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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Visiting Britain
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
I, and a host of others, am visiting Britain this summer. Local wisdom is solicited here!
So if you were going for a fancy dinner in the Knightsbridge/Westminster/Covent Garden region, English-French-Italian, what would you recommend?
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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QLib
Bad Example
# 43
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Posted
Can't speak from recent personal experience, but maybe The Criterion would fit the bill. When you say "fancy dinner" you are looking for a biggish bill, right?
[ 11. June 2014, 20:48: Message edited by: QLib ]
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Tradition is the handing down of the flame, not the worship of the ashes Gustav Mahler.
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
I believe the idea is to find a truly excellent meal.
Another Q: I have to spend a night in Cheltenham. Suggestions?
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
Suggestion
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Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291
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Posted
Any number of lovely restaurants! What about Rules or Simpsons?
M.
Posts: 2303 | From: Lurking in Surrey | Registered: Sep 2002
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Curious
Shipmate
# 93
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Posted
http://www.opentable.co.uk/ Have a look at this site - you might even find some deals if you eat early.
Curious
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Posts: 1372 | From: Betwixt and between | Registered: May 2001
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
I, and a host of others, am visiting Britain this summer. Local wisdom is solicited here!
So if you were going for a fancy dinner in the Knightsbridge/Westminster/Covent Garden region, English-French-Italian, what would you recommend?
I'd suggest insuring someone for lots of money and then killing them.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Sipech
Shipmate
# 16870
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Posted
At the risk of an echo, the choice is so great that it may be more prudent to pick an approximate budget per head first in order to narrow down your choices. You could go for anything between a Happy Meal and Michelin Star.
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Dafyd
Shipmate
# 5549
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Posted
The Guardian has a weekly restaurant review column. It doesn't confine itself to London, and I don't know whether it's easy to search through it. But here's the link.
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Posts: 10567 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Feb 2004
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Schroedinger's cat
Ship's cool cat
# 64
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Posted
I would concur that your budget might end up a limiting factor. You can pay £100 a head, plus drinks. If you are not expecting a four-figure bill, it could come as a shock.
If you want very posh, you could try one of the hotels : Alaine Ducasse for example. Of course, for these, you might need to book. And again, for the taster menu at £125 a head, and wine at £10 a glass, you could easily hit £200 a head.
But you will have a superb meal.
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Uncle Pete
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
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Posted
And remember that no matter how much you paid in American dollars for pound sterling, one pound = one dollar in purchasing power.
Keep reciting that mantra and you won't die of apoplexy.
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Posts: 20466 | From: No longer where I was | Registered: Sep 2005
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Piglet
Islander
# 11803
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Posted
It might be worth looking at the restaurant reviews in something like the London Evening Standard; we once discovered a wonderful place in Chelsea that way.
It turned out to be owned by someone who D. had been at primary school with, and whose mother had worked with D's mother. We were welcomed as if we were old friends, and had a seriously long, delicious and boozy lunch.
But, as the Alethiophile said, you'll be absolutely spoilt for choice in London, and the sky's the limit for prices, so setting an approximate budget wouldn't be a bad idea.
I've just noticed Covent Garden is one of your preferred destinations, and it's absolutely crawling with splendid eateries, some of which are very reasonable indeed.
If you want a "British" experience, Porters English Restaurant is a favourite of ours, and not at all badly priced by London standards. Their fisherman's pie is to die for, and they do a wonderful range of old-fashioned British puddings.
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M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291
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Posted
I've only ever had bad experiences at Porter's, but I concede I seem to be in the minority (I suppose it's more accurate to to say I've had 2 bad experiences there and didn't want to try again).
I agree with those upthread, it's not difficult to spend £100 a head plus.
M.
Posts: 2303 | From: Lurking in Surrey | Registered: Sep 2002
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Yangtze
Shipmate
# 4965
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Posted
Cliche it may be, but The Ivy is very good.
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Posts: 2022 | From: the smallest town in England | Registered: Sep 2003
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Piglet
Islander
# 11803
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Posted
Mind you, it looks from that article that if you're not the sort of person behind whom the Almighty has to walk a couple of paces, you haven't got a mission of getting in. And I don't know about you, but if I found Tony Blair or Simon Cowell at the next table it'd put me off my food ...
![[Devil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
I will pass this wisdom on. I am coming for the World Science Fiction Convention in August, so you may imagine that my friends and associates are ... varied.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by M.:
I've only ever had bad experiences at Porter's, but I concede I seem to be in the minority (I suppose it's more accurate to to say I've had 2 bad experiences there and didn't want to try again).
What a pity - the menu looks delicious. Was it the service or was the food rubbish?
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Twangist
Shipmate
# 16208
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Posted
Surely someone can recommend a Klingon eaterie?
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JJ
SDG
blog
Posts: 604 | From: Devon | Registered: Feb 2011
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M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291
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Posted
Ariel, I just didn't have very good food - tough meat etc. It was a few years ago now but I've never been inclined to go back. As I said, I seem to be in a minority - most people rave about it. I probably just struck unlucky.
M.
Posts: 2303 | From: Lurking in Surrey | Registered: Sep 2002
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
M
No, you're not alone.
A family friend loved Porter's and always booked to go there for celebrations. And everytime I wondered if it was just me and my other half that didn't get it... until one day a group of us were early and we discovered that the ff was the only person who enjoyed the food there, the rest of us were underwhelmed.
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Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
There is a theory (and if you did not know we were SF writers you would know it now) that all SF conventions are the same SF conventions, connected at the back by a tesseract or something. all the panels, all the hallways, all the meeting rooms, all the food -- they are familiar. (Diana Wynn Jones uses this as a basis for one of her novels.)
Certainly you see all the same people there, talking or writing about thins that are oddly familiar. That guy, dragging a trilogy behind him the way Marley dragged his chains. That woman, wearing a fantasy series like the leaden cloaks in the Inferno. Oh, and great heavens, the costumes. (This year a friend has roped me in. Because of my ethnicity, I am tapped to be Mrs. Kim Jong Un. I will wear high heels and a designer-ish dress; he is going to wear a pseud- NK Army uniform. Must see if I can find a foolish hat.)
The cure for this syndrome is to get out. To see London, or Tucson, or Melbourne. Luckily I am traveling with my husband, who has never been to England before.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
Visiting London is not visiting England. London's different; the feel of the place is as different to the rest of the country as to be like a foreign country. It's hard to explain. I can cope with occasional visits but I always feel like a naive tourist from far shores.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
Get your geek on ...
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
Visiting London is not visiting England. London's different; the feel of the place is as different to the rest of the country as to be like a foreign country. It's hard to explain. I can cope with occasional visits but I always feel like a naive tourist from far shores.
You know I agree with you about London, but give the lass a break will ye. She is going out of London as far as Cheltenham (third post on this thread). I know still very southern England but last I checked London had not quite expanded that far yet.
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
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iamchristianhearmeroar
Shipmate
# 15483
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Posted
Restaurants: you're spoilt for choice as others have said. Most important thing is find a decent pub for beforehand and afters!
One of the very best in London (IMNSHO) is The Harp in Covent Garden, just off Trafalgar Square. It's pretty busy, but the beer is fantastic, usually around ten different ales to choose from, staff are great and always a good atmosphere.
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My blog: http://alastairnewman.wordpress.com/
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Friends have also lured us further, on a expedition to the Lake District. I am writing a novel, so this will be good. I should say that aside from London I have been to other places in the UK, but they all blur into a touristy mash. Stonehenge, Cambridge, Stratford on Avon. That kind of thing. I have never seen the real country.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
The Lake District is wonderful, but ... it's walking country, you only really see it getting out of the bus and/or car and walking or cycling into the hills and mountains. Check a map and see how few roads run through that region and then think how much you'll see from a tour bus or car, on what will be a very crowded road or car park in August, because it's on the "must see" list for the UK.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
This isn't a bad option if you want to do the Lake District car free.
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
Visiting London is not visiting England. London's different; the feel of the place is as different to the rest of the country as to be like a foreign country. It's hard to explain. I can cope with occasional visits but I always feel like a naive tourist from far shores.
You know I agree with you about London, but give the lass a break will ye. She is going out of London as far as Cheltenham (third post on this thread). I know still very southern England but last I checked London had not quite expanded that far yet.
Jengie
Heh. Can't be expected to remember everything I read.
I can just imagine London expanding to Cheltenham. You can hear the cabbies sighing now: "Nah, carn't go West of Reading. Won't get fare back, yer see?"
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
The American instinct, needing to travel from Cheltenham to the Lake District, is to rent a car. Is this folly? Perhaps I should take a train?
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
The American instinct, needing to travel from Cheltenham to the Lake District, is to rent a car. Is this folly? Perhaps I should take a train?
Train will only take you as far as Windermere; the Cumbrian Coast line is extremely slow and the stations there are also quite distant from the mountains. Your instinct is probably correct, but the M5 and M6 can be very, very, long car parks at weekends in summer. It would take a good 4 hours, traffic permitting.
[ 16. June 2014, 15:45: Message edited by: Karl: Liberal Backslider ]
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Adeodatus
Shipmate
# 4992
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Posted
If you want cheap and cheerful food at very low cost (for London), you could try The Stockpot. There's one on the King's Road in Chelsea, and another on Old Compton Street in Soho. There used to be another just off Leicester Square, but I think it's gone now. The menu is resolutely English, with just a hint of bohemianism. Nobody could ever call it fine dining, but it's fun. I've eaten at the Leicester Square and Old Compton St branches, and never had a bad meal.
I can also second iamchristianhearmeroar's suggestion of The Harp.
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"What is broken, repair with gold."
Posts: 9779 | From: Manchester | Registered: Sep 2003
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
I went to The Stockpot years ago and loved it - its prices were ludicrously low for London. I'm delighted that it is still there, especially on such a busy and expensive road. Is it still under the same ownership?
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
I will certainly keep my eye out for one. Cheap is good. This is going to be one spendy trip.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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BroJames
Shipmate
# 9636
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
This isn't a bad option if you want to do the Lake District car free.
And I would particularly commend the Cross Lakes Experience for giving you some variety and 'culture'.
Also, if you're in that area, a 30-40 min walk from the heart of Bowness will take you to the crowd-free top of Brantfell with great views of the lake below and a large part of the southern Lake District. It's not a centre for the dedicated walker (try Ambleside for that) but it has activities for a range of abilities including those walking with frames or pushing buggies.
Posts: 3374 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2005
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busyknitter
Shipmate
# 2501
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Posted
So long as you don't have too much luggage, a fun way to get around the Lake District by public transport is to arrive at Windermere by train, walk a mile down the hill to Bowness and then take the boat to various points around the lake.
And there's always the buses.
The drive from Cheltenham to the Lakes would be quite a hard slog IMHO
Posts: 903 | From: The Wool Basket | Registered: Mar 2002
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marzipan
Shipmate
# 9442
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Posted
It might be easier to get the train to Windermere or Lancaster and drive from there to save you the motorways. The roads in the Lake District can be very windy and narrow though! The lakes can be very busy in the summer, but the coast is quieter and also beautiful (and the coast line may be slow but you get great views on a sunny day)
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Now containing 50% less cheese
Posts: 917 | From: nowhere in particular | Registered: May 2005
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
The Western Fells are a LOT quieter than the Windermere to Grasmere corridor. There is [or was] a super bookshop in Hawkshead - still a bit touristy but...
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Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Adeodatus:
If you want cheap and cheerful food at very low cost (for London), you could try The Stockpot. There's one on the King's Road in Chelsea, and another on Old Compton Street in Soho. There used to be another just off Leicester Square, but I think it's gone now. The menu is resolutely English, with just a hint of bohemianism. Nobody could ever call it fine dining, but it's fun. I've eaten at the Leicester Square and Old Compton St branches, and never had a bad meal.
I can also second iamchristianhearmeroar's suggestion of The Harp.
Yes to both. Disappointed to see that the Panton St (I think) Stockpot had gone last time I was in London but other branches are certainly worth going to because (a) cheap and (b) very English of a particular period- the 1950s/60s when 'continental' influences were just about starting to creep in.
Is the Harp's food still basically very good sausages?
[ 17. June 2014, 08:55: Message edited by: Albertus ]
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Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
Here's the website for the Kings Rd Stockpot (can't find one for Old Compton St): have a look at the menu and you'll see that it is both trad and eye-wateringly cheap.
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
In the 80s there were several Pots in the Earls Court area ~ they were cheap enough for us to eat in as students. I didn't find the Panton Street one until much later.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Piglet
Islander
# 11803
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
Here's the website for the Kings Rd Stockpot ...
Crikey - what a nostalgia-fest, and fairly nostalgic prices too! ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
eta: Our favourite (relatively) cheap eaterie in the UK is Cafe Rouge, which is unashamedly French bistro in style, but as we really have nothing like that here in St. John's, it's always a treat.
[ 17. June 2014, 14:54: Message edited by: piglet ]
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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
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iamchristianhearmeroar
Shipmate
# 15483
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
Is the Harp's food still basically very good sausages?
Pretty much, I think. I was there a couple of months back and didn't see anything other than sausages on offer. Not that I was paying particularly close attention - I was there for the beer.
Ah well, maybe I need to do a quick fact-finding mission to double check. Singing in a concert at St Martin in the Fields this Friday so that would be a perfect opportunity!
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My blog: http://alastairnewman.wordpress.com/
Posts: 642 | From: London, UK | Registered: Feb 2010
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
Then there is posh trad British food - only place to have marketed itself by promoting squirrel suet pudding. Will definitely offer food you can't cook yourself or get elsewhere.
Set restaurant menu + cocktail is £25, food is generally v good.
But they also have good stuff on the bar menu at £13 - well worth a look.
[ 17. June 2014, 17:23: Message edited by: Doublethink ]
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Thank you so much. I am printing all this stuff out, for future reference. (I plan to bring my Ipad, but who knows about connectivity.)
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
(I plan to bring my Ipad, but who knows about connectivity.)
I've just come back from a few days away in the south of England: both sets of people we stayed with had it; the hotel we stayed at; the cafe where I had lunch - even a passing double-decker bus advertised on-board wifi.
In rural areas I would expect it (and have found it) to be equally widespread, since so many business in the area of hospitality and tourism depend on online bookings/recommendations.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
Mind, using 3g would come with roaming charges. Many places have free wifi, but IME the 3G signal is quite weak and intermittent. Indeed, I know population centres (yes, Staveley, Derbyshire, I am thinking of you) where there's not enough packet data signal to send a simple text email.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Edith
Shipmate
# 16978
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Posted
Absolutely the best food you will ever eat is to be found at The Sportsman in Seasalter in Kent. Unprepossessing on the outside it has the most imaginative superb food at a reasonable price to be found anywhere. About an hour and a quarter from SE London by car.
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Edith
Posts: 256 | From: UK | Registered: Mar 2012
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