R.e. Mere; if you are after eating at the pricier end of the market (?) that will certainly help narrow down recommendations.
Asadal, Holborn. For the food, not the service.
A few I've enjoyed recently.
Berners Tavern. Great food and service, but I wasn't paying and not sure I would.
The Jugged Hare.
The Wolseley. Probably my favourite, good food, done well with great service.
Pied a Terre, had a really good lunch there.
Jack's Place Clapham, now closed. A very quirky, very English spot.
If I was to choose one, The Wolseley.
The missus and I try and eat out somewhere (without kids) for birthdays and anniversaries and inevitably these are in London...
My absolute favourite (in London) is still Gordon Ramsey at Royal Hospital Road although Core by Claire Smyth is pretty close. Marcus Waring is great and Dinner still has an air of theatre about it which is a lot of fun... plus it is a little more relaxed. That said, none of the above are that stuffy, they all have a way of making you feel relaxed and enjoy the experience.
La Gavroche was wonderful as well... Michel Roux made a point of coming over to each table to say hello and check everything was ok.
The next one on the list (when I've saved enough up) is The Araki - 15 covers, 2 sittings an evening, a set menu of sushi and more sushi...
I used to work as a Saturday boy helping cook the food in the Pie & Mash shop on Crisp St Market for a few years when I was a teenager belive it or not! Back in the late 90’s when I was at sixth form, it paid for my beer and Ben Sherman’s😂 There were two P&M shops in the market, I think the one I worked in has changed ownership now as my old guvnor must be retired. Could be Maureen’s - or Maureen’s could be the other, I’ve not been back for quite a while.
Pie & mash is a brilliant cheap hot meal on a cold day - when West Ham were at home we used to have queues out the door and round the corner before the match, and then again after the match for people getting take homes.
Liquor is basically a parsley sauce with bright green food dye in it, which gives it its iconic colour. I can’t recall the exact recipe, but I remember we used to put a big slab of the spare jelly from our jellied eels into every batch.
Away from Pie & Mash, my addition to the list would be Locanda Locatelli, Italian in Marylebone.
Couldn’t pick just one.
For me it would be The Wolseley for breakfast, The Ivy for lunch and Sushi Samba for dinner.
What a day that would be!
Pinar Kebab in Walthamstow. I'm not into fancy places so this is my absolute favourite.
Mandarin Kitchen Queensway. Order the lobster noodles. You’re welcome.
Ormers Mayfair, tasting menu. Due a Michelin star soon and quite simply brilliant.
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Another for The River Cafe although my last visit, for the first time ever, was below par so under review.
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Good point
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I used to work above that. Never had a bad meal either but also never had a great meal. Feels like it still trades on the Michael Caine connection
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I think the best eating experience I have had in London was a long Sunday lunch at the Ritz,
I recently had a nice meal at Daphnes but no way was it worth the money.
Kerridge's.
I went in July and can't stop thinking about it.
I am going to ruin your day, I totally agree with you. Rules is brilliant,
I averaged one meal a month there for over 15 years and every lunch was tops.
There is a special room upstairs where Edward V11 entertained his lady friends and the decor is as was but the satorical cartoons have been sadly updated. I had the best Christmas dinner in there in my entire life. Twelve of us pigging into a massive turkey and christmas pud.
If you just fancy afternoon tea, get ye to The Ritz, that is also something special.
Day not ruined Mick,
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Toss up between the Lahore Kebab House (Pakistani) or The Regency Cafe in Westminster (English)
Well if nothing else I've got a few extra places to add to my extensive Snack Map of London...thanks all.
Hope you have some inspiration OP!
Another vote here for Ledbury! Tends to get booked up fast so ideally you will need to reserve a table up to 3 months in advance.
Clove Club, Shoreditch
Frog, Hoxton
More central:
Clos Maggiore, Covent Garden
Ha...I've done exactly the same thing. Love finding new places.
An old boss of mine once spent the entire day in Simpsons-in-the-Strand; went there for breakfast, adjourned to the bar, lunch, bar and then dinner. God only knows what sense he was making when his dinner guests turned up.
I'm rather fond of Wiltons in Jermyn St but, at the more affordable level, I have a soft spot for Andrew Edmunds in Soho.
Hakkasan in Mayfair is worth a visit, try the black cod
But if I had to put my neck out for an authentic Thai I would recommend, just off Great Portland Street
The Great Thai restaurant
14 Riding House Street
London
W1
Only has 6 tables but a hidden gem
Battersea, not Clapham. Jack (Talkington), the owner (now dead), would've given you a clip around the ear for daring to suggest his restaurant was in Clapham.
When i first went to Jacks, in 1979, he had a motorcycle, a Kawasaki Z1 hanging on the wall. A customers who'd scared himself silly and refused to ride it.
Sadly, there's now a money exchange/transfer shop on the site.
A review from 2007.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...drink.shopping
Bone Daddies for ramen noodles or Needoo Grill for some great Punjabi cuisine.
Haven’t been back in years but Franklin’s on Lordship Lane in south London has always been a treat. Still remember the roast ox heart, surprisingly soft, yum.
Last edited by Passenger; 22nd September 2019 at 21:24.
If I wanted the best steak I've ever tasted, where woud I go?
I've had a look at the Guinea menu, and it looks mighty tasty.
In all my many years, I've have had two steaks that I'd call nice. One at a local restaurant just after it opened (presumably while they were still making an effort and buying decent meat), and one at a Holiday Inn in Halifax!