London Restaurant Tips by tvor

Restaurant Name: Giovanni's Sandwich Bar

It's in the Euston Square Hotel on Euston Road and serves an all day breakfast. It's just a little caff with a couple of tables inside and outside but the breakfast i had on arrival day was huge and filling and boy did that cup of tea hit the spot! I even had a bit of a chat with Giovanni himself :) Average prices for the kind of caff it is. Good value for money i thought. They do sandwiches and takeout food as well.


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Theme: Diner
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: Euston Road, at Euston Square Hotel near train stn
Directions: a block west on Euston road from Euston Rail station.

Restaurant Name: Kalamara's

This little narrow restaurant is below street level and isn't that easy to find. VT member kennetrose recommended it to me and i'm very glad she did. The easiest way to describe how to get there is to start from the Bayswater underground station. Come out of there and cross Queensway. There's a little side street just there. Go in there and just on your left is the mews though it only looks like a back alley or parking lot for the buildings around it. There was a sign on the street so we knew it was there and it turned out to be a small, narrow restaurant below street level that's been there for about 50 years.

The restaurant is decorated with cream walls, soft cushioned benches along the walls and dark low backed cane chairs. There was traditional Greek music playing but not too loudly and you regularly heard the low rumble of the underground trains which wasn't too loud, just sort of like it might have been thundery weather. The table cloths are pink with burgundy over-linens

Favorite Dish: The owner came out when he saw us looking at the menu and was very congenial. We asked about the fixed price menu and he made it sound so good that we went in. It's about 16 pounds (2000 prices) and they state a minimum of two people because you share everything. You get a sampling of cold and hot starters then the entree. Desert and coffee/tea is included. They kept bringing food and bringing more food, on little plates and when we decided we weren't too fussy on the calamari, they brought something else instead. When we realized the dessert had honey in it, baklava, we told them that Carole was allergic to honey and they brought out a lovely light custardy type thing in a phyllo pastry instead! We chose the roast leg of lamb for our entree and it was so tender it pulled apart

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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Address: Inverness Mews

Restaurant Name: Pizza Express

This is a chain of restaurants around the country. I ate in the one near the Barbican in London Pasta and pizza are the specialties and the restaurant in London was clean and modern. Pizza was pretty good too, hot and lots of cheese. They have some gourmet toppings as well.


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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: All over

Restaurant Name: The Orangerie

In Hyde Park, well, in the Kensington Gardens part of Hyde Park, next to Kensington Palace is The Orangerie. It was built in 1704 as a kind of greenhouse. Now is is a kind of tea room, where you can sit under the high plastered ceilings, lit by sun beaming in the tall windows in a 300 year old building and have tea, coffee, a light lunch and a fabulous dessert!

Favorite Dish: We decided to splurge on the Grand Tea which includes a glass of champagne to celebrate the beginning of our trip. Included were a little finger sandwich, raisin scone with fruit syrup and clotted cream and a piece of Belgian chocolate cake! How could one resist! I managed most of it though couldn't eat all the icing on the cake as it was way too rich on top of the clotted cream. So a little more expensive than your average high tea in a cafe but not as expensive as a High tea in the Ritz Hotel.

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Theme: Dessert
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park

Restaurant Name: Offshore Cafe

We were walking along Piccadilly and saw the sign for the cafe up a side street, Sackville Street. We headed up there to look at the menu and decided straight away to try it. The Offshore Cafe is deep and narrow, not that big, with large mirrors on the walls to make the room look bigger. Some seating downstairs as well. Lots of interesting prints and items decorating the walls, shelves and corners.

The menu had a section of Lebanese food but also had soup, lovely salads, burgers, pasta, a very tempting dessert choice in the front case. There are vegetarian choices too which looked very nice. Prices were reasonable for the location, service was good and food was tasty.

One warning, they do not take credit cards!!!!

Favorite Dish: I had a tomato, mozzarella and avocado salad, along with a huge jacket potatoe with cheese (other toppings available). My companion had a big beef burger with cheese and bacon and said it was very good. He loves his burgers so his recommendation comes highly.

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Theme: Middle Eastern
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Sackville Street, London
Directions: Just North off Picadilly, near Fortnum and Mason.

Restaurant Name: The Place Below

Fresh, homemade food, The Place Below is a little cafe tucked away in the crypt of St. Mary Le Bow church in Cheapside, not too far from St. Paul's Cathedral. The cafe is vegetarian with hot dishes, sandwiches, homemade soup, salad and utterly sinful sweets. You may get lucky in summer, if the weather is good, they have tables and chairs out in the Bow churchyard. They are crowded at lunch, but offer lunch discounts if you eat from 11:30 to noon or after the rush between 1:30 - 2:30. The menu changes every day. Check the website for menus, photos, map and opening hours. They also do breakfast.

Open 7:30 - 3:30 WEEKDAYS ONLY

Favorite Dish: I had homemade leek soup, my companion had quiche and salad. Everything is good, even the lemonade and orange juice is freshly squeezed.

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Theme: Vegan/Vegetarian
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Directions: n the crypt of St. Mary Le Bow church, which is near Bank, St. Pauls or Mansion House tube stations on Cheapside.
Website: http://www.theplacebelow.co.uk/
Other Contact: http://www.stmarylebow.co.uk/

Restaurant Name: Mandarin Restaurant

We walked around the block from our hotel on Gloucester Terrace and passed the Mandarin restaurant. We decided to try it and we were very glad we did. It's a small restaurant, about 10 tables including two round ones that could seat 6. The decor is non-existant, just plain white walls with a print with Chinese writing on the two side walls. Don't let this put you off though. The service was very good and the food was fantastic. Food is Peking and Szechuan. A real hidden jewel.

Favorite Dish: We had a few nice dishes, including my favourite, crispy duck pancake. The special fried rice was lovely, the spring rolls stuffed with goodness, the plain noodles were very tasty. We had a half bottle of house wine and it was very good as well.

With wine, and the various dishes we ordered, the bill came to about 60 pounds with a tip. A bit expensive and they do have "banquets" available, with set menu prices for several courses

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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: 020 7723 8744
Address: 33 Craven Road, W2 3BX
Directions: From Paddington Station, cross over the main street, walk west along Praed which turns into Craven for about three or four blocks.

Restaurant Name: Andrea Doria

We walked down Kingly Street into Soho to find a place to eat. We saw an offer outside this restaurant for a set menu for £9.95 which sounded like a very good deal. This would be midweek, in early January. The restaurant was very small, though there is a lower floor wine bar as well. The service was prompt and the food was amazing.

Favorite Dish: The set menu that we had was a creamed vegetable soup, with real cream swirled in, fresh parmesan and fresh pepper ground on top. The main dish was chicken stuffed with some sort of pesto that may have had a touch of mint in it and lightly covered with a fresh tomato sauce. Attractively arranged on the place were sliced roasted veg (carrots, zucchini and portobello mushroom) and roasted small potatoes. Dessert was a Panacetta with a light orange glaze.

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 020 7734 6615
Address: 17 Beak Street, London, W1R 3LB
Directions: We walked down Kingly Street from Oxford Circus station, to beak Street. Turn left and Andrea Doria is a couple of doors in.

Restaurant Name: Walkabout

The Outback is an Australian themed pub/restaurant. Lots of Australian type dishes too like kangaroo, barramundi and crocodile as well as usual type fare like burgers . This is a chain of restaurants that are a sort of sports bar and nightclub venu but they have a good menu and the location we were in overlooked the thames so the view was good too.

Favorite Dish: I had something off the snack menu, a kangaroo pie and chips and they were generous with the chips. My compantion had the beef burger and was very satisfied.

They have a couple of value combos too that were useful. One was a snack and main dish, another was two snacks. Good for sharing.

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Theme: Pan-Asian and Pacific Rim
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 0]20 7395 3690
Address: At Temple station
Directions: We entered off the Embankment.
Website: http://www.walkabout.eu.com/

Restaurant Name: Marlborough Head

We met friends at a local pub just off Oxford Street called the Marlborough Head. It has a dark and fantastic gothic atmosphere with ghouls and gargoyles and other creepiness lurking in corners and on the ceilings. There was a gargoyle on the wall by the downstairs kitchen/bar and a grim reaper in a case on the wall by where we were sitting. The toilets are hidden behind faux bookcases, marked by brass plaques in the floor as to where the ladies' and gents' is, you just walk to the case and push the door!! In the Ladies' at least, there was some creepy spooky sounds being piped in.

They have a typical pub menu and what we had was fine but others have told us that the food can be iffy. One of our table members wasn't impressed by her salmon pie but my scampi and my fiance's Big Ben Burger were fine. (Warning, Big Ben Burger has the burger *and* a fried egg, two sausages and bacon on it!) Prices were comperable for a pub and not more than you would think considering the location.

Favorite Dish: Scampi, burgers

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Theme: Pub/Brewery
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 020 7629 598
Address: 24 North Audley St, London, W1K 6WB
Directions: Bond St. tube station, go west on Oxford Street 4 blocks or so. It's on the same side as tube stn. visible from Oxford St on your left.