Get off at Piccadilly ( I think ) and walk into soho. Spend the evening walking around, shopping, pub crawling, and eating. There’s no cars. We really enjoyed that evening.
Stuff like this but getting lost is better. With an emergency map in case…
Our hotel is in Soho right next to the National Gallery and about 5-6 blocks from the Piccadilly Circus station. Sounds like I picked a good location 
Not quite IN soho but super close. Soho is small enough that you can’t get lost. If there’s a red bus on your street turn back you went too far. I atumbled across a good newish Jamon shop last time and a pub operating as a pop up gin bar.
Yes, you did! Here’s a list for the pub crawl. The food in some of these places isn’t too bad.
Another recommendation: eat indian while you’re there. Doesn’t have to be fancy. It’s like Mexican in California, a staple and they eat it all the time. Careful how hot you order, they take the statement “I like it hot” very seriously!
Do you know if they serve the a la carte menu at lunch? the website isn’t clear.
Oh dear, you really did offend 
At least she never said “Really, how interesting”
I’d give the black cab tour a miss. Traffic in London is absolutely horrific at the moment due to all the cycle lanes they’re putting in. Centre of town is effectively gridlocked all day.
The difference between theater in London and New York: theater is affordable there!
Personally I would be looking to get out walking in the daylight and fresh (well fresh as far as London goes) air. For me the best jet lag cure.
It does somewhat depend when you can take your room. If at 9am then freshen up, have at most a brief snooze & hit the sights. It you can’t take your room until @ 2pm, then dump your bags at hotel reception and get out and about, walking where possible. The tube could be very disorientating if tired and jet-lagged. Then when you start flagging, pop back, check in, freshen up and again just the briefest of snoozes (an hour or two tops) in advance of heading out for an evening meal. Ideally that will leave you tired and sleepy at ~ 10pm, but an earlyish night should set you up to start eating up the sights the following day.
I grew up in London. No trip to London can be complete without dining at Rules. The oldest continuously operating restaurant in the UK. It’s been in so many movies and TV shows it’s ridiculous. What makes it so special is the ambiance, service and a rare menu specializing in traditional English food.
If you like French food then I recommend Le Gavroche or L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon. The finest of dining experience of my life was a few years ago at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon. Absolutely spectacular.
+1 on Ian’s suggestions, especially how to deal with the first day/jet lag and also Tower of London
I don’t know. We’ve only been for dinner. I’ve found them to be responsive by email: Info@gymkhanalondon.com
Had another spectacular meal last night at Hedone. What a lovely restaurant, with excellent food and comfortable atmosphere. We drank well and not too expensively off the list.
Sarah, are you able to compare before and after the size reduction? I’d be interested in your thoughts.
Between this board and another I now have 38 restaurant recommendations in London, not including Borough Market and Maltby St. Market.
On another note, I may cancel the L’Arpege reservation so we can go to Le Comptoir for lunch as well that day. Arnold’s absolutely favorite dish from our last visit is still on the lunch menu. Unfortunately.
No, sorry. My two meals there were both after - one in November and one this past week - so I have no basis for comparison.
For good food, value and winelist I would recommend Sixtyone in Mayfair. If I remember correctly the sommelier was from Épernay and he seemed to really enjoy socializing with diners and discussing wine.
I highly recommend the British Museum if you like history. It has the Rosetta Stone, reliefs from the Parthenon, etc. Really spectacular stuff. As I understand it, archaeology really started with huge finds in Egypt and the Middle East in the early 1800s. The British, French and Germans took everything they could get their hands on. The French stuff is at the Louve, the British stuff is at the British Museum. As I understand it, a lot of the German stuff is in St. Petersburg (the Soviets took it there after WWII).
I also very much enjoyed visiting the Tower of London. Really neat.
We took a day tour that went to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. Fabulous.
We enjoyed going to British Theatre, but can understand your position.
Go to Herods. Really neat department store. Great food, among other things.
We had a truly wonderful time at a wine get together with Londoners (including Dan). Just a huge amount of fun.
So long as you’re not a relative I assume? 
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