Eating Out In London
London has a huge variety of restaurants, and there are many to chose from. Here you will find a list of some of our favourites. All of the restaurants listed are what we would consider well priced for London. If you are looking for more up-market restaurants then we would be happy to offer some recommendations. If you like eating out on a regular basis then you might want to consider purchasing a copy of the Time Out London Eating Guide.
American
If you feel like a memory of home then there are a wide variety of American restaurants in the capital, that serve American fare.
Ed’s Easy Diner (various locations) www.edseasydiner.co.uk
People compare Ed’s to the diner in Happy Day’s. It is a good place to go for a quick fix particularly if you are in the theatre district. The milkshakes and malts are renowned for being excellent.
Rodrizo Rico www.rodiziorico.com
This is an excellent eat-all-you-want Brazilian restaurant with a superb range of meat and vegetarian options. All the meat is freshly cooked, and delivered to your table and is carved in front of you.
Santa Maria de Buen Ayre http://www.buenayre.co.uk/
Is a great place for some South American food, and they specialise in their steaks. They have 3 branches in London now, one of which reached the final of Gordon Ramsey’s Local Restaurant of the Year.
British
You can’t come to the UK without checking out a traditional British restaurant. Typically they are quite pricey, but this one below is an excellent option for those of you on a budget. You will also find various pubs that serve traditional English food, although sometimes they can be a bit hit and miss in terms of quality!
Porters www.porters.uk.com
A traditional English restaurant in the heart of Covent Garden. If you are looking for a typically British meal at a reasonable price then this is the place for you. Check out their website for special offers, and a voucher for 5% off the total bill.
Burgers
There are some really excellent burger restaurants in and around London, some of which serve solely burgers on the menu.
Ultimate Burger www.ultimateburger.co.uk
Service is often poor here, but the burgers are of a good quality. Quite a limited menu, but what there is, is good.
Byron Burger (various locations) www.byronhamburgers.com
Byron Burger can be found in various locations in London. They are simple but tasty burgers, all with fresh ingredients.
Burger Shack www.burgershack.co.uk
Huge burgers and massive portions of chips. Try and sit outside in the summer if you can.
Hamburger Union www.hamburgerunion.com
A good option for a burger in Soho, although not as good at Ultimate Burger or GBK. Prices are very low, with the plain burger starting at just under £4.00!
Gourmet Burger Kitchen www.gbk.co.uk
A superb option for burgers and fries, but portions are huge! You could easily share a portion of fries. Milkshakes come in the staple flavours, and are gorgeous!
Chinese
China Town is often seen as the best place to eat Chinese food, but you should be slightly wary of this area, in that it does cater to the tourists rather than the Chinese community, but it is an excellent place to go, and some of the restaurants are very good. You should look for those that are full of Chinese people, always the sign of a good restaurant! Avoid the buffet style ones though, they tend not to be very good!
Café de HK www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/venue/2:956/cafe-de-hong-kong
This is a very popular restaurant with young people and serves a wide range of different dishes at low prices. Don’t go there for a relaxing meal though, it’s very noisy and bustly.
New Mayflower http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/venue/2%3A15109/new-mayflower
One of the genuine Cantonese restaurants in the area, this one is highly recommended by the Time Out guide, so you know it’s good!
The Royal China http://www.royalchinagroup.co.uk
An excellent place for Dim Sum, but also for evening meals. The décor is opulent, and although the dinner menu is more expensive it is of excellent quality.
Wong Kei http://www.london-eating.co.uk/2971.htm
Some of the worst service you will receive but the food is great. This huge restaurant is always packed full of natives. The service is notoriously bad, but the food great, and it is very cheap. If you go with a group of you try the set menu, starters, followed by duck, then main course for under £15.00 per person. And believe us, you won’t get through it all!
Fish and Seafood
Fish and chips is probably one of the most well know British dishes. In the centre of town there are very few places that serve good quality fish and chips, but these are some that you might like to try.
Café Fish (various locations) www.santeonline.co.uk
Café Fish is owned by a restaurant group, but each restaurant has its own personal menu. Café Fish is a good quality fish and seafood place.
Rock and Sole Plaice www.london-eating.co.uk/5325.htm
This is London’s oldest surviving fish and chip shop. In the summer you can eat out on the street where they have a selection of small tables.
Fryer’s Delight www.london-eating.co.uk/5787.htm
This is one of the haunts of taxi drivers. You can either sit in or have a take-away. If you are on a diet avoid this place, there are no healthy options on this menu!
Pubs
Nearly all pubs serve food, but some are better than others. Many of the chain pubs, such as Wetherspoon’s do very cheap meals, but the food is not homemade, and much of the food is deep-fried.
The Eagle www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/london/view/80518/The_Eagle
This is said to be London’s first ever gastro-pub and the food is simple, good quality and reasonably priced.
Cow Dining Room www.thecowlondon.co.uk/dining_menu.html
One of the more expensive pubs, but the food is excellent. You always have to queue though, as it gets very busy both during the week and at the weekend.
Gun www.thegundocklands.com
You should go to this pub for the view. You get a full panoramic over the Thames, but the food is superb. It has won a number of awards for its kitchen. Try it at the weekend, it will be a little quieter than during the week.
Greek
Greek cuisine has become more popular over the past few years, and there are some excellent restaurants in town.
The Real Greek www.therealgreek.co.uk
Not overly cheap, but the Real Greek is a great option for good quality Greek cuisine. It was originally family owned, but has been bought-out by a new owner, who is planning an expansion, so more restaurants are popping up in the capital all the time.
Aphrodite www.aphroditerestaurant.co.uk
Aphrodite is family owned, and the quality of the cooking is superb. It feels like you are in a traditional Greek Taverna, with lots of wall decorations. They have a café next door which is open during the day, serving a selection of items from the menu, along with sandwiches and snacks.
Indian
Chicken Tikka masala was voted Britain’s favourite dish, and Indian cuisine is one of the most popular choices for late night meals and takeaways. Many Indian restaurants cater for the British palate, but there are still some high quality places out there, that offer a wide choice of different dishes.
Masala Zone www.realindianfood.com
This is a family owned chain of restaurants, that have still managed to maintain their standards. They not only own Masala Zone, but also Chutney Mary’s and Amaya, both more up-market options. All are good options for an Indian meal.
Mela has a reputation for having authentic Indian dishes at fair prices. It has received many culinary awards and is a popular place to eat.
Scarlet Dot www.scarletdot.co.uk
Scarlet Dot is located near Liverpool Street station. It has both indoor and outdoor seating and as it is behind London’s famous Spitalfields market, it is a great place to enjoy some Indian cuisine.
Veeraswamy www.veeraswamy.com
Owned by the same people as Masala zone you cannot deny that Veeraswamy is probably one of the best Indian restaurants out. It recently celebrated its 80th Birthday and is still going strong.
Chowki www.chowki.com
Bargain restaurant in the heart of Soho and has an ever changing menu. You never know what kind of food you are going to get!
Café Spice Namaste www.cafespice.co.uk
Good quality Indian food, with a wide range of options. Often frequented by City types.
Brick Lane
Brick Lane is an area of London, rather than a restaurant. It is where you will find numerous curry restaurants. The quality is variable, but it is a really fun area, and there are lots of fun supermarkets and shops selling different spices. Try Preem if you are planning to eat there. It is probably one of the best, although service can sometimes be a bit slow.
Italian
There are loads of excellent Italian restaurants in London, many around the Soho area.
Carluccio’s (various locations) www.carluccios.com
Amazing eat-in deli/restaurant which sells Italian groceries as well as serving food. Portions are often quite large, and they do a good range of specials which change on a daily basis.
L’Accento www.london-eating.co.uk/1893.htm
This looks very scruffy from the outside, but the food is great. They do a cheap lunch menu during the week.
Pasta Plus www.pastaplus.co.uk
A wonderful little Italian, very cheap, and with good sized portions, located next to Euston Station. The décor is nothing special, but all the food is cooked on the premises, and is of a high standard.
Italian Graffiti www.italiangraffiti.co.uk
Always busy, in the heart of Soho, and offers a range of typical Italian dishes, including pizza and pasta.
Ask (various locations) www.askcentral.co.uk
One of the pizza/pasta chains of the UK, Ask offers mainly pizza and pasta, although they do have a range of salads as well.
Pizza Express (various locations) www.pizzaexpress.co.uk
Pizza Express was the first of the chain pizza restaurants. All the décor is identical, but pizzas are made to order, and the menu has expanded to include a wider range of options in recent years.
Strada (various locations) www.strada.co.uk
Portions are very large here, and they offer a wide range of not only pizza and pasta, but also risotto and meats.
Middle Eastern
The area around Edgeware Road is well known for its cuisine. Lebanese is very popular, and there are a number of good restaurants and cafes in the area.
Al-Dar www.aldar.co.uk
A good range of meze and kebabs, but the main speciality is juices, all freshly squeezed. There is also a shisha lounge.
Maroush (various locations) www.maroush.com
Maroush is probably one of the most well know Middle Eastern restaurants. There are a number of restaurants that form part of the group, and some of them have belly-dancing. They are a good late-night option.
Patogh www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Restaurant/Patogh/4fca/
Be warned, the portions are huge here, but the quality is excellent. Kebabs are the best bet.
Al Waha www.alwaharestaurant.com
All we can say here is that this is probably one of the best Lebanese restaurants in London.
North African
This is the kind of cuisine that you might not try when you are in London, but there are a number of good options around.
Souk, 27 Litchfield Street www.soukrestaurant.net
The food is not the best here, but the interior is amazing. Belly dancing is also done here most nights.
Original Tagines, 7A Dorset Street www.original-tagines.com
Portions here can be a little bit small sometimes, but they are always tasty, and the food is very fresh.
Couscous Café www.whichtable.com/couscouscafe
This is a Moroccan restaurant, just off Queensway. The food is good, although the venue is quite small, and looks very dingy from the outside.
Spanish
Up until recently there have been very few Spanish restaurants in London, but now there has been an influx of them. It is good to go in a group, and order lots of different types of tapas.
Barcelona Tapas Bar y Restaurante www.barcelona-tapas.com
In the heart of the city, very popular, booking is nearly always essential. It can be a little more expensive than other places in the same area.
Meson los Barriles www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/eat-drink/meson-los-barriles.html
Portions are a good size, and service is very prompt. There is a good range of both tapas and main courses.
Navarro’s www.navarros-tapas-london.co.uk
Booking is essential here, and it is always full. The walls are decorated with tiles depicting Spanish scenes. Portions are quite small sometimes.
Salt Yard www.saltyard.co.uk
Although it doesn’t feel very Spanish the tapas here are superb. It is always packed. It is an excellent option for vegetarians, and has won awards for the veggie options that it offers.
Bar Gansa www.bargansa.co.uk
Very young crowd, and not the best place if you are planning to stay for a while and linger over your meal. A good range of tapas, but not so strong on main dishes.
Thai
Thai is becoming increasingly popular here in London. There are a number of restaurants popping up all over the place.
Nahm, The Halkin www.nahm.como.bz
This is quite an expensive option, but it comes highly recommended. The dress code is quite strict, so make sure you don’t go in your jeans.
Busaba Eathai www.busaba.com
No reservations are taken here. All the tables are communal, and the whole restaurant is non-smoking. The food is good, and it is often quiet at lunchtimes.
Patara http://www.bing.com/local/details.aspx?lid=YN1109x260747276&qt=yp&what=patara&where=London%2c+Greater+London&s_cid=ansPhBkYp02&mkt=en-gb&FORM=LARE
The design is the main reason for going here, it is outstanding. Go for the set menus, they are the best value.
Nipa, The Royal Lancaster Hotel, Lancaster Terrace, www.royallancaster.com
Nipa is in a hotel, but don’t let this put you off, because it is well worth it. When you walk in it looks like a Thai Palace and you get nice views over the park. The food is good, in particular the set menu.
Blue Elephant www.blueelephant.com
One of the most well-known Thai restaurants, this is the main branch of Blue Elephant. There are restaurants all over the world, and they are all of a similar standard.
Asia Fusion www.asiafusion.co.uk
Asia Fusion incorporates Indian and Asian cuisine and specialises in innovative dishes. It has a radiant atmosphere.
Inamo http://www.inamo-stjames.com/
This is a high-tech restaurant where the menu is projected on to your table by space-age pods above your head, and you can use the touchpad to place your order. It has a pan-Asian menu and is something that little bit different! It also serves cocktails. A special tip… if you want a discount drop us an email. Emmac@angloamerican.uk.com.