The Knowhere Guide

Eating and Drinking in Romford, Greater London*

Romford, Greater London Pubs, Cafes, Coffee Shops and Restaurants

Food

• tea pot cafein the shopping hall does the cheapest grub about and it the nuts,,,,
• all you can eat chinese karake buffet, south street romford
• CHICKEN SPOT IN SOUTHEND OPPOSITE MAC MART
• Hong Kong House in Upminster - student deal..ttaaassstteee
• the pie and mash shop next to woolworths
• The alma arms pub - navestock, nearish to romford
• Two meals for just over a fiver if you go to The Moon and Stars Pub. It's a Wetherspoons, so it's all dead cheap! No music, though.
• Salmonella Sid next to Romford station. Most nights at weekend.
• marks and spencers
• essenc of the east on chadwell heath high road has been referbished, it was fantastic b4 hand and now s just pure class, always got the famouse wondering around and the odd boxer here and there, loved working there, full of classy people and a brilliant meal.
• Costa Coffee in Waterstones, or Harry ramsdens for take away fish and chips.
• pizza express in the brewery is good.
• we all hang about by the windows at mc donalds at the brewery
• Subway near the station is lovley foot long bagutte and about 1001 fillings also the typical 3! mc donalds these are in liberty 2 the brewery and next to the station and burger king etc then there is a pizza hut next to mc donalds next to the station then in the brewry there is an outback steak house and la tasca and pizza express and frankie and bennys the list goes on......
• noodle bar noodle bar you eat my noodles and chopsuey centre
• Ishmer Kababs north street
• A few good Chinese and Indian restaurants if you look for them.
• Pizzahut, Mcdonalds, The Shanghai (very nice), Frankie and Bennys, Harry Ramsdens, loadsa kebab/ pizza/ fish n chips shops etc.
• FRANKIE AND BENNYS IS PROBALIY THE BEST RESTURANT I'VE EVER BEEN TO IN THE WORLD AND I'VE BEEN TO A FEW. IT'S A OLD STYLE ITALIAN AMERICAN RESTURANT, THE STAFF ARE FREINDLY AND THE FOODS GREAT PRICES ARE A BIT STEAP BUT WELL WORTH IT. YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY THIS PLACE, IT'S NEXT TO THE NEW CINEMA. THIS PLACE LOOKS SMELLS AND TASTES GREAT. IF YOU CAN COME BACK OUT OF FRANKIE AND BENNYS WITH OUT A SMILE LET YOUR DOCTOR KNOW COZ THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH YOU.
• The Frying Pan on brentwood road serves the best chips for miles!
• Nando's - cluck it up baby (mexican chicken restaurant), best restaurant i've EVER ate in Romford. Very good service and uniforms are out of this world! The grillas wear "I make the chicks hot" and cashiers wear "chicks rule".
• polos
• Again the "old Brewery" has provided us with somewhere decent to eat(boy did we need it!. We now have another McDonald's in Romford (3 in total, Yipee!!)as well as The out back steak house (A little pricey), Pizza, Pizza, Pizza, pricey again!) along with Nandos (portugese chicken restaurant) otherwise known as Peri Peri Chicken Chicken. Nando's serves excellent food and it is very good value for money, although I must admit I havn't actaully eaten at Nando's in the "Old Brewery'" shopping centre.
• MC DONALDS!!!!
• McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Deep Pan, Burger King, Favourite Chicken, Bella Pasta. For the real food you have to get out of Romford.
• Are we (Paula & Jo) the only ones to have appreciated Roosters, at about 2.30 every weekend for the box of unexplanable chicken equivalent all for a penny, which we were always able to afford even after a heavy night out! With the one eyed scrawny bouncer (who answers to the name of Lucky!) on the door, the slippery chips on the floor and James Dean Bradfield working behind the counter. Plus you could always be sure that one person in your group would have a pubic hair in and amongst their chips! Since that has shut we have lost contact with most of our old school/college mates because it was a mecca for all Havering Sixth Form Romford lovers!!
• The 'Izmir' in North St. does the best kebabs anywhere
• Favourite chicken in north street is well good but collier row is better. Always has kids waiting outside and produces the best chicken and ribs for around £3.50. Still maccy d's for breakfast on saturday morning after working on the market.
• Pie and Mash in the High Street, great old favourite. Mcdonalds, Burger King, KFC, Wimpy, Pizza Hut, the list is endless.
• your average urban kind of Burger king/mcdonalds/pizza hut/KFC set up.
• Pizza hut, burger king and Mcdonalds, nothing special
• Theres only one place for ultimate cuisine and thats McDonalds
• The best food in Romford has to be Peters Cafe down North Street, The greatest cheapest cafe food with friendly staff with huge portions!!!
• Good English cusine is like a German with a sense of humour.
• The Laurie Cafe in Romford Shopping Hall is ideal for cheap cups of tea and bacon sarnies. Nice friendly staff too. There's not many of these places around now, so next time you are in the area, do your bit to save the humble British caff! Don't let McDonalds take over completly!
• maccy d's is the best! or there's mclusky's - not bad. Brannigans - scrumcious. Yates is absolutely georgous and not that expensive either. most of the pubs do great food, spoilt for choice!
• Lots of restaurants but the best has to be the Gingham Kitchen in one of the Arcades. Only trouble is it is totally packed and not opened on Sundays.
• Singaporean Restaurant in Victoria Road is well worht a visit, the food is good & so are the prices. The is a new Cypriot Restaurant, haven't checked it out yeat but if anyone has let me know what it's like. Giorgio's isn't too bad either. Then there's your run of the mill places - Deep Pan Pizza Co (good buffet meal between 6pm-8pm), Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Buger King, Wimpy, chinese & indian takeaways & restaurants (more choice in Hornchurch) & a few chip shop & kebab houses.
• For a great Greek - we had a 16 course Meze! Try A Taste of Cyprus in Victoria Road. Lovely, intimate and a great night. Especially for a romantic evening - Kez.
• Jalani resturant, on high street opposite the salvation church offers a wide variety of indian cuisine at down to to earth prices. The service is excellent, and they do not mind you pissing on the floor and each other if it takes your fancy! get pissed then go to jalani
• ROMFORD has limited choice fast/pub food , best selection of restaurants in nearby Hornchurch.
• There's no Cafe Rouge, so it has to be Burger King. Hands down, mate.
• You can eat a variety of well priced food in the Global Netcafe on South Street.
• How can you list the restaurants in Romford without mentioning the Pie and Mash shops? Great value for money because you get to watch your mates from out-of-town go green at the sight of the liquor and eels.
• There are far more eating places in Romford than merely burger bars. There is an excellent JD Weatherspoons which serves good quality food for lunch and dinner. Then there is the Bella Pasta, a good (if slightly expensive) Italian restaurant. Also, there are two pizza places, Pizza Hut and Deep Pan Pizza. I'd definitely recommend the Deep Pan Pizza as the best of the two on offer.
• Rather limited to McDonalds, chip shops, Burger King and Wimpy, although the Singapore house in Victoria Road is good I'm told. Also the burger stall outside the station late at night is a definite visit if you have the midnight munchies.

Pubs

• What have they done to the Moon and Stars? Don't they realise pubs should be dark? Gloomy, interesting, conducive to long sessions and loud debate. Who was responsible for the refurbishment? Britney Speirs? On the plus side, the new female toilets have a certain Byzantine appeal. Wall-sized mirrors, shiny tiles, deep colours. They should move the bar in there.
• Any pub that sells beer is a good pub.Espicially The Pomps,Rising Sun,Coopers,Merry Fiddlers,Robin Hood,(this list is starting to sound like an old language!)
• Edwards and Yates are the best although since renovation Hogs Head is pretty groovy too
• There is no good pub in Romford. The only good thing about Romford pubs is the fighting. So if you haven't got SKY SPORTS and enjoy boxing go to Romford Town Centre on a Friday & Saturday night....you get better coverage and a ringside seat.
• We were all fresh faced and the pub to go to use to be the Coopers Arms in Rush Green as back then the landlord just wanted ya money. Harry Harding was the bouncer!
• edwards is excellent, cross between pub and club, drinks are reasonably priced, great music, jaks is also good, and yates, brannigans, mclusky's, The moon and stars is cheap but very boring, and full of old men and students lovely! Freddie Whales is good, for a quiet drink one night in the week, the best thing to do on a weekend is a pub crawl.
• Hundreds and hundreds but to be honest all outragous once the DJ's start spinning their 80's tunes. Better in the day by far before the kids turn into larger loutish idiots.
• Edward's in South Street, Romford is a new venue. Two floors and very trendy, classy decor. Good music - DJ Weds - Sat.
• You people in Romford have no idea how good you have got it, I travel all over the country and Europe and Romford is still the best. Where else can you walk out the station and there is 6-7 pubs within 100 metres, and more pubs in Romford than Brentwood and Ilford put together. You should try Colchester that is the only place worth visiting other than Romford for excellant pubs. pubs are how make them and you walk in with the Romford pubs are shit them they will be so all you lot who that fuck of to Ilford and get stabbed so us who enjoy Romford can do so in peace, I am in Romford (it is my home town for 22 yrs) a few times a year and it keeps getting better.
• What can I say, everywhere you look now in Romford there's a pub, especially on South Street. If you started at one end of South Street & worked your way along the pubs just stopping for one drink in each, you could easily go home pissed or go on to one of the clubs!!
• I have been going to The Golden Lion since I was 15. If you go there every week you will get bored with the brown walls. But at heart it is my home away from home. The food in there is really nice. It is full of regulars so if your not one don't bother going in if you don't know anyone in there because unless you are good looking you are un welcome. I don't like the ferkin much any more as they have had a re fit and got rid of the juke box and it looks more like a wine bar than a pub. They have also changed the menu around and they have stopped selling the ferkin combo which was good for the morning after the night before at the Cellar bar. In both these pubs you will find Tony prosser, Tom Prosser, Paul Abbott, Tony Crease, Chris Trust, Ed, Joff, and Dan Akhurst.
• The Golden Lion has such a bad word of mouth thing going with people who don't go there. However, the people are nice and friendly o.k forgetting most of the skin heads who drink in there. The food is great. It is a warm and frienly place. There hasn't been any real trouble there for the last 15 years, well except for a girl who beat her not so nice skin head boyfriend up because he sleep with another girl.
• The Moorland Arms - Hollywood Boulevard. nice family pub. take the children. eat glass
• Romford's downside is lack of family pubs,also too many local's only pubs (not very friendly if youv'e never been in before)needs more chain style pubs as these seem to attract couples and familys but not the local's only attitude.
• Yates's is quite pleasant, as are some of the ones along Main Road in Gidea Park. AVOID anything in Harold Hill unless you have long ceased to value your life, and of the ones in COllier Row only the Wetherspoon is worth considering.
• The golden lion is a lovely old pub that is definatly worth a visit. Your bound to meet someone in there called Joff, Tom, Toni or Keeley hanging around at the back of the pub as they virtually live there. Bar staff are terrific too. I have never known it though to have had a pool table or dartboard though. On your way out, stop to admire the crap heap of metal that the concil called art, which has just become a climbing frame for all the pissheads. Take time to wonder across to the lamb (if you fancy a kickin). I definatly recommend the ford and firkin in the evening for cheap deals. eg, pound a pint, and show us your bra for cheep booze.
• try the mawney arms, mawney road you will be in for a surprise. good food excelent bar staff and a good size beer garden good in the summer, bouncy castle and play ground a good famliy pub away from the noise of central romford
• Yates is now open and is pretty good on a friday and saturday night.
• A lot of new pubs have recently opened up in South Street
• I'm afraid I don't quite understand the references to the Golden Lion. There are no pool tables and no dart board, the juke box is ok, granted, but the disporportionate amount of utter cocks in there means that it plays mostly shit. However, the bar staff are very nice - especially Chris Elliot, he's very interesting (I hear he and his girlfriend Fiona enjoy nothing more than a KFC and a bit of relaxing Muzik). The pub has a long and illustrious history: it was owned by Francis Bacon many years ago, and the poet Wilfrid Owen, who was barracked at Gidea Park for a while during WW1, was once a regular. Finally, no discussion of the Golden Lion would be complete without reference to that pair of stunners Vicky B and Fat Jenny, who along with Chris Thackleberry and Gay Phil constitute the social and intellectual elite of Romford. Long may they prosper!
• Come to the Hogs Head on South Street, its fun and the bar staff are very friendly (I work there!!!) Then theres the old faves like the Lamb and the Bull, and the new place where Cltterbucks used to be, its called the Ford and Firkin, frequented by the grungier section of Romford youth culture. South street is where you'll find the 'trendy' pubs, Indie is where its at in The Golden Lion, the Bull, the Lamb, & the F&F... really depends what you like. If you just want a cheap pint go to the Moon and Stars but avoid that and Yates if you want a good atmosphere.
• Most of Romford's central pubs have been refurbished recently and there is now a Hogshead and will soon (Oct97) be a Yates's
• Romford has a wicked pub scene with around 15 in the centre. Cool places to check out are: 'The Bull' in the Marketplace (great for a game of pool with 4/5 tables and a very friendly atmosphere), 'The Moon & Stars' (great for a cheap beer and cheap food), 'Global Net Cafe' (good atmosphere, music and women).
• Ignore the message telling you to steer clear of the Golden Lion. Andrew Hastler, who contributed that remark, made it because he has a grudge against the pub because they asked him to leave because he looked under-age and he had no ID on him to prove otherwise!
  It is actually quite a good pub. There is a reasonable atmosphere and the jukebox is very good. There are also two pool tables there as well as a dart board. All in all actually quite good, highly recommended in fact.
• My advice stay clear of The Golden Lion
• The pubs are not bad, try Clutter Bucks just off the Market Place for a good selection of real ales. Check out the Hungry Horse [formerly the Bridge House] and the Spencers Arms [bit young now though].
• No stunning pubs, but with half a dozen close together you've got an easy pub crawl ending in a club.

Cafes and Coffee Shops

• all the cafes in loughton are nice and abridge
• Starbucks in Sainsburys.
• Loads! My favourite is Benjy's. You can get some good deals and it can work out pretty cheap.
• All American chains now like Starbucks and Costa. Upstairs at Wendys used to be a good be good place before it turned into Brans.
• starbucks rocks
• have to hand it to star bucks! love sitting outside in the summer just chillin with a cafe, bhs have a lil cafe in the liberty, remeber when your staring at the them peole shop looking stupid or wearing something dodgy, they can see you aswell!!!!!!
• Costa Coffee in Waterstones is good at the moment, and there are no rudies in there ever.
• starbucks
• the teapot cafe is nice thats in the rumford shopping hall lovely rolls and quite cheap aswell.
• the cafe opposite the old 'BAC' on the eastern avenue, was the big daddy of all the food joints..... congratulations you win first prize well done S.P.
• Loads. Starbucks by the Brewery, others in the various links between the high street and liberty, at the bottom of the escalators in liberty.
• Benjys and Costa are right next to eachother, costa is the best though, the sandwhiches in Benjys are horrible
• One of the things I remember about being thirteen (which was um, er, about 25 years ago) was spending saturday afternoons in Tino's Cafe just because my mate fancied the boy who worked there (Paul) I'm quite sure he never gave her a second glance. On a rare visit to Romford recently I noticed that Tino's is still there, check it out.
• Starbucks at the Brury is gorgeous
• Morrelies in the walk way after the disney store, OAP's galore - very cheesey!
• A new shop opened in the Liberty II call Tchaibo. It sell hot drink as well as the odd duvet, handbag and bycicle lamp! (weird) I've never actaully bought anything from there but i'm sure someone finds it useful.
• Starbucks coffee within Sainsburys
• There is a nice coffee shop opposite Abbey National, Costa Coffee I think. About the most up market place around.
• Bobs sells the best cakes in town, and is open to 8pm on saturday, perfect for a half time break on the Pub crawl.
• Mc donalds does a lovely hot chocolate for 70p, and BHS is nice or you can be ripped off by the other few
• Do not go into the church house coffee shop after services. It is full of lying deceitful, two faced bastards
• Was it a Wimpy Bar under the railway station? Anyway either there or the Tea Pot(?) in the arcade.My mum use to work there so it was always a good price(neally said "cheap" then but my mum would of killed me)
• Lacking entirely, most people in Romford get pissed while they shop as it's the only way of dealing with such a bad set up and of course the crowds of people. Give me Kings Road anyday
• Costa coffee shop opened earlier this year, need a Starbucks though. Cafes are generally typical greasy jo cafes, pie & mash shop is okay though.

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Last updated: 2008-07-03