Visiting London - Restaurant Recs Please

[Gavin Convery]

Interesting the disappointment at St John. Personally I've never had a bad meal at St. John B+W but the only time I went to St. John I didn't think much of it.

Anyone willing to argue that the mothership is better than the offspring?

[Scott]

Interesting the disappointment at St John. Personally I've never had a bad meal at St. John B+W but the only time I went to St. John I didn't think much of it.

Anyone willing to argue that the mothership is better than the offspring?

Now they come out of the woodwork

[Gavin Convery]

But I do love St John B+W......

Maybe Fergus is better when he delegates....

[Gareth]

Harrod's. I've never seen anything like Harrod's. The place is unbelievable--like a lovechild of Neiman Marcus and Las Vegas on steroids. It's enormous, gaudy, and cool as hell.

I hope you took the time to visit the "Princess Di and Dodi" memorial and laugh.

[howardlong]

Harrod's. I've never seen anything like Harrod's. The place is unbelievable--like a lovechild of Neiman Marcus and Las Vegas on steroids. It's enormous, gaudy, and cool as hell.

I hope you took the time to visit the "Princess Di and Dodi" memorial and laugh.

Yes, just what were they thinking? The uber tacky Las Vegas similarity is as uncanny as it is vulgar. Most certainly makes it a laughing stock.

And in the store were you can but anything, you can no longer get fresh Fois Gras there without pre-ordering it.

Cheers, Howard

[ellenesk]

WIll be in London next week on vacation, and looking for a dinner suggestion. The Fat duck is not an option, but is there anywhere in London, I can get a similar style dining experience? We are staying in Holborn, but location is not an option.

[Andy Lynes]

There isn't really a "Fat Duck" style restaurant in London. In terms of cutting edge cuisine, Pierre Gagnaire is involved in Sketch in Conduit Street, and Bjorn Van Der Horst's food at The Greenhouse in Mayfair is quite different. Jason Atherton, head chef of Gordon Ramsay's Maze has worked at el Bulli, but I don't think anyone would say that Maze is like the Fat Duck.

[jackal10]

Cambridge is an hour by train for Midsummer House, and a tourist destination

Otherwise try Modern British style: St Johns, Lindsey House etc for experiences you won't find elsewhere.

[jennahan]

What about Tom Aiken or Le Cercle (both in Chelsea)? Tom Aikens fits the bill for imaginative and innovative food. Le Cercle is French style tapas which can be really great.

[Gareth]

I'd second Tom Aiken if you're after an innovative style of cooking in London itself. Verve and intensity would be my summary.

[Sancerre]

Well, the fact that someone else already started a post in this vein makes it easier for me to jump in to request similar information.

I will be joining my husband in the UK later this week and was hoping to find some interesting places to eat. I will at first be in Manchester (Altrincham) Friday until Saturday afternoon, then to London until Tuesday. We will be staying at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in Whitehall.

My only dining request so far has been St. John, where we will be dining Monday night (with a tour of the kitchen, my husband claims!). Other than that, I am completely open to suggestions, the only caveat being that I personally am not enamoured with food that has been toyed into a different form to shock or amuse the diner. Other than that, I am open to everything, from fine dining to a great fish and chip vendor.

I have been following the dim sum thread with some interest, and was thinking of the Golden Palace for lunch Sunday, but would appreciate any input in either London or Manchester. I have no fear of public transportation, so traveling is not a disqualifying factor.

I only wish I had a week (or two), but I need to return to my own kitchens.

[kutsu]

I will at first be in Manchester (Altrincham) Friday

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Just busted out the Michelin Guide and:

Juniper (1 *)

21 The Downs

WA14 2QD

(0161) 928 0761

Speciality: Timato jelly with caviar, feta cheese and horseradish. "Cough medicine" sorbet, fig roll soufle.

[Gary Marshall]

juniper is highly rated by many in the industry.

there's nothing else like it in the area, that's for sure.

[adt]

Juniper (1 *)

[...]

Speciality: Timato jelly with caviar, feta cheese and horseradish. "Cough medicine" sorbet, fig roll soufle.

Had the lunch there recently, written up here, but didn't try any of the above.. the cough medicine may have transformed itself into a liquorice milkshake. Certainly an interesting experience.

[adt]

the only caveat being that I personally am not enamoured with food that has been toyed into a different form to shock or amuse the diner.

I initially thought that Juniper might not fit the bill on reading this, but on reflection that isn't really the spirit of what they seem to do. Dehydrating fruits and incorporating intense flavours into purees are well established methods, the intention is not to shock/amuse with chorizo pannacotta or whatever. However, flavour combination are designed to be intriguing and unanticipated, and presentation is sometimes striking and unconventional.

Earlier-mentioned Maze is not remotely Fat Duck in terms of composition, and would be safe in this regard I'd say.

[Dryden]

For my 30th birthday, my wife and I are looking to visit London early in December (exact dates still to be determined). In any event, we plan to be there for at least 5 days, and were looking for help in finding where to eat.

Thus far, we know we want to do the following:

The Fat Duck

St. John

But, some questions:

How hard is it to get out to the Fat Duck? Better to go for lunch or dinner?

If forced to choose between Yauatcha and Hakkasan, which would you pick? Or is there better chinese to be had elsewhere?

What do people recommend for excellent Indian?

And is there anything else that we're missing?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[origamicrane]

fat duck you will need to drive or cab it

I don't think you will want to risk british transport to spoil a lovely night

hakkasan definitely as you won't be restricted to 90 minutes.

inidian? i suggest going to southall

[Jon Tseng]

FD 20-40 mins by train out of central london and a five pound/five minute cab

Relatively easy to get to, especially if you are camped out in west london - earlier bookings are better obviously as you need to cab back to the train station for the ride back.

Lunch or dinner... the food is the same. One by-product of the precision-science jazz is remarkable consistency. Though to be honest I find lunch more chilled out at high-end places.

Hakkasan

ta

J

[Brithack]

For Indian I agree Southall's pretty unbeatable - though also fairly hard to get to. For high-end Indian you could try Amaya, though I'm still unconvinced by posh Indians, Amaya and Benares are the best two around I think.

[Dryden]

Are there any specific places in Southall to make sure to visit?

[Brithack]

You could do worse than The Brilliant, 72-76 Western Rd, Southall, Middx 8574 1928; brilliantrestaurant.com - huge place - seats 250. Genuine Punjabi - special award from the Good Food Guide

[SBonner]

I like Hakkasan. You may want to get a reso for St.John with the busy Xmas party season coming up.

Cheers,

Stephen

[Niall]

If you want to stay near the city for a curry, you could try New tayyab, Lahore kebab house of Cafe Spice namaste, all in the east end.

[Jenny McClure]

I also recommend Hakkasan, even for just some great cocktails at the bar

[CheGuevara]

certainly hakkasan over yauatcha

-che