london restaurants

the guys in there are a great laugh too...

any tips for a good place around soho where i can have a few beers and some food? looking for sort of informal, but i guess soho doesn't really have gastropubs does it? any help would be good...

The upstairs of Bodeans?

john snow?

(but yeah bodeans)

Bodeans is a good bet, but it's a great day for the terrace at Dean Street Townhouse. They do homemade Scotch eggs.

garlic and shots, if that's your thang?

probably be tomorrow night, I think bodeans, much as I like it, is a bit too like...I dunno, not pub like enough.

is dean st townhouse terrace open in evenings?

polpo or spuntino? altho depending on how early yr getting there there might be a huge queue

yeah spuntino sounds great...but have heard really hard to get in.

also lol ken literally THE DAY AFTER johnsnowgate I was coming back from baron's court and a friend texted me, and this never ever happens, I'm never in soho at the weekends, "hey am in the john snow if you fancy a pint..."

I was gonna suggest those but QUEUES.

Terrace is open in the evening but there's something really lovely about the bar, if you can't get a seat.

cool that might be a good shout, i guess if we can just eat something casually but not necessarily dinner it'll be grand.

have you been to spuntino, just sayin?

http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1611.php

no i havent! ive only been to polpo because my friend used to work there. has anyone been?

will prob try it out in the next few weeks tho, since the friend is back in town + will be interested to see what its like. i remember him saying they'd been planning on opening it quite a while ago and it kept getting delayed.

also, would some burgers and booze at byron followed by pub beers work?

possibly...my friend i'm meeting is a 62-year-old yorkshireman i acted in a play with recently, he's pretty hip but not sure bodeans or byrons is exactly his bag!

de hems? not gastro by any stretch but idk what you're after here really.

pub where you can eat nice food, doesn't have to be a full meal, basically is my requirement.

Lyric is good and old-man friendly then.

Also does it have to be Soho?

not really...anywhere loosely central would probably do.

how about phoenix artist club (it's charing cross road underneath phoenix theatre/"blood brothers")?

it's members but they let everyone in before 8

Ronan - try the Bountiful Cow in Holborn, just behind Red Lion Square. The clue as to the food is in the name.

p.s.

also lol ken literally THE DAY AFTER johnsnowgate I was coming back from baron's court and a friend texted me, and this never ever happens, I'm never in soho at the weekends, "hey am in the john snow if you fancy a pint..."

think that was a booty call

yeah the guy in moo is really funny.

yeah really good laugh.

haha ken

Not a massive fan of Polpo. Was sat directly under air con the first time I was there. Also, I know salt makes food taste, and I use it liberally in my cooking, but man, their food was hella salty. And everything was, well, not quite as good as it should be, I felt. Not a massive fan of the tapas style approach to a menu either. Probably my fault, but find it difficult to get hard culinary satisfaction out it.

aw i loved polpo, and i really don't dig too much salt in my food. yeah tapas can be unsatisfying if it's overpriced and you end up hungry but that didn't seem the case here we spent a shitload and ordered nearly everything on the menu.

how do you feel about dim sum?

Love dim sum - Royal China Bayswater has become a once or twice a year lunchtime favourite.

And yes, you're right about the overpriced/still hungry thing - it happens quite often. Fino in Fitzrovia was fantastic though, so I'm not totally against it, I just get easily disappointed.

Ronan, I'd say Bountiful Cow and its MAN STEAKS are good for Yorkshiremen.

recommendations for decent café type places somewhere central that aren't on a busy street and have, like, tables outside?

I can't think of any actually, other than the ones in parks and squares and I'm not sure the food is especially great at any of them. Otherwise you're going to be out on the pavement choking on the traffic fumes.

Found out today that the Counter Cafe is moving down the road into Stour Space, according to the menu board outside.

exmouth market xxp?

oh that's a good idea for another time, though it's pretty busy - too many people i know round there!

had an amazing steak at goodman last weekend. highly recommend (if someone else is paying)

going to anchor/hope again today...embarrassingly regular now but cousin works there and i meet him for lunch so why not.

Got into Spuntino the other day - we were very pleased with it indeed, it did it's small-plate thing very nicely.

so is this going to be hell on earth or a good addition? http://www.redmarketlondon.com/

i'm leaning towards hell on earth on a saturday night, possibly worth visiting on a sunday.

meze mangal on lewisham way, best turkish food in town

man i miss turkish food

so, banh mi places seem to sprouting up at the same pace that burrito joints did a year or so back. up til now, i thought Banh Mi Bay on Theobald's Road was best - my nearest and most regular, but only if they haven't run out of the vietnamese bread, which they seem to have refined to an optimum balance of crispy outside and soft interior - but Kêu on Old Street is also great. the bread is way different, and there's lots more ingredients/flavours.

these places never hit sarf london ;_;

looking forward to this though:
http://dishoom.com/2011/04/the-dishoom-chowpatty-beach-bar-may-sep/

City Càphê is good, but i found it a touch dry. only been once.

and i tried Chao on Whitecross Street last week, but they were out of classic chicken/pate, so i tried the spicy pork. a touch chewy, but still tasty.

anyone tried the one on Broadway Market?

I saw that Dishoom beach bar thing under construction the other week and thought it was inspired. What with that + the fake beach + the beach huts + the turfed over roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall the South Bank has outdone itself this year.

meze mangal on lewisham way, best turkish food in town

This is OTM, went recently and it's exceptional.

xxpost the one at broadway market is really good! well, the one that specialises in it. they also make them at the viet coffee place + my one from there wasnt as tasty.

speaking of that neighbourhood, towpath is back open again (maybe it has been for a while?) and is always highly recommended

these places never hit sarf london ;_;

According to Starry Sarah formerly of this parish there's an amazing one in Deptford, but given where you live you might as well just go over the river.