David Dowell

Ok, it's not a restaurant, but try the Chelsea market on Saturday's located at the Duke of York Square. A wide variety of great food stands, but we think the best is the Indian. The lady who runs the stand makes all the food, many of the recipes from her mother. VERY good, I assure you! she is usually sold out by 2 pm, so get there early. and, very definitely not Tuscan. cheers

I just searched the Italy: Dining forum for Friuli, Udine, San Danieli, & Trieste and... nothing! Surely Egullet must have had some visitors to this area which features great wine & food. We will be there for 10 days in September and I'm starting to plan. Any suggestions most welcome!

We liked this place. Got to get there at 18:00 sharp if you want seating! that's sure. A very fast take off from their start. We found the food quite good. We sat at the bar which provided fun entertainment.

There's always Simpson's: http://www.simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk/ most traditional.

Sadly, I have left London. More sadly still, only one week before I left in mid November, I finally found the sushi and Japanese restaurant of your dreams, or at least my dreams, in London. Sakana Tei - 11 Maddox Street near Oxford Circus. So good, I went 4 times in my last week in London! It's a small place. Nearly exclusively Japanese clientele. first time my son and I went we were the only non-Japanese there. since it is so Japanese oriented, it seems to fly under the radar screen of most websites, etc. you will find very little info on Sakana Tei on the web. also, helping with the Japanese focus, although there are menus in English, the interesting seasonal menu is all in Japanese. the staff can help some, but ideally you would know Japanese food and can describe what you might like that is not on the English menu. If you ask, the chef can prepare. The sushi is excellent. Definitely the best I had in London. Very seasonal. Super ika, toro, sake, uni. The seasonal sushi dish is fabulous - though not so cheap at £55. Sushi that is the essence of the sea. What adds though is the array of other Japanese foods that you simply do not see anywhere else. Great kabucho - a Japanese squash - delicious in a light soy sauce. A small teapot of chicken broth with bits of chicken, vegetable, and tofu. Tempura with ingredients I have never seen elsewhere. All presented with the aesthetics and elegance that is so Japanese. The owner, Ichibangasse-san, and his wife are always there, attentive, insuring that all is well. The chef who does the sushi and his assistant are great. The chef works spontaneously to make up dishes on the fly. One very good small fish and noodle dish my guest and I had prompted my guest to ask the owner's wife about it. The owner's wife said she had not seen it before, the chef just made it up. Sakana Tei is not a place about being seen by others, it is not a scene, you are not going for the decor which is a bit dated. You are going because you love Japanese food. If you do go, tell Ichibangasse-san hi from David Dowell Do go - it's worth the trip if you love Japanese

Andrew Edmunds at 46 Lexington. Charming, great wine values, good food, very London. everyone I've taken there has enjoyed it search this site for other comments. or http://www.london-eating.co.uk/171.htm

Time has passed and I have found that Kiku on Half Moon Street really does quite satisfactory sushi. Kiku is Japanese owned, apparently with the ownership also owning an inn in Japan - which I take to be a good sign. I've only gone there for sushi, though the menu includes a variety of Japanese cuisines - tempura, noodles, various starters. tends to have a mainly Japanese clientele. Not cheap, but not overly expensive. The sushi itself ranges from satisfactory to really quite good. as usual depends on what's good that day. so, as the starter of this thread, that's my recommendation for sushi where those preparing it actually know what sushi is. so, yes, sushi does exist in London after all

The Capital has very nice lunches Saturdays included

Andrew Edmunds is a great place with some of the best wine values around, i.e. very good wines for not much money (for London). Good food from a short menu of starters & mains that changes frequently. Small upstairs & downstairs seating in a comfortable setting that shows some age, but with a distinct charm. Not, however, "fine" dining.

Peter - sounds most interesting! I'll give it a try very soon. and yes, the McCartney concert was great - saw it Saturday

Nuts about Nuts near Edgware station may have. not near Waterloo but a good resource for quality nuts & related items. phone 1st obviously

Yes, well... inu sashimi - never tried that - shi'tsu or otherwise Thanks again to all for the recommendations. CheGuevara you hit the mark with Good sushi can be sublime - melting, rich, delicate, echos of the sea... Yes, one would think one of the few major cities of the world could pull this off over one of the many many minor cities The search continues...

So mogsob, peterpumkino... any names? I'm willing to give it a go at a price just to see if there actually is any quality sushi here. I work in St James's Square - so I'm close. or to conclude it's the search for an outstanding English breakfast in Japan...

yes, Hallie's comment much sums up the conclusion I am coming to. absolutely, from my experience in Japan, it would be impossible to find even a moderately acceptable English breakfast there... much less an outstanding one. So, perhaps I'll shift my focus from sushi to English breakfasts!! as for sushi, it's not so much about price (though I don't want to pay a fortune) as it is simply good quality. that I have not seen. this said, thanks to all so far for your recommendations. English breakfasts notwithstanding, I'll continue my sushi search with your recommendations! and, report back as I try them

I love sushi. & I am here on an extended stay in London. To date, my sushi experiences lead me to conclude that London sushi places have no actual concept of what they are trying to do. The quality is low, the pieces are small, the prices are high. I first tried Itsu in chelsea, well enough recommended by Time Out. By the time I left, I was practically laughing it was so far off the mark. Zuma I just tried last Friday on strong recommendation from the Economist. Very medium quality, very small portions. The sake (drink not salmon) was good. The grill did pretty respectable grilled sea bass. But why would I go there again? Other small places I have tried have not left me impressed. I'm looking for quality at reasonable prices. With an actual sushi bar - forget the converyor belt approach! I'm not looking for quality at mega prices (hard though this is in London) Ok, to be fair, I've spent 6 months in Japan and at home in Portland Oregon have a fabulous local sushi place with a sushi chef from Kyoto, great quality, modest prices, etc. But surely London can compete on the sushi front with Portland Oregon - or can it??