london restaurants

its fun just watching the dude work his magic

I had a fairly average meal at Le Wei Xiang ("Happy Smell"! in English!) - my companions seemed to enjoy it more than I did, but they were drinking and I was not? Pig blood and tofu soup was the blandest thing I've ever put in my mouth. Reminded me of the Goodness Gracious Me sketch where they order the blandest thing on the menu. Ergh! On saying that, I ate loads, the pork and garlic was very good, and something involving aubergines also tick VG. The DUMPLINGS! were ok, but there are better ones at Silk Road and from "Home" in Lewisham, which did the best DUMPLINGS! hands down.

Tripe isn't offputting, but when combined with the word "bowel"... that item was a little too much for me.

My favourite pork bun is from Kowloon Bakery - I love that place though and rarely bother trying anywhere else!

Matt, you're thinking of Penninsula! It's in a Holiday Inn! I always forget it exists. Hong Kong City on New Cross Road has not done me wrong in the past, but haven't been for ages.

Hold on, what the DUMPLINGS! happened there?

Ha! DUMPLINGS! are very p!o!p! (#oldschoolsinisterjokethere)

DUMPLINGS! are BLUDDY GRATE

any good east suggestions for gastro pubs or other non ethnic food? or at least non viet/indian/pakistani, am having major burn out on that sort of cuisine and want to try some new places.

also a good place i can eat it on my birthday on friday but also invite people who want to drink and hang out?

http://www.albioncaff.co.uk is great!

I have a direct interest in this, but http://www.masonandtaylor.co.uk/ might suit your needs? I think it's fab, but obviously I would. It can certainly accommodate mixed eating / drinking groups.

st john b & w?

(not for yr birthday, just for food)

oh wow i've been liking the look of mason & taylor for ages! never quite the right place/right time yet but i will certainly make the effort now.

albion is v mediocre and overpriced imo.

i went to this place for my birthday: http://www.theeastonpub.co.uk
nice (if slightly poncy) pub that does nice sunday roast and they have massive tables + take bookings

& yeah mason + taylor looks great, will definitely be paying a visit

http://www.theprincearthurlondonfields.com/

once spent an evening here mesmerized by the sight of charles campion working his way through a pint of prawns. if you can book a big table it might possibly do the trick.

never eaten in the scolt head restaurant bit but maybe the gastro/pub divide there could be good?

duke of wellington on balls pond probably bit too busy on a friday generally but again, maybe if you nab a big table in the back room.

Any recommendations for places on/near Edgware Road? Plenty look appetising.

(I work at The Duke of Wellington and Mason and Taylor, that's the interest I was declaring.)

I shall almost definitely be paying Mason & Taylor (and Tim, obviously) a visit over Easter, if I ever get my arse in gear and book this weekend away I've been talking about for months.

^^^Duly noted, Hopkins.

The Easton is near Exmouth Market and thus a little bit too 'west' for what's required. If it's not, the Crown in Clerkenwell Green might even have a room on the first floor that is reservable. I haven't yet gone to Mason and Taylor but one of my friends is always banging on about it, in a good way - and most people will be able to stumble back to their neighbourhood of origin from there. The London Fields on Mare Street is good - they're owned by the same firm as Rat and Parrot and it's basically a less busy/irritating version of same.

Sadly, I rarely venture to Edgware Road unless it's for something Lebanese.

food in scolt head is good but possibly not good enough to go out of your way there specifically

fika on brick lane does good swedish food, re: non-viet/indian ethnic food

pham sushi near old street too, best sushi anywhere in east

lol i can't believe fancyapint actually went to review dalston superstore

never eaten in the royal oak on columbia rd either but a one-two with the nelson's head after could also be soul-destroyinglively

ooh btw tim could you tell the duke of wellington staff that potted shrimp goes in the fridge and not the freezer. (very nice otherwise though mind.)

Would recommend Thai Garden next to the Florist in Bethnal Green for "non viet/indian/pakistani".

Only ever been to the Nelson's Head at around 8am on a sunday - never seen it an an actual evening

RTC: I'll tell the chef when he arrives! Sorry about that.

for something Lebanese

This was what I wanted!

I've been to Mason and Taylor weekly since it opened I reckon. Camden Pale Ale is amazing. Good food too, I'm not wild about the room itself, like it's not bad or whatev, just a bit of a funny style and shape. But I do like the place a lot. Really like anywhere where you can drink a decent pale ale.

Didn't know you were involved Tim, great stuff! Was in the Royal Oak for the first time, weirdly, last week, the food does sound good. Considered Prince Arthur, good to hear a recommendation as I was unsure what it's like.

Good recommendations here tho, will keep me going for a bit.

What about the gastrofied Owl & Pussycat? Although in my experience if this is the sort of thing you're looking for you're better off going a bit further up the road to Clerkenwell, which is exceptionally well-supplied for places like this.

(NB have not actually eaten in the new Owl & Pussycat, although I've heard it's good)

Oh also the food at the Princess of Shoreditch is fantastic but the upstairs room is very restauranty and the downstairs is a bit All Bar One so not great for your needs.

Would recommend Thai Garden next to the Florist in Bethnal Green for "non viet/indian/pakistani".

haha I live like 30 seconds from here. great restaurant tho i agree. really nice.

x-post to matt, I am totally open to going to ec1 but i'm a bit conscious of making it easier for friends. my cousin works in the anchor and hope in southwark which I really like, but figure easier to organise something for somewhere near where people live.

LG: if you're in there early evening, give me a shout, I quite often work there in the afternoons until well after opening time at 5.

Will do, are you still on the same number? I'm often in about 6 on a Friday, for a cup of tea and some food.

I meant a few cups of tea, sorry.

Tim, I'm guessing layout weirdness at M&T means it used to be Green and Red.

Another recommendation, although I haven't been to eat there yet: A Little Of What You Fancy, my friend Elaine's restaurant on Kingsland Road. It's near WAH! Nails.

heard that's good, the name really annoys me but i keep reading about it.

m&t was green and red, yep.

has anyone eaten in that v wooden bare decorated place on redchurch st? is it "the roastery" or something? and has anyone actually eaten in the new owl and pussycat?

i have eaten there, its p good

oh wait, i meant ive eaten @ 'a little of what you fancy' havent eaten at the redchurch place... is it the coffee place?

oh maybe it's a coffee place...that'd make sense.

i ate in that deli on redchurch with the black and white chessboard style tiles recently actually, it was excellent.

i'll always bear a grudge against the owl and pussycat for it being where the lovely emma b's purse was stolen, so i've not been in the new one.

i liked green and red but frankly "high end mexican" is not really a goer.

speaking of places with annoying names but good food in east london, i note with sadness that "taste of bitter love" has closed. it had the best sandwiches in london for my money (which isn't much money, so it worked).

it was in a pretty weird place tbf, not surprised it closed

Agreed about high end Mexican! Was surprised G&R lasted as long as it did. Also I don't mind the name of E's restaurant, Tracer - time to head over for Sunday roast? Elaine used to run the kitchens at Shoreditch Electricity Showrooms when it was good, plus Trafik, and she's a great chef; her bruv is one of the biggest music PRs in London OMG IT'S ALL CONNECTED...

Taste of Bitter Love is coming back at new premises, think it's further east up Hackney Road.

Totally willing to believe that Kingsland Road restaurant has great food but I'm innately suspicious about any restaurant where Google throws up more reviews from style blogs than food websites.

ooh james! the old location was kind of nowheresville so the move will be good for their business - also further east will be closer to me! seriously this is the best news i've had all day.

I've eaten Elaine's food at other locations and enjoyed it, and since I'm a good cook myself I don't just hand out recommends on a whim, but I think the high number of style-blog hits is down to them following on from Edgy Style Mag's website. We at ESM like good food A LOT.

FYI: #meateasy closes 16 April.

I haven't been for a couple of weeks! I should go by again. Hmmmm, this evenings plans have been cancelled at the last minute...

but then again I do have a pizza waiting in the fridge.

Then again... meat! Perhaps get a burger, rush home and put it on the pizza?! Oh mercy stop it.

xp/ also in between venues, E took a lot of private bookings for music and fashion people/events - buzz comes from places for good reasons and I hate it when my friends go all snap-judgement about style press like they're somehow above it all.

Edgy Style Press vs "we only communicate via Twitter", fiiiite! (Obviously Edgy Style Twitter wins) (I don't mean that...)

i can also vouch for elaine, although not to the extent that i can ever remember to pop into the new gaff.

i'll always bear a grudge against the owl and pussycat for it being where the lovely emma b's purse was stolen, so i've not been in the new one.

yeah lost a bag myself in the scolt head once. fucking hate that place tbh, i'd say the garden is all it's good for but it's packed with tossers anyway.