Hello, I’ll be traveling to London in a few months and would love some feedback on some of the places I’m thinking about going to. I’ve been there a couple of times but the last time was almost a decade ago. I remember liking Ledbury, Hedone, Gymkhana, St John, etc. I live in NYC and eat everything! Looking primarily for stuff that London has or does better
Here are some of the places:
Fat Duck
Ikoyi
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Sportsman@Seasalter,
Fish Central or Golden Hind
Nopi
Paradise or Hoppers
Chishuru and/or Kudu
Dinner by Heston
Corrigan’s (esp. if they have Grouse)
Rules
Evelyn’s Table
Cornerstone
Berenjak or Hafez or Drunken Butler
Gokyuzu or Hala or Mangal2
Blacklock (Sunday Roast)
Roti King
Laksamania
Lyle’s
Gymkhana
Cinnamon Club (esp. if they have Grouse)
Rambutan
Out of the places you’ve mentioned, I’ve only been to Rules. I’ve been twice, once in May and once in Sept. I’ve tried the saddle of lamb, dover sole and grouse. Grouse is more of an autumn meal, in my experience. I’m not even sure if they can be hunted legally in August. Rules is somehow connected to a privately owned estate, in the North, and that is where their game comes from.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
4
Welcome to the forum.
Just to point out that the Sportsman, excellent as it is, is not in London but in a village near Canterbury. Nor is the Fat Duck, where we went for my 60th birthday celebration in 2010 - prices there are now such that I’m very doubtful we’d ever return even for a very special occasion.
I’ve heard of a handful of the places you mention but, with the exception of Rules, I’ve not eaten at any on trips to the capital. FWIW, Rules is my favourite London restaurant. We went for lunch last December. Two hour train journery each way - and well worth it. I’ve eaten at Richard Corrigan’s previous restaurant and presume that, if the current place is as good, then it will be very good.
FWIW, our grouse shooting season starts on 12/8 and runs through till 10/12.
I haven’t been to Fish Central but have been to Golden Hind. It was ok but my go to for fish and chips is Masters Superfish.
I was a bit underwhelmed on my last visit to Roti King. If you’e after roti canai, then Mamak Don in Camden is a good bet. They also have a more extensive menu than Rot King and their crispy tumeric chicken is excellent. My favourite Malaysian restaurant in London is C&R Cafe in Rupert Court ,Soho.
Not been to Laksamania but I can recommend the Laksa at Sambal Shiok, a really punchy broth. A bit far out of central London though.
Your choices look great I know you’ve already been to St Johns but the menu changes daily and I can’t think of many better restaurants to fit your remit. I went a few months ago, still great ( I had grilled ox heart with pickled walnuts followed by braised mutton with beans). It’s been consitently good over the years across multiple visits,though I appreciate the asthetic is not for everyone.
3 Likes
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
6
I’ve only two fish & chips experiences in The Smoke.
Masters Superfish - so good it could be northern
Rock & Sole Plaice - good puns but simply awful food
Your list - look, it’s going to be hard to eat poorly in London these days, what with the gentrification going on. There are dozens and dozens of good restaurants across town (assuming you know how to avoid touristy places but that’s easy in London).
Personally, I like a mix of the old classics (The Wolseley, The Ivy, Rules), some new glamourous places (see links below), some more alternative foodie places in the east (besides St John perhaps Rochelle Canteen and Brutto), and then some restaurants offering food as good as in their native country (e.g. Barrafina for Spanish, and Indian restaurants).
You’ve already picked a few Indian places - just wanted to highlight the unassuming but excellent Cafe Tiffin in Farringdon. Or otherwise, put on some nice clothes and have a drink at the Connaught Hotel followed by dinner at Jamavar across the street for a quintessential London experience.
Enjoy!
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
8
Favourite Indian - Cafe Spice Namaste which, since we were last there, has relocated to Docklands. Still a cracking menu. The owners are Parsees and offer a wonderful lamb dhansak which Mrs Todiwala described to us as the Parsee equivalent of British Sunday roast meat lunch.
And, from damiano’s link, we’ve eaten at:
Claude Bosi (big fan of his from when his original place, Hibiscus, was in Ludlow)
Gavroche - just fab.
Clarke’s - I’d wanted to eat there for, literally, decades but there was always somewhere more interesting that brought us to London. Finally got there in 2016 and had a great evening
Thank you! Would you happen to have any dish recommendations at Rules? I’ve never tried a steak & kidney pie so was thinking of that (although I don’t know if I should opt for the pie which I believe is baked or the pudding which is steamed).
I’m planning to visit in Oct so hopefully will be able to try some game!
Thank you, this is very helpful! I’ve seen Masters mentioned a few times now so maybe I should switch Fish Central with that! I am planning to go back to St. John That place is too good!
Thank you! I’ve been to The Wolseley and Barrafina on my previous visits (and really liked them) so was thinking of trying some new places. The Ivy looks great! Would you happen to have any dish recommendations there?
I was considering Jamavar but picked Cinnamon Club based on the pigeon, venison and hopefully grouse on their menu (I believe they’ve had it in the past). Do you think I should reconsider?
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
13
The menu moves seasonally so what you see now may well not be what you see when you visit in October. Certainly, there will be more game on the menu than there is now. But, if I was ordering from the current menu, I’d be starting with potted shrimps (a classic dish from my region of northwest England).
As for a main course, I would probably opt for the rabbit. Although the steak & kidney pie/pudding is tempting. I’d probably opt for the pudding because of the inclusion of the oyster, which harks back to any ealrier time. The pie will be a standard shortcrust but the pudding (steamed) is a suet based pastry.
For dessert, there are bound to be a number of steamed puddings when you visit. Sticky toffee pudding is everywhere these days. On the current menu, I’d order the syrup sponge - it’d be fine in the autumn but a bit heavy now,
The Dover Sole and Crab are good at Rules, if you see them offered.
Very good sticky toffee pudding.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
16
Picking up on the earlier mentions of game at Rules in October, the menu currently features, among the main courses, pheasant, mallard, venison and grouse. Fantastic time of year to go there and eat our seasonal, traditional foods.
