Central London dining <£50pp

[Roger le goéland]

Perhaps a strange request, but I am looking for an interesting restaurant to visit in Central London (as close to Jermyn Street as possible). It's for an informal, but business-related dinner.

Strange because if possible I'd like my budget to stay under £50 per person (saving up for visiting Paris next month!) The good places in that area, from my admitedly small experience, will be closer to £100-150...

Any suggestions?

My personal tastes are for either classical French cuisine (a la Gavroche) or very adventurous things, anything with strong taste. I'm very happy with non EU cuisine, particularly Indian, Thai and Chinese.

(additional point, I'm having lunch at Sketch at 1.30pm, perhaps it is better if there are light options)

Please do tell me if my quest is futile.

Edited April 8, 2008 by Roger le goéland (log)

[naebody]

Easy. If you want to stick to French (at least in method) there's Pattersons or Wild Honey. (Should probably note that I've been disappointed by both, but accept that I'm in a minority of one.)

If business friendly is the priority, I quite like St Alban, although the food's undeniably better at The Wolseley. Alternatively, I've just heard that, if you ask nicely, the IoD might let you in to their very nice private dining room.

If going non EU, the best Indian in the area is probably Tamarind.

Edited April 8, 2008 by naebody (log)

[Roger le goéland]

Thanks naebody!

Judging from the pictures and menus, the "classical" options don't look that appetizing, so maybe we'll look at something more non EU. Tamarind looks very good.

Any other recommendations on the Indian or other front? Is there anything like Sushi Hiro that's not 45min away?

[PoppySeedBagel]

I love the Wolseley - it's got a great atmosphere in the evenings, & the food is good although you probabaly won't get a table at a sensible hour at short notice.

[naebody]

Any other recommendations on the Indian or other front? Is there anything like Sushi Hiro that's not 45min away?

←

There's only one Sushi Hiro, and in every respect it couldn't be further away from Mayfair.

The only place I can think of in the locality is Kiku, which is a fair copy of those overbright places lonely Tokyo businessmen go to get drunk. All the other Japanese in that area are deep into expense account territory: UmuUmu and Matsuri would bust your budget, but Sumosan may sneak under it.

[ravelda]

I have to say I have generally been disappointed by Sumosan on recent visits. Kiku could be a good option, or even better Kikuchi! You could also think about Ristorante Semplice for Italian within your budget.

[grahamR]

Luciano's is very close to Jermyn Street -- I've had quite a few enjoyable business lunches there and never been disappointed in the food.

If you book via Top Table, there's a very good deal on at the moment for Artisan at The Westbury Mayfair Hotel. (50% off food.) I'm hearing very good things about it.

(Although the odd complaint "how many amuse is too many?" )

[Roger le goéland]

Thanks for all your replies!

The guy ended up cancelling just as we were approaching Jermyn Street. We weren't really hungry enough to try Bacchus in Hoxton (keeps being recommended as great value molecular) so we went to Tamarind, which was very nice, if somewhat rich. I'm not sure Dahl (Dal as they spell it) should have so much cream in it... But the £23 piece of lamb did give me £23 worth of enjoyment. Service was very friendly and efficient once we were sat. Despite having an electronic table management system (looked like what we call MRP) our "15 min" wait for a table turned into 45min.

Maybe we should have gone to Kiku.

I've made a list of your recommendations for future London visits and I'm sure this thread will be useful to others.

Also, for those that may consider it, do not go to "James" ("J"?) for lunch (or dinner for that matter). The food is incredibly dull, British pub fare. Especially since the aforementioned Patterson's is just down the road for the same price...

Edited April 10, 2008 by Roger le goéland (log)

[Roger le goéland]

Luciano's is very close to Jermyn Street -- I've had quite a few enjoyable business lunches there and never been disappointed in the food.

Yes we walked past it, and maybe another 3-4 MPW restaurants! The guy has quite an empire! Are they all good?

[algy]

Luciano's is very close to Jermyn Street -- I've had quite a few enjoyable business lunches there and never been disappointed in the food.

Yes we walked past it, and maybe another 3-4 MPW restaurants! The guy has quite an empire! Are they all good?

←

my advice would be "keep walking".