London next week 9/3 - 9-14

My (pregnant) wife and I will be in London next week. What/where are the hidden gems? Food is a big thing for us (do not need 3 star, but would like to go where the staff of those places go…if that makes sense), so we are looking for back alley delicious Indian cuisine, hole in the wall pubs (for me while she shops/or naps), and picknic spots. Our itinerary is full of museums and the palace b/c the queen is on vacation. What do the Londoners do?

Kitchen Table at Bubble Dogs, if you can wrangle a reservation.

We went in July and will return in Sept.

Fancy pants hot dogs and bubs… This is right down my ally! Thanks for the rec!!!

Kitchen Table is different than the front of the house. 19 seat counter in the kitchen, 14-18 courses daily based on what the chef, James Knappett, and his purveyors think are the best ingredients of the day. Imaginative and creative. Knappett cooked at Marcus Wareing, The Ledbury, Per Se and Noma, among other restaurants. He and his staff are young and cook like demons.

The Grenadier in Wilton Crescent for a good, hidden pub. The White Horse in Parsons Green for very good, very large and popular pub. Ditto, the Ship and the Alma just over Wandsworth Bridge.

Where are you staying

Lancaster gate/notting hill area

You should try Angelus in Bathurst Street, 100 yards from Lancaster gate tube. Great winelist with reasonable pricing and some really nice wines. Good, though not exceptional food.

Another pub to try is the Windsor Castle on Campden Hill Road. It’s not too far from the Kensington Wine Rooms on Kensington Church St which has decent food and a nice selection of wines in the oenomatic machines.

The Grazing Goat near Marble Arch is a pretty good gastropub, not too far from where you’ll be.

Thanks for all of the recs thus far. My brother in law is there, but he is not a wine guy and is also incredibly cheap :slight_smile:.

Best Thai food I’ve ever eaten…Addie’s Thai; a 2 minute walk from Earl’s Court tube station.

Everything we had on the menu was great.

Upstairs at Roti Chai on Portman Mews.
Moti Mahal near Covent Garden.

I Camisa on Old Compton st for a fine Italian deli for those picnics (looks basic, but the quality is very good). Further up the road is the Algerian coffee store who have an immense range - we’re pretty much set on their Arabic, Spiced etc. coffee, but they have pretty much everything (plus teas). Not especially near any tube station, but we tend to go via Diccapilly (sorry old Monopoly habit) Circus and when you come out head up Shaftesbury Avenue & then shimmy left (you’ll need a map, but cheap A2Z maps are the best thing any tourist can buy in London - allowing you to avoid excessive tube use). Also on the same street is a slightly overwarm wine shop, that has a decent whisky selection including some handy 20cl bottles.

Loads of great food shops all over - e.g. La Fromagerie is mightily impressive for cheese. Borough Market is perhaps the best or at least easiest picnic acquiring spot (nr. London Bridge tube/train) . Fridays and weekends best, but Thursday now pretty good. Might still shut early in the week. At the back of borough market is the very good coffee shop Monmouths. If there is a queue (there usually is) then simply buy some beans and they’ll ask you if you want a coffee as well, so you end up jumping the queue.

Worth looking for lunchtime meals at the fancier restaurants as they often have giveaway prices at lunchtime.

regards
Ian

Had a nice meal at Duck Soup in Soho on my last trip. Interesting list, featuring natural wines. http://www.ducksoupsoho.co.uk/

So far… Honest burger soho, portobello market, and leg of lamb at local flat with last years cru bogo. Take away at a no name Persian joint too. More to come! Prices for French/Italian/Spanish wines are not as bad as I thought they may be!

I’m piggy-backing off this thread since I’ll be there for a long weekend Oct 25-28, unfortunately the day we leave is the only open reservation day at The Kitchen Table. But once we decide which Starwood hotel is getting our points, I’ll throw out some tube stations and neighborhoods too.

Chris,
Sorry I didn’t see this thread earlier.

Eric,
Master’s Superfish — friggin’ awesome fish-n-chips.

Pollen Street Social — creative modern cuisine; this is the best meal my wife and I ever had in London; very well-curated wine list at reasonable prices.

The Ledbury — excellent

St. John’s — excellent food in a relaxed atmosphere; nose-to-tail eating; smallish wine list with huge markups on most wines you’d probably be interested in; BYOB is an option — they have glasses, but only adequate zin-type glasses, so you may want to bring your own.


Those are the ones that come to mind immediately. I would advise against going to Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant — both my wife and I thought it was merely “good,” which was a disappointment considering the cost and Heston’s pedigree.

Excellent, thanks Brian. I’ll look into Pollen Street Social. We decided on the W Leicester Square, staying Saturday-Tuesday and doing an extra day in Paris. Started to compile my places to stop list now.