Place to Dine in London

[tuppaware]

I'll be in London July and it will be my Partners Birthday.
Like to take him to dinner, not breaking the bank but something nice.

I have found a place (The Roof Gardens: Babylon) but to like to hear anyone else's opinion of a nice place for a dinner?

 

[NM]

You may need to be a little more specific. What type of food are you looking for? Casual or formal? What location/area are you staying?

 

[kamchatsky]

I want to know good place to dine as well. Either London's food is terrible or very expensive. Every restuarant I had in London last year was bad. Could be my bad luck though.

 

[NM]

I want to know good place to dine as well. Either London's food is terrible or very expensive. Every restuarant I had in London last year was bad. Could be my bad luck though.

Did you try an Indian Curry house?

 

[DJ737]

The Champagne bar at St Pancras station is a good place to start the evening.

The Babylon looks nice, but 29 quid for a fillet of beef is a bit over the top.

29 quid would feed me for a week in London* :mrgreen:

Try a Pie and Mash shop in the East End (not neccesaraly on the birthday), the jellied eels are great.

Cheers
DJ737

* Does not include Cardioligists fees

 

[kamchatsky]

Did you try an Indian Curry house?

Nope. I tried the following:

- English restaurant
- English pub
- Italian restaurant
- South African restaurant
- Chinese restaurant
- Spanish restaurant
- Japanese restaurant

All either very average to bad. The best was the Italian one. I cannot tell you the names of the restaurants though, but all in central London. My better half could not eat hot food so Indians is out of the question.

 

[Keith009]

You don't need to break the bank to have a really nice meal in London. There are lots of nice yet reasonably priced places around that provide an upscale feed with v good service, yet charge little more than gastro pubs.

One of my faves is Smith of Smithfields in Farringdon.

sos

They have a few different levels hosting various dining styles, depending on your budget. The higher up you go the more expensive it gets.

Another option, perhaps a little touristy, is the 5th Floor restaurant at Harvey Nicks', v nice place to give your feet a rest after a day of shopping in Knightsbridge:
Fifth Floor Restaurant at Harvey Nichols London - book online for luxury dining

I have brought another AFFer to the Fifth Floor Restaurant and he seemed to enjoy the place also.

If you like Indian food, I had an awesome degustation meal at this fusion Euro-Indian restaurant last year, however I can't for the life of me remember the name of the place now. Will revisit this thread if/when I recall the name. It was somewhere near Sloane Square. [edit: found it! http://www.rasoi-uk.com/

Or if you really want to splurge - Gordon Ramsay's at Claridges, without a doubt. Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's - London

 

[freofan]

A couple of suggestions;

Cheapish and Cheerful Spanish yet still sophisticated enough (although you may have to que) Barra Fina in Soho

another favourite though more exxy is Quintessentially Soho, though you will have to become a member first. Excellent food and not too over the top price wise. There is also a nice courtyard for a drink if the weather is fine and you can party on afterwards at the upstairs bar.

I agree with Keith that fifth floor at Harvey Nicks isn't bad either, though also agree it's quite touristy.

There used to be a fantastic spanish place at Harrods but I couldn't find it this last trip so I fear it is no longer.

 

[freofan]

I was just thinking further as I walked to cook dinner - Oxo Tower is nice - just google it. Good option too, also in Harvey Nichols

 

[Mal]

I cannot tell you the names of the restaurants though, but all in central London.

There are a lot of central London restaurants and pubs which shouldn't be there. They mainly cater to the tourist trade, and have prices, service and quality to match.

As an example, anything with "steak" in the name should be avoided at all costs

 

[tuppaware]

Thanks guys, you have given me a lot to chew over (pardon the pun).
Smiths of smithfield looks fantastic !

 

[SFSC]

A couple of places that we enjoyed and will not break the bank (we were only getting £0.35 or so per AUD at the time we visited these restaurants) are "Little Bay" 228 Belsize Road, Kilburn, NW6 4BT and "Huong Viet" 12-14 Englefield Road, N1 4LS.

 

[Mal]

"Little Bay" 228 Belsize Road, Kilburn, NW6 4BT

I was living less than a Km away from this place, and didn't know it existed... Menu looks good (and cheap).

For the London City tourist, the Farringdon branch is probably better access wise than Kilburn, although that end of Kilburn does have good bus/tube/overground links Welcome to Little Bay Restaurants