london restaurants

Looks cool but my bugbear is *DOWNLOAD MENU* so I guess I'll never know ;-)

is basically salt beef and grilled cheese sandwiches

either or

That is walking distance from my office. Could be amazing.

didn't know you worked near there, i meet friends in that area frequently on fridays. we should have a beer.

wish i worked in that area.

So I'm no Ramen expert but I've been to Tonkotsu and Ittenbari in Soho and I would happily make an effort to visit them both again, a reaction not inspired by the run-of-the-mill stuff offered by Wagamama et al. Haven't been to Bone Daddies because I can't say the name with a straight face, even if they bear no relation to any of the google image search results, and only just learnt of Shoryu on Regent St.

i went to bone daddies (+ yeah, terrible name) & had the tonkotsu, it was delicious but my stomach did have a bit of trouble digesting something that was 90% pork fat

Pork scratchings are a useful gateway drug.

bone daddies' tantanmen is really good: haven't had a chance to try anything else there yet. none of their side-dishes look particularly good, though, whereas Tonkotsu's are great. went there last night, for the third time, and finally had the kara-age everyone's been raving about and it's p worth the accolades (i'd had the karaage there before but it hadn't been particularly good - this time clearly had been cooked in a v different way).

i am excited for ittenbari and shoryu.

ok this is the right thread: went to mr buckley's on hackney road last night. not usually into small plates because i am a greedy fuck but it was really nice food and wine. didn't get to try the lobster mac & cheese tho :(

i gotta try these ramen places. some of my best meals in japan have come from pushing buttons at random on the magic ramen ordering machine.

Had the miso ramen at Ittenbari today - my first ever serious ramen. Broth very good, great depth of flavour; thought the solid ingredients were less memorable though. Keen to try a tonkotsu ramen next.

Went to Bone Daddies last night and it was excellent, we had the tonkotsu as well. I did spend the rest of the evening wondering how they managed to get the egg like that though.

been meaning to try mr buckleys, as mentioned above.

that longroom place i mentioned was shit btw. nice beer but awful room/crowd and the food was too pricey, and nothing special.

I was in the area so popped in there for lunch, I thought the room was okay actually, better than the Holborn Whippet but useless for big groups and too much standing room. Clerkenwell doesn't really need ANOTHER room that looks like that though.

Their salt beef sandwiches are not a patch on the Wenlock's though and about twice the price.

I was in the longroom last night. Nice beer, yes, but the whole place reeked of ill-grilled sandwiches. Get one extractor fan.

in that area, nice beer just isn't enough. you've got more great beer pubs around that way than anywhere else. as i said the friday crowd was unusually nasty for that area too, maybe it was something shit before changing.

good pubs/restaurants near to russell sq for ppl who like microbrews and meaty stuff?

Might try the Holborn Whippet, not that I've been there?

the london pub

Haven't been there in a while, but the Marquis Cornwallis maybe?

How important is food in this plan? The Whippet does a serviceable burger but it's no great shakes in that regard.

it's not for me, for a friend in london soon. think he's there for a few days in any case and willing to go further afield

asked me for food options & beer options

is there a london pub thread or is this it? skimmed for restaurant ideas but didn't see many pubs

The Lamb on Lamb's Conduit Street has good food. For good steaks, The Bountiful Cow. Not sure about beer situation, because I don't ever drink any.

When I get home I can be specific but If they're into beer, farringdon/clerkenwell is the Mecca, plenty food there too.

Just saw the full question, I reckon just eat at St John or The Eagle then drink at any one of the amazing beer pubs nearby. Not right by Russ Sq but v close.

here's the usual London pub thread:
ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?action=showall&boardid=40&threadid=65076

Didn't like that not magicking into a thread title, doing it again
Acceptable or even GOOD pubs in London city centre?

Great queen street too

All my answers are depending on your pal being into walking

don't think he'll mind walking

just going to give him list of boozers & burger places. he wanted details of microbreweries too so got the details of kernel, camden and meantime

I did go to the Whippet tonight - the beer is good but I won't eat there again. Their food is a bit miserable and should be better.

Was in whippet at the end of a long trawl through the good pubs of that area, Tim, shame I missed you. Didn't eat there.

not strictly a restaurant (though they do food which by all accounts was v nice) but for future ref, the albertine wine bar in shepherd's bush is a lovely little place for pre-gig (and indeed any sort of) drinks

yeah been there a few times it is nice. food is alright.

I'm looking for somewhere to have a good Sunday Roast in the New Cross / Deptford / Brockley area. Does anyone have any tips?

The Orchard by Brockley Station is a lovely place to while away a Sunday afternoon (books, board games, nice beer, giant fish tank, excellent food). You'll probably need to reserve a table though, it's really popular.

Great, thanks sir.

failing that there's the tesco express near St John's station. Great burgers.

Went to 10 Greek Street last night. It was reliably excellent. No bookings of course, but I only ever get there if I'm planning to arrive by 6.15 on a weeknight.

Then went to The Star At Night, which is a gin bar in a bit of Soho slightly blighted by Crossrail digging. I love it in there - 50 kinds of gin, a super-friendly staff who love to talk to you about gin, it feels pleasingly grown-up in comparison to the relative rough and tumble of Soho boozers, but it's not a fancified cocktail bar.

Not that there's anything wrong, necessarily, with boozers, or cocktail bars.

sounds like a great tip to me.

This is them: http://www.thestaratnight.com/

If you sign up for the London Gin Club, which is free, you get a coffee shop style loyalty card which gives you a free gin and tonic for every nine stamps. You get a stamp by buying a gin and tonic, obviously.

The real top tip is to have a cask aged bathtub gin and tonic - tastes like a delicious multi-spirit cocktail but it's a G&T. Magic.

love the star at night. always had a great time there.

re: giant robot earlier upthread - the place doesn't blow your socks off but was a pleasant surprise when we first went there trying to find somewhere nice that was still open after the jerusalem kicked us out at closing.

star at night is super lovely - especially, yes, for gin conversations with the staff - but for some reason the last three times i've tried to go there it's been closed.

That's bad, C - when was that? Over Xmas / new year? This was our first time there for a month or so, for one reason and another.

One thing that always surprises me is that they keep pub hours - it seems strange to hear time caled at 11 in Soho, especially when you're drinking the gin.

Oh, once was a Monday, once was a Saturday before 6pm, that sort of thing. I keep expecting the "cafe" on the sign to mean that it has... cafe hours? But no.

That sucks. I would like to spend a Saturday afternoon in there.

going to a gig in dalston (Cafe Oto) this evening, might get a bite to eat beforehand - any recommendations?