Hello everyone!
I would need restaurant suggestions for my upcoming trip to London!
I'm looking for a few places around Earl's Court where I'll be staying, and also around some touristy areas.
I should also add that I'm a vegetarian, although I eat all kinds of seafood. I'm not looking for only vegetarian places (since most restaurants have a few dishes that I can eat).
Thanks a lot!
It would help to know what kind of food you are looking for. Around Earl's Court there are a ton of places you can eat. Pubs are my first choice for affordable and pretty decent basic meals, there are many in Earl's Court but since my wife and I stayed in South Kensington between Gloucester Road and South Kensington stations, we didn't make it down to Earl's Court.
There is a place called Balans, a place called Strada (Italian), and of course, there is a Wagamama. One dish my wife and I learned to love while in London recently, is fish pie. We had it for dinner tonight in fact, and it was delicious.
Check these out:
Vegan London
Vegetarian London
And do a google search with the following words: Vegatarian London SW5
(SW5 is the postal code for the Earl's Court area)
I had dinner one evening at Masala Zone, a relatively inexpensive Indian restaurant, on Earls Court Road, very near the Earls Court tube. It was very good. Here's the link: http://www.masalazone.com/locations_earlscourt.php
I'm not looking for any specific types of food. I just want to hear about people's favourite places.
I'm probably going to get a few reservations for dinners, so I want to have an idea of where I could go.
Asian, French and Italian are my personal favourites, but then what's the point of going to England if I don't get to taste typical London food? But I believe there's no "typical" English food these days.
Any good local pubs around Earl's Court, South Kensington, Knightsbridge area?
Typical "English" food is drab and boring - Potatos, grilled tomatos, peas, fish, chips, baked beans, bread and cheese. Steak and Kidney pies and cornish Pasties are ok and tasty though.
I like typical English food - bangers and mash are a favorite of mine, as well as fish and chips, fish pie, Shepherd's Pie, etc. I guess it's my English roots!
We ate at a great wine bar in Covent Garden called 'The Crusting Pipe' - they had an "Express Lunch" for GBP11.95 which included a glass of wine (very delicious French wine!!) and tea or coffee after the meal. It was a very nice atmosphere and the food was outstanding. Not cheap, but it was our favorite lunch of the trip.
China Town in London is a wonderful place for dinner- check out Top of the Town. It is our favorite place. Very high quality and good service - not cheap, but not extreme either.
Vanessa,
As you mentioned Italian, a couple of restaurants you might try are Santini's (Victoria Station area) and Fifteen Restaurant (north London, as I recall).
I like Italian also, and found the food at both to be excellent! You should be able to check Menus and prices on the net.
Happy travels!
Earls Court is a budget hotel area. Much of the places are fast food /cafes's type budget places.
I guess it depends on your taste, quality is normally better than you'd get in North America at somewhere like Denny's.
In this sector probably the place to look out for value are Weatherspoon's pubs (look at their web site for locations). Especially good value are their special days. The sunday English roast day is very good value less than $10 for a full English roast dinner with alcoholic drink, (their is a nut roast option for vegetarians).
If you're not on a budget then head towards Gloucester Road/Kensington area or for a less tourist experience the Fulham Road. The further you walk towards Knightsbridge the posher it becomes.
When looking at prices don't forget tipping is vastly different here. At budget places you don't tip at all, at places with a posh table cloth and waiters that will talk you through the menu don't tip above 10% unless its very, very special.
Vanessa - Every time we go back to London, we eat at a Turkish/Mediterranean restaurant called Sofra. They have a few different locations around town. It's good food at reasonable prices - it's more of a white tablecloth type place, but you can get vegetarian entrees for £8-£10. They also have plenty of seafood items on the menu. During the day and early evening there are usually specials they call Quickies including wine, beer or soft drink and an entree for under £11. Everything comes with yummy flat bread and hummus. Just search for Sofra London on the web - their website has pictures of all the locations as well as menus.
Not sure how far from Earl's Court, but The Counting House is a wonderful pub...we had lunch there, and I had a fabulous fish pie.
Here's a few pubs on tripadvisor.
