Sometimes old stereotypes take a long time to die. The
notion that food in Britain is terrible is a hangover from the 80s and despite
the whole world watching Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey on their televisions,
it seems that some people still expect the food to be poor when they visit us.
It is also true that, as a tourist, you may not find the best places
straightaway. Below is a guide for the uninitiated and also some help finding
your own favourites!
Where to Eat in London:
Traditional “pub grub”
is still popular in London. English classics like Fish and Chips, Steak and Ale
Pie and Ploughman’s Lunch can be found in most pubs, but not all pubs do it well. Close to our
London school, The Plough
serves this food at a reasonable price and to a decent quality.
Burgers are allthe rage at the moment. There are good chains like Byron burger and GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) but also loads of
fantastic smaller restaurants where the taste of the burgers is incredible! The
closest is Meat Liquor (expect
to queue) and another highly recommended is Honest Burger near Kings Cross. This
is the real, organic meat experience and as far from McDonalds and Burger King
as you can imagine!
Korean food is the latest trend. Spicy and full of flavour! Over
the past 20 years there have been fashions for Thai, Japanese, Indonesian and
now Korean food. There are two very reasonably priced places close to our
location in Holborn, Kimchee (on New
Oxford Street) and the student favourite Bibimbab Café on Museum Street.
Indian food is most British people’s second favourite food
and it really should be tried at least once on a visit to the UK. The northern
Indian food that most Brits think of as “Curry” is often very spicy and not all
our students like hot spice. If this is you, then you should try the delicate
aromatic flavours of southern Indian food. Malabar Junction is the closest to
the school and is truly excellent. Try the “Indian pancake” Masala Dosa, or if a little more adventurous, the crab curry is divine!
Have a little more money to spend? In that case, I can truly
say that London has the very best places to eat in the world, and the Michelinguide would agree with me!
In Soho, there are wonderful restaurants such as Arbutus, Barrafina and Ember Yard. In Covent Garden, The Opera Tavern and Balthazar are just two of the excellent
places to dine. There are established world class restaurants such as Ramsey at Hospital Road
and The Ledbury (to name just two) and
also a host of restaurants that keep opening up, that mean even a foodie like
me can’t visit them all. Just this year we have the following: 34, Gymkhana, Dabbous, Sushi Samba and Chiltern Firehouse.
While experimenting with trying restaurants can be great
fun, there is a risk that you may not want to take if you really want that meal
to be good. Therefore, any visitor to London should download the following apps
to their smartphone.
Tripadvisor -
the classic travel app! Some users really like to use it to complain but it has
the most users and gives a good overview of quality.
Opentable is a commonly used app by “foodies”
and allows you to book a table from within the app. Definitely a useful tool
for eating out in London!
Also try Yelp which has
a passionate following of reviewers and food bloggers and often gives excellent
recommendations for more local restaurants in zones 2-6 of London.
The beauty of these apps is that they will show you the
restaurants (and pubs) near your location by type of food and with a clear star
rating. The wonderful thing about London is that every part of London has its
own neighbourhood pubs and restaurants, and these are often better priced and
just as good if not better than the places in the centre. I live in Hammersmith
and 4 of my favourite 10 London restaurants are within a 15 minute walk from my
flat. I found them using Yelp! This is the same in most parts of London, so
explore, but use an app to help you!
Bon appetit!
Carl Roberton, Principal - Stafford House London
