Iconic must try restaurants in London

Not a must try, but instead a personal reaction: a friend insisted we have lunch in Fortnum & Mason and I wasn't impressed. I thought the menu was pretentious and overpriced, food not particularly appealing. I would have enjoyed browsing in their shop and maybe buying some tea and/or candy as a souvenir.

That is what I figured. When researching Paris restaurants come up all the time. I would love to eat where a main course is no more than £25. We are not super fussy about style. My Mom will not eat Indian but we like it. My Mom will just go have Fish and chips when we get adventurous.

I guess more if a fly by the seat of your pants town fir us this time.

My suggestion is to read the numerous and informative London food blogs you can find on line. Its a great way to find new spots, old favorites, etc.

My preference is pub grub which has vastly improved in the 30 some years I've been visiting London.
Its quit good now and no big dent to your wallet.

Remember pubs are where families gather ( kids aren't allowed after certain hours in the evenings) so your 71 year mom will feel welcomed. One of my favorite pubs for a variety of reasons is The Blackfriars.
Excellent pot pies.

Great city. Enjoy.

For your breakfasts, I recommend staying in a hotel that serves a good breakfast. That way, you're all ready to go sightseeing.

For lunch, since you will be out sightseeing, I recommend the cafes in the museums; that is, if you're in the museum already. They all serve excellent food. Lots of variety. Salads, sandwiches, plate lunches (salad, baked chicken & potatoes for example), coffee, tea, soft drinks & desserts. Museums with great cafes in them include:
The British Museum
The V&A--Victoria and Albert Museum
The Museum of London

When my husband and I were in London in May of 2016, we took one morning to see The Tower of London--a must-see! Then we grabbed lunch at their cafe, The Armories Cafe. They had an amazing variety of food and drink and desserts! Highly recommend it if you are touring the Tower!

You will find that you will grab lunch wherever you happen to be. For example, we were in Trafalgar Square seeing the Church of St Martin-In-The-Fields. For lunch, we went downstairs to their basement, to the
Cafe In The Crypt. This is one of my favorite places in London to eat. Salads, sandwiches, plate lunches, coffee, tea, desserts. Not expensive.

For dinner most nights we went to a pub. Some pubs have great food. Not fancy, but good.

Another night we went to a mid-priced Indian restaurant, Dishoom in Covent Garden.

You may want to begin researching what area you want to stay in. Some neighborhoods have more restaurant selections than others.

One area that has a lot of food options near hotels and apartments is Covent Garden. In Covent Garden, there is a great mid-priced Indian restaurant, Dishoom. You could go there for dinner, you and hubby have Indian food, then take your mom down the street to J. Sheekey, a good place for fish and chips.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d1863498-Reviews-Dishoom_Covent_Garden-London_England.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d719379-Reviews-J_Sheekey-London_England.html

One good place to browse restaurants is at Trip Advisor. Start here and click on whatever looks good.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g186338-London_England.html
And Time-Out Covent Garden here:
http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/mid-priced-restaurants-in-covent-garden

Have a look:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g186338-zfn7235709-London_England.html
I could name a dozen restaurants, but I don't know what you like.

We are just starting to look at where we want to rent an apartment. Have no clue what neighborhood we would like. We used AirBnB last time in Paris and thought to do the same in London. Have no idea what area to look in.

We need 2 bedrooms and not too many stairs as my hubby is mobility impaired and mom is not as active as she used to be. We want to ride the bus and not the tube as my mom is not fond of being underground. She used to ride in Toronto when she was 18 but had a scare down below and has not wanted to ride since.

The bus is a really good choice in London. Also the cab, if you're not going very far. Three people sharing a cab makes it more reasonable, especially if one person is mobility-impaired.

Look closely at the AirBnB apartments as you scroll through them. Many have stairs.

Be careful. Many fraudsters are setting up fake AirBnB websites. Read this article for what has happened to some other people:https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jun/04/travellers-fake-airbnb-scam

Many people here on the Forum use AirBnB and encounter no problems. Just wanted you to be aware of the above news article.

If your mother is too claustrophobic to use the tube then you need to stay centrally, as bus travel in most of London is slow. Either that or stay close to somewhere which has an above-ground rail link to central London.

For Indian food, have a look at London's Michelin starred Indian restaurants. The Cinnamon Club does a set lunch that's a good value, and Gymkhana was amazing. There are more. I wouldn't recommend Brick Lane for food; atmosphere, possibly. Or for a different price point and take on Anglo-Indian food, have a look at Dishoom (very fun and very tasty).

Iconic means different things to different people. Some ideas would be Rules, Simpsons, Sweetings, and J Sheekey, for places with history. Or you might want a Gordon Ramsay or Heston Blumenthal restaurant, or not. One of the Ottolenghi restaurants?

The Ivy is iconic in its own way and I can recommend the shepherd's pie (there is an outpost in Covent Garden).

If you want a blow-out afternoon tea, Claridge's, but you'll pay for it. Iconic as it is, I'd skip the Ritz.

Or for modern iconic for steak, Hawksmoor. Or for modern iconic for British nose-to-tail, any of the St John locations. Or for modern iconic for Mexican, Wahaca. Or for modern iconic open 24/7 with possibly a view if you can get a table, Duck and Waffle. Or for modern iconic for a pizza chain, Pizza Express. Or for modern iconic for a market, Borough Market. Iconic can cover a lot of territory. Maybe you can tell us more about what you want.

Hot Dinners is a good website to get a feel for restaurants and chefs and food in London. Chowhound is not as active as it once was.

But there are so many excellent restaurants in London that it would be hard to name any MUST try places, without an idea of budget, location, and food preferences. Maybe it depends on what you can or can't get at home. As you're not travelling for a year, there will be great new must try places by then. If you're reasonably selective, you can eat very well in London.

If you are by Trafalgar Square, I simply love Café in the Crypt adjacent to the National Gallery. Good quality food at a cheap price. Great ambiance as well.

http://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/cafe-in-the-crypt/

Sea Shells of Lisson Grove.
Great fish and chips in a cute cafe.

Hi photobearsam:

If you wish to eat an iconic and historic meal that won't bust your wallet you might try a pie and mash shop. Here is a link to a web hosted by Goddards that provides an overview of this type of establishment:

http://www.goddardsatgreenwich.co.uk/about-pie-mash/

Here is a link to a Time Out article about pie and mash places that are still in business:

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/londons-best-pie-and-mash-1

I will be in London next week and am looking forward to patronizing one of these old school establishment. Not sure about eating jellie or stew eel, however. I will post a report if I do indeed have pie and mash.

Geor(ge)

I second the suggestion of Tayyab's above. I took a few people who were very uneasy about Indo/Pak food and they ended up loving it. Most of the starters are really just grilled meat, with spice only for flavor rather than heat. All our plates were clean by the end of the meal. If it's still not her thing Poppies' is a famous chip shop up Commercial Street that is like a '50s diner.

Hi emma:

Thank you for your response to my comment. Am I not understanding something about a pie and mash meal? It seems that the pie is an item that I can purchase throughout London; I ate several during my last trip to the UK two years ago. Same with the mash. Is it the liquor that makes the meal inedible? Or is it the actual pie filling? I am still planning to patronize a pie and mash shop and am willing to make it less authentic by asking the chef to not include the offensive food item(s) so that is edible for someone unaccustomed to this type of food.

Geor(ge)

Gastropubs are a major part of the drink-and-dine industry. You can Google to find lots of lists. I generally like Time Out's choices http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/londons-best-gastropubs
Once you have settled on a hotel you can use Google Maps to find pubs and restaurants in the vicinity. A listing is no guarantee of quality but it gives a starting-point to cross-check with other food guides.
The big Sunday afternoon dinner has made a comeback with many places offering a "joint" (a leg of meat, not a smoke) with traditional trimmings. You may need a reservation for the best places. Go in the early afternoon; wait till supper-time and the specials may be sold out.

Yes. I think much more than iconic restaurants, pick a food specialty and search for the best place to currently have that item. It could be fish and chips, Indian food/curry, Sunday Roast, Traditional Pub food, then maybe a general category current hot restaurants. As an example, I managed to hit a number of fish and chip places on my last trip...these included Kerbisher and Malt, Poppies Fish and chips, Golden Union fish restaurant, Hook in Camden Town, and the Rock and Sole Plaice. All were different, from traditional (Poppies and Golden Union) to modern (Hook), to wide selection (R&S Plaice had Skate) to Modern Classic (Kerbisher). Ten years ago, half these places probably did not exist, just a representation that the food scene in London is a mix of old tradition and trendy new places.

As an aside, the best sandwich of the trip was a Duck confit sandwich at the Borough market in South Bank, also had some excellent local Oysters and clams there as well.

Schematic map of major bus routes in Central London:

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/key-bus-routes-in-central-london.pdf

Find your apartment close to one of these routes if you want to use the bus exclusively.

IF you only ride the buses, give yourself plenty of time. Traffic in London is murder and it can take forever to go a short distance.

Wherever you decide to rent an apartment, ask your host for a couple of suggestions of pubs serving good food. Many pubs are branching out from just traditional pub grub.

We did high tea at Fortnun and Mason last year at around 4pm booked our table and it was more than enough for a dinner and the service was just lovely. Must try once.

Agree with Barbara about F&M-one of you could order the savory tea and one a different tea. They will bring you all you want and the atmosphere is very relaxing.