london restaurants

pub where you can eat nice food, doesn't have to be a full meal, basically is my requirement.

Lyric is good and old-man friendly then.

Also does it have to be Soho?

not really...anywhere loosely central would probably do.

how about phoenix artist club (it's charing cross road underneath phoenix theatre/"blood brothers")?

it's members but they let everyone in before 8

Ronan - try the Bountiful Cow in Holborn, just behind Red Lion Square. The clue as to the food is in the name.

p.s.

also lol ken literally THE DAY AFTER johnsnowgate I was coming back from baron's court and a friend texted me, and this never ever happens, I'm never in soho at the weekends, "hey am in the john snow if you fancy a pint..."

think that was a booty call

yeah the guy in moo is really funny.

yeah really good laugh.

haha ken

Not a massive fan of Polpo. Was sat directly under air con the first time I was there. Also, I know salt makes food taste, and I use it liberally in my cooking, but man, their food was hella salty. And everything was, well, not quite as good as it should be, I felt. Not a massive fan of the tapas style approach to a menu either. Probably my fault, but find it difficult to get hard culinary satisfaction out it.

aw i loved polpo, and i really don't dig too much salt in my food. yeah tapas can be unsatisfying if it's overpriced and you end up hungry but that didn't seem the case here we spent a shitload and ordered nearly everything on the menu.

how do you feel about dim sum?

Love dim sum - Royal China Bayswater has become a once or twice a year lunchtime favourite.

And yes, you're right about the overpriced/still hungry thing - it happens quite often. Fino in Fitzrovia was fantastic though, so I'm not totally against it, I just get easily disappointed.

Ronan, I'd say Bountiful Cow and its MAN STEAKS are good for Yorkshiremen.

recommendations for decent café type places somewhere central that aren't on a busy street and have, like, tables outside?

I can't think of any actually, other than the ones in parks and squares and I'm not sure the food is especially great at any of them. Otherwise you're going to be out on the pavement choking on the traffic fumes.

Found out today that the Counter Cafe is moving down the road into Stour Space, according to the menu board outside.

exmouth market xxp?

oh that's a good idea for another time, though it's pretty busy - too many people i know round there!

had an amazing steak at goodman last weekend. highly recommend (if someone else is paying)

going to anchor/hope again today...embarrassingly regular now but cousin works there and i meet him for lunch so why not.

Got into Spuntino the other day - we were very pleased with it indeed, it did it's small-plate thing very nicely.

so is this going to be hell on earth or a good addition? http://www.redmarketlondon.com/

i'm leaning towards hell on earth on a saturday night, possibly worth visiting on a sunday.

meze mangal on lewisham way, best turkish food in town

man i miss turkish food

so, banh mi places seem to sprouting up at the same pace that burrito joints did a year or so back. up til now, i thought Banh Mi Bay on Theobald's Road was best - my nearest and most regular, but only if they haven't run out of the vietnamese bread, which they seem to have refined to an optimum balance of crispy outside and soft interior - but Kêu on Old Street is also great. the bread is way different, and there's lots more ingredients/flavours.

these places never hit sarf london ;_;

looking forward to this though:
http://dishoom.com/2011/04/the-dishoom-chowpatty-beach-bar-may-sep/

City Càphê is good, but i found it a touch dry. only been once.

and i tried Chao on Whitecross Street last week, but they were out of classic chicken/pate, so i tried the spicy pork. a touch chewy, but still tasty.

anyone tried the one on Broadway Market?

I saw that Dishoom beach bar thing under construction the other week and thought it was inspired. What with that + the fake beach + the beach huts + the turfed over roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall the South Bank has outdone itself this year.

meze mangal on lewisham way, best turkish food in town

This is OTM, went recently and it's exceptional.

xxpost the one at broadway market is really good! well, the one that specialises in it. they also make them at the viet coffee place + my one from there wasnt as tasty.

speaking of that neighbourhood, towpath is back open again (maybe it has been for a while?) and is always highly recommended

these places never hit sarf london ;_;

According to Starry Sarah formerly of this parish there's an amazing one in Deptford, but given where you live you might as well just go over the river.

yeah will try and make the epic trip across some weekend soon when i get a chance.

xp
ha! i just moved to a new place round the corner from meze mangal and i'd wondered if it was any good. will definitely check it out.

On the poncier end of the spectrum I finally went to Arbutus in Soho on Saturday and it was astonishingly good, probably the best piece of rare beef I can remember eating.

I'm a big fan of Meze Mangal too, although Ottoman on New Cross Road is also nice, and they deliver.

I haven't tried the Banh Mi place on Old St mentioned above, so vote goes to Panda Panda on Deptford Broadway - all fresh, and nice crispy baguettes. Just a couple more stamps on my loyalty card and I can get a T-shirt.

Ledge, Banh Mi Bay is an outpost of Cafe Bay in Camberwell! Of all the above, Keu on Old St is my fave, the stall on Broadway Market is pretty good also.

I wish I liked banh mi better but URGH PATÉ. Bit of a dealbreaker if I flash back to my dad's liverwurst and mayo sarnies. *boaks*

The mackerel one at Keu is pate-free I think (I haven't eaten one but I've watched J do so and she loved it).

Where's good for a quick meal near the Barbican?

The bar at St John! Have never had a problem getting in, it's quick and delicious if you're not looking for big big food. The cheese sandwich is surprisingly good, the bobemarrow salad sets me right up for Barbican action.

There's a decent sushi bar on Whitecross St, as I recall.

There are a bunch of good restaurants along the top of Smithfield Market/Cowcross Street/St John Street - about 5-10 minutes' walk from the Barbican.

At lunchtime, Whitecross Street has a multitude of good food carts.

There's a decent sushi bar on Whitecross St, as I recall

yeah - pham sushi. probably the best sushi in the old street area (not that there's much competition but it is good).

suzy otm re food carts, go to the scotch egg guy in partic

I got a recommendation for a Hunan Chinese place on Shaftesbury Avenue... CAN'T WAIT.

Ledge, Banh Mi Bay is an outpost of Cafe Bay in Camberwell!

Sweeeeeet!

xpost - is that golden day? i had a pretty good meal there! but i think ba shan is better now

Well, I haven't had good Hunan since ohhhhhh, 1990 - so will probably try both.

Dishoom on the south bank: quality over quantity. £4.50 for the not overly large bacon or sausage naan rolls is just about acceptable, £6 for the lamb mince is ridiculous, tasty though it was. And they dropped four of our tickets on the floor, losing the orders, and only came out with three of them 20 minutes later - will put that down to teething troubles.

the two web reviews for golden day i've read don't sound awesome but then they're web reviews.

Well, I got a very strong personal recommendation for Golden Day from some friends...