My wife and I will be traveling to London in September for our 25th Anniversary. We have a pretty good plan of the things we want to see while we are there so while I will certainly accept suggestions on things to see and, what I am really looking for is recommendations for great food.

Places that you have eaten that are really great food, atmosphere, service...local, off the beaten path, special in some way. even simple things like do you have a favorite pub for fish and chips and a pint, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

I am severely allergic to shellfish, so I have some restriction on what I can eat but my wife loves seafood and we have always managed to eat out without much problem as long as we are careful with cross contamination.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We are also looking for a proper tea parlor that will educate a couple of uninformed Americans on having a proper English tea. Touristy and silly, I know, but it is something my wife wants to do.



Some of the things we have planned include:
Tower of London/Queens Palace

Florence Nightingale museum(my wife is a nurse)

Benjamin Franklin House(No place in America to see his house and it's living history performance so it should be entertaining as well as educational)

British Museum

ZSL London Zoo(the zoo thing started when our children were little and even now that they are grown men with families of their own we still like going to the zoo in every major city we travel to.)

Jack the Ripper/Sherlock Holmes tour(very cliche but my wife like horror and serial killer stuff and I enjoyed reading A.C. Doyle when I was younger so it sounds fun for both of us.)

Holland and Holland and James Purdey are both on the to see list.

Any suggestions for great eats, breakfast, lunch and dinner for 6 days would be much appreciated.

Any other suggestions for things to see or do will be welcomed and considered.

Thank you in advance,

Colin

P.S. We are staying in the Paddington area if that makes any difference.

Great eats in London is an oxymoron- kind of like a tall drarf or a short giant. In terms of things to do, your wife will love Harrods for upscale shopping. I always take the Tubes from LHR to the Piccadilly Square stop. Walk a couple of blocks to the “Original Big Bus Tour”. Prior to the tour, I’ll buy some good Cubans at the Duty Free Shop at LHR and hop off the bus when I see an interesting tourist venue like the Changing of the Guard or one of the wonderful museums..

It has been 16 years for me, so I’m not sure my restaraunt recommendations will work. Traditional Brit food was ok, as long as limited to shepherds pie and fish & chips. I had my first Indian food there and it has not been equaled since. I also had good Japanese food, not just sushi.

Head south of the Thames to the Olde Surgery Theatre for your wife, as my ex was in the medical profession. While over there, check out the holocaust museum and then Greenwich. You can’t do all that in half a day.

Other than the usual London stuff (Tower, Buckingham, London Eye, etc.), I had really wanted to see Churchill’s bunker, but it was under construction.

I did the H&H store on Bond. They were asses, so I didn’t try the others.

We did do a trip to Stonehenge and stopped off in Bath after. It was cool to break it up some.

We did all by public transportation, if you include the tour bus to Stonehenge and a Thames cruise.

It’s a cool city, but I don’t really have any desire to go back. If I booked a “proper” hunt over in the highlands, I would add a few days to explore further though.

London has exceptionally good food. I mainly eat global ethnic food when I am in London - Indian, Turkish, Persian, Lebanese ect.

There are a few Londoners on AR - hopefully they can provide the right spots.

Mike

If you like historical and photogenic, I suggest Kew Gardens (Royal Botanic Gardens). They are out of the way, but have a huge variety of plant life as well as all of the statuary from all of the monarchs dating back centuries. Very cool place.

For a quaint pub with good food and great atmosphere, I would suggest the Hand and Flower Pub and Hotel next to Olympia Station. It is easy to get to and is completely an old time pub. It also has a 12 room hotel that is modern, but quaint. Be warned if you stay there, there are 66 steps to the top floor rooms. Ask me how I know!

Windsor Castle, London Eye, Tate, St Pauls, Wimbledon, The Shard, Westminster Abby, British & National, Greenwich. The list of things to see and do in London is long. The food in London has come a long way from the fish and chip and pub meals. Just find a place with a line and you should be ok.

On a side note, I like to eats at Nando's in each country I visit. There is one right by Windsor Castle.

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What fun! Am sure you will enjoy it.

High tea - only one place to go and that's The Ritz Hotel and you must book in advance. It's packed, pretty touristy but a great experience.

Check out The Tate for art and a walk along the Embankment from there to Houses of Parliamemt and up to Trafalga Sq

Changing of the Guard every day at the palace.

Hollands and Purdey tend to disappoint. But if you can get across London to the Battersea area go and visit Rigby. Call Marc Newton in advance and ask to drop in. A great new old gun shop!

Covent Garden is worth a visit. Nice pubs too. And combine that with dinner at Simpsons on the Strand in the evening. Traditional British fare and fun atmosphere.

A show in the West End is also something to think about.

Have fun and congrats on 25 years of marriage !

Charlie

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War Rooms

I would call Mike Louca at Watson Bros. as well for a tour of their small shop.

Churchill War Rooms are great.

Some recommendations we go to London fairly frequently;

For Indian food: Dishoom any location- there are 4 I think. We go to the one on upper st. Martin's lane. No lunch reservation required, very popular and line for lunch moves fast. Might want to get a reservation for dinner.

For steak: Macellaio RC South Kensington located on Old Brompton Road- casual and great Italian steak. Get the carpaccio for appetizer and trust them on wine recommendations. Reservation needed its very popular. Red leather couch out front makes it easy to find.

For Italian food: Il Portico in South Kensington, small and really good need a reservation.

Classic British: Rules on Maiden Lane. Dress nicely and reservation required. Super traditional British fare- you are there in September so they'll have Red grouse from Yorkshire- its great. Toffee pudding for dessert fantastic. Great selection of Rhone wines on their list.

For Thai food: Churchill Arms Pub just west of Hyde Park on Kensington Church Street. Sounds weird but its super food and a great pub as well- lunch or dinner easy to get to.

Tea: Connaught Hotel a 3 minute walk around the corner from Purdey's on Carlos Place- very elegant and not quite as pricey as the Ritz. Reservation required and dress properly for better service.

Get an oyster card and use the tube- it will save you lots of pounds!

Also, I use opentable.com to make restaurant reservations- easy to keep track of things that way and they have an app for your phone in case you need to make changes for any reason.

Get a driver/guide and go to Hampton Court. Also, get a driver/guide and go to Blenheim Palace- another day trip from London which is easy and close.

Other options depending on time- take the Chunnel to Paris for the day- I know a good guide there, if needed.

I keep adding: also, arrange with H&H to go out to their shooting facility- you can take the tube most of the way- and shoot a round of clays there- its a beautiful facility.

Any questions just PM me.

Thank you all for the great suggestions.

I'll look into them and hopefully be able to get reservations at some of them for the time we are there.

I already have Oyster cards on the way but appreciate the reminder.

We considered taking the Eurostar/Chunnel to Paris but decided that was just to much to try to get in for the length of trip we are planning.

So many thing to potentially see and do and so little time...

Anybody else is welcome to add to this thread, I am always interested in hearing other people's real life experiences when visiting or traveling to new places.

Thanks again,

C

Cowboy:

Since you are there in September there might be some driven partridge shooting nearby. I have a good contact at Royal Berkshire sporting agency who might be able to find you a place to shoot near London.

PM me if interested. Also, the day trip to Blenheim palace can be combined with a visit to Oxford- it makes for a nice day. A lovely excursion as they say there...

Adding more: I found the gun room manager, Ian Anderson, at William & Son very nice- in fact he even tried to help me find some replacement shooting days of mine that had been cancelled. William & son's store is just next to H&H.

Yet another addition: Also go to William Evans- nice guys there and its a great shop. The gun room is downstairs. After you leave there go have a drink at the Stafford Hotel American bar on their patio- its 2 minute walk around the corner from Wm. Evans and a great bar.

Cowboy,

What Dhav said. I've laid over in London 4 times. The food is great! Do not believe the BS about the Brits not knowing what good food is. London is a lovely walking city and there is loads to do. Look over all the suggestions you've been given. You'll love it.

Mark

P.S. Do go to Rules. The atmosphere and the green pea soup is incredible.

I was just in London the beginning of the Month.

I stayed near Marble arch on the North side of Hyde park as the main reason I went was the British Summertime Festival in Hyde Park. I also went to the British Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone.

I had Rabbit Ragu at Bernardi's on Seymour Street (North of Marble Arch) and a lamb kabob lunch at Al Balad (Lebanese) also near there. Both were really good. Did not care for Nando's.

Another place I did not care for was Bad Egg for Saturday brunch. It was 40 pounds and was not appreciably better then the 5 pound full English the hotel served.

I visited Rigby at the invitation of Andrew Ambrose whom I met at DSC in January. I spent a good 2 1/2 - 3 hours there. Andrew showed me the whole operation, I held the Corbett Rifle plus examined several others they have purchased back. Talked about a takedown .416 magazine rifle in the white waiting for the right customer (pics on Rigby's facebook), watched as they fitted the locks for a rising bite, and many other things.

Got my fish & chip fix in Portsmouth across from HMS Warrior.

You need to visit the John Rigby store at

Visit the showroom and museum:
John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers) Ltd.
13-19 Pensbury Place
London SW8 4TP

Opening hours:
Monday – Friday 9:30 – 18:00


Morten

Scott's of Mount st. (1 min walk from Purdey's) probably one of Londons best fish restaurants

The Woolsey on Picadilly

Rules is a must for the classic British dining experience (Jacket and tie required)

Afternoon tea at the Ritz

Thank you all for the suggestions.
We've started making reservations at some of them already.

There are many nice places for afternoon tea in London including at most of the large stores such as Harrods. My wife and I like to stay at the Cumberland (near the Marble Arch on Oxford) and sometimes we will walk across the park to Harrods, buy lunch at their wonderful food area and eat it by the lake in Hyde Park.

Kensington offers afternoon tea, as does Harvey Nic's, and many of the large stores on Oxford Street. It is nice to take a break in the afternoon to sit for a while and eat delicious treats along with a pot of English Breakfast tea.

The British Museum is wonderful but be on your guard against pickpockets, notably in the small crowd viewing the Rosetta Stone.

Sad to say, but I have never had good fish and chips anywhere in West London.

It's been a long time since I was in London and then only briefly. Sure messed up my plans to look the city over.

Crossing streets was like suicide! Damned black taxi's flying by from THE WRONG SIDE. After almost getting nailed several times I gave up scared and left for elsewhere.

Did chat with a few on Trafalgar and snacked from the vendors on the patio.

Enjoy, and hope you folks have a great trip.

George

You should try the Beef Wellington at BobBob Ricard in Soho area central London.
They Serve lovely Russian Caviar and lots of french champagne as well. It is expensive but a wonderful experience.
As Faisal said , the High Tea at the Ritz is not to be missed as well.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

Nick

A day in Westminster to visit the castle is well worth it. The wire sculptures of all the animals that used to be inhabit the castle are amazing along with the gun collection that will blow you away. High tea at the Tower Hotel across the street is very nice also.

Mark

Again, thank you all for the great comments and suggestions. We have reservations at several of the suggestions made in this thread.

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Forget eating grouse - a lot of Scotland has cancelled the grouse shooting due to the heat / drought!

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Plenty of Grouse shooting in England

quote:

Originally posted by Charlie64:
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Forget eating grouse - a lot of Scotland has cancelled the grouse shooting due to the heat / drought!

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For the best of English pub food I highly recommend the Guinea Grill on the little street behind H&H. Lunchtime is best.

It was Oliver Reed's favourite destination for Steak & Kidney Pie. No further accolade is needed.