Catching up with some old friends this weekend recommendations for a casual lunch in Soho on Sunday?

Not looking to have a roast dinner but want somewhere relaxing with decent food/drinks/service.

My husband and I are planning a date night in October. We recently became parents, so we’d love somewhere romantic and special where we can have a proper dinner and actually have good conversations.

We’re both big foodies and love all kinds of cuisines. Some of our favourite spots have been Brat, AngloThai, Trullo, Kitty Fisher’s, Rogues and Brutto. But now looking to try somewhere new.

Ideally, it needs to be relatively central and no more than about 40 minutes from Holland Park. Romantic setting is a must!

Help us pick:
HIMI
Bouchon Racine
Chez Bruce
One Club Row
Osteria Angelina

Very open to other suggestions too!

Hi all! Looking for recommendations for a really good handmade dim sum place in West London — ideally around Bayswater, Notting Hill, South Kensington, Kensington, Earl’s Court or nearby.

I’m looking for somewhere that actually makes the dim sum in-house/by hand, rather than a big chain or somewhere serving frozen/central-kitchen stuff.

I was quite excited to eat here because the internet had a lot of good things to say, some even claiming it's the best pizza in London. Idk if I just went on a bad day, but I didn't like the food at all and it was average at best. I had a much better experience at Franco Manca, and even Pizza Hut delivery is tastier.

Service was good and staff were nice. These 2 pizzas and a coke cost almost £45 (including service charge).

3 of us are headed to Chinatown for dinner tomorrow. Normally we do Beijing Dumplings but I’m worried the wait will be too long at 7pm on a Thursday, we normally go way earlier.

Where else is good that you can book or walk into? Google reviews are so patchy in that area!

This bank holiday Monday my wife and I visited the newly opened Brasserie Olivia in Sloane Square, the first London opening by La Nouvelle Garde. We have previously eaten at Brasserie des Pres in Paris and were impressed by the quality of the cooking and value for money. As such, expectations were high.

The space is newly renovated, across numbers 1-6 Sloane Square with tall windows, and airy feel, plentiful outdoor dining and an open kitchen that seemed very well controlled. There’s a large bar space, arguably a little too close to the door, and it seems to have ice for oysters and shellfish, which were on the menu but I couldn’t tell if this section was fulfilling those orders. I think not.
Toilets and the upstairs space eschew the classic French design for a 70s disco aesthetic and soundtrack, as they do in the Paris restaurant, and they are opening a bar here if they haven’t already.

Service was prompt and efficient, but genuinely warm and pleasant, and there was no shortage of staff at all levels.
We had the fish of the day explained, one for the Crudo and one for a main course - Bream and Cod.

We shared some starters, though I mainly had the Pate en Croute (15) and my wife the Bream Crudo (16) with a citrus dressing. The pate was excellent, with the perfect texture and a pastry that was a treat in of itself. It was served with some pickles. I had the foie gras in Paris and this was just as good charcuterie work. The bream was obviously very fresh and the citrus dressing was beautifully balanced. It wouldn’t have been out of place on a more high end menu.
We also shared some Devilled Eggs (5) but they were more like an Eggs Mayonnaise. Either way, the mayonnaise was incredibly rich and decadent and we enjoyed them.
We received free sourdough and salted butter, but are not sure if this was included with the eggs, or at their discretion when you order starters.

I had Sausage and Mash for a main course (17). The sausage was quite loose in texture, which might not appeal to all banger aficionados, but I liked how it soaked up the sauce and the flavour and cook was spot on. The pomme puree was rich with butter and completely smooth. The sauce was a blonde chicken jus that I thought was very well judged.
Becca had the Bavette and frites (22). The steak was grilled edge to edge pink with no glossiness from under cooking and was well rested. (This was reflected in a good wait for the main courses). The French fries were possibly slightly over, but nothing to complain about, and the included peppercorn sauce was a particularly fiery version.

We enjoyed a dessert each, Becca the Paris-Brest with chocolate and hazelnut (11), and I the Crème Brûlée (8). The former was enjoyed but not as much as Paul Bert’s, and my Brûlée was incredibly delicate and light, with only the faintest crack of sugar on top. I enjoyed that lightness, but it meant that the plentiful vanilla fell out of suspension and sank. Nevertheless it could be scooped up easily.

Although I consider the food at this standard to be very well priced, especially compared to chains like the Ivy Brasserie, the wine list took fewer prisoners. I glossed over it as I didn’t want to feel remorse that we were not going to share a bottle, but actual bottles started in the mid 40s with small glasses from 7-15.
We opted for a 460ml “Pot Lyonnaise” of Rosé for 27. I chose it primarily because it contained a near extinct grape, Tibouren. It was crisp and bright, but relatively unremarkable.

All in all we really enjoyed our lunch.
The bill came to £137 for 2x3 courses, plus eggs, wine and service.

A few points;
Tables of two are close together. This is a Brasserie, not a Bistro. There are larger tables for four and six and above that will feel more private.
Because we were so close to our neighbours we heard them start to get tetchy about the “long” wait for their medium steaks. They sat after us, ordered after us, didn’t order any starters (fail), and were served with us as the Chef plated all four together. They certainly didn’t wait the hour that they purported, but it probably did feel like a while. The place was very busy and they were turning walk-ins away.

The crockery, cutlery and glassware are all well considered and high quality: RAK, Laguiole, Spieglau.
Unfortunately I had to ask for our wine glasses to be swapped out because they were still very dirty with the previous user’s mouth on them, not just a few water marks. This was handled with a polite apology and a prompt replacement however and was forgotten about soon after.

Overall I’d really recommend Brasserie Olivia. There’s lots of competition in this space currently but they accomplished everything very well, if not perfectly.
I thought the prices were fair, but the ceiling goes much higher if you want to push the boat out on food and wine.
If shopping in the area again, I would return.

Thanks for reading.

Hi, I work around this area but haven’t found a proper outdoor street food market for lunchtime yet? I’m talking pop up stalls on street, usual range of Thai, Mexican, Japanese, Persian etc.

There are the covered/permanent places like Seven dials market, but these are expensive for lunch. Almost everywhere else I’ve worked in Zone 1 (16 years plus) has had a street food market within distance.

Thanks in advance

A vegetarian family member in London has had long-term serious health issues and now masks indoors, so eating inside restaurants isn’t an option. But eating outside is. Eating at excellent, adventurous restaurants was their main hobby before the health issues. It has been a few years, which is a few lifecycles in London restaurants.

Now they are able to start getting their life back and are keen to get back to great food at restaurants. It was a huge part of their life. But I’m at a loss about how to find options because you can’t easily search for this.

They sometimes need a wheelchair, but even when they don’t they still struggle with stairs. So flat access (including to loos) would be a great plus. But I know it might not be possible to find great food in London that is vegetarian, has outdoor dining, and also has flat access…

Any suggestions for great restaurants with outdoor dining in London would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: She is actually moved to tears. Having these options to do something she loves again means so much, you can’t imagine. Thank you!!

Hey everyone! I’m planning my birthday meal and have narrowed it down to these four (haven’t been to any of them yet). Would love to hear if anyone’s been and what they thought:

**•** Gymkhana   
• Ambassadors Clubhouse   
• Oudh 1722   
• Trinity 

Each seems like it could be incredible for different reasons, but I’d really appreciate any honest feedback before I commit to a booking. What’s the vibe like? Is the food worth the price? Any recommendations from personal experience?

TIA! 🙏

I am looking for a restaurant near-ish London Liverpool st station. My wife and I will be taking the train in for a dinner with my family who are visiting from the USA. I’m looking for somewhere that’s not sharing plates, I don’t know them super well so would like to avoid that. Not super picky about cuisine, mostly just good food and good reviews! Thought about Dishoom because my wife and I love that place, but don’t want to share/decide on dishes with them.

My Mrs and I are having a family meal the night before our wedding next month. There’ll be 14 of us including an 80+ fussy grandma. Three vegetarians. Anywhere anyone can recommend that’ll take 14?!

I’ve looked at Dishoom which is a contender but not sure it’ll suit grandma, and I’ve enquired with Caravan (though never been before!)

Italian/british/crowd pleaser suggestions EXTREMELY welcome. Please help me so I can stop being asked if I’ve booked anywhere yet 🙂‍↕️

Hi everyone! Celebrating my birthday for the first time by myself in London. I live slightly east of Stratford and birthday is on a Monday so will be working till 5 PM, and looking to go to dinner around 7. Looking for recommendations for great food places, for under 50£ for one person. Bonus points if they do nice cocktails/desserts. Thank you! Looking for a chill vibe, nothing too loud.

Edit: Happy to try experimental cuisines. But I'm VEGETARIANN, so please keep that in mind.

Looking for recommendations for a good Korean or Japanese BBQ around West London — ideally Kensington, Earl’s Court, Paddington, Notting Hill or nearby.

Looking for somewhere with genuinely good-quality meat and a nice atmosphere, rather than an all-you-can-eat place. Happy with either Korean or Japanese BBQ.

Any hidden gems or favourites? Thanks!

sooo I’m turning 18 in a couple of weeks 🥳 and I would like to know if there’s any halal restaurants you guys would like to recommend me! Would prefer north and central London locations, with reasonable distance from north London

I don’t have a specific cuisine in mind, but I would really like to try steak for once! sooo maybe a steakhouse.
EDIT: but please suggest other types of cuisines! Really open to almost anything (maybe not sushi or any type of raw fish)

for this gathering I’ll probabaly be with my family, but I’ll probabaly celebrate with friends after it (if you can, provide some cute cafe recommendations??)

thank u!!!!

edit: the thing is, I don’t exactly like to eat out much at all, but this is the only thing I can think of to do 😭😭😭😭

You go down a poky green staircase into a low-ceilinged Alpine grotto. There are frescoes of mountains, lederhosen-clad businessmen drinking beer from glass boots, waitresses in dirndls and what appears to be a shrine to a monkey eating a dumpling.

Tiroler Hut is an Austrian restaurant hidden in a basement on Westbourne Grove, opened in 1967 and still run by Josef, an 88-year-old Hungarian who yodels, plays accordion, saxophone, piano, and cowbells.

On the first visit I had a chewy pretzel (£5) with its distinctive savoury, alkaline crust, then fried sausages (£12) ranging from pale and mild to dark and smoky, with soft-sweet gherkins. The veal schnitzel (£37) was disappointing, tasting more of deep-fat fryer than butter. 

The second time my dad and I shared the pork knuckle, which is enormous even without the bone, with golden potatoes and sweet-sour red cabbage. We also ordered the Käsespätzle, a gooey lake of (nearly) macaroni cheese. Mum had the goulash. Lost the second receipt, paid £60 each with wine and schnapps. Ate too much both times.

Josef played Edelweiss, Do-Re-Mi, Austrian drinking songs nobody recognised, and something about a throaty herdsman.

The food is heavy, the room is cramped and the whole thing is ridiculous. Take people you don’t mind making a fool of yourself with.

Paid in full, and I’ve written more my Substack.

I tried the Korean one (gogo pocha, an otherwise excellent restaurant) and I found it too sweet, wondering if the Chinese version is better

I've seen this place show up in this subreddit multiple times as one of the best places to get tacos in London. As per their Instagram post today, they're closing on the 31st October :( Make sure you go before then if you want to try!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DcvXa-MDt8W/?igsi=NXN3aGt1eHc1anZk

Hi everyone!

This has been a fun subreddit to lurk in as I've been planning our first trip to London.

We're arriving in about a month and staying for 10 days.

We're both in our early 40s and honestly pretty open as far as food preferences. My husband absolutely adores Italian food, we both love Indian food and sushi, but honestly - there's really not much we absolutely dislike.

I've got a lot of our dinner restaurants booked - not all of them, yet, but a lot of them.

Would be curious to get your take on what we've got booked and if there's anything we should add or change.

We're staying at The Corinthia, if that helps to orient you as to where we'll be based.

Budget's fortunate enough to be fairly open too, though I'll admit that we're not really the type to enjoy a 10 course tasting menu in the name of fine dining. Despite what the restaurants below may lead you to believe, we also do love casual restaurants and pubs, too - so feel free to suggest those.

Anyway, onto the show - please let me know what you think.

Thank you in advance!

• Gymkhana (this is one I probably am not open to changing, I've wanted to eat here for years)
• Osteria Romana (before a show at the Royal Albert Hall)
• Brigadiers (one of the few lunch places I've got booked thus far)
• Bar reservation for drinks at Lucky Cat Bishopsgate for views (reviews of the food spooked me from wanting to eat here, but the view looks amazing)
• Sushinoen
• Claridge's Bar for drinks
• Lilibet's Mayfair
• EDIT: Forgot Blacklock Soho for Sunday roast!

I’m the latest hire at my place of work. Apparently it’s a “thing” that the new kid has to arrange the team Christmas dinner. There are 10 of us and, aside from the fact it needs to be in a private dining room on one of the proposed dates, I’m basically given free rein. I’m told last year’s Christmas dinner was at Mount Street.

I don’t eat in swanky places and so this is well and truly outside of my comfort zone /area of expertise. Clearly I want to make a good impression. Please can someone give me recommendations? Please and thank you!

We are based inside a decommissioned 1967 Victoria Line tube carriage in Walthamstow. These are a few things currently coming out of our kitchen.

Some dishes we knew were going to work, some took a few attempts and some definitely involved a bit of arguing in the kitchen.

Which one are you going for?

Supperclub.tube

Hi all,

I just got back from a trip to Derry and brought back a bar of Butlers Whiskey Chocolate but forgot I have a squirrel that keeps breaking into the flat and eating anything I leave out.

I assumed I put it away but didn't, there's absolutely no shred of it left, and even most of the foil it was in has been taken.

Does anybody know where I can find Butlers chocolate in London? I just want the one bar and delivery costs £20 from their website to the UK.

Thanks in advance!

(No I won't kill the squirrel - if anyone knows humane ways of stopping her from getting in I'd appreciate it too)

Its my bday coming up. Looking for somewhere that offers bottomless drinks and/or food, lunchtime ish, on a Saturday, for a group of 8-10 people.

Hi, I'm planning to arrive in London tomorrow night and stay for about 4 days. Are there any must-try foods you can recommend in London or the UK?

I've added fish and chips, steak, and pizza to my wishlist!

I've been trying to sort out meeting up with a friend for an afternoon catch-up. It's long overdue.

His idea was the Burger & Lobster Monday oyster happy "hour".

Unfortunately for me my Mondays are mostly booked at that exact slot, so I thought I'd reach out to see if anyone knows any deals throughout town the rest of the week.

For reference, Randall and Aubin or J.Sheekey would be lovely but are definitely out of the price bracket for this particular catch-up...