london restaurants

(the restaurant bit is downstairs)

oh, I'm always prepared to go in on the carbs

meateasy now opened permanently in w1

w fucking 1 kmt

Can anyone here tell me about Tamarind? Apparently it's expanding to a hoity-toity part of OC so I'm wondering what the deal is:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2011/11/tamarind_of_london_newport_beach.php

meateasy now opened permanently in w1

wkiw w1. tell us more!

I found out more. 72 wellbeck st, open this week from 5pm, for lunch from friday.

http://www.fifteenpickles.com/2011/11/08/getting-back-on-the-wagon-at-meat-liquor/

Does this mean the thing at The Rye is no more? Meant to be going on Friday, and would probably rather hang out there than some packed West End place.

shut down last week according to twitter.

about to head here:
http://www.eat.st/kings-cross/

meat liquor was nice! was nice to eat a meatwagon burger thing without feeling like i want to kill everyone else around me

Really liked Fryer's delight.

Has anyone been at the Vietnamese across the road from there? Probably go next week.

Fryer's delight is indeed awesome.

Halp! Someone has informed me that The Cock Tavern near Smithfield Market has closed? Is that true? I'm getting mixed messages on the interwebs.

?

I haven't been for a year or so but haven't heard it had gone. It's kind of amazing, more for what it is than what it serves. The breakfasts are nice without being the best ever. The beer is well-kept and unremarkable. The location's good.

Best breakfast cafe joint in London is a conversation I'm interested in having. I'll rep for Terry's cafe in Borough...

Steve, where have you read it closed? The most recent posting on Facebook was three days ago, so unless you've heard something hot off the press, it's likely unclosed.

Has anyone been at the Vietnamese across the road from there? Probably go next week.

I go there for lunch sometimes. It's decent but not a patch on some of the Kingsland Road places. Fine for the area though.

best vietnamese are in mare street!

Cheers Matt I'll try it round there then, or Mare street - need to find a good Vietnamese.

Deptford also worth checking imo

One of my London buds in SF right now and she LOVES vietnamese, I'll see what she recommends.

Tim, not sure, I blame it on shoddy googling or general confusion on my part, looks like a safe bet. I'm feeling that Butcher's Breakfast.

mr shasta are you plannin a visit?

yes, but during a very inconvenient time though (the holidays).

I ate loads, the pork and garlic was very good, and something involving aubergines also tick VG. The DUMPLINGS!!! were ok, but there are better ones at Silk Road

I have walked past this place every weekday for the past several years and assumed it was some £3.50 lunchbox black bean sauce canteen place, but now that I'm trying to find a new Chinese place in SE it seems it's actually like one of the best restaurants in South London? I've immediately become obsessed with going there to eat their intimidating chicken plate and their 10 DUMPLINGS!! for £3

― MPx4A, Monday, November 7, 2011 8:58 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

ok yeah, Silk Road is amazing, felt like I was on drugs for about half an hour after the meal and struggled to break the £45 barrier between 4 people attempting maximum gluttony and drinking beers

The one Vietnamese I visited on Mare St (was it green Papaya? I forget) wasn't a fraction of a patch on the better Kingsland Road ones.

green papaya isn't all that, really -- nice but nothing special

i really like tre viet and hai ha further up towards mine, though TV simplified (and spellchecked) its menu a while back -- no more stuffed giant snail (or pish soup) -- and i haven't checked it since it moved three doors down into bigger premises; HH may also just have changed its chef recently actually

both are very unmanic compared to kingsland road, but yr probably right, they're my locals and i'm very fond of them (esp.hai ha, which has been my favourite eat-in delivery place for ten years), but they lack competition and are not super high-end

Pish soup! Nice! I went toa good Vietnamese in Chicago which served a dish made of "crap meat".

there's a tre viet on kingsland road! (but could just happened to have same name obvs)

The one Vietnamese I visited on Mare St (was it green Papaya? I forget) wasn't a fraction of a patch on the better Kingsland Road ones.

it's better than a lot of the kingsland road ones. mien tay is the best value and food better than most as far as kingsland road goes, tho it's dirty. seen roaches there.

englefield road viet is the best by miles tho in the general vietsphere of east ldn.

Best breakfast cafe joint in London is a conversation I'm interested in having. I'll rep for Terry's cafe in Borough...

really keen to hear people's thoughts here.

obv breakfast is frequently a local beast if you drink a lot, greasy-spoon wise (and obv better suggestions welcome) nicos beside bethnal green tube is untouchable imo. people talk pelliccis up but nicos is way better food, significantly cheaper, and if not as in your face friendly, the owner is still a real gent esp after a few visits.

actually dunno if others go to pelliccis but after a while having to talk to the people a lot got a bit full on, also that tiny room, it's terrifying.

final non sequitur, anyone been to zetter town house? was there tonight and it was incredible. did spend 50 quid on cocktails but nonetheless.

Yeah we went in London Cocktail Week, I was dead impressed.

I must have hit Green Papaya on a bad day because the meal I had was really quite poor - absence of strong flavours right through the meal + unusual greasiness even in the pho. My wife's been conducting a survey in which she's been eating the same plain beef pho in all the Kingsland Road places, meaning I've eaten bits and bobs in most of them now, the thing which strikes me is that most places have something amazing and something disappointing. If you strike unlucky with your ordering you'll think you've been in a very poor restaurant.

My wife's been conducting a survey in which she's been eating the same plain beef pho in all the Kingsland Road places

i would be v interested in the outcomes of this survey.

Went to Seoul Bakery - the littlest and cutest-looking of those under-centerpoint Korean restaurants (apparently the one at the end - woo jung? - isn't very good) - the other day. the food maybe isn't the best you can get, but it's cheap and cheerful and charming and pretty much perfect for scarfing down a quick plate of tteokbokki on a cold day.

My buddy's vietnamese recommendations:

Song Que (Haggerston) - best noodles
Cay Tre (Hoxton) - decent broth, subpar noodles
Cay Tre (SoHo) - decent appetizers
Tay Do (Haggerston) - average
BanhMi11 - awful

anywhere been anywhere good in the xmas downtime? i've missed this thread.

finally went to the corner room, it was excellent, can't believe i waited so long to go to such a good restaurant not 5 mins from my flat. particularly good wine too.

anyone been to meat liqour yet? i wasn't going to bother but a few rave reviews have got me considering it. is it hell to get into?

hawksmoor guildhall is really nice, a great dining room with huge space between the tables, real privacy, and the service works very well. they know what they're doing but after you eat they automatically keep a table for you in the bar area in case you want a drink.

beyond that i'm anticipating pitt cue co opening in soho sometime this month, didn't love their pop-up thing but i have enough faith to try their permanent place, mainly after reading this: http://www.hot-dinners.com/Features/Interviews/barbecue-in-soho-talking-to-pitt-cue-cos-tom-adams

that and i want to to roganic, goodmans, and that weird "burger and lobster" place in mayfair which i read about.

not really... went to the jolly butchers a few times for beers (which i think you recommended in this thread?) loved it, which it was right next door to my house.

what did you think of roganic? we werent that in to it, altho i was really really hungover when we went so that might have been to blame

need to go back to the corner rom

Think I'm going to try Meatliqour either early in the week or on a day off, it's too central for its reputation at the moment and the queues are ridiculous. They should install a queue webcam. Or start accepting bookings like every other non-annoying place in London.

not been to roganic actually, sorry my error for "go to" makes it look confusing.

jolly butcher is indeed great, the food wasn't amazing when i was there, that'd be my only warning.

anyone been to brewdog in camden? kinda keen and their burgers meant to be seriously good, but i'm imagining it being full of "rock" wankers.

Dirty posh hippies more like.

i went to meatliquor and it was so awful i've vowed never to go back. staff are so rude and we had to order drinks 3 or 4 times before anything arrived. waited an hour for food etc. avoid.

i took some japanese colleagues of mine to hawksmoor before christmas and i think it was maybe the best meal i've ever had in london. the staff there are amazing - the guys i was with couldn't really understand the menu so he asked them some vague questions about what cocktails they liked and made custom drinks for everyone. then they didn't know what any of the sauces were so they brought out each one for them to try with some bread. oh and the steak is insane. really impressed.

We went to Pizarro on Bermondsey Street and we were delighted.

We keep going back to 40 Maltby Street and loving the place, the combination of totally solid rustic food and the complete passion the staff have for the wine they import and serve is such a pleasure.

I've heard good things about both José and Pizarro - really must go soon.

yeah really need to spend more time around bermondsey for some of those places.

i took some japanese colleagues of mine to hawksmoor before christmas and i think it was maybe the best meal i've ever had in london. the staff there are amazing - the guys i was with couldn't really understand the menu so he asked them some vague questions about what cocktails they liked and made custom drinks for everyone. then they didn't know what any of the sauces were so they brought out each one for them to try with some bread. oh and the steak is insane. really impressed.

yeah i'm consistently impressed by the staff, they're just naturally enthusiastic about the food and drinks there, it doesn't feel fake at all.

got a voucher as a present over the holidays which is burning a hole in my pocket already.

I enjoyed Pizarro more than Jose - not based on the food, which was excellent in both places but based on the fact that I am neither young enough not funky enough nor (indeed) Spanish enough to love eating while standing up next to the few square centimetres of counter space I can shove myself next to. I'm much happier having a sit down meal, but would be very pleased to use Jose again for a crafty glass of sherry and a delicious snack.

i went to meatliquor twice and never had to queue and food came within 15 minutes

although once was at 9pm after shopping and the other time was before they officially opened

are there still queues then during normal times? it's been open for a couple of months..

didn't think the food was as good as before though (maybe because i don't have to wait so long and lost a bit of the starvation induced tastiness)

nice cocktails, however

i took some japanese colleagues of mine to hawksmoor before christmas and i think it was maybe the best meal i've ever had in london. the staff there are amazing - the guys i was with couldn't really understand the menu so he asked them some vague questions about what cocktails they liked and made custom drinks for everyone. then they didn't know what any of the sauces were so they brought out each one for them to try with some bread. oh and the steak is insane. really impressed.

which hawksmoor did you go to? the different branches seem to be quite different. the seven dials one have been fantastic every time i went, whereas been to the shoreditch one twice now and both times food was so and so.

i hear the guildhall one is great but not sure if can be bothered to travel on a weekday (i know, all the way to moorgate)