london restaurants

that's the place that shows bundesliga i believe? quite a big football pub, it's meant to be great i've heard.

i don't think the southwark place is quite as bad as that matt, i've heard a few people mention it as being quite good. dunno if i would ever want to drink that headache inducing bready beer for v long though.

x-post yeah that's what i heard...that city road place looks like hell on earth.

The Shoreditch one is fucking horrible, loads of lairy blokes letching on the serving girls. I suppose locating in Borough market kind of ensures a different atmosphere though. Wouldn't mind trying it.

damn this place looks good - http://helengraves.co.uk/tag/pitt-cue-co/ london has some nice street food these days... i went to that taco guy by waterloo a few months ago + it was really good as well, waaaay better than the hundreds of burrito places that have sprung up over the past few years

okay fucking hell that bbq place...

i know right! and its open weekends which makes it a lot easier to get to

omg had not seen that.

that taco guy by waterloo a few months ago

whereabouts? there's a jerk chicken guy in the little park, have not ever been there despite walking past while he's setting up every morning for over a year.

umm he's down on lower marsh i think it is? i dont know that area that well so i cant really give directions, its this place - http://www.slowfoodkitchen.com/fab-mexican-street-food-waterloo-buen-provecho/

jesus i need to explore my area more instead of always doing pret and the pub.

lower marsh jerk chicken is good. thai guy is pretty damn good too. as is the crepe guy. they're all good on that little stretch.

zeitgeist is my favourite takeaway lunch place round here (lambeth north end of lower marsh). salt beef bagette is amazing, although they do spend about 10 minutes lovingly making each sandwich type thing in front you.

hope and anchor is real good. taz and it's sister place, i think it's called EV are kind of average, but i love that food so i still go every now and then and it's lovely sitting in the sunshine down that little street near southwark station.

the german place is pretty damn good LG

went for pizza at santore, exmouth market, clerkenwell last night. it was fucking delicious. easily the best pizza i've had in london and not too pricey!

When I first came to London I practically lived out of the white wurst van on Portobello Road. I think they must still be going because I see the van go past where I work every now and then, although come to think of it I haven't seen it for a while.

Anyway, their sausages, dogs, etc etc, were the bomb, a load of mustard, yes please, breakfast, lunch, dinner. Well worth checking out if you're in the area. Take care not to go to any of the other german sausage vans along there though, I made that mistake once - the white one.

― Fizzles the Chimp (GamalielRatsey), Wednesday, 25 May 2011 15:12 (2 hours ago) Bookmark

^^ LISTEN TO THIS MAN. i have been eating from the white and only the white van since i was like 5.

i think we were talking abt viajante, that fancy bethnal green place on here a while ago? anyway i still havent been but i was reading an article saying that the head chef has opened another place in the same building, but more casual, w/ mains at abt £12... so i think i'll definitely be giving that a go

I went to Dinner as a surprise on my birthday, it's fucking amazing.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 25 May 2011 14:12 (Yesterday) Bookmark

yeah i went with my mum when i finished my phd. so much fun.

i think we were talking abt viajante, that fancy bethnal green place on here a while ago? anyway i still havent been but i was reading an article saying that the head chef has opened another place in the same building, but more casual, w/ mains at abt £12... so i think i'll definitely be giving that a go

yeah I read about this, sounds great. i was actually in viajante a few weeks ago, but only had the bar food. my ex gf was staying in the (incredibly nice) hotel there on a business trip so we ate there. the bar food was great, friendly staff too. she had squid nigiri and i had a burger...very dainty stuff but it was really good. fucking great tea too, the guy there told me he studied tea for two years in china!

i always wonder how that hotel's going since its not really in the nicest place

i guess for the city it's quite close...

Quite close, but not really a place you put bankers up. Does seem like a really weird place to put a hotel.

Really want to go to Viajante but you have to book a long way ahead. The new place is more of a traditional bistro-type affair from the same chef, in the same building. Meant to be good, but I definitely want to try Viajante first.

it's mega luxurious so i can imagine it being popular enough based on that.

where is hip and happening in soho and more likely than polpo to be able to seat six or so people at short notice?

Not Soho per se, but I really like Latium in Fitzrovia. FANTASTIC Italian place, worth going for the taste of the pasta alone.

just went to that keu place on old st, en route to the dole office. god it's good...so fucking good. fresh bread, amazing vegetables, real zing to it, incredible. i had pork belly sandwich, i couldn't find the proper traditional one with pate etc on the menu then realised it was in gigantic text at the top staring at me...keen to try that next time.

yeah i had the pork belly one too... find it hard to pass up pork belly in any form

man i will be going there a hell of a lot...

yeah if i worked in that area i would be there every day for lunch (and then also to that hot dog guy)

where is hip and happening in soho and more likely than polpo to be able to seat six or so people at short notice?

You could try Bocca di Lupo, although at short notice it might be a problem. Although if that doesn't work you can go and eat all the ice creams at Gelupo opposite.

Has anyone here tried The Red Fort? But yes as Matt DC points out, you might be better having a look at what's on Charlotte St. Fino was excellent, as I mentioned upthread, although maybe not quite so good for large groups.

Not been to Latium yet, but on that recommendation it won't be long - been filling up at home on Camisa's amazing fresh parpardelle, just with sage and butter and parmesan recently.

went to that pitt co bbq place on saturday, it was a bit overpriced imo, the portions are small. it was v tasty but i wouldn't really rush back, 7 quid for a tiny box of pulled pork and beans. plus four quid for a beer on top of that equals quite a pricey meal to sit in a not v nice location eating.

Bistrot Bruno Loubet is AMAZING by the way, easily up their with the best meals I've eaten in London.

i ended up being a little underwhelmed by dinner! the meat fruit starter was amazing, and the tipsy cake dessert was also, but our mains were just ok... not that exciting, but still costing like £28?

We went to the half-price soft launch of the new Polpo premises (called Da Polpo) yesterday, and very nice it was too. Menu similar, though not identical, to Polpo's. More meatballs.

(the half-price offer's on until tomorrow I believe)

another restaurant! man that dude is taking over

i'm heading there for lunch now!!!!!!!!!!!11111

that was apolpos to nothing.

hey it was good!!!!!!

xpost I thought Bistro Bruno Loubet was excellent, too. And I was impressed by the unsnootiness of the waiting staff. Was in there for lunch with two others, and none of us fitted the dress profile of the rest of the place. Been treated condescendingly in similar circumstances before, but this was delightful. Had a fantastic stuffed pig's trotter.

Yeah it was reassuringly unstuffy I thought.

Also I had a piece of slowcooked beef in red wine that was huge and could've been eaten with a spoon, it was amazing.

this weekend i went to gaucho near liverpool st and ate all the beefs. 8/10.

Are you on the Dukan diet?

lots and lots of steak, unlimited amounts of the stuff

stoned on beef

Well, vegetables just aren't safe at the moment - especially in Europe.

Like I need an excuse to go buy onglet at my butcher for £8.50/kilo.

i think i am addicted to that banh mi place on old st. omg it's so good...

As a result of this thread I have visited (and loved) Pitt Cue Co, Big Apple Hot Dogs and Keu over the last couple of weeks.

So thanks very much for those recommendations.

I'd love to know people's thoughts on London's best pizza spots.

I've still never made it to Franco Manca as I find the opening hours fairly prohibitive.

I enjoyed Pizza East but wouldn't rush back.

Any feedback on this Time Out piece?
http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/features/9863/London-s_best_pizza.html

If I'm in town and want pizza I'll go to Malletti's 'cos it's generally pretty good. That said, I long ago stopped eating pizza out in this country because it's generally utter crap, so I tend not to try anywhere ever. This has led me down the path of folly, as two of the single-most digusting meals I have ever had were as a result of trying to avoid pizza - a carbonara in a Pizza Express, and a risotto Milanese (yeah right) in a Carluccio's.

Ordering pasta in Pizza Express is never going to end well. Mediocre pizza > some shit microwaved ready meal.

I learnt the hard way. I could still taste it a few days later, it was extraordinarily unpleasant, and yes, you're quite right, the thermonuclear temperature at which it was served showed it was fresh from the microwave. I mean how the fuck is that cooking?

went for pizza at santore, exmouth market, clerkenwell last night. it was fucking delicious. easily the best pizza i've had in london and not too pricey!

― Crackle Box, Wednesday, May 25, 2011 3:51 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

Yeah, I enjoyed the pizza I had there and the missus' mixed antipasto was also great, liberally doused in the best black pepper I've eaten in years

The only pizza we regularly eat is at The Gowlett (it's in the South section if that article) - I feel lucky it's so close to us.

good pizza doesn't seem that hard to find, really. i've always thought it was a pose to get snobbish about it. i went to Franco Manca in Brixton recently and it was fine but not that much better than a decent standard pizza in a restaurant.

liberally doused in the best black pepper I've eaten in years

did you really mean best black pepper for years(!?) or was that a typo?

Ronan is that banh mi you are talking about on old street the sit down place with the black and white wallpaper or another place? i really like that place.

hmm yeah you can't really go wrong with pizza (apart from disgusting pineapple toppings, think I'll rant about what an abomination that is till my dying days) - I know what people mean about crappy plasticky pizza @ express but its still pizza and I'd go if I wanted one and it was the only place I could get it.

*I'll get me coat*