Where should I eat in London?

[Mr. Tea]

situation where your sense of self-worth is so bound up in being good at your hobby that you can justify being an arse in other respects, or where you can't deal with changes that threaten your hobby or with the realization that you aren't as good at it as you thought you were...

To the extent that you can be "good at" eating in restaurants...

I mean, it's one thing to have your sense of self-worth bound up in something you actually *do*, be it some kind of art, sport, profession or whatever. But these wankers don't even cook their own food, all they do is eat food that's been cooked by someone else. They are consumers in the most literal sense. Maybe they put a lot of effort into finding out exciting new places to eat, or jealously guard 'personal' favourite restaurants the way a DJ might have a 'secret weapon' record, but they're not doing anything remotely creative.

 

[Slothrop]

It's a knowledge thing, innit. It's like you can't really be "good" at wearing trainers or listening to music, but people invest a lot of effort and derive some sense of self-worth from having exactly the right trainers or having a vast knowledge of reggae / indie / hip hop / grime / whatever...

And again, I'm not sure that being a twunt who produces good music makes you less of a twunt than a twunt who knows a lot about trainers...

 

[baboon2004]

It's like Zomby vs Nathan Barley.

 

[mistersloane]

What's the amazing aubergine dish a few people have mentioned on here? It was top of my agenda, but 'aubergine' was all I could recall which had 3 candidates. Went for the Sea Spicy one in the end which was pretty good but not really rapturous.

Yeah I had a really slow time there a few years ago and didn't go back for a while. I last went Sunday afternoon and it was quiet.

I think it was Sea Spicy I had there last time which was a really good one. It does vary there though I think. Sorry it wasn't a great one for you

 

[mistersloane]

Very funny restaurant review in the Guardian w/regard to the Telegraph article. Seems like the backlash is starting :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/nov/09/kitchen-table-london-w1-review

"best scallops are from a little asador outside Bilbao"

hahahahaha

 

[baboon2004]

i was impressed with that article. Too often restaurant reviews concentrate a little too much upon the food (well duh, etc), and not enough on the fact that ambiance is important, neglecting to acknowledge that being marooned amidst a sea of cunts may lead to a less than ideal experience.

 

[Slothrop]

Standard question format: can anyone recommend anywhere to get decent, sensibly priced food anywhere near the Barbican? Decent unpretentious pub food would be ideal, but I'm guessing that's going to be thin on the ground in EC...

(St John is obvious but probably a bit pricey for this occasion...)

 

[Mr. Tea]

Standard question format: can anyone recommend anywhere to get decent, sensibly priced food anywhere near the Barbican? Decent unpretentious pub food would be ideal, but I'm guessing that's going to be thin on the ground in EC...

(St John is obvious but probably a bit pricey for this occasion...)

I've not been to the proper St John's restaurant - definitely meaning to go when I move back - but I had some good food in their sort of bar/bistro bit that's tacked onto the main restaurant. I think it was roast pork bones all full of delicious gooey marrow with lots of nice fresh bread. Other things on the menu seemed fairly simple but decent, massive doorstop sandwiches and the like. And it's a bar so there's a full wine list and some nice beers. Might be worth checking out anyway, obvs much cheaper than the restaurant and you don't have to book.

 

[hucks]

Standard question format: can anyone recommend anywhere to get decent, sensibly priced food anywhere near the Barbican? Decent unpretentious pub food would be ideal, but I'm guessing that's going to be thin on the ground in EC...

(St John is obvious but probably a bit pricey for this occasion...)

The Peasant is a good pub with good food. Went there a few years ago and had a steak sandwich.

The Peasant, 240 St John street, London EC1V 4PH

 

[baboon2004]

As above St John's Street is a decent bet - there's lots along there, a branch of Pho, that kind of thing.

you could even go to tinseltown: http://www.tinseltown.co.uk/Farringdon/ .

Ground floor of Smiths of Smithfield (next to Fabric) always looks pretty good value for lunch too

 

[IdleRich]

Been enjoying two cheap and cheerful, bring your own wine kinda places recently. Meraz off Brick Lane is (I'm told) the place that the owners and staff at the other places on Brick Lane go to when they want to eat a real curry. I dunno if that's true but it's certainly very cheap and no frills with the food served in the kind of dishes I've got at home in what amounts to a friendly little canteen. It's cheap and the food is really tasty and the staff are friendly. Not much more to say than that really.
On a similar tip, Hassan in Dalston, a few doors up from the more feted Mangal 2, is a friendly place with nice food and portions of obscene size. Whatever you do don't order a starter cos they bring out enough bread to feed an army, an onion salad and then loads of other veg as an appetizer, then the starter, then the main course. And last time as we were swearing not to eat any more they virtually forced on us a cold rice pudding (kinda like a creme brulee or something really). I really didn't want it but the waiter looked as though he was gonna cry so we had to stuff it in. I seriously thought about hiding it under the table but when I imagined the look on the waiter's face when he found it later I just couldn't do it.
Hmm, doesn't really sound like I'm recommending it does it? Well I am cos the food is lovely and the staff are great.

 

[viktorvaughn]

I love good value places, so satisfying.

My mates and I do a dining club where we all take it turns to pick a place to eat - we recently hit the 100th meeting and voted on where to return to and these were are top five picks in order... None are particularly bargaineous but all v nice.

Frizzante (Hackney City Farm)
St. John Bread and Wine
Brunswick House Cafe
Brawn
Barafina

 

[baboon2004]

would it be heresy to say Mangal (2, i think) is overrated? It's definitely good, but seems to be one of those places over which popular opinion has coalesced in a way that's a little mystifying when you actually eat there.

I sort of recommend Mercado Cantina in Stoke Newington. A good menu with more diverse Mexican food than most London restaurants I've seen, without being pricey, and the sea bass ceviche is lovely. Downsides is that I was ill after going there once, but I've been fine on other occasions, so maybe I was just unlucky.

Tierra Peru on Essex Road also worth a visit - between good and very good. I had chicken in a sauce of walnuts and aji amarillo, really interesting. It's not cheap by my reckoning (basically over £10 for all mains [I think] = not cheap as a rule of thumb), but worth the price

Still want to try Mestizo @ Warren Street.

 

[IdleRich]

"would it be heresy to say Mangal (2, i think) is overrated? It's definitely good, but seems to be one of those places over which popular opinion has coalesced in a way that's a little mystifying when you actually eat there."

I'd agree with you there. I think it's a perfectly good restaurant but there are loads in Dalston/Stoke Newington and (especially) Harringey which are just as good and several which are better. And Mangal 2 is at the pricier end. But you might see Gilbert and George there plus the staff dress like Kraftwerk which is nice. Alright Kraftwerk in reverse would be more correct.

 

[HMGovt’s Glorious Return!]

I know you lot rarely venture west of Old Street, but go here and then tell me if there's a better Turkish place inside the M25 than this http://www.cappadociarestaurant.co.uk/

The set menu for two shared with my brother was one of the best meals I've had in a while. The kofte and lambs liver starter was unbelievably juicy, tasty, well-seasoned.

Being taken to the Ginger Pig in Hove on Sunday by my babymother.

 

[baboon2004]

I'll have you know I'm west of Old Street right now. About five minutes' west.

still haven't had Turkish food in London I rated that much tbh. Too often, even if the food is quite good, the menu is over-predictable, like Chinese/Indian restaurant menus always used to be. So much stuff you can get in Istanbul that seemingly hasn't made it over here, though I guess that's cos lots of Turkish people in London aren't from Istanbul.

I think the same about Mexican food in London.

 

[HMGovt’s Glorious Return!]

I'll have you know I'm west of Old Street right now. About five minutes' west.

still haven't had Turkish food in London I rated that much tbh. Too often, even if the food is quite good, the menu is over-predictable, like Chinese/Indian restaurant menus always used to be. So much stuff you can get in Istanbul that seemingly hasn't made it over here, though I guess that's cos lots of Turkish people in London aren't from Istanbul.

I think the same about Mexican food in London.

I have a mortal fear of Mexican restaurants, something about the sloppiness leads me to think a multitude of sins have been mixed in between microwave and table.

 

[baboon2004]

i've eaten in a fair few restaurants of all sorts that have ended badly. I can say though that I have never been as ill in my life as I was after visiting a tacos place in Puebla.

It's a pity about that particular Mexican restaurant, cos for once the menu isn't simply generic (though that's more true of the starters than the mains)

 

[Slothrop]

Too often, even if the food is quite good, the menu is over-predictable, like Chinese/Indian restaurant menus always used to be. So much stuff you can get in Istanbul that seemingly hasn't made it over here, though I guess that's cos lots of Turkish people in London aren't from Istanbul.

It's true that, and interesting. I really like eating at places like Antepiler and Hala, but it's true that the range of stuff tends to be fairly similar in all of them.

You're right that it used to be like that with Chinese and Indian places (and still is in most of the UK). I'd always assumed that this was because the target audience for them was British and British people couldn't get their collective heads around the idea that there's more to Indian food than lamb bhuna and pilau rice, but that's clearly not the issue with the likes of Antepiler because they aren't catering to know-nothing Brits.

But I guess the same is true of British pub menus as well - sausage and mash, hunter's chicken, steak and ale pie, burger etc - even with stuff that isn't foreign or exotic, maybe it's just a thing of people being happy with something familiar done well rather than wanting to be taken on a gastronomic journey every time they go out for food with their mates?

Was stuff in Istanbul actually more varied, or was it just that you hadn't got used to it?

 

[Mr. Tea]

still haven't had Turkish food in London I rated that much tbh. Too often, even if the food is quite good, the menu is over-predictable, like Chinese/Indian restaurant menus always used to be. So much stuff you can get in Istanbul that seemingly hasn't made it over here, though I guess that's cos lots of Turkish people in London aren't from Istanbul.

Dunno about elsewhere in London but I think most of the Turks in Green Lanes are ethnic Kurds. Not sure what that means in terms of cuisine exactly (poss. more of an Iranian influence?) but I guess it means they're probably not from Istanbul.