After every trip, we always share a list of the places we ate. This time around, the list is rather large because were in the UK for so long (33 days). So, this is not an exhaustive list of every single place we ate, but rather a list of the highlights. We don’t need to share every time we ate fast food or had a horrible meal.
But we’ll share the meals we loved and the meals that were the worst so you can avoid the places.
This article will be divided into three parts: the London section appearing on Londontopia and then the Dorset and the Cotswolds sections will appear over on Anglotopia.
Strada – Earl’s Court
Strada is a well known chain of Italian restaurants. We find the food quite tasty and we were lucky to have one in the neighborhood we were staying in (South Kensington). We only ate there once. It was a quiet night and we were pretty much the only people in there. Dinner was delicious. But when it was over we felt like we’d been mugged. It was something like £60 for a dinner for two adults, one toddler and a baby that has a free food source (that being Mrs. Anglotopia). Still, at least it was good and it was quiet.
Clos Maggiore – Covent Garden
This was the special place that we chose to celebrate Mrs Anglotopia’s 30th birthday. We booked it months in advance (thanks to the help of our friends). It’s the kind of place you need to book in advance. Located in Covent Garden, it’s a very ‘fancy’ restaurant. The food was very good, the company even better and they managed to make Mrs Anglotopia’s birthday a special event. The evening started with drinks at the Champange Bar in St Pancras (one of our favorite places to just visit) and ended with a cup of tea in our flat. It was a perfect night out. It’s a very romantic setting – so it’s a great place for a date. The cuisine is French.
Barbecoa – City of London
While we were London, we had two ‘date nights’ where we’d arranged a baby sitter. The aforementioned birthday dinner and the next night. We had tickets to see the new Jeeves & Wooster play with Stephen Mangan and Matthew Macfayden (the play was phenomenal). For our pre-show dinner, we chose Barbecoa in the City of London. Barbecoa is a new steakhouse restaurant from Jamie Oliver. It’s also probably the most picturesque restaurant we’ve ever eaten – see the view from our table above. The steak was pretty fantastic. The service was good and they were efficient enough that we made our curtain call with plenty of time (despite the awful central London traffic).
The Patisserie – Earl’s Court
This place is not famous or run by a celebrity chef, but it’s a place that’s special for us. Located on Gloucester Road, right across from the Tube Station, The Patisserie is a great little breakfast place that we usually stop in on our first mornings in London. The breakfast is heartyy and delicious but my favorite thing is the fresh squeezed orange juice machine. Fantastic!
National Maritime Museum Cafe – Greenwich
Cafes located in museums are usually hit or miss but when we visited the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich on a Sunday, we were lucky that they were serving Sunday Roast. It was probably the most hearty and delicious meal we had. It wasn’t too overpriced and fueled us up for hours of exploring in Greenwich.
Zizzi – Southbank
Zizzi is another Italian restaurant chain (the British love Italian food). We ate here for a business lunch at the Bankside location. It had great views of the Thames. Our company was lovely and we had a lovely meal. The only thing we didn’t like about this restaurant is that it’s in a weird location on the Southbank that has no lift access so it was quite a challenge to get both the strollers down to the restaurant.
Byron Burger – Westfield Shepherd’s Bush
I love a good hamburger and I’d heard this place was good. They must be – there’s locations all over London and beyond. We had lunch at the location in the Westfield in Shepherd’s Bush. The food was pretty good, though it was so busy the service wasn’t particularly great. We’d eat there again.
Five Guys – Covent Garden
We love a good lunch from Five Guys, so while were out shopping in Covent Garden we were excited to discover the location of the new (and only) London Five Guys. Now, as much as I love a burger, usually there is something a bit off about the burgers in Britain, the meat just tastes different, which makes the whole package taste different. It’s not bad by any means, just pallete wise much different than the usual burger at home. I’m happy to report that the burgers at Five Guys taste exactly the same as they do back home – as do the fries. Though it will cost you twice as much.
Wagamama – Eart’s Court, Southampton, Heathrow
This is a noodle restaurant chain. I’m not a fan of asian style food but Mrs Anglotopia is and she loved her first taste so much that she ate here a three further times on our trip.
The Winter Wonderfest – Hyde Park
If you’re hungry at the Hyde Park Winter Wonderfest, you have ample food options. It’s more of a street food/carnival variety but there is tons of tasty food around and we had a nice walking lunch.
What are some of your favorite places to eat in London? Please share in the comments!
Author: jonathan
Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile who launched Anglotopia.net in 2007 to channel his passion for Britain. Londontopia is its sister publication dedicated to everything London.
Thank you very much for the article, Jonathan. As always, I enjoy reading it. We are usually in London at least once a year, along with our three small children. Where did you guys manage to get a reliable babysitter while there? By the way, I also love Wagamama, we usually go to the one on Kensington High Street. I am glad Mrs. Anglotopia liked it too.
This is where having very good friends in England comes in handy – they were able to source the sitter for us – in this case one of their daughters. We were extremely grateful and we were able to trust them implicitly. 🙂
I love Postino on Kensington High Street. The owner, Salvatore, treated my aunt and I like royalty, even giving us a tour of the kitchen. We ate there a couple of times and I can’t wait to eat there again when we go back in 3 years. Thank you for sharing your trip with us, it’s brought back such good memories.
Porter”s on Henneritta Street in Convent Garden area makes English food such as beef/fish pies and great puddings, we discovered it years ago and always make a beeline there (supposely owned by the Earl of Bradford)
Koffmann’s, The Delaunay, Fish (but in the summer only so you can sit outside)
We had a great meal at Jamie Olivers Italian in Bath. Very busy! Also had lunch at the British Museum where they had their Museum labeled beer. Loved the pub grub at the many ( not enough) locations we stopped for a pint.
Yes, I agree with Porters. We’ve been to London nine times from Minnesota and nearly always make a visit to Porters. I really love the selection of St Peters ales.
Another fun choice for something different is Yo! Sushi. OK, the food isn’t stupendous but the concept and atmosphere makes for a fun meal with the food selections motoring past your table via conveyor belt. Try the Belvedere Road location across from the Marriott County Hall near the London Eye.
I love the Cafe in the Crypt at St. Martin in the Fields. Always have a lunch, tea, or dinner there whenever I am in London!
I love eating at the Crypt at St. Martins-In-The -Field. The food is fresh, wholesome and inexpensive. The atmosphere is unusual as you are dining below the church amongst arches. Whole meals or just tea/scones/puddings are available. At Christmas time, I treated myself to mulled wine and a mince pie after dinner. It is a great location if you are taking in a West end play.
Jonathan, I ate at Strada’s South Bank location between Jubilee Gardens and the National Theatre. I had a delicious risotto and a glass of wine. Total including gratuity was about 20 GBP. The service was excellent & the waitress, from Rome, very friendly and nice even though it was lunch time and busy. I would go back there. I thought of going to Jeeves and Wooster or Henry V (further up St.. Martin’s Lane, with Jude Law) but weather was SO bad that queuing on day of performance for a return ticket was not an attractive proposition. I also love Wagamama and of course the Crypt Café at St. Martin In The Fields. Coffee and a scone at the V&A café cost me more than my whole dinner at Crypt Café! That’s London for you. Are you following the terrible flooding in the South and Southwest, Dorset had some fierce gale force winds at Lyme Regis.
Jonathan, Hello…. If you are looking for pizza in London–and I know there are many places to find it!– but we like PizzaEast. There are three locations around London, we have only been to the one in Shoreditch. It maybe a little trendy for us(mid 50’s) but we still go and enjoy it anyway.
Also, and I know this might sound a little touristy, but there is a little Chicken Rotisserie food bar type of place in Harrods on the Food Court level. The chicken is so good, along with the veggies and mashed potatoes. Its just kind of fun to grab a bar stool after wondering around Harrods to enjoy a nice dinner. Oh and then stopping by the Chocolate room on the way out and picking out a decadent dessert to take back to the hotel, that is a nice ending to an afternoon at Harrods. For someone in their mid 50”s anyway……. 🙂
Jonathan, I know pizza is pretty easy to find in London, but we have found a place that we really like— PizzaEast. They have more than just pizza, pasta dishes also. There are three locations around London, we have only been to the one in Shoreditch. Wood fire stove’s make the best pizza. Its a little trendy for a couple of mid 50-ers, but we enjoy it anyway.
This may sound a little touristy, but we also love to stop by the Chicken Rotisserie Bar in Harrods on the Food Court level. It is fun to find a stool and enjoy a great Chicken dinner-veggies and mashed potatoes and all, after wandering around Harrods for hours. Oh and a stroll through the Chocolate Room to pick out a decadent dessert on the way back to the hotel is really nice also.
ok— my bad— I didn’t think the first comment went out— so I wrote another….. sorry….