Where should I eat in London?

luka

Well-known member
Anyone found half decent bread in this supposed food mecca?
that place on broadway market is good tbf but its the only one ive found that i like.
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
i like the dark rye loaves you get from the jewish bakeries on brick lane a lot, though they only seem to do it on particular days (which i never seem to remember).
 

luka

Well-known member
I like the look of both oklava and yosma based on their instagrams but has anyone here visited either in their actual physical form?
 

luka

Well-known member
food in london is now terrible. maybe there was a brief moment when this wasnt the case, it's hard to say but it's 100% true now. the posh kids took over food just like they did with dance music. loads of people chasing private equity and scaling up.
 

luka

Well-known member
using media contacts to get free advertising for food which looks the part but doesnt taste the part.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
More detail needed - I'm living in Brum now, so only periodically get to sample the delights of the London food scene. The London restaurants the media cover don't sound very inspiring, mostly more of the same simple/rote cooking elevated to high prices.

On the plus side, I love Xi'an Impression at Holloway Road, and, er.....I had a nice bao in Croydon.

Which major cities are better though?
 

luka

Well-known member
i really really hate travelling so havent been to many places
but auckland, sydney, melbourne, osaka, tokyo, all thousands of times better
assuming new york and la and vancouver are thousands of times better.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I was in LA fairly recently - the vegan food shits on anything over here, but the rest isn't so hot IMO. Had the worst Japanese food of my life there - didn't think it was possible for it to be that bad (had good Japanese too, of course). I thought the Mexican food was mediocre, and we made a point of checking out all the trendiest taco trucks. Last time I went to NYC, was approx equal to London in terms of good food and bad food, but that was forever ago.

Osaka better yes, lived there for a while - still possible to get poor food, but rare. No idea about Australia, as I probably will never go there.

Only places I've ever had consistently good food, and where eating out has been a consistent pleasure, were Japan, Budapest and the countries of the former USSR. SE Asia v decent too, but I don't have much experience.

So I think London is kinda average for European/American cities, albeit with terrible gaps (eg Thai food, as you mentioned upthread). Eating out <<<<<<< home-cooked food, most places in the world. But posh kids have still ruined the experience by making it more pretentious and more expensive for average food.
 
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luka

Well-known member
i dont think theres such a thing as good mexican food. everyone i know whos been to mexico itself says the same thing. its even worse there than it is in england.
 

luka

Well-known member
ive mentioned it on here before i think but the fact you cant get decent bread in london is just surreal.
 

luka

Well-known member
ive heard good things about italy greece and turkey. heard terrible things about everywhere in south america.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Food in the Yucatan is good (region not the pub, much as I like the pub, food is not its strong suit), and fish tacos can be blissful, but yes, Mexican food does lend itself to very bad, stodgy interpretations. Some of the stuff I had in LA I wouldn't give to an enemy.

The bread debacle, I agree with - surreal is the word. I remember (vaguely) having decent bread somewhere in the UK recently, but it happens rarely.

I thought Italy was overrated til I had really good experiences in Rome. Just stick to pasta, pizza and rice. I love Greek and Turkish food, but lots of in-country bad versions as well as the good stuff. I did eat well in Istanbul tho.
 

droid

Well-known member
I took Luka to the best Indian restaurant in the country, curious to hear his reflections on it now he's safely out of my clutches.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Which one was it?

What is the best fried chicken in London? I went to Bird the other night - the actual chicken is great but they spoil it with over-enthusiastic addition of sauce. I still ate a whole skillet full though.

The bread thing is weird. You can get good bread but it's hipsterised and therefore expensive. British people in general are happy with low quality facsimile shit if it's cheap, just look at our government.

I though New York was miles better for food 'cos eating out is much more part of the culture, and it's not being sold back to you as a luxury like every fucking thing in London.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
I think the cheap bread that you get in Turkish shops is the best solve for the something decent + not being economically sodomised equation.
 

luka

Well-known member
the turkish bread is lush when it;s fresh but its only fresh for 35 seconds. also it tastes very sweet.

British people in general are happy with low quality facsimile shit if it's cheap, just look at our government.

I though New York was miles better for food 'cos eating out is much more part of the culture, and it's not being sold back to you as a luxury like every fucking thing in London.

these two points are very good and very important.

droid, i wasnt just saying i liked the food so i didnt get put in the wicker man. i really liked the food.
 
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