs. A really nice experience and some fantastic food. Had a rocket salada with chorizo and sunblushed tomatoes and a duck breast main with roast parsips and redcurrant sauce. A couple of others had a delicious looking lamb shank you could cut with a fork. Only bad notes were the waiters trying to hurry us to clear the table as there was a Friday night rush and the dessert of cherry and almond tart was overcooked and not very pleasant. I also nipped down to Rum & Sugar at West India Quay to soak up some sun. They do a nice tempura whitebait and prawn sharing starter. My friend had haddock and chips which was served in a little fry basket which looked aesthetically pleasing but was difficult for him to eat out of. I had a burger which was perfectly good and came with a side of tartare sauce? Not sure what that was about.
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May 24, 2012 11:15
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Went down to Japanese Knife Company yesterday to get a knife sharpened (and ended up buying a new piece  ). Noticed Purl was just across the road, so I stopped in for a cocktail. Not as good as Nightjar and not nearly the selection, but great cocktails nonetheless. I really liked the Femme Fatale. Very well balanced, and it came with a spherified olive, which was loving incredible.
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May 25, 2012 14:58
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Oh look - a list of vegetarian restaurants! :sirens: Although Vanilla Blacks appears on it and I'm so terrifically skeptical of that after the reviews I've read. http://londonist.com/2012/05/londons-best-vegetarian-restaurants.php Anyone know anything about these places other than Mildreds? I swear 'what's good veggie restaurants' is one of the main things that get asked. edit: btw what's the best manky Chinese food in soho? I went to one yesterday in desperation after critical mass which was £4.95 for all you can eat but it was pretty dire. Would be good to know one which is still kind of gross greasy takeaway style but a step up from that...
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May 26, 2012 11:31
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Neris posted:Oh look - a list of vegetarian restaurants! :sirens: Although Vanilla Blacks appears on it and I'm so terrifically skeptical of that after the reviews I've read. I always go to 'won kei' out of habit more then anything.
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May 26, 2012 11:36
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Leong's Legends is pretty decent, though to be pedantic it's Taiwanese and not Chinese food. The xiao long bao are great. It's not really sloppy take away style, but still quite reasonable.
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May 26, 2012 11:38
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Neris posted:edit: btw what's the best manky Chinese food in soho? I went to one yesterday in desperation after critical mass which was £4.95 for all you can eat but it was pretty dire. Would be good to know one which is still kind of gross greasy takeaway style but a step up from that... I go to MW (aka the smart one of the Mr Wu chain) which is another buffet, but it's £8.50 and the extra money is so worth it as the selection and quality are vastly improved. It's still manky low-end chinese, but I'm fine with that. I used to go to Poons on Leicester St before it closed (and the signs in the place there now which say 'formally Poons' are LIES, and the quality isn't even half as good as it was), so I need a new proper sit down Chinese place. I was thinking of trying Yauatcha tonight, maybe New World at some point in the next week.
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May 26, 2012 11:55
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Neris posted:edit: btw what's the best manky Chinese food in soho? I went to one yesterday in desperation after critical mass which was £4.95 for all you can eat but it was pretty dire. Would be good to know one which is still kind of gross greasy takeaway style but a step up from that... The lady and I really like The Mayflower by the Queen's Theatre. Food is always very fast and you'll have about 10 waiters. I imagine take out is quite quick. The peppered beef is fantastic. The rule is never go to a buffet under £7 and always pick the busiest one as the food is the freshest.
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May 26, 2012 12:06
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The rule is never go to buffet restaurants unless it's the Carlton Beach in Cannes.  New World is decent for dim sum, and Yauatcha is fantastic - although neither cheap nor greasy. I've done most of those vegetarian restaurants - The Gate and Manna are indeed very good. There's also Orchard, the Vanilla Black sister restaurant that is apparently good, as discussed here previously.
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May 28, 2012 11:44
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therattle posted:The rule is never go to buffet restaurants unless it's the Carlton Beach in Cannes. We were broke, exhausted and starving! I stand by my decision Although one hilarious thing is they didn't "sell" tap water. "We only have still mineral, is that okay?" I'm so glad I said no because it was loving £3.50 a bottle!
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May 28, 2012 12:26
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Headed to Meat Liquor tomorrow, can't find a menu anywhere, what's the general prices?
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May 28, 2012 12:40
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DaveP posted:Headed to Meat Liquor tomorrow, can't find a menu anywhere, what's the general prices? £7-9 per burger if I remember. Fries about £4?
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May 28, 2012 15:43
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The_Doctor posted:£7-9 per burger if I remember. Fries about £4? MeatMarket is £7.50 a burger, £4 for sides
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May 28, 2012 15:51
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The_Doctor posted:£7-9 per burger if I remember. Fries about £4? Yeah about right -Sides about 6-7, beer 4-5 and cocktails around 8 Bloody loved it (but then I am probably the target market), got down at 6am so totally skipped the idea of a queue (and enough time to get a few beers in first), went for the Dead Hippy burger and the beaut chicken wings, washed down by some of the great 'House Grog' (rum, rum and more rum.. and some pineapple) -stepping outside of the dark neon interior, realising it's 8:20 and light outside and I'm wasted and the queue that we avoided now stretched most of the way down the road Better than Haché, but then it's also a different audience
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May 30, 2012 23:49
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The_Doctor posted:That's just around the corner from me, and I've never eaten there, but friends have and they've said it's pretty middling. The food is fine, but doesn't live up to the pretentiousness of the place. It really thinks its a hell of a lot better than it is. Hmm, interesting. I think the food is pretty good, if not slightly overpriced. It's nice to have something decent close to the house though. Also, I hear there's a waiter that gives free digestif to goons  In other news, I'm headed to Manna tonight. Super excited!
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May 31, 2012 13:52
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Mourning Due and I just got back from Le Mercury; have to add my recommendations to this thread. Really great food, reasonably priced and nice wine. I had the broccoli soup to start, swordfish with buttered french beans and poached pear and my handsome date had the mussels, saddle of lamb with rosemary jus and sticky toffee pudding. If I had to recommend one dish above all I would say the mussels, which were huge and yummy. Goon recommended restaurants thus far: 2 for 2
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Jun 2, 2012 23:13
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Oh cool, glad you enjoyed it! Super cheap innit? (You're Hannah, right?)
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Jun 4, 2012 14:16
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50% off in Tapasia "pan-Asian tapas" on Old Compton Street until June 24th.. if anyone wants to eat cheap this weekend! "This new asian tapas joint is from the same people behind tsunami. Expect dynamite beef skewers, octopus with mango and walnuts, lobster shu mai, and lamb cutlets with kimchi. Soft launch - 50% off food - till June 24." (from Hot Dinners)
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Jun 8, 2012 14:40
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Okay, so we're leaving on the 28th and I'm doing my obsessive pre-prep. I'm building a custom Google map of all the stuff we plan to visit with blue markers and all the restaurants you guys have mentioned with red markers. I have something plotted out relatively close to almost every attraction, but there are a couple of gaps. I hope nobody minds me asking about these specific neighborhoods? I don't have anything mapped within 1.5 miles of Westminster Abbey - I'm not sure if we're going to go, it looks like it will be packed with gawky tourists  The kid in me wants to go to the zoo, but it's not a priority, seeing as we have a pretty good zoo right here at home.The real outliers are Crystal Palace Park and the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and I could probably use another rec or two out near Highgate Cemetery, since we're most likely going to spend a fair amount of time there (we like cool old cemeteries, what can I say?). I do have the Southampton Arms listed there, but they're down as a cider spot - is the food good? We don't mind walking ~a mile for food, and I'm sure we won't need to eat before/after every single stop on our itinerary, but with Captain Spontaneous with me I want to try and build in as many options as possible. Thanks to this thread I have way more eateries marked than attractions...
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Jun 8, 2012 17:57
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The only food you'll get at the soton arms is pork pies and pork baps. It is a pub, not a restaurant. There are a few middling Ethiopian restaurants near it though.
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Jun 8, 2012 18:08
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Then maybe it would be better to eat lunch on our way out there, spend the afternoon roaming around, grab a few pints of cider, and head back towards the city center for dinner. "Middling Ethiopian" doesn't sound too appealing.
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Jun 8, 2012 18:20
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Kentish Town/Gospel Oak where it is isn't exactly a shining example of London cuisine though there is some passable stuff, certainly nothing you should go out of your way for. Lovely pub though. Although I can't drink anything they sell because I suck and it's all too strong and sour!
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Jun 8, 2012 19:08
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I used to drink straight vinegar as a kid, so I'm not too concerned about sour ciders. I wish there was a practical way for you and I to do a foreign cider exchange program. The US is full of sweet cider brands (both clear and cloudy), and I don't particularly care for them. The newish Angry Orchard brand is okay, they have an apple ginger hard cider that my husband really likes, but even their most crisp cider is a bit sweet for my tastes. Someone was telling me that the differences in cider culture between the US and the UK had to do with the kinds of apples that can be grown in the two countries. I'm not sure if that's true, but it would make sense from what little I know about apple varieties. I mean, you guys have the Bramley, which I've heard can be delightfully tart, whereas here it's actually pretty difficult to find a good tart apple. Even the Granny Smith, which is held up as an example of a tart apple, is not that tart. I had one this morning and I've had a more sour apple by dropping slices into lemon water to stop them from browning
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Jun 8, 2012 19:39
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You are in fact completely right about the apple varieties.
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Jun 9, 2012 00:25
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RazorBunny posted:I do have the Southampton Arms listed there, but they're down as a cider spot - is the food good? Southampton Arms for ciders and ales, but go up the road to the Bull and Last for food. As gastropubs go, it's pretty drat good. You may need to book in advance though.
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Jun 9, 2012 12:41
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Oh yeah, best chips in London so I hear. I keep meaning to try it! Plus then you can go for a stroll on the Heath after.
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Jun 9, 2012 16:29
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Oh and as far as the Ethiopian food there goes, it's fine (e.g. Lalibela) just not as good as Gojo in Ladbroke Grove.
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Jun 9, 2012 17:00
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Went to Sophie's Steakhouse in Chelsea the other day, it's one of those no booking places. Food was fine, but I expect more than that from somewhere like this, not really worth the price differential over Bodeans. The atmosphere was also poor. The wine list on the other hand was surprisingly reasonably priced and very good. If you can't decide on a wine then just got the house red, it pairs brilliantly with red meats.
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Jun 9, 2012 18:06
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Any suggestions for a (cheapish) place to go for lunch in North? We're moving house tomorrow and want to take my partner's dad somewhere that isn't too far from Tottenham Hale, but neither of us know of many places round here.
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Jun 9, 2012 18:21
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How far are you willing to go? Finsbury Park? Highbury and Islington? I've had plenty of recommendations for places on Stroud Green Road (a 5m walk from Finsbury Park station) and I know quite a few on Upper Street but as for Tottenham goes... kinda stuck there!
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Jun 9, 2012 18:23
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Yup, Finsbury Park/Highbury and Islington are pretty much the ideal places! Tottenham itself sucks for food, unless you fancy greasy chicken etc.
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Jun 9, 2012 18:31
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Bollock Monkey posted:Yup, Finsbury Park/Highbury and Islington are pretty much the ideal places! Tottenham itself sucks for food, unless you fancy greasy chicken etc.
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Jun 9, 2012 21:43
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San Marco is a nice Italian place just by Bruce Grove station. They do 'proper' square Roman style pizzas.
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Jun 10, 2012 11:44
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