London - City Center

[jjerrier]

Hi All - I am heading to London next Tuesday 4/29 and staying until 5/3. I am staying at the Thistle Marble Arch which appears to be right near Hyde Park. I have never been to London before but would like dining suggestions - or even a Neapolitan pizzeria???

Jay

[james]

Hey Jay,

Hope you are doing well. What brings you to London?

I'm going to have to think about that for a minute, but for a laugh, check our Strada. It's a mini chain of non-authentic, authentic Italian restaurants. Jolly awful, but you should check their operation out. They use the U.S. made oven, gas-fired operating a low oven temperature. The rest you already know. :-)

We never eat Italian in the UK -- go for Indian. :-)

Does anyone have a lead on this. What about certified VPN pizzerias?

James

[sarah h]

You lucky devil! I love London!!

If you get to SoHo, try the Red Fort - very good, and voted London's best Indian restaurant a few years back. Here's a link to view the menu / prices.

The Red Fort

Lunch in the crypt (yes, really!) at St. Martin in the Fields (near Trafalgar Square), though cafeteria-style, is also really good and the setting is really cool, with terrific vaulted ceilings. Again, a link:

St.Martin in the Fields - Cafe

Then there's Brown's for the quintessential English tea - Scottish smoked salmon - lovely ... and verrry pricey! Or tea again, at Fortnum & Mason, or even just a wander through their wonderful food hall, where you can buy all kinds of taste treats to take back to your hotel and munch at your leisure, or even bring home.

Dinner at Fifteen if you're a Jamie Oliver fan (England's boy-wonder celebrity chef ... well, not really a boy any more) ... it gets great reviews.

Finally, here's a great site that will show you all kinds of options for dining & more while you're there (and even provides for booking on-line for some restaurants):

Time Out London - Discover Things To Do in London Including Theatre, Film, Art, Music, Comedy, Sport, Festivals, Attractions, Restaurants, Bars and Clubs

All this is making me long to be in London again (sigh).
Have fun!

[jjerrier]

I am going on behalf of my actual "day job" for a day and a half conference...only 5 days out for a 1.5 day conference! Sounds like Indian is the way to go...so I will give it a try. I actually should have 2 free nights so I will get out and about.

Dang job keeps interfering with my pizza pursuits!

[CanuckJim]

Jay,

If you have time for a pub visit, don't miss The Cheddar Cheese, off Fleet Street, Old City. Samuel Johnson of English dictionary fame hung out there in the 18th century.

Jim

[dmun]

A bit off the beaten path, but seems to be serious pizza:

Franco Manca review - Restaurants - Time Out London