London 2012 Guidebook
Best and worst restaurants:
Best: Pret a Manger
Why: Even though this is a chain and doesn't give the interaction with locals which some people might want, we loved it. The choice of vegetarian sandwiches was large and they were all delicious and reasonable and fast. When trying to fit so much in in a day the convenience of this chain was great.
Laura Zimmermann in Hagerstown, MD USA 08/21/2011
Best: Pret a Manger
Why: Even though this is a chain and doesn't give the interaction with locals which some people might want, we loved it. The choice of vegetarian sandwiches was large and they were all delicious and reasonable and fast. When trying to fit so much in in a day the convenience of this chain was great.
Laura Zimmermann in Hagerstown, MD USA 08/21/2011
Best: Cote Restaurant (page 380)
Why: Terrific food, great atmosphere, wonderful place for Soho dining.
Worst: Sea Fresh Restaurant (page 382)
Why: I would recommend you drop "Seafresh Fish Restaurant" from the list of dining choices (page 382 of 2011 London guide). We found it drab, dingy, distresssing flourescent lighting, overpriced and tasteless fish-and-chips. The best part of the meal was the mushy peas. Doesn't deserve a Rick mention.
Robert in Jackson, MI USA 08/13/2011
Best: Belgo Centraal
Why: Mussels, chips, beer and friendly locals.
Granville in Durham, NC USA 08/06/2011
Worst: Lord of the Moon Pub
Why: My wife and I both ordered fish and chips based on Rick's description of the "retro English cuisine from the days it had a horrible reputation" but the food was simply awful. Clearly the fish, the chips and the peas were not prepared on the premises but were frozen and then microwaved. Avoid this place for any food choices!
Larry in Florence, KY USA 07/14/2011
Best: Le Pain Quotidien
Why: It's not always about fine dining. Hey what about breakfast? A short walk from our hotel and we ate here every morning. Pot of coffee, waffles, granola, and just good stuff. Many locations in London.
Scott Codon in Aliso Viejo, CA USA 12/14/2010
Best: Several to List
Why: Great meals were had at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Tavern, Stockpot, Jenny Lo's Tea House, Moti Mahal Indian Restaurant, and Royal China Restaurant. Pret A Manger (several locations throughout London) offers quick and healthy pre-prepared sandwiches and desserts.
Worst: Several to List
Why: A conveyor belt with moving plates of food is entertaining at Yo! Sushi for about 30 seconds. Afterwards, you are paying $2 to $8 for wads of rice that are covered in thin pieces of meat and fish. Skip it! Ned's Noodle Bar isn't much better.
Thomas Elliot in Harlingen, Tx USA 09/26/2010
Best: Thyme Restaurant, at Premier Inn St Pancras
Why: Good food at a fair price
Bob in Philadelphia, PA USA 08/24/2010
Best: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Why: History! We could feel Dickens, Johnson, and Twain in the walls. The food wasn't bad either, but we got there at 3 on a weekday afternoon so that might have helped.
Tom French in Hermosa Beach, CA USA 08/17/2010
Best: St. George's Tavern in Pimlico
Why: Great food, good prices, fun atmosphere.
Wendy Sarney in Columbia, MD USA 07/23/2010
Best: Fox & Anchor
Why: Great owner/manager! Hospitality, knowledgeable. Interesting menu with standards of pubs, but so much more, too. Nice mix of unique, regional cask- conditioned ales, and standard London pub offerings
Worst: Any of the now too typical chain-run pubs
Why: worst food, limited beer options
Anna in Richmond, VA USA 07/08/2010
Best: Cafe in St.Martins in the Fields
Why: Excellent food at a great price and best of all you help support the church.
Worst: West End Kitchen in London
Why: Food was only average.We were disappointed Nice people running it however
John Theune in Sheboygan, wi USA 06/01/2010
Best: Pret a Manger, tea at the National Dining Rooms in the National Gallery
Why: We were fortunate to stay in a hotel with a kitchenette, so we didn't eat at many table service restaurants. We did grab quick lunches during the day, and Pret a Manger is tasty and quick.
My mother and I split a cream tea and an afternoon tea in the National Dining Rooms, just like the guidebook recommends. It was a nice little nosh for both of us, and the view out over Trafalgar Square was great.
Lauren in Cleveland, OH USA 05/23/2010
Best: Waxie O'Connors, near Piccadilly Circus
Why: It's either on or near Rupert Street, just down from Ripleys Believe it or Not Museum. We discovered this wonderful restaurant when we heard that there was a tree inside the building. It's a huge place, several levels and bars, and the food is just delicious. I'm generally not a big onion ring fan but I tried them and thought I had died and gone to Heaven.
It's not real crowded and a nice find in this very busy area, seemed like there were a lot of locals rather than tourists there, try it.
Lauretta in Oakland, Ca USA 05/20/2010
Best: Waxies near Piccadilly Circus
Why: We discovered this wonderful restaurant when we heard that there was a tree inside the building. It's a huge place, several levels and bars and the food is just delicious. I'm generally not a big onion ring fan but I tried them and thought I had died and gone to Heaven.
It's not real crowded and a nice find in this very busy area, seemed like there were a lot of locals rather than tourists there, try it.
Lauretta in Oakland, Ca USA 05/20/2010
Best: Ebury Wine Bar
Why: Excellent food at reasonable prices with delightful staff.
Cindy in Montville, NJ USA 05/17/2010
Worst: St Martin's in the Fields
Why: Food looked better than it tasted. Rice salad had very undercooked rice. Good prices, not so good taste.
Pamela Kahn in Atlanta, GA USA 05/02/2010
Best: Cote restaurant, London
Why: Genuinely excellent French bistro food, good service and atmosphere. The ice cream with warm chocolate sauce was as good as i have ever made at home following julia Child's recipe.
Worst: Moon & Sixpence, Bath
Why: Pretentious, trying way too hard. My steak was oversalted to begin with, then adding a sauce containing bacon to it...well, it was out of the rain, that's the best I can say for it.
Roe Buchanan in Reston, VA USA 11/28/2009
Best: Moon and Sixpence (Bath), Jamie's Italian Restaurant (Canary Wharf and Bath), La Bouchee Bistro and Casa Brindisa (both S. Kensington)
Why: Moon and Sixpence was listed as a favorite of the Brock's Guest House and the food was innovative and tasty. Wonderful Italian food at reasonable price at Jamie Oliver's restaurant at Canary Wharf. (He also has one in Bath, which was very popular, though we didn't eat there.) La Bouchee had a sinfully good tarte tatin, as well as delicious entrees. We discovered the Casa Brindisa near the tube station, which is a Spanish tapas restaurant that had a variety of tempting small plates. (2 or 3 selections per person, plus shared dessert makes a hearty meal.)
Worst: Seafresh Fish Restaurant
Why: Perhaps I just made a bad selection, but the fisherman's pie was 3/4 mashed potatoes with very little fish or vegetables beneath it.
Janelle Sanda in Fargo, ND USA 11/01/2009
Best: Dounia, Bayswater, London
Why: Dounia serves Lebanese food and is located at Whiteleys Shopping Centre (on the ground floor) in the Bayswater neighborhood, near Notting Hill. They serve authentic Curry Chicken, Masaka, and salads, and are owner-operated. Also in the shopping centre are excellent public toilets located on the third floor and a Marks & Spencer grocery store. Across the street is a Tesco's grocery. My girlfriend, who is Syrian, raved about the food. Small serving is £4 and a large is £5. The owner allows you to mix-n-match foods of your choice to fill the plate.
Perna in San Diego, CA USA 10/14/2009
Best: St Martin in the Fields and Ebury Wine Bar
Why: Wonderful food in an unusual setting. Price is right. Hubby and I ate a huge lunch for less then $14.00 / 2 independent tour guides wanted to know how we had found the place ... I showed her my guidebook! They were impressed :-)
Ebury Wine Bar / next to Lime Tree was very nice. "bar food" much more than just snacks. I had an herb omelette with a lovely salad and my hubby had a ceasar salad with grilled chicken. Very pleasant wait staff.
edna in murphey, ky USA 09/15/2009
Best: Yo! Sushi
Why: Great concept with conveyor belt bringing dishes by. Food was excellent, and reasonably priced.
Worst: Jenny Lo's Tea House
Why: While not bad, I wouldn't recommend it. The food was surprisingly bland.
Nancy in Columbus, OH USA 09/13/2009
Best: Seafresh Restaurant
Why: pleasant, not too pricey, good fish and chips and mushy peas.
Laura Wilson in Fredericksburg, TX USA 09/05/2009
Best: Pret and Eat sandwich shops & M&S grocery stores
Why: Just about the most reasonably-priced options.
Vic S. in Idyllwild, CA USA 08/05/2009
Best: E.A.T. and Marks & Spencer
Why: Great for picnic supplies and to grab a quick sandwich for lunch, inexpensive
Joy in Dayton, OH USA 07/23/2009
Best: CHIMES ENGLISH RESTAURANT & GALLERY PUB
Why: Blades Hotel recommends a variety of places to eat locally in Pimlico/Victoria area. we found the Chimes Restaurant served excellent English food great meat pies with amazing pastry. This is in Churton Street in Pimlico. They also recommended we try traditional English pub food and we tried out The Gallery Pub in Lupus Street - next to Pimlico underground Station. Very good choice, great steak and the traditional English fish and chips were very tasty! Really lovely traditional pub with good service - though you order at the bar (very English).
Walter and Anna in Atlanta, GA USA 06/10/2009
Best: Eat and any other sandwich shop
Why: The sandwich shops were a total surprise to us as we had never been to London before. We loved being able to grab what we would consider a fresh gourmet sandwich to go. In the US prepackaged sandwiches are kind of scary!
Holly Nunn in Raleigh , NC USA 05/09/2009
Best: St. Martin's in the Fields
Why: Lunch was great- we felt that we were eating traditional food, but a bit more healthy than a pub.
Worst: Maggie Jones
Why: The service was a bit shotty for the prices paid. I remember it being great, and it was nice, but not great.
Catherine Conger in Greenville, SC USA 04/19/2009
Best: Cherry Court Hotel
Why: We enjoyed our stay at this hotel-owners were very nice and helpful, clean room,fresh fruit and towels everyday, location was excellant-rooms were small but we knew that but we were only sleeping there and the beds were real comfortable.
Linda Manning in South Windsor, CT USA 04/17/2009
Best: Georgian Cafe at Harrod's
Why: It was such a lovely atmosphere, very traditional English tea setting. The music from the piano was a very nice touch and the food served in the afternoon tea was scrumptious. I went by myself and had to eat all of it because it was so delicious. If you only have afternoon tea once, Harrod's is definitely worth the splurge.
Grace in Seattle, WA USA 04/05/2009
Best: Belgo Centraal, Yo! Sushi, Wagamama Noodle Bar, La Bouchee Bistro
Why: We just returned from four wonderful days in London. We tried all four of these restaurants and we would recommend each one. Belgo Centraal is fun, has great mussels and can get you in and out quickly if you're on your way to the theater. Yo! Sushi has great sushi in a fun, modern atmosphere. We stopped at Wagamama Noodle near the London Eye for lunch one day and were pleasantly surprised by a very creative menu. And finally, La Bouchee Bistro is one of the finest French bistros we've experienced. Great atmosphere, food and service. Try the Coq au Vin.
Mark in Baltimore, MD USA 03/10/2009
Best: Seafresh Fish Restaurant
Why: The best fish restaurant that I have ever eaten in. Gloriously fresh fish, grilled or deep fried, served with clean fries or new potatoes. The grilled Salmon is exquisite! Inexpensive wine by the glass and side orders of fresh vegetables. A dinner for two with wine, fish, dessert and coffee runs about 50 pounds, which is half the price you would pay ordinarily in London. After sampling other recommended restaurants, we ate there four times! Five minutes away from Rick's recommended Victoria hotels. Unpretentious but quality food at reasonable prices.
Worst: La Poule au Pot, Andrew Edmunds
Why: La Poule au Pot is pretentious (the waiters claimed to speak only French!), overpriced, and the food is not very good. Andrew Edmunds is cozy but the food was, again, overpriced and not good. They served me lamb's shank which was so tough I couldn't eat it!
Jack M. Potter in Olympia, WA USA 02/16/2009
Best: Chimes Restaurant in Churtorn Street London SW1
Why: Traditional English food - great pies and excellent English cider (VERY POTENT DRINK).
Patrick Finlay in Toronto, Canada 02/14/2009