World Travel Guide

City Guide  - London  - Food and Drink
Food and Drink

The London eating out scene has changed more in the past few years than in the last decade. New restaurants seem to open every other week as the capital's demand for new and quality dining experiences remains insatiable. Modern British cooking, infusing traditional British products with imaginative cooking styles, is one of the most impressive forms, with many London restaurants turning their back on foie gras and haute cuisine in favour of rediscovering such delights as sausages and mash, steak and kidney pie, fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding.

London's restaurant revival was spearheaded by Alistair Little, the best of whose two eponymous restaurants is at 136A Lancaster Road, W11 (tel: (020) 7243 2220), and also by Sir Terence Conran, whose Bibendum, 81 Fulham Road, SW3 (tel: (020) 7581 5817), became the benchmark for the designer restaurants of the 1990s. Conran's gastronomic empire now stretches right across the capital, from Coq d'Argent, 1 Poultry, EC2 (tel: (020) 7395 5000), in the City to the Bluebird restaurant, bar, café and food/kitchen shop, at 350 King's Road, SW3 (tel: (020) 7559 1000). Other celebrity chefs and foodie entrepreneurs who have taken up the gauntlet include Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White (now retired from cooking) and TV celebrity chef Gary Rhodes, as well as top chefs from abroad who have added their expertise to the melting pot.

In London today, the culinary buzz word is 'eclectic' and you can sample many of the world's cuisines in the city's multitude of restaurants, brasseries, bistros, gastro-pubs, cafés and take-aways. London has its ethnic culinary districts, such as Chinatown around Gerrard Street and Lisle Street, or Brick Lane in the East End for cheap but authentic cuisine from the Indian sub-continent. Soho is packed with a mix of stylish and budget eateries, while many of the top-class restaurants are dotted around Piccadilly, Mayfair and Chelsea. Wagamama (tel: (020) 7323 9223) has brought high-speed communal eating to London with its series of hugely popular Japanese noodle bars, while the Belgo chain (tel: (020) 7813 2233) has educated Londoners in the delights of Belgian beer and moules-frites. Although not featured in the selection below, the finest London hotels continue to defy even the most sceptical diners.

Eating out in London is expensive compared to many other European capitals; top restaurants charge in excess of £50 for three courses and even 'pub grub' is pricier than in other parts of the country. However, many places now provide good-value set menus (particularly at lunchtime), which allow visitors to experience quality cuisine without breaking the bank. Increasingly, many places are slipping the service charge onto the bill, so it is essential to check if service has been added before tipping the usual 10-15%.

Restaurants

If you are in the mood for indulgence, prepare yourself for a treat; London's top restaurants compete with the best in the world. Delight in the mouth-watering creations from the man himself at Gordon Ramsay, 68-69 Royal Hospital Road, SW3 (tel: (020) 7352 4441). A three-course set dinner costs £60 and reservations are essential months in advance. It is even harder to get a table at The Ivy, 1 West Street, WC2 (tel: (020) 7836 4751), loved by showbiz stars for its trendy but relaxed atmosphere. Enjoy the very finest French cuisine with flashes of the Middle and Far East at Chez Nico, 90 Park Lane, W1 (tel: (020) 7409 1290). The elegant drawing-room setting provides a backdrop for culinary works of art. The three-course set dinner costs £62. Haute cuisine of the highest order is on the menu at Le Gavroche, 43 Upper Brook Street, W1 (tel: (020) 7408 0881). Three courses will set you back £100 but each taste is worth its weight in gold. Mirabelle, 56 Curzon Street, W1 (tel: (020) 7499 4636) is the most glamorous place to sample classic French cuisine served with a 1990s twist. Head west to the River Café, Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, W6 (tel: (020) 7381 8824), for arguably the best Italian-inspired food in town (about £50 for three courses). Further downriver, feast your eyes and your stomach from the height of the Oxo Tower Brasserie, Bar and Grill, Barge House Street, SE1 (tel: (020) 7803 3888). The restaurant costs in the region of £50-70 per head while brasserie dining costs £40-50.

For a taste of the establishment, try Wiltons, 55 Jermyn Street, SW1 (tel: (020) 7629 9955). Tuck into traditional food, including fish and game, alongside politicians, clergy and other upholders of the Establishment. A three-course meal (excluding wine) will cost about £60. Alternatively, make for Simpsons-in-the-Strand, 100 Strand, WC2 (tel: (020) 7836 9112), which maintains the traditions and atmosphere of a gentleman's club. Formal dress is recommended for those wishing to sample the excellent cooking (three courses for about £30); upstairs, a less formal restaurant has recently opened.

Diners have the choice of three quality restaurants at the Conran 'Gastrodome' in the Butler's Wharf Building on Shad Thames, SE1. Gaze at Tower Bridge and tuck into reliably delicious British cuisine at the Butler's Wharf Chophouse, 36E Shad Thames (tel: (020) 7403 3403); tasty Mediterranean dishes at Cantina del Ponte, 36C Shad Thames (tel: (020) 7403 5403), or fine French classics at Le Pont de la Tour, 36D Shad Thames (tel: (020) 7403 8403), where dinner (three courses plus wine) is in the region of £65.

For fun and brash dining Japanese-style, try Yo! Sushi, 52 Poland Street, W1 (tel: (020) 7287 0443). High-tech gimmicks include the longest sushi conveyor belt in the world, sushi-making machines and robotic drinks trolleys. Prices depend on the dish ordered - each plate is colour coded according to price - and staff calculate the bill from the empty plates. For seafood, try the appropriately named Fish!, Cathedral Street, SE1 (tel: (020) 7234 3333), housed in a stainless steel and glass construction on the edge of Borough Market, where main dishes cost about £9-15. Alternatively, excellent fish and chips are available to eat in or take away at the Upper Street Fish Shop, 324 Upper Street, N1 (tel: (020) 7359 1401). Classic cod in batter is supplemented by welcome additions such as calamari and mussels. Traditional East End pie and mash (£1.75-2.20) is served at Goddard's Ye Old Pie House, 45 Greenwich Church Street, SE10. In Soho, join a relaxed and friendly crowd as they tuck into vast portions of good and cheap international food in the unpretentious surroundings of Café Emm, 17 Frith Street (tel: (020) 7437 0723).

New additions for 2000 on the restaurant scene include Mulberry, 20 Chesham Place (tel: (020) 7235 6040), Belgravia's newest restaurant, which serves 'coastal' dishes from Northern Europe; L'Anis, 1 Kensington High Street (tel: (020) 7795 6533), which opened as the most recent addition to the Mediterranean trend in August 2000; and the unusual Gaucho Grill, 29 Westferry Circus, Canary Riverside (tel: (020) 7987 9494), which serves Argentinean steaks from grills heated by lava rocks.

Cafés

The traditional London 'cuppa' in a grubby tearoom has been usurped in recent years by an influx of stylish cafés and an invasion of coffee chains like Starbucks and Costa Coffee. However, afternoon tea is a British institution and nowhere is it served in such style as at London's top hotels. Afternoon tea (from £21 per person) in the Palm Court at The Ritz is legendary and hugely popular. A perfect pot of tea, delicate sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, and delicious cakes are served at 1400, 1530 and 1700, and reservations (up to two months in advance) are essential for the later sittings (tel: (020) 7493 8181). Alternatives include the Waldorf Meridien, Aldwych, WC2 (tel: (020) 7836 2400), with its glamorous ambience, The Savoy, Strand, WC2 (tel: (020) 7836 4343), or the fourth floor of Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, W1 (tel: (020) 7734 8040). For an entirely different experience head to the legendary Bar Italia, 22 Frith Street, W1 (tel: (020) 7437 4520). The friendly Italian staff at this Soho institution serve excellent coffee to a backdrop of permanent TV and cheesy music until 0500 Monday to Thursday and around the clock Friday to Sunday, so expect the full breadth of humanity to be on show.

Global Café
, 15 Golden Square, W1 (tel: (020) 7287 2242) offers internet access with your latte without compromising the real café ambience. Get away from it all by enjoying the mellow atmosphere of Primrose Hill at Primrose Patisserie, 136 Regent's Park Road, NW1 (tel: (020) 7722 7848).



Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
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