London (Fodor's 2012) - Fodor's [94]
HOURS
In London you can find breakfast all day, but it’s generally served between 7 am and 11 am. Workmen’s cafés and sandwich bars for office workers are sometimes open from 7 am, more upscale cafés from 7 am to 11:30 am. Lunch is between noon and 3 pm. Tea, often a meal in itself, is taken between 3:30 pm and 6 pm, and dinner or supper is typically eaten between 7 pm and 11 pm, though it can be taken earlier. Many ethnic restaurants, especially Indian, serve food until midnight. Sunday is proper lunch day, and some restaurants are open for lunch only. Other restaurants are closed entirely on Sunday and on public holidays. Over the Christmas period, London virtually shuts down and it seems only hotels are prepared to feed travelers. Unless otherwise noted, the restaurants listed in this guide are open daily for lunch and dinner.
PRICES
The democratization of restaurants in London has not translated into smaller checks, and London is an extortionate city by global standards. A modest meal for two can easily cost £40, and the £120-a-head meal is not unknown. Damage-control strategies include making lunch your main meal—the top places have bargain midday menus—going for early evening deals, bringing your own wine to an ethnic eatery with a BYOB license, or sharing an à la carte entrée and ordering a second appetizer instead. (Note that an appetizer, usually known as a “starter” or “first course,” is sometimes called an “entrée,” as it is in France, and that entrées in England are dubbed “main courses” or simply “mains.”) Seek out fixed-price menus, and watch for hidden extras on the check, that is, bread or vegetables charged separately.
What it Costs In Pounds
At Dinner
£
under £10
££ £10–£16
£££ £17–£23
££££ £24–£32
£££££ over £32
Price per person for an average main course or equivalent combination of smaller dishes at dinner. Note: If a restaurant offers only prix-fixe (set-price) meals, it has been given the price category that reflects the full prix-fixe price.
BRITISH FOOD DECODER
In London, local could mean any global flavor, but for pure Britishness, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding top the list. If you want the best-value traditional Sunday lunch, go to a pub. Gastropubs, where Sunday roasts are generally made on-site with top-quality ingredients, are an excellent bet, too. The meat is usually served with duck-fat crisp roast potatoes and carrots, and with Yorkshire pudding, a savory batter baked in the oven until crisp. A rich, dark, meaty gravy is poured on top.
Other tummy liners include shepherd’s pie, made with stewed minced lamb and a mashed-potato topping and baked until lightly browned on top; cottage pie is a similar dish, but made with minced beef instead of lamb. Steak-and-kidney pie is a delight when done properly: with chunks of lean beef and ox kidneys, braised with onions and mushrooms in a thick meaty gravy, and topped with a light puff-pastry crust.
Fish-and-chips, usually battered deep-fried cod, haddock or plaice, comes with thick chips, or french fries, as we call them in the States. A ploughman’s lunch in a pub is crusty bread, a strong-flavored English cheese with bite (cheddar, blue Stilton, crumbly white Cheshire, or smooth red Leicester), and tangy pickles with a side-salad garnish. For a hot, comforting dessert, seek out a sweet bread-and-butter pudding, made from layers of bread and dried currants baked in cream until crisp. And one can’t forgo English cream tea, which consists of scones served with jam and clotted cream, and sandwiches made with wafer-thin slices of cucumber—served as an accompaniment to properly brewed tea.
LONDON’S BEST CURRIES
Curry has become England’s surrogate national dish and in London you’ll find some of the best.
Dishoom is modeled on the Persian-run all-day Irani cafés of Victorian Bombay and it skillfully churns out marvelous street food, from naan