Delivery in London

[christm]

Hi

My wife and I travel to London quite a lot and usually enjoy really good restaurants.

5 months ago we had our first child and so of course, life changed quite a bit! We are going to London again next week but this time with our baby. This means that our nights will not be filled with dinner at Le Gavroche etc... but with sitting in! We have rented an apartment rather than a hotel and so are thinking about getting food delivered each night for dinner.

Wondering if people can suggest the best places in London to get takeout delivery pizza, Chinese, Indian etc... any place that would do delivery to Marylebone area would be considered.

Many thanks

Martin

[Jon Tseng]

Oh sod that. Why don't you just pop down to Waitrose on Marylebone High St every night and get something tasty. Can't think eating take-out every night is particularly healthy! And the grub there is yum!

Or if you must, Deliverance (https://www.deliverance.co.uk/) is normally quite a safe bet. They have various different culinary options. There are also some schemes like Room Service which try to offer take-out from various restaurants, but timings can be slightly flaky because they are just acting as a middle-man.

Ta

J

[christm]

Thanks - I was hoping to get a specific good place for different cuisines - Best pizza, Best Thai etc....

Looking forward to a week without cooking :-)

Martin

[Jon Tseng]

Phoenix Palace down Glentworth St does reliable Chinese take out.

And Dinings on Harcourt also do take out for excellent modish modern Jap.

Or any of the dazzling array of Lebenese places (Maroush I II III IV XVI etc etc) do take out, obviously.

Not sure about delivery though. England has never got into the same culture of delivery food that NYC has.

Don't give up on Waitrose ready meals though. Bear in mind the British supermarket has evolved the cook-chill meal into a high art (noticeably wider and deeper selection vs. marts in the US or France). All you need is a microwave!

J

[chrismartinuk]

Hi,

I hear www.housebites.com is a good site for takeaways in London. I've not used their service as they don't deliver to E14 yet, but the concept sounds pretty good. Local Chefs, cooking good food, delivered to your door! It doesn't soound like your standard takeaway.

Thanks,

Chris.

[nikkib]

If they have a Bombay bicycle club nearby that is a good bet for an upmarket Indian

[Matthew Grant]

...or a good tune

[DrewUK]

One thing we used to do when our kids were young is to out for lunch somewhere nice. Normally if you time it right you can get there when they just nod off, and then you have 45 minutes for lunch. When they ask you for drinks be prepared to say that you are ready to order. Skip the starters and pudding go for a main only. Then on the way home in the evening pick a baguette, some cheese and sausage with some pre cut vegies and bottle of wine and have a picnic at night in your apartment. The other good thing is that people who go out for lunch tend to be more child friendly than those at night.

My two pence – have a great time. My other thought is to take a day trip on the train out to Bath it is a very interesting Roman town.

[howardlong]

I remember quite some years ago being tempted but ultimately disappointed by Room Service, which is a bit like Deliverance. That was before I got over myself and discovered that dining alone, far from being a pursuit of the billy no mates, was actually one of the most hedonistic things you can do, not least because you get to become far more chatty and well-known with the crews.

The problem with Room Service was that you were limited to their restaurants, and I never really got too excited.

Coincidentally the other day I popped round the corner to Foxtrot Oscar for a takeaway, a service they mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago they'd started. Now I'm no GR fan, but surprisingly I've found FO to be quite convenient and it is frequented by the locals as much as the special occasion crowd.

I'm about a two or three minute walk away, and by the time I'd opened everything up I was really surprised how good everything turned out, including a perfect poached egg on my caesar salad (however I have made comments about the poached egg on this dish as on one occasion it most definitely wasn't perfect in the restaurant). The missus had a gorgeous bone marrow. We had a cote de boeuf too. All in all not bad at all, I was impressed.

I would not be at all surprised if you called up a number of places that they'd do a pretty good takeaway for you even if they don't advertise it. I don't know if you are a cheapskate like me but I do take doggy bags home. Some stuff works out spectacularly: Nahm for example for Thai even can taste better the next day after it's marinaded itself even more!

Cheers, Howard

[Bapi]

One thing we used to do when our kids were young is to out for lunch somewhere nice. Normally if you time it right you can get there when they just nod off, and then you have 45 minutes for lunch.

I would agree with this wholeheartedly. By the time ours had reached 6 months, he had a 3 star and numerous 2 and 1 stars under his belt. I remember pushing him round the streets of Ludlow for thirty minutes and then, the instant he was asleep, charging like a mad man towards Hibiscus to join the missus for our lunch. Managed to get to pudding before he awoke. At that age they can be easily whisked away, should they create. Not so easy as they approach toddlerhood. So enjoy yourself and have a good trip.

[christm]

Yes, we are planning a few nice lunches.

I guess I'm maybe comparing it to New York too much where there's huge enjoyment in slobbing around an apartment and pigging out on good take out pizza or thai that I can't really get back at home.

Going on the 'picnic' idea....any really good places to pick up excellent cold meats or cheeses etc...Usually get stuff at Borough Market but it won't be open until a few days after I arrive.

Thanks

Martin

[DrewUK]

Fortnum & Mason

Harrods Food Hall

Beverly Hills Bakery - they do next day delivery, but a signature is required

[Jon Tseng]

Going on the 'picnic' idea....any really good places to pick up excellent cold meats or cheeses etc...Usually get stuff at Borough Market but it won't be open until a few days after I arrive.

If not Waitrose (which has a very good cheese selection; note I think vacherin mont d'or is back in season atm), then just hit the Selfridges Food Hall up the road. Its a little pricy but would be by far the best selection in the area. If you go and hour/half and hour before closing there's often some stuff reduced too.

Also worth getting some steak from there to do at home. The butchers concession is run by Jack O'Sheas which does some of the best dead cow in London.

J

Edited October 17, 2011 by Jon Tseng (log)

[nikkib]

Marylebone farmers market, la fromagerie and the ginger pig are definitely worth a visit for cheese/pies/sausages etc

[PoppySeedBagel]

That part of London is probably the best area for picnic-style evening meals - the Ginger Pig's sausage rolls are especially delicious, La Fromagerie is fabulous, there are good bakers around there - Waitrose is good but not as good as the Marylebone independents IMHO. Except that Waitrose Indian Ready Meals are really excellent. Selfridges Food Hall as mentioned is very good.

There are also all the Middle Eastern Places around Edgeware Road - try Green Valley on Upper Berkeley Street for a fantastic ME deli, and mountains of baklava and ME pastries.

[Jon Tseng]

Marylebone farmers market, la fromagerie and the ginger pig are definitely worth a visit for cheese/pies/sausages etc

Doh silly me! Forgot those!

Defo worth trying these places. Note that I suspect fromagerie will have lots of oozy unpasteurised or raw milk cheese unobtainable in the US due to import restrictions!

Ginger pig sausage rolls def good - find out what time they are coming out the oven and get em hot!

[petit cochon]

I haven't lived in the Marylebone area since 2008, so my tips may be a bit out of date... However, there used to be a fantastic delivery-only pizza spot - 752 degrees pizza - on Dorset Street. It seemed to operate out of the basement below another restaurant - Hardy's - which was certainly still there as of a few months back, though I didn't notice the pizza delivery bikes. Phoenix Palace - as mentioned above - really is a solid Chinese delivery option: http://www.phoenixpalace.co.uk/ Will try to think of others, but those are the two that stand out in my memory...

We recently visited London with our then-8-month-old and did manage dinners at both St. John (couldn't resist!) and Cafe Caldesi (downstairs, which is more casual). Both restaurants had high chairs, in both cases we inquired about this and whether it would be ok to bring the baby. At St. John we managed to time things so that she slept on the way there and up until the first course was served - she then ate a bit and played with toys for a bit, by which point we were able to make a fairly graceful exit, take-out brownies from the bakery in tow for dessert back at our hotel. At Cafe Caldesi we ordered the bread plate straight away so that we had something to offer the baby and kept things relatively short. Either spot may be worth a try, as they both seemed relatively baby-friendly - though I certainly realize that a large degree of timing - and luck - is also involved!

[MacD]

You will be very near a great Burmese cafe called Mandalay on Edgware Road. They do fantastic food at really reasonable prices. It is very informal, so they may well do takeaway, but they don't mention delivery. It could be near enough for one of you to go and pick it up after phoning through an order.

http://www.mandalayway.com

If you do decide to try it - order their pickled style lamb - amazing (and I would love the recipe...). Google the restaurant name to get recommendations for what to order and read the stuff on their website about Burmese food.

[Niella]

I love eat burgers. I don't know if anyone here is burger mad the same as me:) Not long ago I order a cheeseburger from this place

 

http://www.ribbox.co.uk/ and was wicked! One of the best burger you can get in London. I love also Patty and Bun burgers but they open only till 8 and they don't deliver to my area. But I must say the ribbox burgers are very similar and taste great. Anyone has their own favorite burger place which does delivery?