London Restaurant Recommendations • Non-Gaming • Food • Eurogamer.net

askew 14 Aug 2008 11:40:55 24,121 posts
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Yo,

I'm finishing my placement tomorrow evening, and hoped to go to Fifteen for dinner afterwards. Unfortunately I've left it too late to get a table for four.

Any recommended restaurants that won't break the bank? I'm thinking around Ł40/person.

Deleted user 14 August 2008 11:42:41

POW!

Deleted user 14 August 2008 11:43:16

Oh, that doesn't work. Search for 'London restaurants', there's a couple of threads.

tombo 14 Aug 2008 11:43:28 2,170 posts
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OXO Tower near Waterloo / Borough

JuanKerr 14 Aug 2008 11:44:06 37,710 posts
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kalel wrote:
Oh, that doesn't work. Search for 'London restaurants', there's a couple of threads.

Using that POW! made you look rather foolish didn't it

JuanKerr 14 Aug 2008 11:45:02 37,710 posts
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tombo wrote:
OXO Tower near Waterloo / Borough

+1

There's one on the second floor and one on the fifth or sixth. I've only been to the lower one, which is less exclusive, but still has a great view and isn't horribly over-priced.

tombo 14 Aug 2008 11:45:53 2,170 posts
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JuanKerr wrote:

tombo wrote:
OXO Tower near Waterloo / Borough

+1

There's one on the second floor and one on the fifth or sixth. I've only been to the lower one, which is less exclusive, but still has a great view and isn't horribly over-priced.

+1 on the lower one.

askew 14 Aug 2008 11:46:12 24,121 posts
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Nice.

Shinji 14 Aug 2008 11:51:42 5,902 posts
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What kind of food/setting do you fancy?

Baltic is a little off the beaten track (just next to Southwark station), but serves hearty, excellent Eastern European food and great cocktails.

Fire and Stone in Covent Garden is fantastic for posh pizza and Italian-style food - bit boisterous inside, rather than a calm dining room, but still a good night out.

Gaucho Grill has a few restaurants around the capital - there's one near Piccadilly Circus which is handy for most people - and they do absolutely fantastic steaks (although their sides can be a bit variable.

Or there's Bincho Yakitori at the Oxo Tower - Japanese food and beers, with a setting looking over the river to St Pauls, and the option of popping upstairs to the great cocktail bar in the tower afterwards.

deem 14 Aug 2008 11:54:47 31,667 posts
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Yeah, Crazy Bear toilets are ace.

askew 14 Aug 2008 11:55:25 24,121 posts
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Tom's Place looks quite cool. OXO seems to be out of my compatriots price range, the dastards.
Fire and Stone looks good

Cheers folk.

GingerMagician 14 Aug 2008 11:55:40 3,011 posts
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On that sort of budget, I'd recommend Galvin (on Baker St, not the Hilton one), Arbutus or Magdalen.

JuanKerr 14 Aug 2008 11:56:28 37,710 posts
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Leolian'sBro wrote:

And of course, the MIGHTY MIGHTY Gordon's Wine Bar. Unlike anywhere you'll ever go. Every gentleman should drop in.

Fuck restaurants - just get a Subway and spend your evening here. Love this place.

Shinji 14 Aug 2008 11:58:48 5,902 posts
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Forgot Crazy Bear - that place is awesome. Its toilets are topped, however, by a Philippe Starck designed bar/restaurant I went to once - largely because Starck is such an obtuse cunt that he filled the entire bathroom with strange alcoves full of running water. You can linger in there pretending to wash your hands for about five minutes, just to watch tipsy blokes getting incredibly confused about which alcoves it's okay to piss in, and ending up doing so in the sink or on a potplant. Awesome.

GingerMagician 14 Aug 2008 11:58:55 3,011 posts
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Also, L'Autre Pied is worth a look - from the people who run the two-Michelin-starred Pied A Terre on Charlotte St.

GingerMagician 14 Aug 2008 12:00:07 3,011 posts
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Shinji wrote:
Forgot Crazy Bear - that place is awesome. Its toilets are topped, however, by a Philippe Starck designed bar/restaurant I went to once - largely because Starck is such an obtuse cunt that he filled the entire bathroom with strange alcoves full of running water. You can linger in there pretending to wash your hands for about five minutes, just to watch tipsy blokes getting incredibly confused about which alcoves it's okay to piss in, and ending up doing so in the sink or on a potplant. Awesome.

Aren't those the toilets in the Sanderson Hotel (a Starck-designed place)?

askew 14 Aug 2008 12:00:35 24,121 posts
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Sorted: Fire and Stone. Might not quite be fine dining, but still. Looking forward to it.

PS: You guys are awesome

Shinji 14 Aug 2008 12:02:36 5,902 posts
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I wasn't actually thinking of the Sanderson (it was the Asahi Building in Tokyo I had in mind), but now you mention it, yeah, he did a similar thing there. He obviously takes juvenile amusement in getting people to piss all over the place.

Which is fair enough, because it IS very funny.

There's a bar somewhere in Soho with toilets where the urinals, sinks and hand dryers all look exactly the same, too - they're all like strange eggs growing out of the wall. By the end of the night, there WILL be people pissing in the hand dryer.

GingerMagician 14 Aug 2008 12:04:29 3,011 posts
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Shinji wrote:
I wasn't actually thinking of the Sanderson (it was the Asahi Building in Tokyo I had in mind), but now you mention it, yeah, he did a similar thing there. He obviously takes juvenile amusement in getting people to piss all over the place.

Which is fair enough, because it IS very funny.

There's a bar somewhere in Soho with toilets where the urinals, sinks and hand dryers all look exactly the same, too - they're all like strange eggs growing out of the wall. By the end of the night, there WILL be people pissing in the hand dryer.

While we're on the weird toilet tip, you must have seen the ones at Sketch that look like giant versions of the eggs from Alien - you half-expect a facehugger to pop out when you open the door...

nickthegun 14 Aug 2008 12:07:22 87,711 posts
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Second the Gaucho Grill.

They do a good in house bottle of lager too.

Dougs 14 Aug 2008 12:17:07 100,414 posts
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Ah The Stockpot. Pretty average really, but for the price you can't beat it. Ideal for a quick stomach liner before going on the lash, not quite one for taking a lady too though. There's another they run too - Something Kitchen? I forget

MrWorf 14 Aug 2008 12:24:07 64,187 posts
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+1 to Gaucho Piccadilly, Crazy Bear, and Coq D'Argent.

I'd also recommend Harlem - if you fancy something a little different. They serve American soul food. I.e. corn bread, pan fried catfish, calamari, buffalo chicken wings. I went there recently with some mates and the food was fliping sumptuous. I'm defo going back.

dickrickulous 14 Aug 2008 12:25:11 295 posts
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nickthegun wrote:
Second the Gaucho Grill.

They do a good in house bottle of lager too.

There is one of these in Manchester which I'm considering going to. Is it worth the money?

StarchildHypocrethes 14 Aug 2008 12:26:12 33,974 posts
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Yes. Awesome steaks that you get to hand pick before they cook them.

nickthegun 14 Aug 2008 12:29:11 87,711 posts
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Im a big, big fan of Ribeye and it was one of the nicest ive had.

The only steak ive had nicer than that was cut and cooked by my old man who used to be a butcher.

Be aware, though that if you think the steak is expensive, you are paying for just the steak. Fries, mashed potato and so on are all extra sides.

tombo 14 Aug 2008 12:30:12 2,170 posts
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StarchildHypocrethes wrote:
Yes. Awesome steaks that you get to hand pick before they cook them.

Not strictly true - they have a board with fresh samples on illustrating the various sizes and cuts.

But it's very good meat. Unless you're really squeemish you can't go any more than medium-rare: trust the high quality meat and you'll be rewarded.

I found the house beer quite gasseous and filled me up more than other lagers.

Oh, and go for the free cheese bread or ask if they have any.

GingerMagician 14 Aug 2008 12:31:19 3,011 posts
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StarchildHypocrethes wrote:
Yes. Awesome steaks that you get to hand pick before they cook them.

You don't actually pick the individual steak - they just bring 'em out to show you the various different cuts they do.

The garlic and lime marinated Churrasco (sp?) cut is well worth a try for something a bit different - very thin though, so don't have it anything more than rare!

dickrickulous 14 Aug 2008 12:32:02 295 posts
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Might check it out in the next fortnight or so....

StarchildHypocrethes 14 Aug 2008 12:32:23 33,974 posts
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Well, alright, maybe I exaggerated a little

The staff are excellent too, and if you're with someone who doesn't know their steaks, they will describe what each is like and what the best way to have them cooked is.